Introduction
Brain SMART refers to a program used to promotes the practical process of effective teaching and learning through the understanding of the translating implications of the brain as well as a student’s achievement in research. The program has been applied in many state departments of education and high achieving school districts across Canada and the United States with scientific research conducted on the program proving that both the brain and body functions are integrated. Successful achievements in-class work is enhanced by understanding the learning components and good strategies used in teaching. ( Ronald.F. 2006). This paper gives evidence of accomplishments achieved through the Brain SMART program in new learning and also refers to the research that has had the greatest professional impact for me as an educator. In addition, the paper also gives examples of the correlation between the coursework and the National Board Standards.
Discussion
Research undertaken over the last ten years has greatly influenced my approach as an educator, to the learning process of each individual student. For some educators, being able to rewire someone’s brain so that there are no limits to what they can learn seems almost impossible but research indicates that trying to make constant creation of new neural connections, and using the existing ones to make them stronger and efficient, plays an important role in helping students to reach their full potential. The academic and emotional aspects of learning work together through the understanding of two levels in the learning process. Strategies that are used to implement the Brain SMART program and that will be discussed in this paper include; the Brain SMART Science Structure and Strategies, Thinking for Results, Differentiated Instruction, Courageous Learning and Achievement, and Classroom Management in Students.
Brain SMART Science Structure and Strategies
In this strategy, Howard Gardener’s theory on Multiple Intelligence(s) is applied; a theory that has been very instrumental in helping me identify both the strengths and weaknesses of my students. This is because after understanding the eight kinds of intelligence(s), I have gained the ability to connect well with my students and have become more observant of each child and their approach to learning. These kinds of intelligence are namely Verbal-Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Spatial, Musical, Interpersonal, Naturalistic, Existential and Bodily-Kinesthetic. It is essential that educators understand a student’s multiple intelligence(s) if they desire to achieve excellent results in their work, they need to address the student’s multiple (Gardner, 1983). It has been observed that the Montessori environment of learning in which each child is taught as an individual, runs parallel to Gardener’s theory of learning. As a teacher, I address the different bits of intelligence by making sure that they are integrated into my lesson planning. I try to achieve this by going over my lesson plans on a daily basis and listing beside them what kind of multiple intelligence(s) I will be applying for each lesson. This has assisted me to adopt various methods of teaching and to enhance creativity in my students by applying such methods as the use of crossword puzzles with vocabulary from a subject that is being studied, and implementing all types of intelligence projects when working.
The most challenging part for me this year has been educating parents on good nutrition, and how nutrition affects learning. Proposing the kind of diet that children should get has attracted mixed reactions from parents with some of them even reporting the issue to the school authorities that who in turn implemented a good nutrition program that helped solve the misunderstanding. Children have embraced his idea of good eating habits with some of them promoting it by putting signs on the signboards in school. Understanding good nutrition and the impact it has on a student’s physical structure and brain has helped me understand how nutrition affects the learning process. (Wilson and Conyers, 2005).
Thinking for results
Though children may enter school without some cognitive skills, they still have the ability to learn, and recognizing that intelligence is not fixed allows both the educator and student to explore different opportunities to achieve good results in class. Learning how to improve student’s learning and the use of strategies through the cognitive process has helped me to understand this fact. The three phases of the Genius Model ( input, process, and output) are combined together with the twenty-five cognitive assets and in such a way, students are able to learn under a system that promotes both effective thinking and success in social skills and leads to excellent student’s achievement.
The Thinking for Results Assessment has helped me to identify my students’ strengths and weaknesses and also helped me to identify the cognitive skills that I should integrate into the curriculum daily. By learning about the different cognitive assets and their different phases, I have come to realize that different Skills such as Practical Optimism, Initiative, and Appropriate Courage if lacking, can be easily identified. When planning my lessons, I am now more aware of my clear intent in teaching and I usually ask students questions to help them think. Several cognitive assets used in combination, help me to identify difficulties experienced by the students which I try to solve in order to ensure that such difficulties do not hinder my success in teaching. Learning to recognize the different cognitive skills and how to implement them appropriately has helped my growth as a teacher.
Differentiated Instruction
According to Marian Diamond’s strategy, “Enhance Learning with Technology”, brain research has proved that different people learn differently in the same environment. From experience, the Montessori differentiated classroom style of teaching has been able to address different learning needs by trying to attend to each student’s individual needs while at the same time giving each person the necessary tools to succeed in a safe environment. This is because a differentiated classroom creates an opportunity for the instructor and the student to work as a team. Using Meier’s Four-phase model of learning has improved my awareness of how to prepare and present lessons, arouse students’ interest as well as how to keep them hooked to the subject that is being taught. The students in turn develop a desire to learn and to involve their brains and bodies in learning (experience and practice) and through peer teaching and skill-building, they are able to utilize what they have learned.
Montessori curriculum, however, differs from Meier’s model of learning in that through the Montessori curriculum, most lessons adopt a story form as a way of attracting student interest, and engaged learning is promoted through group projects, hand-on learning with materials, and field trips. Standard instruction provides a good learning environment only to 25% of students and the traditional setting of education is thus considered not the best way to educate people (Wilson and Conyers, 2005). This creates the need to address each type of learner through differentiated classroom implementation.
Courageous Learners
Courageous learners are those people who courageously work towards overcoming the situations that increase the probability of academic failure in class( Wilson and Conyers, 2005). It is estimated that 75% of students at risk may have a right hemispheric strength, a characteristic that is associated with skills such as seeing the big picture, rapid visual processing, and strong intuition. My understanding of Brain SMART’s four fundamental forces of learning has helped me as an educator, to identify the necessary requirements for students to succeed. This has also furnished me with a good understanding of what the students can achieve if given the right tools.
One of the four forces in courageous learning is Professional Development and Teacher preparation. This has helped me to be a highly effective teacher by providing me with the tools and skills necessary for the student’s success, an achievement displayed in the higher reading levels, and great strides in Math Applications that have been achieved through this force. Another force is the Physical/Mental Health and Safety force that deals with educating students on good nutrition, educating parents on the effects nutrition has on children learning, as well as encouraging a positive attitude among the students and towards others. There’s also the Parent Support, Mentors, and Peers force that encourages mentoring and peer teaching, and this is done by guiding and teaching students through healthy social interactions. Peer teaching is part of the Montessori learning program and helps students to properly interact with each other. Through the application of this force, I have been able to spend extra time with my students and to schedule parent volunteers who come in and help students on daily basis. Parents have also been able to go over their children’s work through weekly conferences, a process that has helped them to be involved in their children’s learning.
Wilson and Conyers advocate the STAR TEACHERS GO FOR IT, a 19 classroom learning tools program that is used to help students learn and save information. I have found some of the learning tools to be very valuable in classroom teaching and how I have used them to achieve good results in class will be briefly discussed hereafter. One of the tools is the T which stands for Twenty Minutes and through it, the teacher uses less than 20 minutes to deliver important information at the beginning of the lesson and to review what has been taught at the end of a lesson. C stands for Color and through this tool, colors are used to teach phonics whereby different colors are used for different syllables. Another tool, H stands for Highlighting, and through it, I teach students how to highlight what is to be done at a particular time in order to get their focus on one subject at a time, hence promoting organization. The use of stories is represented by tool S, a process through which the teacher uses storytelling to help children learn and retain information in a fun-making manner. This in due course enables them to use their creativity and imagination. The use of graphics ushers in the G- Graphics tool, enables students to make sense out of what they are learning by the use of graphic organizers. These tools have greatly helped me as a teacher for I am now able to identify the necessary tools that students need to help them put their thoughts in order.
Howard Gardeners’ theory of multiple intelligence offers numerous ways of facilitating effective learning. The Montessori program of the differentiated classroom has been able to meet the key principles whereby a teacher clearly states the objectives of the teaching content although the content and product process is flexible and can be adjusted to suit student readiness, interest, and learning profile. This helps in promoting a student’s ability to learn independently without the pressure of having to keep up the pace of their peers.
Student Achievement and Classroom Management
Marzano’s “Classroom Instruction that Works” has been widely used in classwork. This has been done through identification of similarities and differences in subjects, summarizing and taking of notes, cooperate learning and, generation and testing of hypothesis. The use of graphic organizers encourages students to brainstorm ideas before putting them on paper. Using this strategy, there are the Teacher-Directed tasks where teachers choose tasks for comparison and Student-Directed Comparison tasks whereby the students select items to be compared. The act of generating and testing hypotheses provides the students with a great opportunity to learn and also gives them a chance for teamwork, as advocated by Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory. Teachers have a very important role in ensuring that students are optimistic in school and that they get high school achievement and this demands for proper application of learning tools by the educators. In addition, Marzano’s strategy encourages the teachers to focus on instructional strategies, classroom management, and classroom curriculum.
In order to achieve success in the classroom, it is vital that classroom management be consistent with laid out rules and regulations and also demonstrate a teacher-student relationship that creates a balance between dominance and cooperation. The teacher is expected to guide and support all students and at the same time ensure all learning styles are accommodated in the curriculum and through the incorporation of problem-solving and decision-making strategies, each student should be able to master necessary skills (Marzano.J, 2003). According to Seligman’s Optimistic Child theory (Seligman, 1995), children have been taught to be pessimistic by the society they live in through the “self-esteem” concept. In such cases, Cognitive therapy can be used to change the student’s attitudes from pessimistic to optimistic, a process that creates the opportunity to get rid of negative thoughts and feelings and replace them with positive ones (Seligman. M, 1995).
Through the Brain, SMART program educators receive the necessary tools and applications that enable them to find out the best method of teaching and also expose them to different information compiled through research and science. The program also enhances meaningful learning by engaging the student, a process that helps to retain information and to be optimistic. Teachers should not be discouraged by any instances of failure in the classroom but should instead be focused on anything that will help achieve high standards for all students.
Conclusion
As an educator, I have been very fortunate to work under the Montessori learning environment as it encompasses many of the teachings of the Brain SMART program. This is achieved through its differentiated classroom approach, teaching in different learning levels, giving students choices, and using the respectable language of respect, all of which are geared towards achieving the best in each student. The BrainSmart program and the Montessori differentiated learning approach have given me a teaching environment whose concepts with the five propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
References
Gardner, H. 1983. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligence, New York.
Marzano, J. 2003. Classroom Instruction That Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Prentice Hall Publishers.
Ronald, F. 2006. Smart Teaching: Using Brain Research and Data to Continuously Improve. American Society for Quality.
Seligman,M. 1995. Optimistic Child. Proven Program to Safeguard Children from Depression and Build Lifelong Resilience. Harper Paperbacks; New York.
Wilson, D and Conyers, M. 2005. Brain SMART. Graduate Education and Professional Development. Guilford Publishers.