Whole Brain Teaching

Whole Brain teaching uses attention getters to engage the students, instruction, and collaborative learning to use the whole brain for learning the way it was intended to.  There are 7 major rules that go along with whole brain teaching. 

1.   Attention Grabber- engages the students and allows them to focus on the teacher.

2.   Teach-OK- teach lessons in educational chinks.  Hit the highlights of the lesson then students turn and teach with a partner. 

3.   Switch- Partners change the roll of the teacher and student. 

4.   Class Rules- create class rules with your students.  Have 5 general rules and make sure to go over each rule daily with the students.

5.   Scoreboard- motivates students to do well.  It is Teacher vs students.  Who ever has the most talley marks at the end of the week gets the prize. 

6.   Hands and Eyes- keep short for announcements.  Students will hold their hands together and focus their eyes on the teacher.

7.   Mirror- students mirror the teacher, increases student engagement.  Teachers can also see who was paying attention and who is on task.

These rules do not have to be done in any specific order except maybe Teach-OK and Switch.  Whole brain teaching can be introduced as early as pre-k. 

I love using attention getters in the classroom.  It really gets the students attention and they enjoy it.  Letting the students collaborate with each other is something I want to make sure I incorporate.  My practicum teacher this semester used the Scoreboard with her class.  The students really enjoy it and try to remind each other when they get off task so they can earn their reward.