Daria Doering

Super Teaching

by Eric Jensen

This book is unbelievable.  It should be required reading for all teaching students.  It gives a logical and scientific explanation for all the things I’ve always felt were missing from teaching, in terms of movement, music, drama, and experiential learning.  It gives the most complete lists I’ve seen anywhere of how to teach in high-interest, enjoyable but rigorous ways.  It spelled out so many things that were floating around in my mind, but it helps so much to have them mentally organized.  An example would be the difference between rules, guidelines and agreements.

The book also suggests so many things, which after you read them seem so obvious, yet I’ve never seen used.  It “gives permission” to do a million positive and joyful things that I feel as if, again, were swimming in my mind, but I just never saw teachers do them.  Examples would be having students turn to each other and say, “Great job!” after an exercise … stretch breaks … opening and closing the day with a song … Maybe I’ve seen some of these things used once, but this book gives long lists of options.

The book focuses a lot on retention of learning, which to me, is the main issue in teaching.  Jensen furnishes many ideas for incorporating review into the daily routine in natural ways.

Discipline:

• Discipline problems are a symptom of non-optimal teaching.  If teaching is great, students are too engaged to cause problems.
• The best discipline is “invisible.”
• Teachers need to deal with their own “dark sides” as far as reactions to students.  Effective discipline can’t go beyond a teacher’s own personal progress.
• Spells out the difference between rules, guidelines and agreements.
• Teach and give directions in three or four different modes – auditory, visual, and kinesthetic – in order to reach all learners.
• Pages of tips for managing students and changing the classroom environment in response to problems.
• Many suggestions for “attitude changes” on the part of teachers – seeing problems as opportunities, expecting disruptions …
• Emphasis on increasing “auditory input” – which I think is so important – by choral answers, class cheers, etc.

Rituals and Affirmations:

• Review ideas:
  • First thing in the morning, mind-map previous day’s learning from memory, consulting with a neighbor if desired
  • At end of day have students stand, stretch, close eyes, while teacher reviews everything they’ve learned that day
  • Post course content on the wall, as a summary poster, two weeks before teaching it.
• Joy ideas:
  • Novel roll calls
  • Student-to-student affirmations, at beginning of day, and after learning activities
  • Have a student lead a stretch break
• Other:
  • Ask yourself three questions: what did I learn yesterday, what am I grateful for, what is my promise to myself for today?
  • “If, then “ action requests

Memory

To me, how to retain information is at the heart of teaching.  I’ve given it a great deal of thought.  The best information I’d found thus far was the difference between the right and left brain, and the need to teach to the right brain for retention.

Jensen puts much of the same information into a different form by emphasizing the difference between information being embedded in content or context.  Content-embedded information means it is found in books and lectures.  Context-embedded information is found in experiences, such as field trips, dramatizations, and so on.

He differentiates between rote or semantic learning, which is essentially repetition; and memorization involving multiple memory systems.  Rote learning is of limited capacity, unnatural, not the way the brain is designed to learn, and requires continual practice.

Contextual or episodic memory is unlimited, effortless, and natural.  It is motivated by emotions, novelty, and beginnings and endings.  Strong emotions inject chemicals which are “memory fixatives” into our bodies.

Lesson Planning

• Great list for interdisciplinary units.  One point: make sure subject is worthy of time invested.

Presenting Skills

• Before students can learn, you need to deal with:
  • Fears – address what you think their fears might be, or ask them.  Three greatest fears of students:
    • Boring lesson
    • They won’t learn anything
    • They’ll be treated unfairly
    • Logistics – where things are located, etc.
    • Trust & rapport – students need to trust you
    • Credibility & competence
• Openings are vital
  • If you don’t get students’ attention from the get-go, you’ve lost them
  • Introduce yourself, and explicitly address all of the above
  • Preview the lesson
  • Use “headlines” like National Enquirer
  • Requirements of students – state explicitly
• Closings are all-important
  • Plan 10% of time for closing, even if you are rushed and running out of time
  • Add to lesson plan:
    • Review
    • Ask for feedback
    • Preview coming lessons
    • Congratulations, Celebration, Closing Ritual

Listening Skills

• Ask clarifying questions

Motivation and Rewards

• A reward is something that is predictable and has market value.
• If it’s predictable but has no market value (smile, praise) it’s recognition.
• If it has market value but isn’t predictable (pizza party) it’s a celebration.
• Extrinsic rewards motivate lowest level possible, predictable behavior.  Intrinsic factors motivate creative behavior.
• Rewards are harmful when they cause conflicts with learners’ existing goals, which most commonly happens when 1) learners feel manipulated, 2) reward interferes with pre-existing motivation, and 3) reward devalues the desired behavior.
• Rewards create stress, which interferes with learning, and prompts low-level, predictable behavior in order to cope with the stress.
• To change a student’s behavior, you need to change his biases (personal beliefs, hopes, expectations, fears, values, and emotions); not try to change the behavior directly.  Rewards change the behavior but not the biases.
• Rewards may be appropriate for desired physical behavior (such as helping with a work project).
• The “secret to motivation” is that the brain loves to learn; students are already motivated.
• The brain thrives on challenge; not easy work.
• Many teachers who obsess on “motivation” are really concerned with “control.”
• Sources of intrinsic motivation: Give learners choice & control; learners must be able to align assignments with their own goals; engage emotions; use group work; teach to multiple intelligences; share inspirational stories; provide acknowledgements; provide frequent feedback; manage learner states; etc.

Relationships

• Always find something to give people credit for, no matter how minimal their actions: doing what you ask, being there, attempting to do what you ask …
• Agreement frames – hilarious dialogue on p. 302.

In conclusion, Jensen makes more sense than virtually anyone else I’ve heard or read on instructional delivery.  Content is not his area, but delivery.

My definition of brain-based learning:

• Teaching to the right side of the brain, for better retention
• Music, movement and mirth in the classroom
• A combination of more rigor and more fun
• It’s about creating an environment conducive to learning, which automatically virtually eliminates discipline problems

Some hallmarks:

• Movement in the classroom: “physical activity boosts mental activity”
• Music in the classroom
• Retention strategies
• Discipline as state-changes
• Invisible disciplline