Sunday, May 27, 2012

Brain Fitness – It’s Not Just For Adults


Brain Fitness – It’s Not Just For Adults

The architecture, the super highway of the brain, is laid down in the first years of life as parents talk to their very young children.  The left hemisphere is where skills for language and math are stored.  The right hemisphere is where skills for social interaction are stored.

Both adults and children need to exercise their brains just as they exercise their muscles, in order to improve their ability to learn.

Memory games are exercises that help improve the ability to pay attention and concentrate.  These types of exercises can be done at home, in the classroom, while traveling, anywhere.

For the child who always asks “Why?” play games that channel their natural curiosity and thirst for knowledge.  The brain loves new things and will thrive when learning something new.


You can also go to www.scilearn.com for brain games to use with your kids.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Grade the Work, Not the Behaviour


Grade the Work, Not the Behaviour
by Cindi Rigsbee
Education Week Teacher – May 8, 2012

“You can’t give a student a zero for cheating.  You have to separate behavior from academics.”
I now respond by reassigning the work or re-administering the test by making it different and, if possible, more rigorous.  What was, at first, a multiple choice quiz may become an essay when I re-test the student.

Maybe the problem is that the student needs a different way of showing they’ve learned the concepts and principles.

I believe cheating would go away and not be a problem if students were allowed to demonstrate, in their own way, their understanding of the material.

This could mean a drawing or diagram, making a model, writing a song, performing a short play, conducting an experiment, etc.  This is truly testing for knowledge and application of that knowledge.

No student would WANT to “cheat” because they would be too eager to express and share, in their own way, what they’ve learned.

For more about How to Learn go to www.howtolearneasily.com


Sunday, May 13, 2012

Celebrate Your Family Team's Successes


9 Secrets to Great “Family” Teamwork
Each family is a team, and as such they should be supporting and enhancing each other.

Secret #9 – Celebrate, learn from and remember your successes.  Learn from and move past the disappointments.
Celebrate your family team’s successes.  Learn what it was the team member(s) did that led to the success.  Knowing what was the successful action(s) will allow your team to create more successes in the future.

Learn from your team’s disappointments as well.  Brainstorm as a team ways to do the action(s) better in the future.  Then move past the disappointment.  Don’t hold onto it, and don’t assign blame.


Monday, May 7, 2012

Be Brave - Not Afraid


9 Secrets to Great “Family” Teamwork
Each family is a team, and as such they should be supporting and enhancing each other.

Secret #7 – Be brave not afraid.  Trying and failing is better than not trying at all.

Know that if you try something and it doesn’t work out as planned, your family team members are there to support you, to give you honest feedback, and help you get what you want.  So be brave – not afraid.  Your family team is behind you.