I was on pinterest looking through the education pins as a typical
teacher and pinterest addict would do, when I came across a video in which the
pinner stated the following: “The management strategies she uses during the
first two minutes of this video are AWESOME!! I also love all the kinesthetic
learning strategies she uses.” So, of course I had to watch it. The pinner’s
description turned out to be incredibly accurate.
The video was of Rachel Freundlich, a first grade teacher at Wilson
Elementary School in Wyoming, teaching her students a lesson about using a
number line. The video’s title was Whole Brain Teaching: Grade 1 Classroom. I was
very impressed by the methods she used and wanted to know more so I did a bit
of research on the topic.
Rachel Freundlich's YouTube Video Mentioned Above:
Whole Brain Teachers of America is a grassroots, education reform
movement begun in 1999 by three Yucaipa, California teachers: Chris Biffle
(college), Jay Vanderfin (elementary school) and Chris Rekstad (elementary
school). It is a research based system that utilizes all areas of the brain,
keeps children engaged throughout their lessons, and helps them retain much
more information than the standard lecture-discussion model.
Whole Brain Teaching is a highly interactive form of instruction that
delivers information to students in short “chunks.” Kids then teach what they
have just learned to their partners, using hand-gestures to help remember
specific vocabulary. While students
teach each other, the teacher walks around the room to discover who understands
the lesson and who needs more instruction. Research shows that children retain more information when they have
an opportunity to put it into their own words and use gestures to emphasize key
instructional units.
I’m intrigued by this method for several reasons. One being the
behavior management aspect; the children are actively engaged in their learning
therefore there are less behavior problems. I’m also fond of the repetition of
key educational concepts. Additionally, I like the “Teach-Okay,” where students
get the opportunity to teach their classmates what they just learned. Most of
all I love that it looks FUN and that is always my goal.
Obviously, I’m still learning about Whole Brain Teaching. However, by
what I’ve gathered from the videos I’ve watched and articles I’ve read on the
subject, it’s something worth trying with your kiddos to see how they respond
to this type of teaching.
I have included some links below if you are interesting in learning more.
Rachel Freundlich's Blog: Teaching and Learning Together
Teachers Pay Teachers Whole Brain Freebies:
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