Full Description
"This book will excite teachers who want to motivate today's secondary students. Information about the brain, presented along with the author's personal teaching experiences, tips, and creative game ideas, makes for a very worthwhile read!"
—Cindy Bean, Seventh-Grade Math Teacher
Arcola Intermediate Middle School, Schwenksville, PA
Energize adolescents with memorable and engaging learning experiences!
Research shows that the adolescent brain is wired to seek novelty and ignore familiar stimuli. This innovative resource demonstrates how teachers can transform everyday classroom lectures into memorable experiences and reinforce course content by introducing new, different, and surprising elements into daily lessons.
Based on brain-compatible teaching principles, the updated edition of Making Learning Come Alive shows how to use stimulating interactive learning experiences to connect teenagers with content. Teachers will find activities and ideas for introducing each learning experience and will discover how to design and assess their own. Updated throughout, this new edition offers:
Nine new sample learning experiences, including four in math and science
A revised assessment chapter that covers standards-based education and NCLB
Reflection questions in each chapter
The learning activities can be used as is or modified to connect with hundreds of themes and concepts across middle school and high school curricula.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1. Why Create an Experience?
What Is an Experience?
Brain-Compatible Learning
Seeing Into the Brain
How the Brain Learns
Brain Research and Education: What Teachers Need to Know
Why Is It So Hard to Impress a Teenager?
Emotion: At the Center of the Brain
Complex Learning Activities
The Power of Reflection
Reflection Questions for Teachers
2. How to Create an Experience
Preparing a Classroom Environment Conducive to Experiences
Here's the Problem
Spread the Love: Rapport-Building Exercises
The Physical Environment
Strategies for Creating Experiences
What Does Infinity Smell Like?
Move Your Body
Using Music to Build Anticipation, Excitement, and Readiness
Tying Music to Your Curriculum
Fantasy Contexts
Putting It All Together: Creating Your Own Experiences
Student Involvement
Other Ideas for Experiences
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
Ideas for English and Social Studies Teachers
Ideas for Math and Science Teachers
Ideas for World Language Teachers
Ideas for Health, Wellness, and Physical Education Teachers
Reflection Questions for Teachers
3. How Do You Assess an Experience?
Traditional vs. Authentic Assessment
Reflection as Formative Assessment
Aligning Your Experiences to Standards
Why Standards-Based?
Reflection as Summative Assessment
Other Considerations
See What They Already Know Before You Begin
Reflection Questions for Teachers
4. Sample Experiences
Guess Who Had This for Dinner
The Eliminator
Morning Move-Around
The Wave
Two Truths and a Lie
The Name Game
Thumper
Old-Fashioned Sing Down
Musical Moment
The Reveal
Debate Shift-Around
Save the Princess
Counter-Terrorism
The Arrest
Shelter
The Scream
The Fire
Power
Island Survival
The Salesman
Witch Hunt
The Farm Game
Crime Scene
Rollercoaster Designer
5. Making Experiences Work for You
Resource A. Reproducible Handouts
Song Reflection Report
Save the Princess
Counter-Terrorism
The Scream
Power
Island Survival
The Salesman
The Farm Game
Crime Scene
Lab Report
Resource B. Additional Resources
Brain-Based Learning Fun Kit
Web Resources About Brain-Compatible Learning
Web Resources About Simulation Games
References
Index
