WHOLE BRA IN TEACH ING

B Y : J A I M E S P R A Y

The Big Six & studentevaluation

1 . THE ATTENT IONGRABBER

T R U E C H I C A P P A R E L

Class-YesI use this technique whenever I want to quickly gain theattention of my class. For example, I use this call and

response method during transitions. For maximum effect, Ivary my tone of voice and add word endings to "Class" (i.e.Classity-Class!). Class-Yes activates the pre-frontal cortex,the reasoning center of the brain. This area functions as a

“light switch” that must be turned on for the rest of the brainto process information.

F IVE C LASSROOM RULES 2. The organizer

I rehearse the five classroom rules and their gestures manytimes per day (i.e. in the morning, after recess, lunch, etc.)During instruction, when a rule is broken, I call out the rulenumber and students, with gestures, respond in chorus withthe rule. This prevents students from receiving negativeattention for their disruptive behavior. The five classroomrules engage seeing, hearing, saying, doing (the pre-frontalcortex, Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, hippocampus, visual

cortex and motor cortex.)

3 . THE WHOLE BRA INACT IVATOR

Teach-OkayI speak briefly and then ask students to paraphrase, mirroringmy gestures, what I've said to a partner. I clap twice and say,

"Teach!" My students respond by clapping twice and say,"Okay!". I move around the classroom to monitor students'

comprehension and delivery. Students have their pre-frontalcortex engaged, activate Broca’s area as they listen, Wernike’sarea as they speak, the visual and the motor cortex as theysee and make gestures. This whole brain activity powerfullystimulates the hippocampus to form long term memories.

4 . THE MOT IVATORThe Scoreboard

I frequently reward positive behavior and penalize fornegative behavior. I observe the plus/minus 3 rule and keepthe positive and negative scores within three points sostudents remain motivated. The results of the scoreboarddetermine the positive and negative consequences to beenforced for the whole-class the following school day (i.e.+/-1 minute of extra recess). The Scoreboard keys directlyinto the limbic system’s emotions and the amygdala whichregisters pleasure (Mighty Oh Yeah) and pain (MightyGroan!) as students accumulate rewards and penalties.

5 . THE FOCUSERHands and Eyes

I use this technique whenever I want to maximize studentattention. Hands and Eyes focuses all mental activity onseeing and hearing the teacher’s lesson. I say, "Hands andEyes!". Students respond by repeating back, "Hands andEyes!" while folding their hands in their laps and staringdirectly at me. This technique is powerful and highly

effective, though not to be overused.

6 . THE INVOLVERSwitch!

I've counted off my class in A's and B's on our area rugduring whole-group instruction. I use this technique so thatevery student has an opportunity to practice their speakingand listening skills during Teach-Okay. While one partner istalking, the other parter raises one hand to their ear, while

they swing the other hand in a circular motion to encourage the response of their partner. Switch helps

students fully develop both their listening (Broca’s area) andtheir speaking (Wernicke’s area) abilities.

The WBT classroom uses four measures to evaluateeach student’s classroom behavior. These measuresare: follow directions quickly, raise your hands forpermission to speak, stay on task, and turn in neatwork. I use these measures to determine the initialbehaviors of my students and divided my class into

the following four groups:

1. Alphas: Those students who are able to raisetheir hands for permission to speak, follow

directions quickly, stay on task, and turn in neatwork. (5 out of 19 students)

2. Go-Alongs: These students would usually “goalong” with me. Go-Alongs usually, but notalways, raise their hands for permission tospeak, frequently follow directions quickly,

usually stay on task, and, in general, turn in neatwork. (4 out of 19 students)

WBT Evaluation of mystudents' classroom behavior

WBT Evaluation of mystudents' classroom behavior 3. Fence Sitters: These students can go eitherway. One day they are close to being Alpha

students; the next day, they demonstrated poorbehavior. Fence Sitters inconsistently raise

their hands for permission to speak, often didn’tstay on task, follow directions quickly or turn in

neat work. (6 out of 19 students)

4. Challenging Students: These students rarely,if ever, raise their hands for permission to

speak, follow directions, stay on task, or turn inneat work. (4 of out 19 students)

The results of my initial evaluation of mystudents’ behaviors, in relation to the four

measures, has informed my students' assignedseating on our area rug during whole-classlessons and within their table groups duringindependent work. During Teach-Okay, I havepaired students of different measures to engage

in cooperative learning (i.e. Alpha andChallenging Student, Go-Along and Fence

Sitter). Using the data from my initial evaluation toinform my student pairings has increased mystudents' engagement during whole-group

lessons. I have observed that the overall level ofstudent engagement and positive behavior hasincreased as a result of implementing the

techniques from the "The Big Six".

WBT Evaluation of mystudents' classroom behavior

REFERENCES

T R U E C H I C A P P A R E L

1. Biffle, Christopher. Power Teachers Training Manual.Yucaipa, CA: Whole Brain Teaching LLC, 2008. Web.

2. Biffle, Christopher. Whole Brain Teaching forChallenging Kids (and the Rest of Your Class, Too!).Yucaipa, CA: Whole Brain Teaching LLC, 2013. Web.

3. Biffle, Christopher. Designing Your Whole BrainTeaching Model Classroom 2.0. Yucaipa, CA: Whole

Brain Teaching LLC. Web.