Amping Things Up!!!

Rolling ten finger woo for all of us!! We have hit the halfway mark.  Thus far, this has been one of the most successful school years.  Post test scores and productivity are up.  However, by the looks of my score board , it is apparent that the students are ready for new challenges.  For WB certification, it is required you submit a sample video  using WB strategies in the classroom.  I sent mine in and got some valuable feedback in, what feels like, just the nick of time. 

Moving forward, my challenge is to include more critical thinking activities within our whole brain instruction.  Critical thinking is the third step in WB five step lesson plan.  The sample video below highlights students using critical thinking skills to develop a response using ideas related to diffusion.  Generally, the kids do this kind of thinking in smaller groups.  The WB lesson plan encourages this type of thinking within the whole group using teach-ok and switch.  By embedding the critical thinking component and switch more often within the whole group I can move around the room and monitor more students.  It also ensures that I keep an eye on engagement and be sure we have 100% participation.  Another strategy I will begin to include is Einstein’s Triangle.  I still need to spend some more time with the format, but Einstein’s Triangle supports the kids thinking by having them look for ways the two concepts are alike and different.  The triangle also requires the kids to make connections with previously learned ideas.  More importantly, the students will speak answers in paragraphs! 

The video shows the kids using gestures to prepare to Mirror an explanation about cellular behavior in osmotic solutions.   There are six groups, and I will use their Mirrors to help us to begin to do this kind of critical thinking together using teach-ok, switch and Einstein’s Triangle.  I'll let you know!!