Joint Presentation with Judy Willis - NESA

Applying What We Know
Neuro-LOGICAL Strategies, p 4
• To build students’ capabilities to recognize their incremental progress to goals, teach them
how to organize (executive function) and prioritize (based on current achievable challenge specific
goals clearly visible on rubric and with choice on the main focus goal this time).
• Records of successful strategies
• Meet to compare self-assessment to rubric and teacher assessment so students learn to recognize
incremental short and long-term goal progress independently.
• The most effective learners set personal learning goals, employ proven strategies, and selfassess
their work. Teachers help cultivate such habits of mind by modeling self-assessment and goal
setting and by expecting students to apply these habits regularly.
In an amygdala-positive learning environment we see evidence of active learning and participating:
• Students observing and noticing with focused attention
• Students discovering, thinking and questioning…
• Students solving traditional and extension problems
• Students who are engaged, motivated, interested, self propelled learners
• Students who understand the brain
Strategies for Information Intake through Brain’s Primitive Intake/Attention Filter
(Reticular Activating System – RAS)
• Reduce perceived threat
o Classroom community building
o Opportunities to develop individual strengths to be recognized by one’s self and classmates
as valued participant in collaboration
o Consistent enforcement of rules that promote sense of safety from threats to one’s body,
emotions, and property
• Novelty, Curiosity, and Prediction
o Music can be played as students enter the class with a line from the lyrics relating to the
instruction topic
o Costumes related to the lesson can be worn by the teacher or meeting leader
o Speaking in a different voice (cadence, volume) can catch students by surprise
o Bizarre factoids can be presented to make students want to learn more
o Moving in a different way can be unexpected. For example, a teacher can walk backwards
before a lecture. This could relate to topics such as: foreshadowing of negative events in literature,
“backward” analysis or hindsight about events leading up to discoveries, historical events or negative
numbers.
o Varying the color of the paper, font, and spacing in a given text can spark attention
o Suspenseful Pause: a significant pause before saying something important builds anticipation
as the students wonder what you will say or do next
o Alterations in the classroom such as a new display on a bulletin board promotes curiosity
©2010 Jay McTighe and Judy Willis page 37