Whole Brain Teaching Wednesday: 10th Edition!

It is my tenth Whole Brain Teaching Wednesday post! I would have liked to have been able to write this post about how whole brain teaching is going with my Grade 5s during this student teaching placement but because of the way our schedule is laid out I haven’t had a science class where I was able to use WBT with them since my last post (I am just observing other subjects). So instead of that, I wanted to share with you why I chose to incorporate WBT strategies into my teaching methods. (This list is in no particular order)

why I use whole brain teaching, benefits of whole brain teaching, multiple intelligences, culture of respect, formative assessment, fun classrooms

1 ) It addresses multiple intelligences* by allowing students to work with material:
     – Visually: thinks in terms of physical space/physical imagery
   watching the teacher/SmartBoard/white board/etc
     – Kinesthetically: communicates through physical activities
                               using gestures associated with terms/ideas
     – Interpersonally: students learn through interaction
   working with others to review material and work through concepts
     – Linguistically: students enjoy playing words games
                            WBT has many words games available to use
     – Musically: can be taught through rhythmically speaking
                        speaking aloud/in unison with the class

2 ) It incorporates strategies such as the “10-Finger Woo” and “It’s Cool” to help create/maintain a culture of respect in the classroom, which is very important to me. (Read about it here)

3 ) It easily allows for formative assessment to be ongoing through the teaching process by using “Teach-Ok”. (Read about it here)

4 ) The students have fun! In my experience, which I admit has been very short, my students have enjoyed the strategies that I have chosen to use in our classrooms. They like having more opportunities to move about during class, interact with their peers and experience something different from some of the more traditional teaching approaches.

*The short explanations of the different intelligences are taken from the (1996). Success for all learners: A handbook on differentiating instruction (1.12). Manitoba: Manitoba Education & Training.

This is why I use parts of whole brain teaching strategies. Do you use any whole brain teaching strategies in your classrooms? If so, why do you chose to incorporate them?