All grade levels and subjects are included and there are ideas for a variety of teaching and learning styles. Best of all, much of the available content is offered free of charge. Check out Teachnology today!If you decide to try Teachnology, I’d love to know what you think about the site and if you found any helpful tools.

Moving beyond the success of his own life, Josh Waitzkin, eight-time national chess champion, world champion martial artist, and subject of the film Searching for Bobby Fischer, has written a book detailing his experiences on the road to mastery.

Part autobiography, part self-help guide, The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance explains Waitzkin’s principles for improving performance in any field. In talking about the book, Waitzkin’s says, “If I have learned anything in a lifetime of world-class competition, it is that learners and performers thrive when their growth process is uniquely tailored to their own personal nuance of character.”Waitzkin hopes to nurture the individualized learning potential of children and young adults by offering the book to schools and other youth programs through his non-profit organization, the JW Foundation. To learn more about the book and how to submit your own book request, visit the JW Foundation.

Copyright 1995 by Susan Fitzell

Last Wednesday I was hurt during my self-defense class. The instructor was having us practice throws. I don’t like being thrown. I don’t trust the inexperience of the “throwers,” nor do I trust my ability to consistently fall correctly. It’s part of the class, however, so I do it. I don’t know how it happened, but when the young person “threw me” (with a shoulder throw), my head whipped around and hit the floor, hard. There is two inches of padding on the floor. I felt as if the impact compressed the two inches so that I hit bottom. I heard this big, boing type of a bang. Supposedly, it was my brain slamming against my skull. My head hurt a little, and I was a bit nauseous, but, I was OK.

What struck me in all this is how I began to feel about the class. I no longer felt safe. That lack of feeling safe destroyed my motivation and desire to remain in the class. At my age, I don’t take brain injury or paralysis lightly, however, that aside, I again could relate the experience to the academic classroom.

I imagine that my experience is similar to that of a child who is hurt in a class either emotionally or academically. Like that child, I don’t feel very good about my ability to retain the information in that class. As is often the case for children with learning “differences,” the class does not fit my learning style. It is not structured enough for me. There isn’t enough practice and repetition. Steps are not broken down clearly. The class moves too fast. I don’t know the basics, yet, here I am doing throws (and being thrown). If I think about all that I have learned about students who have difficulty in school, their frustration, their fear of being hurt through failure or humiliation, their lack of confidence in the teacher’s ability to teach them, and their distrust in the teacher, I can now understand those students that much better.

I often think that all teachers should periodically be required to learn a task that is inherently difficult for them. Only then do teachers remember what it is like to struggle. This isn’t the first time martial arts has taught me something about my students. I’m sure it won’t be the last.

Free Alternatives

At Lowes or Home Depot teachers can purchase a sheet of flat white tile board for under twenty dollars. Often, store staff will cut the board to ‘personal size’ for free if they know it’s for educational use. Also, small pieces of carpet are available as free samples and work perfectly as erasers.

Another option is to purchase black or navy children’s sock. The sock are just the right size to hold a marker inside. The dark color keeps them looking nice longer. I put the white board, one sock and a dry-erase marker or erasable crayon in a Ziploc food storage bag. Students can store the bags in their desk or they can be stored all together in a milk rate It’s an efficient way to distribute the board and markers.

Some teachers shared that they use the Mr. Clean wipes. Others have shared a concern that they could be toxic. So, do be careful with what students use to wipe off their white boards.

If you have a favorite Individual White Board Activity tip, please add it through the comment field.

Visual Demonstration

1. The Brain – the intro: like the brain, the intro “controls” the body of the essay (especially point out ‘thesis’)

2. The Heart – body paragraph: at the “heart” of the essay are the body paragraphs.

3. The Feet – conclusion: like your feet,the conclusion leads you to somewhere new (i.e. new idea, insight). Also students should be able to answer the question “so what?” (Why is this information important?) by the time the essay has reached the feet. –

Visual

Quack! SAT Vocab Success!
This educational video set has earned high praise for it’s ability to blend an irreverent sense of humor with an “educational assisting program designed to beef up students’ language skills before taking the SAT test.” ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Auditory

Who hasn’t had a song stuck in their head, at one time or another? Using the naturally catchy nature of tunes to have your students leaving your classes humming the answers to next weeks test seems to sell itself. The following are a couple of links that offer educational songs for download. There are songs for all grade levels as well as subjects.

SongsForTeaching.com

HaveFunTeaching.com

KidsKnowIt.com

Kinesthetic

The following was an idea suggested to me by Megan Taylor of Ozark, MO, as a method for getting physical learners to take hold of abstract ideas. kinesthetic spelling: Use your body as the letters on the line. For example: “Political” – P-stand, o-sit, l-stand, i-sit, t-stand, i-sit, c-sit, a-sit, l-stand. When an entire class spells out a word and performs this, it also adds a visual and auditory dimension to the idea.

“THE BIG FOUR”

Jane E. Pollock’s “Improving Student Learning: One Teacher at a Time” builds off of the old saying, “When reading, think like a writer. And when writing, think like a reader.” by applying it to the Teacher/Student relationship.

Pollock offers a structure she calls “The Big Four” to build a learning program that is centered around student achievements.

1. Clearly articulated curriculum, benchmarks, and learning targets

2. Purposeful instructional planning and delivery

3. Purposeful and varied assessment, tied to learning targets

4. Record-keeping and reporting that allow for timely and meaningful feedback that is based on specific criteria

This user friendly book has lots to offer teachers working to differentiate curriculum based on research based best practice. I hope you enjoy the book and feel free to let me know what you think!