Creating a Strong Classroom Culture with Whole Brain Teaching

So being an old dinosaur, learning to blog has been a unknown land fraught with challenge and uninviting landscape during a year of overwhelm, but here I am, giving it my best attempt.......finally.  Apologies to all for my tardiness in joining the party.

Chapter 5, Creating a Strong Classroom Culture, really focuses on creating that climate in the classroom where students are motivated to show up, eager to learn and develop traits that will support the life and workings of the entire group.  There are five principals of classroom culture that Doug Lemov states are integral and interwoven:  Discipline, Management, Control, Influence and Engagement.  He also states that "the techniques an effective teacher uses ideally leverage all five."

One year during burnout season, I was searching for additional ideas to influence my classroom culture and basically survive the spring.  What worked well for a month or two needed rejuvenating and revamping.  Or maybe it was me that needed it.  I came across videos on YouTube one day from a website called Whole Brain Teaching. 

On the Whole Brain Teaching website,  http://wholebrainteaching.com/ I found videos, materials and blogposts that were exactly what I needed.  It transformed my mindframe and my classroom with just a few simple strategies.  I really only dabbled that first spring but the strategies I used, such as the smiley/frownie points game (I think it's officially called the scoreboard), class-yes technique and 5 classroom rules complete with gestures and choral proclamations are implemented with the utmost ease.  I truly ended the school year with a different attitude and actually had more fun myself because the behavior aspect had become more game like and fun for the students.  One of the developers of this basically free site, demonstrates using the strategies with students from Kindergarten through college age.

Truly technique 30 Tight Transistions and Technique 33 On Your Mark are found in many of the strategies on this site.  One demonstrated in a fun way passing out papers as a fun, energy filled game that takes little time and then using "class-yes" transitions back into learning with positive reinforcement on the scoreboard.  The idea is that working together benefits everyone, thus earning points.  There are levels of the scoreboard which change as student needs change, and winning can result in a 3-4 minute game of "Mind Soccer" which is simply a review game of classroom content.  I've never played it exactly as the site suggests but made a few minor adjustments to make it work for my class and they are thrilled with this academic game.

Technique 35 Props is also one that I found much support from this website.  Our class does the "Yes" 1 second celebration and might groan.  We have ways we honor and acknowledge students efforts and achievements with "crab claps", "give a whooo", "kissing that brain" and cowboy cheers of "Yahoo!"

My principal upon seeing several of these techniques used in an observation, commented that this approach served as a "I've got you!" implying I'm supporting you in learning how to meet behavior expectations and rules rather than as "aha, I caught you doing failing to do the right thing".

This organization offers professional development training periodically and webcasts too.  I have watched previous webcasts and found value.  I even planned a trip last summer around trying to attend a workshop in California  just to learn more.  After 25 years of teaching to come across something so powerful that I feel like it has breathed new life into me and my classroom, I highly recommend you check it out.  I'd love feedback on what you think.