Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Dr Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter
---November '10 Edition--- (current subscribers: 21,440)
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News and updates to Kathie Nunley's Layered Curriculum® Sites for Educators:
http://Help4Teachers.com
http://brains.org
Do you have a NEW EMAIL address? You can unsubscribe your old one and
subscribe the new one using the link at the bottom of this newsletter.
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--------SECTION ONE: TEACHING TIPS ------
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TEACHER TIP # 1:Use 3 X 5 cards for quick assessments. One math problem,
one short essay, one or 2 vocab definitions. - workshop participant, Lodi, OH.
TEACHER TIP # 2: Allow your "high achievers" who finish early to create assignment
choices for your next unit. This could become a B layer or even A layer task for
them. Michelle, Edmonton, AB.
Send your favorite teaching tip to me at Kathie@brains.org
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------SECTION TWO: HOT TOPICS in Neuro & Educational Psychology------
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HOT TOPIC # 1: While 90% of Americans drink caffeinated product, caffeine
is not effective in improving task performance. In fact, it makes it worse. In a
study, people were taught a task in the morning and tested for performance. Then
then they let 10 hours pass. During that 10 hours, one group was given caffeine,
one was given a placebo and one was given a nap. Then all groups were retested.
The nap group performed the best. The placebo group did a little worse than the
nap group. The lowest performing group was that which had caffeine. Apparently,
caffeine increases Acetylcholine levels which block hippocampus consolidation,
thus leading to poor memory formation and recall. Sara Mednick, PhD, UC-San Diego.
"What can Sleep stages tell us about the mechanisms of memory consolidation?"
presented at the APA national conference, San Diego, April 13, 2010.
HOT TOPIC #2: Dr Mednick's research also indicated that a night of sleep coupled
with a nap equals the best learning. If you learn a task and then are tested later that
day, before sleep, your performance is worse – you have regressed. If you get a
60 minute nap (little REM) there is less regression, but still not peak performance.
If you get a full night sleep or 90 minute nap (more REM) this equals your best
performance. Any mini-nap will give you better learning, especially with perceptual
tasks. Short-wave, nRem sleep protects memory and provides perceptual
maintenance. REM sleep aids in perceptual learning and restructure neural networks.
Sleep rich in REM allows more creative ideas and insight. After good REM sleep
periods a person is better able to utilize information in abstract areas.
Sara Mednick, PhD, UC-San Diego. "What can Sleep stages tell us about the
mechanisms of memory consolidation?" presented at the APA national
conference, San Diego, April 13, 2010.
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---SECTION THREE: WEB UPDATES ---
BRAINS.ORG & HELP4TEACHERS.COM
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New video lessons & hot topics on our YouTube Channel:
#46: Active vs. Passive Procrastination
http://www.youtube.com/user/
#45: Moral Disengagement
http://www.youtube.com/user/
Watch the 4-part video mini-lesson to help you get started with Layered Curriculum®:
http://help4teachers.com/
New BOOKS in the bookshop:
=> Strategies for Learning (grades 9 - 12) by Karen Rooney.
=> Rethinking Classroom Management by Patricia Sequeira Belvel.
=> Using Humor to Maximize Learning by Mary Kay Morrison
=> Beyond Differentiated Instruction by Jodi O'Meara.
=> Robert Sylwester's BRAND NEW "A Child's Brain"
As always, we have discounted prices on all Layered Curriculum® materials
http://brains.org/store
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-----SECTION FOUR: KATHIE'S EMAIL
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Kathie,
I am a teacher in Canada. The curriculum is so different here. I know
the layers remain the same but it would be great to see if there is a
section of samples from Canada only. I'm in Alberta and our curriculum
is quite different. If you have any advice or direction, that would be
appreciated. Thanks for this site; it's a god send.
Judy Sliwinski
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Hi Judy -
Yes, we have almost as many Canadian teachers using Layered Curriculum®
as we do US teachers. I do lots of workshops up there (and in fact have just returned
from Alberta and Ontario). In particular the Ontario Ministry of Education's directive
on using both summative and formative assessments along with evaluation work
very well with Layered Curriculum®, given the way it constantly checks for student
learning along the way.
Look on the samples page at the help4teachers.com site and you will see plenty from
your Canadian colleagues!
Good luck, Kathie
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------SECTION FIVE: WORKSHOPS / SCHEDULE / MISC CHAT------
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Happy November. Goodness the fall calendar has gotten away from me
this year. I can't believe it's already the 10th of the month! I had someone
wish me Happy Thanksgiving yesterday and I couldn't believe it was time
for that already!
It has been a busy travel time for me and I guess that's how time has flown.
I have been enjoying my visits to the Toronto District School Board and will
return there again next week for more Layered Curriculum® training for the
high school teachers. I also want to thank the teachers in Burlington City,
New Jersey for their warm welcome last week.
New workshops and conferences are in the making for Los Angeles, New York
and Texas. As soon as details are available, they are posted online at:
http://help4teachers.com/
spring and summer 2011. Just send me an email.
As always, my best to yours,
Kathie
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