Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter
Monday, August 15, 2011
Dr Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter
---mid-August '11 Edition--- (current subscribers: 16,313)
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News and updates to Kathie Nunley's Layered Curriculum® Sites for Educators:
http://Help4Teachers.com
http://brains.org
unsubscribe and email change links at the bottom
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--------SECTION ONE: TEACHING TIPS ------
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TEACHER TIP # 1: Kids get a kick out of seeing pictures of themselves
used on my screen saver. I take pictures of students during labs and
engaged in other activities in my classroom. It's fun to see these images
pop up between the projected bellringer assignment or Power Point
lecture notes. I sometimes include them on the bellringer/warm-up slides.
Brenda Goebbel, Ann Arbor Huron High Shool.
TEACHER TIP # 2: In my elementary classroom I have a cassette tape that
I made from records. (Yup! It's old) I play this as a "wiggle break" for the kids
and explain that movement and fun wake up the brain and help us learn.
Most of the songs tell the students what to do, but I've also made up a few
dances - even took one called the "Boogie Walk" and turned it into dancing
the compass rose. I give a wiggle about every 20 minutes mixed in with just
walking around the room. - Ellen Martin (via email)
Send your favorite teaching tip to me at Kathie@brains.org
Watch for more tips via Twitter: http://twitter.com/
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------SECTION TWO: HOT TOPICS in Neuro & Educational Psychology------
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As usual, the Fall "Hot Topics" will come from sessions at this year's
American Psychological Association's National Conference.
HOT TOPIC # 1: While we've been hearing for the past decade that playing
violent video games can make children aggressive, the latest research
is shedding a more focused light on the situation. Recent research on the
effects of violent video gaming has had mixed results because they appear to
be dependent on the individual personalities of the children. Children who have
pre-existing aggressive personalities and who seem to be less disturbed by
violence in general, are the ones most susceptible to violent video games.
As one researcher put it - think of violent video games like we do peanut butter.
For most of us, peanut butter is a tasty treat, but for a select group of individuals
it can be very damaging. Patrick Markey, PhD. "The Hand
That Holds the Controller: The Moderating Effect of Personality on Violent
Video Games."August 5, 2011, APA National Conference, Washington, DC.
HOT TOPIC #2: The disproportionate out-of-school suspension rates between
black students and white students is quite serious and may in fact be driving the
continuation of the large achievement gap in academic performance. Low-
supportive and low-structured school have the highest suspension rates for
both black and white students and have the highest academic achievement gap
between the races. The higher the overall suspension rate is at a school, the
higher the achievement gap. Improved school climate, structure and support
lead to the smallest achievement gap between races.
Dewey Cornell, PhD. "Relationship of School Structure and Support to Suspension
Rates for Black and White High School Students." August 6, 2011, APA National
Conference, Washington, DC.
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---SECTION THREE: WEB UPDATES ---
BRAINS.ORG & HELP4TEACHERS.COM
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We have combined the Brains.org Bookshop with the Layered Curriculum®
training materials shop.
"One Stop Shopping" at: http://brains.org/store/index.
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The Brains.org BOOKSHOP
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New Books:
=> "ENHANCING YOUR LAYERED CURRICULUM CLASSROOM:
Tips, Tune-ups and Technology" - PRE-ORDER your copy of my latest
book for Layered Curriculum® teachers.
Anticipated ship date: August 25.
=>" Spark: The revolutionary new science
of exercise and the brain" for those of you looking for
research to support more physical activity in your school.
=> "Buddha's Brain: The practical neuroscience of happiness,
love and wisdom. "
=>"Pictures of the Mind: What the new neuroscience tells us
about who we are."
http://brains.org/store/index.
*** We always offer the Layered Curriculum® TEXT and WORKBOOK set
for the direct, discounted price of $42.00.
** The "deluxe version" of the Layered Curriculum® Study Kit is
BACK IN STOCK and now in DVD format.
You can order any of these and other recommended books at either online bookshop:
http://brains.org/store
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------SECTION FOUR: KATHIE'S EMAIL ------
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[From our FaceBook Page]
Kathie - I am still struggling with grading. Looking through the grading
section of your workbook: so the students can do only C layer, and get a
C without doing anything in B layer? If you require everyone to do all three
layers, does it mean all your students get at least a B? - Olga Jankowski.
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Olga,
Actually, it's possible for a student to do work in all 3 layers and still have
a "C" at the end. It really depends on your grading criteria and point system.
Say a student earned the bare minimum in the C layer, then also did poorly
in the B and A layer - they may not end up with enough points for anything
other than a C in the end. This is why you need to put a lot of thought
into your rubrics and expectations. - Kathie
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------SECTION FIVE: WORKSHOPS / SCHEDULE / MISC CHAT------
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It's BACK-TO-SCHOOL time. I've already been out to Alabama and
Kentucky helping them launch their new school year! Thanks to both
the full staff at Lowndes County Public Schools and teachers at
McCreary County Middle school for a most enjoyable week.
I also have recently returned from the annual APA convention in Washington
DC and am anxious to share all the hottest research with you this fall.
I attended research sessions on racial disparity, effects of video gaming,
obesity, flourishing, school-use of incentives, age-related brain plasticity,
the decline of creativity in children, giftedness, self-regulation, neural
circuitry in the fear response, effects of social media on youth, and more.
Stay tuned to this newsletter for details and citations.
My new book "Enhancing Your Layered Curriculum Classroom" is in press
this month and we expect the release date to be August 25. Watch my
Twitter account for the exact date. The bookshop is taking pre-orders for
those of you who want it shipped on day one. You can read an excerpt
from the book (Chapter 8: I Don't Need a Teacher: I Have Google) online
now at: http://help4teachers.com/
There are also a couple open Layered Curriculum® workshops this fall,
so if you have been looking to attend one, check out the calendar page for
registration links and materials. http://help4teachers.com/
is now open. If you are looking for a Layered Curriculum® workshop for this
school year, just send me an email.
As always, my best to you and yours,
Kathie
Dr Kathie F Nunley
Layered Curriculum® . . . because every child deserves a special education (tm)
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