Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Dr Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter
---mid-September '11 Edition--- (current subscribers: 15,509)
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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: When I'm presented with a student disagreement, I move
gone wrong. Since I wasn't there at the time the problem occurred , each of
you take the next 3 minutes and together come up with one *and only one*
story about what happened...it might turn out to only be a misunderstanding."
It has been my experience that (especially when used just before lunch or
dismissal) 99% of the time they have no choice other than to admit the truth
or play it off as a misunderstanding. - M. Veal (via email)
TEACHER TIP # 2: If you sing it, they will listen.
- Katherine, Dovercourt Public School.
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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HOT TOPIC # 1: Need another reason to get out there and exercise? A new
study out this month shows that older adults who stay fit, preserve the volume
of their hippocampus which is associated with more accurate and faster spatial
memory and fewer episodes of forgetting. So physical fitness does lead to
mental fitness - especially in the area of memory. Szabo, A., et al. (2011).
"Cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal volume, and frequency of forgetting
in older adults." Neuropsychology, Vol 25(5), 545-553
HOT TOPIC #2: Students who perceive racism in their school, have lower
grades, more defiant behavior and act out. African American youth have
lower achievement scores than their classmates. While we can attribute
half of that achievement gap to family and SES issues, the other half is due
strictly to racism in the school. Black youth who can "dissemble" the situation
(either through withdrawal or resistance) can be resilient to the racism present
in their school and have higher achievement scores. Curtis, C. (2011)
"African American Youth Responding to Racism in the Classroom." Presented
at the American Psychological Association's National Conference, Washington DC.
August 6, 2011
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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" This is my newest book for
Layered Curriculum® teachers.
=> "Buddha's Brain: The practical neuroscience of happiness,
love and wisdom. "
http://brains.org/store/index.
*** We always offer the Layered Curriculum® TEXT and WORKBOOK set
for the direct, discounted price of $42.00 as well as individual multi-media
study kits for teachers.
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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Kathie, I found your website while researching for a curriculum for a
preschool that I am opening next year; I was looking for brain-based
research curriculum and love your website,. I noticed you focus on the
older children. Does your curriculum include preschool ?
Any assistance is appreciated, and thank you in advance, Paula F.
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Hi Paula,
You are correct in that Layered Curriculum® was originally designed for
secondary schools. However, today it is used at all levels, PreK - college.
Of course, everyone tweaks it for their specific age group, following
the 3 main premises:
1) Offer choice as to how students learn specific objectives.
2) Encourage higher level thinking by attaching marking schemes or
progress to more complex thought.
3) Hold students accountable for the actual learning rather than just "doing".
So, you could easily adapt this to preschool. Most pre-K classrooms who
use this, base it around learning centers or stations, similar to what you would
see in a Montessori classroom.
Best of luck in your endeavor. - Kathie
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------SECTION FIVE: WORKSHOPS / SCHEDULE / MISC CHAT------
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Welcome to fall - most everyone's favorite season. I hope you are settling
into your school year now and finding some time for yourself to relax and
enjoy the changing season. Here on my little "country farm" I've been busy
putting up tomatoes, raspberries, and squash. It was a bountiful year!
I certainly enjoyed my trip to Michigan last week and look forward to my
return later this fall. Next week I'm off to Springfield, Missouri for a full
day Layered Curriculum® workshop at Missouri State University. (that
workshop is open to outside registrations and I understand is still open).
Later in the month I'll be returning to Wisconsin. To see a list of all my
workshops, check the calendar page: http://help4teachers.com/
If you are looking to host a Layered Curriculum® workshop this school year, my
spring calendar is now open. 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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