On March 26, 2009, I attended one of the speaker's sessions offered by Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) and none other than my favorite author, Eric Jensen (Teaching with the Brain in Mind) was the speaker. I can remember the first time I ever heard him speak back in 1996 or '97 at the Fourth Grade Teacher Convention in Austin, TX. I had never before felt so validated in my teaching practices and now I had the research to back me up. It was a good thing to have my students to parade around the classroom celebrating success and to internalize concepts through the use of singing, playing games, and kinesthetic/tactile activities.
In this session, Enriching the Brains of Poverty, Eric disspelled the myth, "Apples don't fall to far from the tree." He saids, "Sometimes the apple DOES fall far from the tree! I now have a better understanding of nature vs. nurture--DNA is not our destiny. There's nearly a 2-1 advantage of environmental influences over genetic ones. Based on these research findings, what are the implications for us in the educational arena when it comes to the learning of students in low socio-economic communities?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Enriching the Brains of Poverty
On March 26, 2009, I attended one of the speaker's sessions offered by Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) and none other than my favorite author, Eric Jensen (Teaching with the Brain in Mind) was the speaker. I can remember the first time I ever heard him speak back in 1996 or '97 at the Fourth Grade Teacher Convention in Austin, TX. I had never before felt so validated in my teaching practices and now I had the research to back me up. It was a good thing to have my students to parade around the classroom celebrating success and to internalize concepts through the use of singing, playing games, and kinesthetic/tactile activities.
In this session, Enriching the Brains of Poverty, Eric disspelled the myth, "Apples don't fall to far from the tree." He saids, "Sometimes the apple DOES fall far from the tree! I now have a better understanding of nature vs. nurture--DNA is not our destiny. There's nearly a 2-1 advantage of environmental influences over genetic ones. Based on these research findings, what are the implications for us in the educational arena when it comes to the learning of students in low socio-economic communities?
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you are building up quite a who's who of photographs! i think its great that you have gotten to meet some of the educational theorists that are so important to you and your work. are you an autograph person? personally, i'll take a photograph over an autograph any day :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I am a picture person. Eric Jensen, Robert Marzano, Dr. Mel Levine, Ruby Payne, Jay McTighe, and Carol Tomlinson are my favorite authors I like to quote. They validate my educational practices.
ReplyDeleteEric Jensen is also one of my favorties. Saw him at a conference in Chicago a few years ago and I was wowed by his strategic use of brain research strategies in the professional learning session. By the end of two days, I was worn out for we used our brains to maximum capacity.Sandy Kaplan is another favorite--I learn volumes from her every time I see her. Working with her up and personal over a 5-7 year period was invaluable. Could care less about autographs and have done the photograph thing over the years but can't find a single one.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. In my younger years of teaching, Eric Jensen was one of the first to validate and provide research for my instructional practices that I incorporated because of students' request or it just felt right. You know that natural instinct we all have inside of us.
ReplyDeleteI now have another new hero, Samuel Bestance, and yes I have a picture with him that I will be posting. It's my story that I hope will inspire others along whatever journey they decide to take in life.