Awakening Genius In The Classroom

Armstrong argues that genius comes in many different forms and that too often we overlook or even "shut down" that genius in students.

The Art of Awakening the Genius in Your Students I believe that teaching is a calling, and it is far from being a cliché. Teachers develop the human capacity to do the unimaginable! It is not the school location, the curriculum, the cool app, or the grading system that activates learning. Understanding and using an effective learning process is what enables students to find the motivation to learn for life. This is how teachers who care touch their students' lives, and this is how they contribute to a better world. Becoming Einstein's Teacher will help you understand what it is to be a genius, how the brain works, and what it means to learn in the 21st century driven by artificial intelligence. Becoming Einstein's Teacher will show you how to tap into this one thing ALL your students have that enables lifelong learning without extra-curriculum, new tech, more hours in class, or endless homework nights. Becoming Einstein's Teacher will show you how you can start from where you are without going through a complete change in your practices. Becoming Einstein's Teacher will help you grow larger into your calling and get your students on the path to purpose-driven, lifelong learning! "Becoming Einstein's Teacher is a stroke of genius, a personal journey that compiles the thoughts of modern education leaders into a comprehensive and inspiring deep look into how we got here and how to move forward to harness the genius in each of us. Every chapter leaves me saying 'hell yeah!'" - Virginia Emmons, School Principal and mother of two. "Becoming Einstein's Teacher is definitively a complementary addition to my work with personalized learning and Habits of Mind. It provides insight into what it means to be a teacher in the 21st century. Understanding it and putting it into practice may be a challenging task for those who have been teaching for many years. Yet, Erika manages to simplify a deep and complex methodology that honors the 21st-century learners' need for relationships, agency, and engagement. " - Dr. Bena Kallick, Educator, Author. "The most challenging aspect to consider when introducing anything to teachers is the requirement to change. Becoming Einstein's Teacher asks for no change, but to start from where teachers are. Brilliant!" - Leonardo Garnier, former Minister of Education, Costa Rica.

Baby-boomer parents with nearly 26 million children and more on the way--are looking for new and creative ways to help their youngsters develop and achieve their full potential. They want practical ideas for activities to do at home and authoritative advice on how to get the most out of their children's schools. Illustrations throughout.

Supplying a foundation for understanding the development of the brain and the learning process, this text examines the physical and environmental factors that influence how we acquire and retain information throughout our lives. The book also lays out practical strategies that educators can take directly into the classroom. Comprising more than 100 entries, From the Brain to the Classroom: The Encyclopedia of Learning gathers experts in the fields of education, neuroscience, and psychology to examine how specific areas of the brain work in thought processes, and identifies how educators can apply what neuroscience has discovered to refine their teaching and instructional techniques. The wide range of subjects—organized within the main categories of student characteristics, classroom instructional topics, and learning challenges—include at-risk behaviors; cognitive neuroscience; autism; the lifespan of the brain, from prenatal brain development to the aging brain; technology-based learning tools; and addiction. Any reader who is interested in learning about how the brain works and how it relates to everyday life will find this work fascinating, while educators will find this book particularly helpful in validating or improving their teaching methods to increase academic achievement.

Grade level: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, p, e, i, s, t.

Provides guidelines and strategies for success that will take teachers far beyond the gauge of survival into the realm of confidence, focus, effectiveness, success, and professionalism.

In today's schools, students and teachers feel unprecedented—even alarming—levels of stress. How can we create calmer classrooms in which students concentrate better and feel more positive about themselves and others? Author Thomas Armstrong offers a compelling answer in the form of mindfulness, a secular practice he defines as the intentional focus of one's attention on the present moment in a nonjudgmental way. In Mindfulness in the Classroom, Armstrong - Explains how mindfulness affects the structure and function of the brain. - Provides an overview of mindfulness as both a personal practice and a classroom methodology that aligns with such educational models as Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS), and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). - Shares and explains the extensive research that shows the positive effects of mindfulness practices in the classroom. - Describes how to adapt mindfulness for different grade levels, integrate it into regular school subjects, and implement it schoolwide. - Offers guidelines for teaching mindfulness responsibly, without religious overtones. Dozens of observations from teachers, students, researchers, and practitioners provide striking evidence of the power of mindfulness and offer hope to anyone who wants to make classrooms more productive places of learning.

A new concept on human diversity has emerged over the past 10 years that promises to revolutionize the way educators provide services to students with special needs: neurodiversity. Just as we celebrate diversity in nature and cultures, so too do we need to honor the diversity of brains among our students who learn, think, and behave differently. In Neurodiversity in the Classroom, best-selling author Thomas Armstrong argues that we should embrace the strengths of such neurodiverse students to help them and their neurotypical peers thrive in school and beyond. This innovative book focuses on five categories of special needs: learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disorders. For each category, Armstrong provides an in-depth discussion of * The positive attributes associated with that category, * Acclaimed neurodiverse adults who have excelled in their chosen fields, * Computer programs and applications that allow students with special needs to overcome obstacles and achieve success, * Rich networks of human resources both inside and outside of school that educators can draw upon to support the social and emotional lives of neurodiverse students, * Innovative learning strategies that are tailored to each student's unique strengths, * Future career paths for which a student's particular gifts might be a good fit, * Modifications in the school environment that allow for seamless inclusion of neurodiverse students in the regular classroom, and * Timely information about how to integrate the strategies and assessments for each category with the Common Core State Standards. It's time that we focused on celebrating rather than pathologizing our students with special needs so that they can fully realize their potential in school and life. This practical and thought-provoking book will inspire teachers and administrators everywhere to make sure that all students with special needs get the support and strength-based instruction they deserve.