Test Success In The Brain Compatible Classroom

Create a positive testing environment and prepare students to do their best with these useful strategies based on the way each student learns, retains, and transfers information to tests.

How can students knock the top off any test? That's one of the 14 key questions that Dr. Marcia L. Tate answers in Formative Assessment in a Brain-Compatible Classroom: How Do We Really Know They're Learning? Tate describes theories behind various assessment types and addresses ways to create brain-compatible learning environments that foster high achievement.

Designing Brain Compatible Learning synthesizes brain research into a set of teaching tools and strategies for integrating thinking skills, cooperative learning, graphic organizers, and authentic assessment into any classroom. This edition features: step-by-step strategies for teaching concepts, skills, and content to all age groups and learning styles; a newly expanded section on standards-based lesson design and lesson planning; charts, diagrams, and other visual tools to reinforce learning; a collection of new planning templates and graphic organizers; and a glossary and bibliography.

Did you know that the best time to learn something new is during the first two hours after you wake up and the last two hours before you go to sleep? Did you know that stressing key points in color can boost memory retention by 25 percent? Author Laura Erlauer has studied brain research and applied it to classroom teaching in a way that is both intuitive and scientific. Synthesizing recent research exploring how the brain works, she explains how students' emotions and stress affect their ability to learn, how the physical classroom environment influences learning, and what forms of assessment work best. Drawing on her experience as a teacher and principal, Erlauer summarizes current brain research and shows how teachers can use this knowledge in the classroom every day. The book covers a wide variety of topics, including * The most effective use of collaborative learning; * Simple ways to keep the attention of your students for the whole class period; * Keys to involving students in decision making to increase their engagement and achievement; * Ways to make lesson content relevant to motivate students; and * Things every teacher can to do limit stress in the classroom and school environment. Each chapter provides examples from real classrooms, showing how the research can be used to improve student learning. The ideas and strategies presented are from a variety of grade levels and subject areas and can be used immediately to create a classroom where students can reach their full potential.

High-stakes accountability and the growing move towards standardized testing are placing teacher knowledge and assessment skills under ever-increasing scrutiny. Teachers know what is going on in their classrooms and have first-hand reliable evidence of what their students can accomplish. They can be the major factor in student assessment and help their students better demonstrate what they have learned. Smart Tests shows educators how to create well-structured evaluation tools that match assessment tasks to the purpose and content of instruction. Teachers learn how to relate testing directly to classroom goals and activities and make assessment an integral part of learning and teaching, not just the end result. They will find the information they need to build assessment tasks that give students in grades K-8 the opportunity to succeed. These tasks encourage students to apply new knowledge, reflect and defend their thoughts and opinions, and connect what they learn the world beyond the classroom.

Content-specific DI guidance from the best minds in education In this collection, current research on the most effective differentiation practices for differentiating instruction in literacy, mathematics, and scienceis brought alive through the many strategies and examples. Topics covered include: Reading and writing: A comprehensive array of models for differentiating reading instruction; gradual release of responsibility to accelerate progress; and multi-tiered writing instruction Mathematics: Support for both low- and high-achieving students, including interventions and challenges, and the implementation of RTI in math instruction Science: Models and methods for increasing student achievement through differentiated science inquiry

Work smarter—not harder—for effective differentiation! This updated bestseller from authors Carol Chapman and Rita King is your comprehensive resource for standards-based, Common Core-ready differentiation. Meet your students’ individual learning needs and create a positive classroom environment. Includes ready-to-use tools, agendas, checklists, and organizers to help you: “Zap” gaps in learning with 12 innovative planning models Motivate students through diverse approaches, including choice, respect, and self-efficacy Identify and individualize teaching methods for students who are nervous, impatient, “turned off,” or otherwise difficult to reach Organize differentiated lessons and routines Customize parent-teacher communications for students from diverse backgrounds