Resources
Pomegranate beginnings. This website has been a great way for me to connect SBL to my Latin classroom. Rachel Ash is a fantastic, fun, engaging, and innovative Latin teacher from whom I have learned (and stolen) a lot in the last couple of years, even though I've never met her. And now that she is beginning to implement Standards-Based Learning, I can glean even more from her web presence.
ThinkThankThunk. Shawn Cornally talks SBL from a variety of standpoints, always with humor and always with learning in mind. He's hilarious and super smart. I'm hoping to implement his suggestions from a recent post "Helping students get over point addiction"...
ThinkThankThunk. Shawn Cornally talks SBL from a variety of standpoints, always with humor and always with learning in mind. He's hilarious and super smart. I'm hoping to implement his suggestions from a recent post "Helping students get over point addiction"...
The Art of Changing the Brain by James Zull is well-written in plain language with lots of direct focus on real teaching improvements we can make. Dr. Zull's no-nonsense approach to explaining the salient points of complex brain chemistry was refreshing and engaging. I was struck by Dr. Zull's enthusiasm for physical structures as explanation for real life learning experiences... emphasis on experiences. I am particularly pleased by his attention to experiential learning because I myself have found it to be the only way for me to grasp any new concept. I realize that others don't always have to "take the reins" in order to learn but I buy Dr. Zull's theory that those students still must try out theories and manipulate ideas if "only" in their heads. Dr. Zull maintains a whole-person approach to understanding learning which I support as well, as he notes that experiences in our brains are also somatic (in our bodies) and pays a good deal of attention to the role of emotion in learning. If the brain is really our heart and mind at once, it makes sense to appeal to both when we want to help students learn. This plays out in my experience as well, as we all know that no one will really try to understand something unless they believe it has real import for them in their own lives.
SWITCH by Chip and Dan Heath was a fun read, but ultimately superficial with little practical advice for a teacher. I do find myself willing to take on some of their suggestions when organizing information for students or introducing a new habits of learning system in the classroom but otherwise am not convinced of their program's relevancy to my teaching practice. Overall I felt that they had some good points about addressing the whole person (illustrated by the "elephant and rider" analogy) and tips for helping someone change their behavior. Perhaps this book would be (or is) very useful to our intrepid leaders as they guide our teaching body toward standards based learning.