Learning

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My Personal Learning Preferences

May 14, 2013 Differentiating Instruction

A brief self-assessment As a part of many of my presentations (including nearly all full-day seminars and keynotes that address different ways people learn), I poll the audience to give participants a sense of differences that exist within the group. Even with small groups, the responses tend to be all over the map. Because I [...]

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Should Classrooms Ban Water Bottles?

May 4, 2013 Body and Brain

An argument in favor of hydration Talk to any of the coaches in my teacher training seminars and they all seem to have one thing in common. Regardless of the sport they coach, I’ve yet to meet anyone who would think of sending students out on the court, track, mat, or playing field without having [...]

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Stress and the Brain

May 4, 2013 Body and Brain

Fact Sheet: The impact of stress on learning and behavior Here are a few things to remember about the impact of stress on the brain, and on an individual’s ability to function effectively— academically and behaviorally— in a learning environment. While originally developed for educators, this information is also relevant to parents, and applies to [...]

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Leading Learning with Glenn Capelli

January 26, 2013 Body and Brain

The art, science, and craft of teaching Episode Summary: Did you ever have a teacher who changed your life? Dr. Jane Bluestein talks with author, speaker, and songwriter Glenn Capelli about how teachers can have a powerful impact on a child’s life— for good or bad. They discuss the importance of new and different experiences, including [...]

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10 Myths About Autism

January 6, 2013 Learning

Sorting it all out 1. Autism is one disorder. Autism Spectrum Disorders include Asperger Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. 2. Children with Autism have a hidden or exceptional talent. Children with Autism have unique strengths and occasionally exhibit savant behaviors, though the latter are not typical in [...]

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Jane Bluestein Discusses Emotionally Safe Schools

December 26, 2012 Assessment and Testing

Interview by Kate Bedford ©2001 Kate Bedford, Six Seconds Jane Bluestein is an award winning author and speaker. Her newest book, Creating Emotionally Safe Schools, is a comprehensive look at how we can make any educational institution safer— from an emotional, academic, behavioral, social, and physical standpoint. Formerly an inner-city classroom teacher, crisis-intervention counselor, and [...]

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Myers-Briggs Scales and Categories

December 6, 2012 Differentiating Instruction

Personality inventory scales and categories The Myers-Briggs assesses where we place on the following four scales: E<——————>I Extrovert<——————–>Introvert N<——————>S Intuiting<———————–>Sensing T<——————>F Thinking<———————–>Feeling J<——————>P Judging<———————->Perceiving (Finish Oriented)<———–>(Process Oriented) The four scales above allow for a possible 16 combinations with variations within any one category depending on the placement or strength in any one scale. David Kiersey’s [...]

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Myers-Briggs Personality Types

December 6, 2012 Body and Brain

Descriptions of personality inventory categories Overview of David Kiersey’s four temperament groups, based on the 16 Myers-Briggs categories (which is only one of over 200 “quadrant models”). Note that people in each group share certain similarities in their reality and their approach to the world, and that the people in one group operate from a [...]

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Water and the Body

December 6, 2012 Body and Brain

Benefits of water to for learning, behavior, and health Hydration is critical to learning and performance. If you coach a sport or have children who are on teams or compete in sports, you would probably never send your kids onto the field, court, or track, or even into the pool without being adequately hydrated. Coaches [...]

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Multiple Intelligences

December 6, 2012 Body and Brain

Many ways to be smart Here is a very brief overview of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, or different ways of being “smart.” Linguistic Skill with words; using language, expressing with words, either written or spoken, and understanding what is said or written. Related skills might include storytelling, memorizing, writing, discussing, debating, journaling, oration and reading. [...]

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What About Homework?

December 4, 2012 Counselors

Considerations for educators and parents I google the word “homework” and discover 70+ million results, many of them, on the first few pages, at least, pointing to Web sites offering homework help, tools, or information to use in assignments. Look for research and you can support just about any position you’d like! This is an [...]

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Test Time

November 28, 2012 Assessment and Testing

Bringing balance and sanity to our schools How often do you hear yourself urging a student, “Come on, you have to learn this. It’s going to be on the test!”? I hear this appeal in classrooms all the time, and am certainly guilty of having uttered it myself. Still, I have to laugh, because after [...]

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Ways to Reach More Students

November 26, 2012 Body and Brain

Accommodating a variety of learners While these tips were originally developed with regard to classroom environments, they are also relevant to parents (think about how and where kids do homework), and apply to learners of all ages. • Build on student strengths; teach to a variety of intelligences and abilities • Respect different types of [...]

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Working with Different Modality Strengths and Limitations

November 26, 2012 ADD/ADHD

Characteristics and strategies Individuals of all ages tend to learn better when presented with new information in a way that makes sense to their brain and nervous system. Here is some information to help learners of different abilities. Appreciating and accommodating these differences whenever possible can reduce a great deal of stress for everyone concerned— teachers, [...]

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The “Ideal” Student

November 26, 2012 ADD/ADHD

The students we were taught to teach Traditional classrooms tend to favor students with the following characteristics or strengths: Strong in linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences Academically on grade level (not too far ahead or behind) Learning Preferences: Prefers working in a quiet environment Best time of day: Early morning, afternoon Social: Prefers working quietly alone [...]

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I’m Hyperactive, You’re Hyperactive

November 26, 2012 ADD/ADHD

Implications for a diagnosis Excerpt from chapter 18, “Physical Safety: The Student Body,” in Creating Emotionally Safe Schools (by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D., Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 2001). The material shared here was taken from the manuscript from this book. The actual published version may be slightly different. Public schools have begun to issue [...]

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The Animal School

November 26, 2012 Counselors

A Fable by George Reavis Once upon a time the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of a “new world” so they organized a school. They had adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming, and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took [...]

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The Inclusive Teacher with Margit Crane

November 26, 2012 ADD/ADHD

Success with your ADD and ADHD students Episode Summary: Teachers encounter a wide range of student needs, experiences, abilities, personalities, and behaviors. Dr. Jane Bluestein talks with Margit Crane about ways to accommodate such diversity, assuring teachers that

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