‘Physically active learning’ improves test scores, sharpens concentration
Advocates point to a growing body of research linking physical activity to cognitive ability
Some experts believe that physical learning could pay serious dividends in the classroom.
Tabatha Gayle crab-walked across the classroom last week, racing two other students to a pile of papers listing different diseases, set in the middle of the floor in Ms. Forcucci’s health class.
While her teammates cheered, Tabatha picked up a piece of paper and scuttled it over to the whiteboard, dropping it into one of five pathogen categories lined up there. Then she ran back to the team, laughing.
Amanda Forcucci’s class at Hamden High School in Hamden, Conn., is doing something called “physically active learning” in the classroom. The idea is to get kids up and moving around during regular academic classes to improve their ability to concentrate.
“It’s fun, and moving around actually will help me remember the types of pathogens,” said Tabatha, 15. “Plus it helped me to get out of a bad mood.”
http://bit.ly/lbgQvL
Rewrite, add, delete, repeat. This is the cycle of school policies on technology. Or at least it should be. Policies need to adapt to the changing times. For School administrators and technology directors/CIO’s adapting to changing times is an important component to a strong leadership for educational technology use (Nets-A) It is the time of year when many schools are updating policies for the upcoming school year. Technology Polices are particularly susceptible to change. Quite simply, new technology forces us to re-imagine classroom environment with the innovations added in.
http://bit.ly/metcvF
G'day everyone! May 23-27 is Australian Library and Information Week and we would like all parents to get involved! Getting your children to love books and reading from an early age is one of the best things we can do to help them develop good literacy skills. It's as easy as singing songs together, making up stories, or borrowing books from your local library.
Audiences Are Your Friend
For the rank amateur to the ignorant professional, audiences create the same effect no matter how small they are to a speaker. Fear and anxiety.
From a single person to a crowd as big as the fans in the Super Bowl, speaking in front of a serious listening audience is the true test and baptism of fire.
Despite this, audiences are predictable. Audiences listen to you because they want to learn something from the speaker.
Following this logic, the speaker would do well to follow the strategy of making it informative as well as interesting to listeners to see your speech through till the end.
Here are some tips on how you can have the audience listen in rapt attention. http://bit.ly/bMXs4u
"Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition."
-- Jacques Barzun
With cuts to school budgets, teachers are often left searching for ways to innovate without breaking the bank. In fact, a recent survey reveals that educators are incorporating more internet-related resources into their lessons, but shrinking school budgets have prompted many educators to look for free resources to enhance their lessons.
There are numerous sites that can help, but we’ve picked 10 that our among our favorites. Click through to browse our list, and then tell us what some of your favorites are in the comments section. => http://bit.ly/jlZgB5
Learning how to use the power of the pause in public speaking can be one of the most effective skills an orator can acquire.
Pausing when giving a speaking presentation? Yes.
Pauses can be so powerful that some even give this advice--when you've no idea what to do, just pause and smile. Even if you've fully prepared and rehearsed, there are times when your mind will go blank up there. It happens to even the most seasoned of speakers. If and when it happens, just pause. Pausing will give a person authority, whereas stammering or apologizing will do quite the opposite.
It's said that the North Vietnamese used the power of the pause as a tactic in the Paris peace negotiations. During the talks, they just kept nodding and smiling. They did this until the Americans gave in.
Can pausing really be that powerful?
Our instincts are all wrong. When we get nervous, the first thing we tend to do is speed up. The faster I talk, many assume, the more I'll appear to have it together. But the opposite is true. Rushing through your presentation is a dead giveaway that you're edgy, and often gives the impression that you'd rather not be there speaking in the first place. It's a universal sign of nervousness and lack of confidence to talk in an exaggeratedly hurried manner. It's the same with those "ah" and "uhm" filler words that many start throwing in. This makes an audience uncomfortable, and can make them feel like they are the cause of your suffering up there behind the microphone. This is a presentation that will not be remembered except for the negative feelings it created.
But this is where the pause can be useful. Instead of rushing to the next point or using that filler word, just pause. The audience will wonder what you're going to do next. The trick, though, is to stay with your listeners.
But, you may ask, doesn't pausing make the speaker look like he or she has forgotten what to say or has lost his or her train of thought? The answer: depends on how one goes about it. If you stare at the ceiling or at the floor, then yes, you'll appear to be trying to gather your thoughts. But if you stay engaged, and that means looking at your audience and staying focused on the message, then pausing will add a dynamic and commanding element to your presentation.
Pausing creates moments of tension, anticipation, or excitement, depending on how they're utilized. Pausing while presenting gives the impression that the speaker is confident, even if the speaker doesn't feel that way. If you're a person who starts talking faster when nervous, pausing can help you relax and catch your breath. Try it--just pause and breathe deeper.
I've personally used the Power of the Pause many times and each time I do I'm always a little amazed at how well it works. I like to use pauses right after a question. For example, I'll ask the crowd, "Do you remember the numbers from last year?" Then I'll pause and slowly look around. The audience stays with me, waiting for the answer. At those moments, I sometimes have more authority as a speaker then when I'm actually speaking! Most nervous speakers, especially those with less experience, will immediately answer their own question and ruin a nice moment like that. Once I personally discovered how powerful pausing can be, I've never gone away from it.
Remember that if anything, pausing allows a speaker to stop and think about what he or she is going to say next. No matter how much you practice and rehearse, there are times when the combination of adrenaline and nervousness makes you forget where you are. Nobody likes it when this happens, but again, it happens to everyone. If and when it does, pausing not only gives you a chance to think about your next thought (and glance at your notes if needed), but it also makes you appear to be in far more control than you may feel at the moment.
Pausing really works--practice it and utilize it.
Kelly Libatique is a professional speaker, technical trainer, and author. He has a Master's in Education and a Bachelor's in Psychology. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and Anne and two sons.
Visit http://www.Libatique.com or Contact Kelly at: Kelly.Libatique@gmail.com
WGBH Teachers' Domain has announced the launch of the Environmental Public Health (EPH) collection. The EPH collection (www.teachersdomain.org/special/enh/) offers classroom-ready assets for middle and high school students that look at how researchers, communities, and policy makers are working to address health issues resulting from toxins and other factors in our environment. Produced by WGBH Teachers' Domain, this is a free online digital library of 4,000 media-rich resources for grades pre-K-16 from public media and other partnering organizations. => http://bit.ly/j9PTJc
