Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain E-Book

Eric Jensen

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 267

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Powerful research-based strategies to turn around struggling adolescent students The achievement gap is widening and more teens than ever are struggling in school. The latest research shows not only that brains can change, but that teachers and other providers have the power to boost students' effort, focus, attitude, and even IQs. In this book bestselling author Eric Jensen and co-author Carole Snider offer teacher-friendly strategies to ensure that all students graduate, become lifelong learners, and ultimately be successful in school and life. Drawing on cutting-edge science, this breakthrough book reveals core tools to increase student effort, build attitudes, and improve behaviors. * Practical, teacher-tested, and research-supported strategies that will empower educators to make lasting and rapid changes * Powerful academic evidence showing that every teacher can make a significant--and lasting--difference in student effort, behavior, attitude, and achievement * Specific tools for making and managing the student's goal-seeking process and helping to develop a winner's mindset From the very first chapter, educators will learn how to help their struggling students become excited, lifelong learners. Eric Jensen is a noted authority on brain-based learning and student engagement. Carole Snider is an expert in both adolescent success and adult learning.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

About the Authors

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: Teach Students to Learn for Life

What Learning for Life Is All About

The Big Four

Attitude

Effort

Cognitive Capacity

Focused Strategy

To Sum Up

Chapter 2: Change Your Students' Brains

Can Your Students' Brains Change?

Can Adolescents Change?

“Nudges” for Changing the Brain

Carmen Revisited

To Sum Up

Chapter 3: Begin with Attitude Building

The Great Attitude Secret

Learned Optimism

A Growth Mind-Set

Personal Accountability

To Sum Up

Chapter 4: Build Cognitive Capacity

Can You Identify the Real Issue?

Cognitive Capacity Building Begins with Executive Function

The Relevance of Self-Control to Academic Success

Improving Processing Skills

Attention and Focus

Working Memory

Sequencing Skill Builders

Return to Glory

To Sum Up

Chapter 5: Foster Student Effort

The Big Picture of Success

High-Return Effort Builders

Ongoing Formative Assessment

High Engagement with Reciprocal (Peer) Teaching

Teacher-Student and Student-Student Relationships

Teaching for Mastery with Clarity and Challenge

Comprehensive, Targeted Interventions

Class Climate and High Expectations

Continuous, Informal Feedback

The Rest of the Story

To Sum Up

Chapter 6: Empower Exceptional Learners

Who Are Today's “Typical” Students?

What Makes Learners Exceptional?

Academically Challenged Students

Academically Gifted Students

To Sum Up

Chapter 7: Strengthen Body, Mind, and Soul

Body

Mind

Soul

To Sum Up

Chapter 8: Focus Students on Goals

The Skills of Achieving Goals

Dreams and Wishes

Goal Writing

Fostering Thoughtful Strategies

Removing the Roadblocks

To Sum Up

References

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Index

Cover image: © Discpicture / Shutterstock

Cover design: Jeff Miller, FaceOut Studio

Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

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978-1-118-34305-0 (paper), 978-1-118-59001-0 (ebk), 978-1-118-59002-7 (ebk), 978-1-118-59016-4 (ebk)

About the Authors

Eric Jensen is a former teacher who has taught students from the elementary level through the university level. Jensen cofounded SuperCamp, the nation's most innovative and largest academic enrichment program, now with nearly sixty thousand graduates. He has authored twenty-six books, including Enriching the Brain, Student Success Secrets, Teaching with the Brain in Mind, 30 Days to Bs and As, SuperTeaching, and Teaching with Poverty in Mind.

Jensen's academic background includes a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in organizational development, and he is completing his doctoral degree. As a leader in the mind and brain movement, Jensen has made over fifty-five visits to neuroscience labs and interacts with countless neuroscientists. He is deeply committed to making a positive, significant, lasting difference in the way we learn. Jensen's public programs are found at www.jensenlearning.com. Currently, Jensen does staff development, conference speaking, and in-depth trainings.

Carole Snider is a former teacher and school counselor from Ohio public schools. Snider's experience includes teaching middle school English and providing counseling services for children from grades K through 12. Snider currently serves on the state governing board for Ohio school counselors, is an adjunct professor, and recently authored the graduate course Succeeding with Students of Poverty. She has organized and facilitated numerous staff development and conference presentations on teaching the whole child, team building, stress management, and raising student achievement for schools across the United States.

Snider holds a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in guidance and counseling. She is driven by the belief that every child can be successful, and that schools are honored and have the opportunity to facilitate this success. She is passionate about promoting total fitness—mind, body, and soul—for people of all ages, and continues her research in this area. Carole lives with her husband in Batavia, Ohio. She continues to offer staff development and conference presentations for educators and can be contacted at [email protected].

Acknowledgments

Eric Jensen

First, we both appreciate our editor, Marjorie McAneny, who approved this project and has provided encouragement and guidance. Further, I am indebted to the scientists, researchers, and editors who made this book happen, including Pam Rooks and Nanette Metz. Finally, I am very grateful for the partnership with Carole, who initiated this book. Her commitment to student achievement has helped drive this effort, and any success is mostly hers.

Carole Snider

I want to give special thanks to all the teachers who have shared their stories of success and sometimes failure with me. Many thanks to Rita for listening to, questioning, and encouraging me throughout this process. I will always be deeply indebted to Eric for his belief in me, and for his continual support in bringing this project to fruition. And a final thank you to my husband, Cliff; two sons, Jeff and Gary; daughter in love, Kathleen; and grandchildren, Tyler, Skylar, JT, and Summer. I could not have done this without you.

Introduction

This book was born as we worked with teachers across the United States and other countries who shared their deep-seated frustration and anguish in regard to their struggling students. We are grateful for their willingness to open their hearts and reveal to us their desire to do more, to be better. We have seen firsthand the professionalism, hard work, and undying dedication of these teachers as they search for answers to their challenges. We thank them for their commitment and for their ongoing determination to help these students.

Schools can no longer accept the fact that large numbers of students are not graduating, and as a result are more likely to be on their way to economic struggles rather than success and satisfaction. We believe that every student can learn, but perhaps at a different pace or in a different manner compared to other students. We have witnessed schools in which success is for all, not just the select few. We have also observed schools in which the success gap is widening rather than closing. We have seen students who are lethargic, overweight, depressed, angry, and failing academically, and who have poor personal and interpersonal skills. They seem to be simply putting in their time. This is devastating for us because we know it doesn't have to be this way.

Knowing that most teachers are already investing 100 percent–plus in these students, we turned to the research for answers on how to turn the struggling kids around. This book has been several years in the making, which is a short time to work on a topic of this magnitude and significance. What we have written represents a research-based approach to the often overwhelming dilemma of how to help struggling students. We are convinced that applied research can provide the solutions that last a lifetime for these students. Acknowledging the multitude of ways to measure success, we have focused on the short term for current academic success, and have focused equally on the skills students need for lifelong achievement. Often these skills are one and the same, which was encouraging for to discover us as we kept digging for answers. We feel that schools can be positive and powerful places for the struggling student, and that they are the only hope some kids may have.

Dramatic changes are beginning to take place in schools, as educators at all levels embrace the belief that regardless of gender, race, or economic status, every student can excel. It is our heartfelt hope that this book will provide teachers with tools to facilitate these changes further so no student has to live in the richest country in the world and still be poor when it comes to knowledge, opportunities, and life satisfaction.

With over seven thousand secondary students dropping out every day in the United States (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2007), this is a book that needed to happen. The purpose of the book is to reclaim underperforming students and help them graduate. We can all find good reasons to “pass the buck” or “kick the can down the road,” but the bottom line is this: we must find a way to help kids succeed. The “annual class” of students who drop out every year costs the national economy over a third of a trillion dollars over the course of these individuals' lives (Levin, 2005). This is money that comes out of your pocket; every dollar the government has to spend on juvenile justice, welfare, drug wars, criminal justice, and increased health care costs comes out of the same “big bucket” of budgets for schools, roads, and law enforcement. We have to keep kids in school and build their competencies, or it is a slippery cultural and economic downhill slope for all of us.

The path in this book is straightforward. You'll be taken on a journey on which you will discover research showing that (1) students' underperformance does not tell you their destiny; (2) brains can change, IQs can change, and attitudes can change; and (3) if you have the will and skill, you can make a significant and lasting difference in more students' lives than you ever thought possible. This book provides that “will” by helping you see that reaching the book's objectives is possible. This book helps you find the “skill” by showing you specific strategies, websites, and content that will build the academic competencies kids need.

The first chapter, which is all about “learning for life,” takes the long-term view. It reminds us to focus on developing skills that are useful over time. Society is changing so fast, your students must become true learners for life. Chapter Two is all about changing the brain. This chapter will show you how to change your students' brains through purposeful effort, not chance. Chapter Three is all about instilling a strong positive attitude in your kids. You'll learn how to promote a winner's mind-set that will ultimately determine a student's level of success throughout his or her life. You'll learn how to teach optimism, and how to develop greater personal accountability in each of your students. Most of all, you'll learn the power of a never-ending growth mind-set so that learning is lifelong. Chapter Four is all about capacity building. We focus on building executive function, which encompasses those critical thinking skills for school and life success. Most important, you'll learn that executive function skills can actually be taught and refined for practical use.

Chapter Five is a gold mine; it's all about fostering student effort. We know that kids who try harder have a better shot at success. This chapter teaches you how to tap into a student's internal motivation as well as how to expand your own toolbox. You'll learn what “drives” kids to try hard in a few short pages. Chapter Six focuses on exceptional learners—kids who are different but not broken. This chapter emphasizes that all learners can be successful, no matter what their current academic situation. But first, you have to learn what the specific signals are that tell you to make serious changes and how to either use “work-arounds” or lasting interventions. To do that, you'll be integrating the “rules” for how the brain changes from Chapter Two in a novel way. They're worth their weight in gold!

Chapter Seven reveals how the mind, body, and soul are synergistically integrated, so you can support the process of student growth. This chapter also explores the role of nutrition in success, the impact of daily thinking habits on learning, and the importance of exercise to achieving a balanced life. The last chapter discusses the process of learning how to focus, which includes using meaningful and appropriate strategies for reaching goals. This chapter identifies steps toward success and shows you how to initiate them among students.

Here's how you might get the most out of this resource. First, browse the book to get a brief overview. That's always a smart practice with any “how-to” book. This book may have some chapters with catchy titles that you're tempted to jump into, but it's written in a linear fashion. That means you are likely to need each preceding chapter to make sense of and get the best use out of the following chapter. In real life, we all have skipped around a book before—but in this case, follow the sequence and you'll develop a powerful understanding of both what the research tells us and how to implement actionable strategies for student success.

One more thing: you know your students best. If you think one of your students is just an insight or a skill away from doing well, you may be tempted to skip around the book and grab strategies here and there. But chances are, if you are reading this book, you'll need more than a pep talk. That's why it's critical, if your challenging student needs a lot of help, to remember this: the brain does not make changes in response to occasional random input. If you provide random services, and you are “on-off” with a fun strategy once a week, no change will happen. You'll need to be a purposeful, focused, relentless, adaptive force in each student's life. If you're willing to be that committed to the student, he or she will become committed to you, too. This book will be your most powerful ally. We know you'll enjoy it; we both welcome you to a new level of student success!

Introduction

Alliance for Excellent Education. (2007). The crisis in American high schools. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.all4ed.org/whats_at_stake/CrisisInHighSchools.pdf

Levin, H. (2005, October 24–26) The social costs of inadequate education. Paper presented at the 1st annual Teachers College Symposium on Educational Equity, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY. Retrieved from http://www.tc.columbia.edu/i/a/3082_SocialCostsofInadequateEducation.pdf

Chapter 1

Teach Students to Learn for Life