On a scale of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) indicate the degree to which your teaching does the following: Mr. Bozin Mrs. Bradley Mr. Garcia and Mrs. Quan

 I provide an enriched and varied learning environment.  I search constantly for opportunities to integrate curriculum concepts between subject areas.  Students have frequent opportunities during class to talk about what they are learning.

 One of the main criteria I use to decide on classroom activities is relevancy to students.  I do not use lecture as the main mode of instruction.

1. Often students have high self-confidence. 2. Students often conform to roles assigned by their peer group. 3. The influence of peers intensifies in middle school. 4. School authority begins to be questioned and challenged 5. Middle school students have full command of abstract thinking.

6. More than 50% of students are visual learners and prefer pictures, charts, and written text over lecture % of students are kinesthetic learners and need more tactile (hands-on) and movement- based activities. 8. Children ages 5-13 learn best in 20 minute increments.

9. Students must feel physically and emotionally safe before their brains are ready to learn 10. Most adolescents have lower level energy in the morning and higher levels of energy after lunch. A higher energy level correlates to an increased level of attention. 11. Allowing off-task time between lesson segments will decrease a student’s focus.

Research on brain based teaching explains that the brain learns, and recalls learning, through non-linear patterns that emphasize coherance rather than fragmentation. The more teachers make connecting patterns explicit and accessible for students, the easier the brain will integrate new information (Hart, 1983)

Cognitive research shows that educational programs should challenge students to link, connect and integrate ideas and to learn in authentic contexts. (Caine & Caine, 1997)

What are some examples of activities that stimulate Higher-Order Thinking?

 Encourage students to use analogies and metaphors when describing new concepts  Have students attempt to solve real-life problems (pollution, energy crisis)  Involve students in debates and discussions that tackle more than one side of an issue. Have students support ideas with evidence.  Get students to role play historic events  Include audio/visual content often (Sousa, 2006)