Hi. I'm currently a student in a teaching certification program in
Wisconsin for teaching high school math. On the internet I've seen a
number of examples of younger children enjoying whole brain teaching,
but only one high school example. My concern is that high school
students would find this technique too silly and ridiculous. With that
said, if I explained why we were going to use the technique, it might
work. I'm curious if folks have run into any issues when using this
style, for high schoolers? Is it more appropriate for some levels
(more basic) than others (college credit classes)? I did see the
college demo by Chris Biffle, but ironically I find college students more
likely to have fun with apparant silliness while high schoolers are
"insanely" focused no what their peers think of them.

Thanks much,
Kris K

This is ABSOLUTELY not too silly for high school! My husband teaches high school algebra two and precalculus. He uses it EVERY DAY! He feels as if he's wasted 20 years of teaching the 'old way'. I'll have him sign on and post some tips.

Joni

Kris,
I have taught high school in Tennessee for more years than I want to admit. I have been using Whole Brain Teaching for over 2 years now and it is extremely effective in high school. I also teach math and personally think that this method fits math instruction better than any other subject ( I admit a bias, however). I introduced it to my students during the final part of a school year and never looked back. Many of my students have encouraged our other math teachers to use it and one is making an effort to instill it in his instruction. I am getting better results (test scores and grades) than ever before, not to mention the increased energy and attention. My main advice in high school is not to present it as an option. Make it the way that you do things and they will fall in accordingly. I teach all levels of kids and the benefits are great for all of them.

I have recently stumbled upon the power teacher web site. I teach Honors Geometry and low level Algebra I and would be interestd in any tips you could share with me. My email address is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Kris,
I hope your student teaching is still going well. You mentioned that high schoolers are very focused on what their peers think of them. I teach middle school (high schooler's in training) and by 13 or 14 they are the same way. However, that is the exact reason that it does work. They are worried that their peers will see they are the person getting the teacher points or worried that they will be the odd one out. Once you get most of the class to buy in, it will work wonders. Take it slow. Check out industrial strength if you still think it's not working for you.
Angela

Joni,
Has your husband been online to post some of his tips? I would be interested in knowing how he converted his class presentations to the power teaching approach.

Pam

Kris, you can also contact Kristin Dewit, she does a fab job using WBT in high school and has some great tips. (you can contact her through the board of directors page...). There's also a video of her doing a math lesson in high school.

I have used WBT for the last two years and have had some difficulty with my high school students buying into the concept. Last year, I found it worked great with my honors classes but not so well with my regular classes. I would love some advice on how to utilize WBT across the board. How can I get and maintain that "buy in?"

Another problem I have encountered is with incentives. I am just not sure what I can use with my juniors. (I teach Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus.)

Thanks!

Leigh

When I am using this with older learners I have found I get better buy in if I explain a little about how the brain learns, and explain that we are using this method because it means work for them is more fun, and in the end they are really doing less work to reach the same goal.

On the incentives, my kids' favorite is the Instant Game. If they can get a certain number of points ahead of me then they can stop the class and we play a five minute game, usually Mind Soccer. The questions I ask in the game are usually either review questions or they cover the same material they were about to get in notes.

Pam,

Yes, his post is below in this thread. His user name is mikeb. If you have more specific questions, please post them here. We'll be glad to help all we can!

Joni

Mike,

I would love any tips you could give! I teach the same subjects and have used Power Teaching for the last couple of years. What are some ways you have been able to adjust Power Teaching for your classroom? Last year I ran into some "guff". Many students felt it was too baby and fought the process tooth and nail. How to you address this? I also had a question concerning the scoreboard and incentives. Last year I was so wrapped up in structuring the lesson I would often forget the scoreboard. I also had great difficulty in coming up with appropriate incentives for my students. Mind Soccer has been suggested, but are there others?


Last year I was able to use it effectively in about half of my classes. Next year, I would love to apply it across the board. I am convinced this is a great way to teach and learn. I am determined to keep working to improve.

Thanks so much!

Leigh

Joni,

How do I call up Mike's response? I am not technology friendly and do not understand how to find his posting.

I am a little nervous. I do not know if my low level algebra students will buy into this.

Pam

I am going to be a first year math teacher next year and I am interested in this style of teaching as well. I too question the efficacy of this with high schoolers.

Whole Brain Teaching is really about finding a dramatic style that works for you and your age group. WBT is a framework that you can infuse your own style into. For example, I have a camp counsellor background so I feel comfortable with singing and songs - I like to use songs and camp games along with WBT. At the same time, I do not have the comedy routine down that others have with different voices, etc. although I have tried:) How you present it to the class is key. If you believe in it then the kids will go along with it. If your high schoolers are more serious use a serious tone. If you feel comfortable being a goofball and they like humor use it to your advantage - all the things that you would normally do to keep them engaged are heightened and intensified in WBT - plus they get to talk more - which I'm sure lots of them like to do. If I were teaching high school with WBT I would make my style super competitive and tough. Points would be earned sparingly and there would be team goals. I would set the tone by explaining that WBT is teaching format that, if you participate, will guarantee you better grades, greater understanding, and more fun. Above all motivate with something that they really, really want - find their ice cream and make they earn every scoop.

Liann

WBT Intern

I'm also a high school math teacher (just finished my first year) wondering how to get my kids on board with the silliness-- specifically, though, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what kinds of incentives I might use. I'm worried about "talking time" or "free time" at the end of the period for fear of being pegged as not teaching bell-to-bell. Music has been suggested, but "it's a loooooong year" and I'm wondering if any current high school teachers could give some suggestions about what their students' "ice cream" is...

Thanks!

Leslie

I have been using/experimenting (I'm by no means an expert yet) with WBT for the past year. The most effective motivator, thus far, for my kids (9th grade) has been more/less homework. They HATE it when I "add" to their workload, even if it's just 5 additional problems. The key, of course, is to decide, AHEAD OF TIME, where you PLAN for the scoreboard to end up. That way, you KNOW how to assign the homework. (e.g. my plan for THEM winning: Problems 1-10 or my plan for them losing: Problems 1-5, and then at the end "Oh dear, look like you guys lost today, so you ALSO have to do 6-10!)

They also, believe it or not, do work for "Mind Soccer" time at the end of class (though I have to be careful not to overuse it, as with all things) I always have a warmup and "Exit Ticket," but will "let" them play for Mind Soccer in lieu of the Exit Ticket (last 3 minutes of class).
When their interest in Mind Soccer started to wear off, I upped the ante by offering "merit points" (a schoolwide incentive we have) to the winning team. (20 merit points gets them a spot on the Bingo Board in the cafeteria - when filled, the school uses bingo balls to award nice prizes).

(PS Boys vs. Girls can work, but with one class, I only had about 6 boys and 20 girls, so it wasn't really fair to do it that way! Instead I divided them up one side (east) vs. the other (west).

I also tried using "Girls" vs "boys" on the ScoreBoard, but found it was difficult to "administer" the rewards/consequences (can't give one group extra homework and not the other). So, later in the year, I made it a weekly tally - whichever group was "ahead" by the end of the week would get a homework pass (printed by me on pink paper and initialed with a silver sharpie to prevent counterfeiting) good through the end of the month. Our school gives Friday Detentions (2 hours) to any student who has missed 3 or more homeworks, so this was a VERY VALUABLE thing to have for that third missing assignment....

And NO, I do NOT give "FREE TIME" or TALKING TIME. That's just a pandora's box with my kids. I haven't really experimented with music yet, but I do a number of labs (I teach science) and I am considering allowing them to play for "music DURING labs."

My biggest challenge next year is to master the "Teach-OK." I think I'm still not moving quickly enough through that whole cycle and there's still too much transition time where my kids start getting off-task..... I'm going to spend some time this summer planning my first unit using that 5-step template we learned in Louisiana.

In the end, I agree that you have to figure out what motivates your class, and even then, each class may be different. I had one class that LOVED merit points, and another that couldn't care less (but HATED homework!)

Hope this helps.

- Jen

Thank you so much!

It's encouraging to hear that mind soccer still generates the same buzz it does in lower grades. You say you had to be careful not to overuse it--your reply has sparked some more questions in me (which, of course, could be answered by anyone, not just Jen):

How often would you estimate you used Mind Soccer?
Did you alternate rewards on a consistent schedule, or did you just respond at random to student feedback (if the latter, what kinds of (or what amounts of) feedback did you take seriously and which did you ignore?)
Was it difficult to manage different rewards for different periods of the day?

I think I can build my kids to the more/less homework idea. Right now it's not much of a motivator because I haven't figured out how to get very many of them to complete the homework (and I've coped by not assigning it--obviously a rookie here).

I give quizzes or tests each Friday. My reward for winning on the scoreboard for the week is the number of "stars" that they won by. They can use stars to omit questions on the quiz/test or answer it for extra credit. What they don't know is that if they win I will throw in a couple of tough questions on the quiz so that I know beforehand which ones they will star and still answer the ones that I need them to. They see it as a great incentive and I don't mind them winning during the week. Of course, they do have to earn their points. My kids love the silliness of it all.

Mike B -

I LOVE the idea of your weeky quizzes! I keep "forgetting" that we, as teachers, can "rig" just about anything! My school admin is deadset against "extra credit," but I could definitely include extra questions and then disregard them for grading.... you sly dog!

Leslie -

No, I don't do "random" rewards...BUT, I will switch it up, from time to time - usually when the existing reward starts to lose its appeal. Pick something, try it out, and adjust as needed. If you find something that really works, milk it for all its worth - DON'T change it until you HAVE to. (It's a LOOONNNNGGG year!) If homework is too difficult an issue (kids not doing it), then I would suggest some sort of in-class reward, like Jeff Battle uses.

Mind Soccer: I start using it a few weeks into the semester (You need to build up a certain base of knowledge to begin reviewing). At first, I'll make it an end-of-class reward. Then I'll move to an end-of-the-week game. I find once or twice a week is good - more than that, and it starts to get old.

- Jen

Kris,
Great points you bring up. I have been teaching middle school for several years and it worked phenominally there. I am currently at the high school level for the first time in my career. Although you do need to approach things differently, they still do enjoy it. Even in high school they are still kids. Silly is not the appeal as it is in younger grades, so you are correct about that. However, if you spend a lot of time explaining why you are using gestures and give several mini lessons on the brain, you will have better luck. Remind students that they must learn to speak, listen, visualize, and kinesthetically memorize concepts in order to more effectively commit them to memory. My students responded well to this. In addition, the scoreboard seems to be useful if we pick something like amount of homework, notes, vocabulary or some other kind of work. I have been telling students that I expect them to take notes on three academic vocabulary a day. Each point is one more or less. So if I win by one they do four. If they win by one they do two, etc. It works nicely so far. Later in the year they will be more likely to play the scoreboard game for mind soccer or other academic games. Let me know your thoughts and experiences with your high schoolers.