Marcia Tate's "Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites"

On Friday, I had the pleasure of attending a professional development given by Marcia Tate called "Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites" which is based upon the book with the same name.

"Have teachers ever complained that their students cannot understand or recall much of the content taught after a 24-hour period? It stands to reason that if students don't learn the way we teach them, then we must teach them the way they learn! Experience 20 instructional strategies (based on brain research and learning style theory) that maximize memory and minimize forgetting. Increase learning for students when strategies like drawing, metaphor, music, and storytelling are used to teach curriculum objectives and meet national standards. Explore research that shows why these strategies are preferable to others. Ensure that brains retain key concepts, not only for tests, but for life! This workshop has been called both professionally and personally life-changing and lots of fun!"

As the description of her presentation states, it was life-changing for me as a teaching professional and in my personal life.  Marcia Tate was an amazing speaker and inspirational.  She shared her 20 instructional strategies and used each of these strategies as she taught our group. She also shared the 10 characteristics of the brain compatible classroom.

My biggest take away from this had to do with thinking positively.  Marcia shared that thinking positively helps to boost your confidence.  Creating a positive environment for your students is key.  Having an environment that is high stress, high anger, or high fear can result in students feeling threatened and this can then cause up to a 40 point drop in someone's IQ.  I can relate this back to myself.  I am constantly under an increased amount of stress from work, personal life, and school, this I can tell results in a lack of confidence.  I know I am truly going to work on thinking positively about things and inspiring myself.

The list of strategies that Marcia gives during her presentation are ones that align with brain based research and learning theories that I am hearing about in my Master's course resources.  The strategies help to create an environment where students learn their best.

1. writing
2. storytelling
3. mnemonic devices
4. visuals
5. movement
6. role play
7. visualization
8. metaphor, simile, analogy
9. reciprocal teaching (cooperate learning)
10. music
11. graphic organizers
12. drawing
13. humor
14. discussion
15. games
16. project-based instruction
17. field trips
18. manipulatives
19. technology
20. work-study

One of the strategies I want to talk about is using music in the classroom.  Marcia Tate said that using music in the classroom changes states or moods, helps memory, and that a math/music connection does exist.  I used music a lot in my classroom to help set the mood, information retention, and as a way to get up and move.  Music that was light like classical,  smooth jazz, spa relaxation, or any of Enya's music helped to create a relaxing environment where students could move around to a comfortable spot, relax, and complete a journaling activity, for example.  I also had many pieces of music that had been created to help students learn new content from the multiplication table to science information   Marcia shared with us a gentleman who was a Disney Teacher of the Year and writes his own science learning lyrics to popular songs.  His name is Mr. Warren Phillips.  You can find his work at wphillips.com.

Other information that Marcia Tate shared was that anything you do while you are moving is more likely to become hard wired to your brain.  She demonstrated this by having us move and point to parts of our arms to name the parts of a neuron (or memory cell).  I can say that I still remember the parts by visualizing moving my fingers (dendrites) and the space between the dendrites and the axon by snapping my fingers (synapsis).    She also talked about how storytelling can help students make connections as well.  For many of the areas she talked about, she had a story to share and that really helped for me to retain this information without writing it down.  The last one I want to share is humor.  Laughter can help increase alertness and memory, as well as reducing stress.  Marcia told many little riddles and jokes during her presentation and not only did they make us laugh but it helped in keeping my attention.  "Classrooms that imbued with humor and build students; confidence incases learning.  In addition, teachers that are passionate and show enthusiasm create a climate conducive for learning." 

The most meaningful part of this professional development was the reaffirmation that what I am doing with my students is what I should be doing.  I am already doing a good job of developing lessons and creating environments that align with these strategies to help my students learn.  If you ever get the chance to watch Marcia Tate present, I highly encourage you to attend.  She is an amazing speaker and the information she shares is important.  The fact that she teaches her audience using this strategy really helps you to understand how to implement the strategies and visualize how it works.

Link to the book on Amazon: 

Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strategies That Engage the Brain