What is Whole Brain Teaching?

Whole Brain Teaching (WBT) is an approach to learning that started with the work and research of three men about 10 years ago. Chris Biffle, philosophy professor, Jay Vanderfin and Chris Reksted, primary school teachers had noticed a recurring topic in the discussions they were having with other educators. Students were disengaged from learning, disruptive behaviour was increasing and teachers were trying to find a reason to keep going to work each day.

The men realised that something had to be done in education and came up with Whole Brain Teaching. The approach uses methods which activate both hemispheres of the brain whereas the traditional pedagogical approach focuses on the right hemisphere of the brain. 

WBT strategies make connections between the right side of the brain and the left side of the brain. This connects the rational and reasoning side with the creative and emotional side. An approach which integrates both hemispheres of the brain leads to more effective engagement and learning. 

As mentioned in my first post, I had reached a stage in my career as a teacher when I wanted to quit. As I read about WBT I was finding out that I was not alone. So many other teachers around the world were feeling the same way. As well as struggling within myself I was also being pressured at school in planning meetings, staff meetings and professional development to show how I was including 'differentiation'. I needed to plan for different ability levels, learning styles and backgrounds of each student in my room. How was I to plan for all of the different needs in my classroom and effectively teach when the behaviour of the students was out of control every day? I was differentiating and still the behaviour was discouraging. 

I decided to introduce some WBT strategies into my daily routine and to my delight the behaviour in the classroom started to change as the students were becoming more and more engaged and active in their own learning. As their behaviour changed I started to feel better about my skills and found I was also changing. 

My classroom before WBT:

• students were expected to sit silently at their desks and write notes, copy from the board or complete work sheets
• there was a lot of teacher talk
• I thought that the curriculum needed to be brought down to the level of the students
• assessment occurred at the end of a unit of work

My classroom now, with WBT:

• the students and I share the talking and teaching
• students are active, they move around, get up and down off their chairs, use gestures, laugh a lot, etc
• students are trusted to achieve a high level of learning and rise to the level of expectation
• assessment is occurring throughout the day in a variety of ways

My classroom is a safer and more encouraging place for the students to be. They have fun and they are given so many moments throughout the day to feel good about themselves. They enjoy the interactions with myself and their peers. WBT touches the emotion of the students so that they remember how they feel in the classroom not just what they learned.

I hope I have whetted your appetite and you are screaming out for my next blog entry where I will introduce some of the WBT strategies I use daily in my classroom.