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Recommended Reading
Exceeding Expectations: A User's Guide to Implementing Brain Research in the Classroom
by Susan J. Kovalik and Karen D. Olsen
Books for Educators, Inc., 2001
888-777-9827,
Email books4@oz.net
Author Susan Kovalik has been a classroom teacher and curriculum innovator for over 25 years. She has spent the past 23 years developing a model for curriculum and instruction based on brain research. The ITI (Integrated Thematic Instruction) model that she developed in 1980 has been used in training over 40,000 teachers. In 1988 her company, Susan Kovalik and Associates, was created to train teachers in her model throughout the world.
Co-author Karen Olson has a doctorate from Columbia University Teachers College and worked for the California State Department of Education for 12 years. She was Program Director and is one of the original founders of the California Institute of School Improvement and author of California Mentor Teacher and author, co-author, or editor of numerous other books.
This is a very readable, practical, and informative book on how to apply what has been learned about the brain to classroom instruction. The ITI model is based on five basic principles from brain research, each of which is described in detail in the book. (1) Intelligence is a function of experience. (2) Learning is an inseparable partnership between brain and body; emotional is the gatekeeper to learning and performance, and movement enhances learning. (3) There are multiple intelligences or ways for solving problems and producing products. (4) Learning is a two step process: Step one is making meaning through pattern seeking and step two is developing a mental program for using what we understand and wiring it into long-term memory. (5) Personality impacts learning and performance.
The authors give examples of specific ways of translating brain research into action through creating an environment that is absent of threat and that nurtures reflective thinking. They also note that content must be meaningful; there must be adequate time; the environment must be enriched; feedback must be immediate; and there must be opportunity for movement, choices, and collaboration. Finally mastery must be demonstrated through practical application.
This book bears reading carefully and rereading. As a matter of fact, we believe it should be kept close at hand to remind every teacher of these important principles in helping all students to learn more effectively.
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