HLTH 312 Blog Post # 7 – “It’s not how much you do; it’s what you do, and for how long.”

“Do you have what it takes to succeed when working with children of poverty?”

This is TCOP Standard 1: Life in poverty.

STANDARD 1: Life in Poverty: Teacher candidates exemplify their understanding of students’ behavior and learning differences that may occur as a result of a life in poverty. Teacher candidates apply acquired knowledge, skills and dispositions grounded in current research to create learning environments that value, engage and support children of poverty as capable learners.

Following is one of the elements that we work on in our class.

SC-FMU-TCOD-P-2009.1.1
ELEMENT: The candidate will apply current research to interpret the effects of a life in poverty as it impacts learning.

I just wanted to point out to you how important research is to our studies of children in poverty and health. Have you noticed how much empirical research Jensen provides in his writing? And that at the beginning of most chapters he cites a list of supporting research for us to use to continue our work and to validate his.This is very important. Teachers must use research to keep current in their field. It is critical toward becoming and remaining a quality teacher.

In chapter 5 he states, “the more you examine the research, the greater the perspectives offered.”

Let’s pretend that you are already teachers. You are teaching in a school that performs well on standardized tests, has a skilled staff, and 80% of the students are children of poverty. What can you do to improve your classroom for children of poverty? Dr. Jensen considered the research, and what he knew about the effects of poverty and he came up with a plan to use the instructional strategies that he believed would matter most. I want you to do that.

He shares the classroom level SHARE factors with us (Chapter 4; pages 66-69):

• Standards-based curriculum and instruction
• Hope building
• Arts, athletics, and advanced placement
• Retooling of the operating system
• Engaging instruction

For this comment imagine and describe your future classroom and the strategies that you believe will matter most to help all of your students succeed. Include the SHARE factors, make connections to health, and tell me what grade you are teaching. Remember everything must be developmentally appropriate for early childhood students.

I look forward to reading about your classrooms.

HLTH 312 Blog Post # 6 – Can the brain change, in a good way, and how can we help?

Eric Jensen writes, in chapter 3 of his book, that brains can and do change. Brains are designed to change. Some changes are positive, such as those delivered through quality nutrition, exercise, and learning; other changes are negative, such as those resulting from long term neglect, chronic drug abuse, and boredom!

Dr. Jensen informs us that during each school day, your students’ brains will change. When their brains change, so does their level of attention, learning, and cognition. Whether they are changing for better or for worse depends a lot on the quality of the experiences they receive at school.

In chapter 3, Dr. Jensen describes many factors that impact how the brain can change. For example, experience-based brain changes, gene expression, IQ and environmental changes, and fluid intelligence.

Think about your future as a teacher. Read the chapter, and then reflect and write about the following: in your own words explain at least 3 strategies teachers can use to help students change their brains for the better. Incorporate some of the factors listed above, and make certain you make connections to health!