AS THE WALLS OF OUR CLASSROOMS ARE STRETCHED TO ACCOMMODATE STUDENTS WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF LITERACY SKILLS, (AND LITERACY SKILLS IN ALL AREAS, NOT JUST ELA) TEACHERS MUST BECOME EXPERTS AT DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION. THE WORK OF CAROL ANN TOMLINSON ON DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IS WELL-KNOWN AND USED BY EDUCATORS AT ALL LEVELS. BUT TODAY THERE IS ANOTHER FACTOR THAT NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED, AND THAT IS THE BRAIN AND ITS’ ABILITY TO CHANGE OVER TIME. RESEARCH ON THE BRAIN HAS EXPLODED TO REVEAL THAT TRAUMA, BEHAVIOR, THOUGHT, AND EMOTIONS MAY CAUSE CHANGES IN THE BRAIN THAT HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING, MEMORY, AND HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT. IF WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND THESE TRIGGERS TO BRAIN CHANGES, WE CAN DEVELOP TECHNIQUES TO HELP STUDENTS BECOME MORE SUCCESSFUL LEARNERS. OUR SESSION WILL EXPLORE SOME WAYS TO COMBINE DIFFERENTIATION WITH STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS BRAIN CHANGES INCLUDING THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE FOR TIME MANAGEMENT, CHUNKING, FOCUS AND DIFFUSE LEARNING, AND MINDSET. WE WILL BE SHARING RESOURCES FROM CAROL ANN TOMLINSON AS WELL AS WORK BY DAVID SOUSA, AN EXPERT ON THE BRAIN AND HOW NEUROSCIENCE SUPPORTS A LEARNER-CENTERED CLASSROOM. TOMLINSON AND SOUSA HAVE TEAMED UP TO INTEGRATE BOTH DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING STRATEGIES AND NEUROPLASTICITY RESEARCH TO HELP EDUCATORS UNDERSTAND BRAIN AND LEARNING CONNECTIONS AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES.ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WILL INCLUDE: BOOKS, VIDEOS, WEBSITES, FREE ONLINE TOOLS, AND MORE.

As the walls of our classrooms are stretched to accommodate students with a wide variety of literacy skills, (and literacy skills in all areas, not just ELA) teachers must become experts at differentiating instruction. The work of Carol Ann Tomlinson on differentiated instruction is well-known and used by educators at all levels. But today there is another factor that needs to be considered, and that is the brain and its’ ability to change over time. Research on the brain has exploded to reveal that trauma, behavior, thought, and emotions may cause changes in the brain that have significant implications for learning, memory, and healthy development. If we can better understand these triggers to brain changes, we can develop techniques to help students become more successful learners. Our session will explore some ways to combine differentiation with strategies to address brain changes including the Pomodoro technique for time management, chunking, focus and diffuse learning, and mindset. We will be sharing resources from Carol Ann Tomlinson as well as work by David Sousa, an expert on the brain and how neuroscience supports a learner-centered classroom. Tomlinson and Sousa have teamed up to integrate both differentiated learning strategies and neuroplasticity research to help educators understand brain and learning connections and the implications for effective classroom strategies and activities.Additional Resources will include: books, videos, websites, free online tools, and more.