Make Teaching Meaningful to Bring Learning to Life

When we speak to teachers, one of the things they consistently tell us is how much value they find in the BrainSMART: 60 Strategies for Increasing Student Learning text. Some of many strategies we teach in this text help teachers to teach students how to remember important information. For example, the brain is somewhat like a computer. It acts as if it has a save key and a delete key. It automatically deletes the meaningless information we receive on a daily basis. To promote learning and therefore initiate the "save key," we need to make the information we teach meaningful to young students.

Field Trips: A Great Way for Students to Experience Joyful Learning

If you ask adults what they remember from school days, they often think of field trips! Field trips are a great way to help students gain personal meaning through the learning experience. Some tips for meaningful school field trips are as follows: Engage students in deciding which opportunity to take, make links to important curriculum content you are teaching, take a trip as early as possible in the year, and make links back to the positive experience throughout the year. Trips may be as simple as right in the neighborhood or to a more distant location. When a field trip to another location outside the schoolhouse is not possible, take a virtual trip by exploring other locations with students online!