Think Big, Start Small: How to Differentiate Instruction in a Brain-Friendly Classroom, Sep/2011

This easy-to-understand guide pares down the vast field of neuroscience and provides simple brain-compatible strategies that will make a measurable difference in your differentiated classrooms.

You no longer have to be a neuroscientist to understand how your students absorb knowledge. This easy-to-comprehend guide pares down the vast field of neuroscience and covers the brain basics that affect your classroom the most attention, memory, emotions, and stress. With a variety of simple brain-compatible strategies, you’ll see a measurable difference in your differentiated classrooms.

1. Review neuroscience research on learning, attention, memory, emotions, and stress.
2. Learn how to create a safe and secure brain-friendly environment that maximizes student learning.
3. Gain low-prep and high-yield strategies for assessing student knowledge, interests, and preferences.
4. Understand how simple changes in the presentation of your information can engage students more quickly.

About The Authors:
Gayle Gregory has taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels as well as in university settings. With extensive experience as a staff developer and administrator, she consults internationally on brain research, best instructional and assessment practices, leadership, and facilitating school change. Gayle has worked with many districts developing school teams to build internal capacity.

She is author of Designing Brain-Compatible Learning, Teacher Teams That Get Results, and a series on differentiated instructional strategies. In addition, she was featured in an edition of the Video Journal of Education focused on differentiated instruction. She is committed to lifelong learning and professional growth for herself and others.

Martha Kaufeldt is a consultant, coach, author, and keynote speaker. She specializes in curriculum development, differentiated instruction, school restructuring, assessment, and brain-compatible learning strategies. Martha began her research of brain-compatible teaching and learning strategies while working with several school districts to develop gifted, talented, and extended-learning programs. She delivers motivational presentations and dynamic workshops that address the fundamentals of brain-compatible learning and differentiated instruction for all grade levels. Her particular strengths address differentiated instructional strategies for diverse classrooms, including ideas for addressing gifted and talented students and second language learners.

She has taught a variety of grades at the elementary level and language arts programs in middle and high schools.

Martha’s best-selling book Begin With the Brain: Orchestrating the Learner-Centered Classroom is in its second edition. Her book Teachers, Change Your Bait! Brain-Compatible Differentiated Instruction provides teachers with a “tackle box” of instructional strategies. For her work in the San Francisco Bay area, Martha was awarded the Mason-McDuffie-Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University and a master’s degree in human behavior from City University.