WBT Conference

I'm home from my visit to Union, MO. where I attended my first Whole Brain Teaching (WBT)conference.  It's late and I'm still up as I imagine many fellow conference attendees to be.  I'm sitting in the dark with my laptop keeping me warm while my brain is trying to remember, organize and file all it learned in the past two days.  It was an intense conference which has left me exhausted, excited and even somewhat intimidated.  

The conference began with over 600 participants gathering in the small town of Union, Missouri.  A teacher friend and myself left bright and early Tuesday morning and drove the two-plus hours it took to get there with great hope in our hearts.  I am always hopeful of finding the key to teaching, the piece that will allow me to reach each child and manage every behavior.  Even after 20 years of educating children, I am still thrilled to improve my craft and welcome new ideas.

I'm not sure that all of the material presented was new.  We have been talking about the brain for quite awhile now and are aware of the fact that we need to modify how we teach to reach certain students and that not all children will learn with one stylistic approach.  However, even with this knowledge, most educators have been unable to really overhaul their method of delivery. 

Enter Chris Biffle, his alter ego, Coach B. and WBT.  As a psychology instructor, Chris found himself using lecture as a primary mode of information delivery; which was ineffective for most of his students.  After some realization, reflection and research, he devised the Whole Brain Teaching method of management and instruction.  This method activates all the primary regions of your brain, assisting student learning by making the input and retrieval of  information easier to manage.  It's the type of instruction that children deserve.  Instruction that works for all students and not  just the few. 

I mentioned that the conference was intense and it's true.  Coach B. is energetic and loud.  He speaks firmly and with passion.   He gets your attention and keeps it... for hours.  He demonstrates rather than explains what Whole Brain Teaching is comprised of and requires that all teachers participate in the learning process.  He was able to show us what we should expect from our students by the expectations he set for us.  I won't lie... he intimidated me a at first.  The intimidation I felt though diminished quickly as I was inspired by Mr. Biffle.  He showed me a whole new way of thinking about teaching and now I'm counting down the days to the beginning of school and becoming a Whole Brain classroom teacher.

Excitedly,

Bells

p.s.  28 days until the first day of school