Brain-friendly instructional practices and principal leadership in schools

¶ … Laura Erlauer-Myrah (2006) entitled "Applying brain-friendly instructional practices: one principal's advice: start with a group of motivated teachers to plant the seeds of climate change," the various approaches of successfully implementing a successful learning experience to the students are highlighted. This article has specifically stated that the method of "brain-friendly instructional practice" that will be facilitated by the highly motivated teachers will provide higher educational results.

It is further highlighted in this article that the teachers are not the only ones who should facilitate better instructional practices because the principal can also play a significant role. Individual students and their learning matter the most in schools. To effect change in students, every member of the educational institution must work through each teacher. Since principals will have been learning about brain-compatible instructional strategies alongside some teachers, they have a wonderful opportunity to share advice. The principal should be in the best position to determine the most effective way to accomplish this sharing among faculty. Principals can promote the most substantive change through their supervision discussions with each teacher. To promote risk-taking, new ideas should be shared in a positive, helpful manner, not in a punitive fashion. Principals should also accommodate for the differing needs of each teacher as it relates to learning new instructional practices. For instance, one teacher may view the principal as an instructional leader with a wealth of knowledge to share and may frequently ask for advice. With this teacher, the principal may readily give suggestions based on ideas learned from her or his own reading.

However, another teacher may feel threatened by that same treatment from the principal. She or he may view this as the boss mandating new practices. As such, it might be wise for the principal to share ideas in terms of what has been learned and tried by colleagues who participate in the district's study/discussion group. In this way, the principal is not judging the teacher but simply passing along an idea heard from another. In either case, the principal should watch for the teacher to attempt a new strategy and then recognize and support the effort.

Other suggestions offered in the article which are hoped to enhance the brain-compatible practices within a school include:

Maintaining an emotionally safe environment

To fully inspire students' minds to learn the academics, teachers and the rest of the school administrators must first capture the students' hearts. Every day should begin for each student with a warm smile and/or a handshake from staff members in the hallways. Staff members are not tucked away in their offices or behind their desks.

Another idea to maintain an emotionally safe environment is by enforcing common rules throughout the school so students feel secure in the behavioral expectations regardless of where they happen to be working or playing. This may include stressing that each classroom meets with a buddy classroom of a different grade level regularly to promote respect and collaboration amongst all ages of students. Another possible approach is by requiring that each homeroom teacher guide his or her class to craft a social contract in which students decide and commit to how they will treat each other during the school year.

With these ideas, it can be guaranteed that the staff -teachers and other educational facilitators - are fully on board with consistently pursuing these initiatives because it makes their work environment pleasurable and, most importantly, they see the positive impact on the students.

Article's Possible effect to the Elementary Public School in San Francisco CA

This article can provide positive effects to the elementary school in San Francisco CA. It should be noted that the elementary students are the ones who are normally hard to teach. Because of their young minds, there will always be distractions. There are instances that these young students are very hard to motivate in terms of learning. Needless to say, teachers of the elementary students, particularly in the public schools of San Francisco CA are facing a very big challenge of promoting higher educational achievements for the students.

With the ideas presented in the article, the teachers then will realize the value of using valuable instructional practices in their methods of teaching. They will learn different techniques that will motivate the students to learn. They will discover different approaches to minimizing distractions and using different activities to make the elementary students enjoy and do invigorating activities while learning.

Reference:

Erlauer-Myrah, Laura. 1 December 2006. "Applying brain-friendly instructional practices: one principal's advice: start with a group of motivated teachers to plant the seeds of climate change." American Association of School Administrators