EP312 5 brain-based ways to help kids who shut down in class (with Dr. John Spencer)
Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers
Angela Watson
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 13 October 2024
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When students give up on assignments or get overwhelmed, it's tough to find ways to help them re-engage.
So, I've invited Dr. John Spencer (https://spencereducation.com/) of The Creative Classroom podcast (https://spencereducation.com/podcast/) to help us uncover 5 brain-based ways to help kids who shut down in class. John is a former middle school teacher and current college professor on a quest to transform schools into bastions of creativity and wonder.
Listen in as John and I explore how to:
1. Intentionally cultivate self-empowerment (the ability to self-regulate and self-direct.)
2. Introduce creative constraints when kids are overwhelmed.
3. Use the gradual release model to slowly acclimate students to more self-directed work.
4. Think diagnostically, looking for root causes beyond those related to behavior.
5. Call impromptu workshops when you notice a significant number of students struggling.
Get the shareable article/transcript for this episode here.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Episode 312 of Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers. I'm your host, Angela Watson, |
| 0:08.5 | and I'm here to speak encouragement into the hearts of educators and get you informed and energized for the week ahead. |
| 0:15.3 | Today, I'm talking with Dr. John Spencer about brain-based ways to support kids who shut down in class. |
| 0:22.8 | Visit truthforteachers.com for an easy-to-read, easy-to-share version of this podcast episode. |
| 0:30.5 | If you use Google Chrome, you need to know about my favorite free Chrome extension for teachers. |
| 0:36.9 | It's called brisk Teaching and it can |
| 0:38.8 | instantly trim hours off the time it takes to write high-quality personalized feedback on student |
| 0:44.5 | work. And the feedback tool is just one of 30 plus that Brisk offers, including creating |
| 0:50.6 | Google slides and Google Form quizzes. Add Brisk to Chrome for free by heading to |
| 0:55.8 | briskteaching.com. This episode is also brought to you by a really important podcast that I hope |
| 1:03.8 | you'll check out. It's called Opportunity Gap, How to Support Kids of Color who Learned |
| 1:09.0 | differently. It's hosted by Julian Savedra, an assistant principal in Philadelphia, |
| 1:14.5 | who spent nearly 20 years working in public schools. |
| 1:18.0 | You'll hear Julian talk with parents and experts to offer tools that will help you support your students. |
| 1:23.9 | You can even share this free podcast with kids' families. |
| 1:27.2 | It's a wonderful resource for parents as well. |
| 1:30.4 | To listen to Opportunity Gap, just search for Opportunity Gap, how to support kids of color |
| 1:36.2 | who learn differently in your podcast app. That's Opportunity Gap, how to support kids of color |
| 1:42.9 | who learn differently. Today I'm talking with a friend of |
| 1:47.4 | mine that I've been connecting with for over 15 years. John Spencer and I first connected |
| 1:52.8 | through our blogs way back in 2008, and we've been discussing all things education and entrepreneurship |
| 1:59.3 | ever since. And I realized recently that I've never |
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