WBT: Mirror and Switch

 

“Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery - it's the sincerest form of learning.” George Bernard Shaw

No matter how you say it- imitation, copying, mimicking- the truth is that when students do it, they are more likely to remember it. These two aspects of Whole Brain teaching I believe are closely related to each other. They both involve having the students copying the teachers words and actions.

In Mirror, the teacher directs the students to copy her action she says while teaching a concept. There are three types of actions the teacher may form:
1. Casual- these are the type which many of us do when talking.
2. Graphic- these ones match what you are saying, like in charades!
3. Memory- these are being linked to core concepts, and should therefore each be unique, so when reviewing for a test all you have to do is do the simple gesture and the whole class automatically can repeat for you what it represents, even months later.

In switch, the teacher uses Class-Yes, but instead of having the students simultaneously telling each other the lesson just taught, the class is divided into two groups and they take turns teaching each other.

The two concepts are linked because when doing Switch, the students who are not teaching are mirroring the actions of the teaching student.

In my future classroom I can see this enhancing critical thinking skills because students are actively engaging multiple parts of their brains. It will also be like a game to them to see how well their partner remembers what the teacher first taught.



My First Steps Response Blogs:
Class-Yes
Teach-Okay
Scoreboard
Hands and Eyes


To get your own copy of the Posters above, just click on the image to go to the Google documents.

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