Workshops
Do see a workshop you are interested in but would like to tweak it to meet the specific needs of your district/campus? Not a problem. My pledge, is to work with you to provide the best professional development for your educators. Contact me (jbillingsley@satx.rr.com) about designing a session that will specifically meet the needs of your campus.
Content Trailers: Learn to create a media-rich presentation that sparks learning at light speed! Experience the power of this compelling and engaging “Hook” that combines technology, images and music to create a powerful tool for learning. more information
Learning Center Magic: Learning Centers aren’t just for little ones… Develop and utilize Learning Centers in the middle and high school classroom. Differentiated instruction has never been more compelling or more FUN! more information
Teaching is the Art of Sculpting the Brain: Relating important discoveries in Neuroscience to the real world of the classroom! Interactive Vocabulary: Learn new techniques that will turn mundane vocabulary assignments into a multi-sensory experience, where students hear, see and feel new vocabulary words. Discover how a Word Wall can become a 3-D experience. more information
First and Last Five Minutes: “Prime Time Rituals” and “Blinking Students at the Door”- Techniques to successfully start and end each class period. Leave this session armed with practical techniques that will set your classroom up for achievement. Have fun with reading facial expressions and interpreting body language, all so that you can create a better learning environment. Spend less time on discipline and more time inspiring and teaching. more information
Relationships Matter: “When you are smiling, the whole world smiles with you”. Did you know that emotions are contagious? That a smile can spread like a virus! Discover how empathy and concern can enrich relationships. Increase the social intelligence of your staff. more information
Workshop Details
Learn to create a media-rich presentation that sparks learning at light speed! Experience the power of this compelling and engaging “Hook” that combines technology, images and music to create a powerful tool for learning. (3 or 6 hour session)
A Content Trailer (like a movie trailer) is a short, 3-8 minute, media/content-rich experience that stimulates the viewer both visually and emotionally. Content Trailers invoke the inquiry process in students and help cement key concepts into memory. Can you imagine … a technique that delivers key elements of your State Standards, that will leave students wanting to learn MORE … and it only takes 3-8 minutes?
“Tell your story with imagery and music, so it grabs attention, evokes emotion, and is more instantly processed and stored to memory. Sixty thousand times faster, say some researchers”!
In this workshop, you will learn to:
• Use technology, imagery and music to evoke emotion and make content memorable
• Identify & implement brain-friendly strategies to create Content Trailers
• Use State Standards and clarifying statements to develop content rich Content Trailers
• Direct and guide students in the creation of their own Content Trailers
Learning Centers aren’t just for little ones… Develop and utilize Learning Centers in the middle and high school classroom. (6 hour session)
Differentiated instruction has never been more compelling or more FUN! This workshop, based on current neuroscience research, will equip teachers with a powerful new technique for incorporating “work stations” into the middle/high school classroom. I will model the eight steps to creating a brain-friendly learning environment, where students engage, focus and accept responsibility for their own learning. You will not simply learn about learning centers … you will learn to design and implement them!
Intelligence is a function of experience, therefore the best learning environment, is one that allows students to experience learning!
In this workshop, you will learn how to:
• Reduce direct- teach time (up to 50%) as you replace it with student-centered learning.
• Create a brain friendly environment, incorporating brain friendly (differentiated) lessons that engage the whole brain.
• Create concrete, novel, multi-sensory experiences that will form the foundation or “prior knowledge” to which new information can be attached.
Teaching is the Art of Sculpting the Brain:
Relating important discoveries in Neuroscience to the real world of the classroom! Enrich the practice of teaching by exploring the biology of learning. This session will incorporate stories, insights, humor and new teaching strategies, as you explore the brain and learning. Discover how to design lessons that create a balance between acquiring knowledge and using knowledge. Teach kids to think with and use WHOLE BRAIN! (3 or 6 hour session)
Learn new techniques that will turn mundane vocabulary assignments into a multi-sensory experience, where students hear, see and feel new vocabulary words. Discover how a Word Wall can become a 3-D experience. Tap into the power of music, art and imagery to enhance vocabulary recall. Lean to use games, visual elaboration and cartooning to expand student vocabulary and increase reading comprehension. (3 hour session)
“Prime Time Rituals” and “Blinking Students at the Door”- Techniques to successfully start and end each class period. Leave this session armed with practical techniques that will set your classroom up for achievement. Have fun with reading facial expressions and interpreting body language, all so that you can create a better learning environment. Spend less time on discipline and more time inspiring and teaching.
Research documents that students engaged during the first five minutes of class typically remain engaged for the entire class. It has also revealed that the last five minutes of class are crucial to student understanding. Lessons need closure and summary. Create a start/end-of-class system, and where no one is waiting for the bell! (3 or 6 hour session)
“When you are smiling, the whole world smiles with you”. Did you know that emotions are contagious? That a smile can spread like a virus! This keynote utilizes inspirational stories to deliver valuable strategies on how we can better connect with students. Discover how empathy and concern can enrich relationships. Increase the social intelligence of your staff. The message, “the more connections you make, the more pathways to success you create”. (3 or 6 hour session)