Becoming a "Wiz" at Brain-Based Teaching: How to Make Every Year Your Best Year [Paperback]

Marilee B. Sprenger (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0761978615 | ISBN-13: 978-0761978619 | Publication Date: August 23, 2001

This user-friendly guide effectively discusses expert findings about brain growth, structure, and functions to help teachers and administrators foster a love of learning in all students. 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Marilee Sprenger does the best job of translating brain research into classroom practice. If you are interested in that topic, hers is the book to read." 

(Paul Chance )

"An exceptional book-well-researched, highly practical and very in touch with the everyday needs of today’s teacher. In the glut of teaching books out on the market, this one really stands out." 

(Eric Jensen )

 "The reader-friendly flow of this book is in the top 1% of all similar texts that I have read. It provides solid background information with appropriate vignettes to facilitate the personalization of the material-it was a delight to read!"

(Shawn Van Etten, Ph.D. )

About the Author

Marilee Sprenger is an adjunct professor at Aurora University, where she teaches graduate courses on brain-based teaching, learning and memory, and differentiation. A creative and compassionate educator, she began her career teaching prekindergarten and kindergarten. She has also taught at the elementary, middle, and high school level. As an independent consultant, her passion is brain-based teaching and best practices using brain research and differentiation. She also consults in the areas of learning styles, using music in the classroom, teaming, multiple intelligences, emotional intelligence, and memory. As an educational consultant with Two Rivers Professional Development Center, she worked for the Illinois Regional Offices of Education in the area of staff development associated with learning standards and testing. She speaks internationally, and her interactive and engaging style allows participants to make connections with their classrooms and their students. She is affiliated with the American Academy of Neurology and is constantly updated on current research. Sprenger is the author of several books, including Memory 101 for Educators and Becoming a Wiz at Brain-Based Teaching, Second Edition, published by Corwin Press. She has contributed to textbooks, and her articles have appeared in publications such as Educational Leadership and the ASCD Brain-based Education/Learning Styles Networker. Her dedication to education has won her many awards, but she cherishes most the wonderful students and teachers whose lives have touched hers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Corwin Press (August 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761978615
• ISBN-13: 978-0761978619
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #789,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative introduction to the field, February 19, 2002

By 

George Zee (www.frzee.org, Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Becoming a "Wiz" at Brain-Based Teaching: How to Make Every Year Your Best Year (Paperback)

The book is easy and interesting to read. So much current and practical material has been incorporated into this slim book, cleverly organized around the analogies of The Wizard of Oz. Marilee, as an experienced teacher who reads extensively, has the gift to select the essentials to provide an over-all introduction to "brain-based teaching". The Table of Contents will give a good idea of the scope of coverage: structure of the brain, dealing with stress, emotional growth, developmental cognitive skills, 5 kinds of memories, 8 intelligences, use of music, brain states, brain food, sleep, exercise, learning environment, learning styles, brain-based asesssment...

Once the appetite is aroused by the introduction here, readers can move on to Eric Jensen's books, esp. "Brain-based Learning", "Different Brains, Different Learners". Jensen's recent books all have much better visual format, more sketches and pictures.

(The "marshmallow experiments" on impulse control quoted by Goleman is also quoted here (p. 49). Various authors, e.g. John Gottman, have actually challenged the conclusions.)

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable to all teachers, December 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Becoming a "Wiz" at Brain-Based Teaching: How to Make Every Year Your Best Year (Paperback)

This slender book is packed with insight into brain research and how to use it to make learning easier and a more pleasant experience for the students and teacher. Sprenger covers safety issues, learning styles and how to change your teaching address them, the effects of stress and how to lesson it, physical needs of the brain, the different kinds of intelligence, and much more. The information is more accessible because much of it is presented as stories from the author's own classrooms and life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding resource no teacher's college or reference library should be without., February 3, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Becoming a "Wiz" at Brain-Based Teaching: How to Make Every Year Your Best Year (Paperback)

Teachers will find this revised and expanded second edition of a best-selling guide is packed with tips on the latest research on learning, memory and the brain - and uses these insights to change approaches to classroom teaching. From helping readers translate theory into practice to brain-compatible classroom management strategies and emotional skills development for different grade levels, BECOMING A 'WIZ' AT BRAIN-BASED TEACHING: HOW TO MAKE EVERY YEAR YOUR BEST YEAR is an outstanding resource no teacher's college or reference library should be without.