Brain Breaks

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this year I have been implementing Brain Breaks more regularly than last year - and with considerable success!

How I do Brain Breaks

I set the timer on my phone for 15 minutes after I take attendance and do my no-phone ritual at the beginning of class. When the timer goes off, we stop what we are doing and do the Brain Break or do it as soon as we finish the activity we were doing. I do not do Brain Breaks when students are working independently because of the self-paced nature of such activities.

What I like about Brain Breaks

They refresh the students' brains - and mine! - to continue what we were doing - receiving comprehensible input in Latin. I also like to remind my students that Brain Breaks are a chance for me to make my students' well-being a priority. Our students are in class for 6+ hours with little downtime (they have to be "learning from bell to bell," remember?). Let's not forget the immense pressure on students to be involved in extracurricular activities, do homework, study, hold jobs, and tend to the needs of their families. Brain Breaks are my way of telling my students, "Downtime is a good thing. It is okay to take a break."

Some Brain Breaks I love (so far)

• Tangite (Touch) - kind of like Simon Says, but without the tricking. In the first week of Latin I, I introduced three body parts (head, nose, chin). Every week I introduce a new body part, so students are getting repeated input of body parts without having to have a body parts unit or requiring the students to memorize body parts vocabulary.
• Name Game - I like to do this one within the first week of school. I select a student in one corner of the room. They say their name. Then their neighbor has to say the first student's name and then their own name. The third person then says the previous two students' names and then their own name. And so on until we go through all the students. Then I have to name all the students in order. This helps me put names to faces. That I have to do it last and know all the names takes the pressure off of the students too.
• Sentence-by-Sentence Story - The students make their own story. I start with one student, who says one word. The next student adds another word to the student and so on. Since I teach Latin I and II, I have only done this in English, but I may try it in Latin with my Latin II students in the spring.
• Line Up - The students have to line up based on a particular criterion, such as height, age, hair length, et al.
• Class Wave - The class does the wave from one end of the classroom and back. I have also done a variation on this with clapping; one student claps, the next student claps twice, the third student claps once, the fourth student claps twice, and so on.
• 4 Corners - The students move to a corner of the room depending on how they answer a question (so the question must have four answers or 3 answers and an "other" answer). Questions I've used are: what is your favorite color? Favorite time of day? Favorite season? Birth month? Favorite sport? Favorite pet? Favorite type of movie?
• Would you rather? - I project two options in Latin, count the number of students who choose each option, state the number of students in Latin (e.g. Duodecim discipuli malunt habere pecuniam.). Questions I've used include: Would you rather have true love or money? Know the day when you will die or how you will die? Have more time or more money?
• Do Nothing for 2 Minutes - Just as the title states. If students do anything (e.g. talk, eat, make noise), then we resume class. I project this on my screen: http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/
• Silent Ball - The students throw a ball to each other, but they cannot talk or noise. If they do, the Brain Break ends.

I'm always looking for more Brain Break ideas, so please share yours with me! 🧠

My Teaching and Learning Styles

I just started taking a Gifted certification class and one of our first assignments was to take two quizzes to find out our preferred teaching style and learning style. I love learning more about myself and quizzes/surveys/personality tests (Buzzfeed quizzes are a guilty pleasure), so I did the quizzes this morning.

For better or for worse, both quizzes were based off of two personality type tests. The learning style test was based off of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which I first learned about during my senior year of high school when a friend introduced me to it. In case you do not know about MBTI, it categorizes people into one of 16 personality types. Each personality type consists of four dichotomies: Extraversion/Introversion (how we derive our energy), Sensing/iNtuition - the N is capitalized (how we take in information), Thinking/Feeling (how we make decisions), and Judging/Perceiving (how we approach the world around us). There are tests online to find out your type, if you are interested.

I am typed as an INFJ. As an introvert, I love my alone time and working independently. This is why I come into work before 6:00 AM; I need that quiet alone time to reflect and plan my day. If I came into work when it is noisy and full of people, I would feel stressed and get scatterbrained (in the case of the latter, even more so than I usually am!). Since teachers are paid to interact with people, it is easy to label us as extroverts, but many teachers are introverts. Does teaching sap me of my social energy? Absolutely! During my planning period, I need some time to recharge: to check my phone, scroll through social media, surf the web, write on this blog. On the other hand, teaching is great for me as an introvert because my classroom is all my own. My team and I all cooperate, plan, and support one another, but my classroom reflects my personality and style. I am grateful to have autonomy in my classroom and simultaneously the support of my team. Indeed it is the best of both worlds.

Although MBTI is not taken seriously in modern psychology, I must admit that my discovery of it at the age of 17 was life-changing. For the first time in my life, I learned what introversion was and that it was totally normal that I was private, did not talk much, and preferred my own company. Before that, I was made to feel like there was something wrong with me. School told me to be more involved in extracurricular activities and participate more in class. Thanks to social media, introversion is finally getting some spotlight (ironic?) and the respect that it deserves, but we still have a long way to go.
Back to teaching and learning styles, of course I got typed as a Self-Expressive Learner, fitting for NF types. This test identifies learners as one of four objects: a paper clip, a Slinky, a teddy bear, or a magnifying glass. Paper clips love organization, structure, and productivity. Slinkies love creativity and autonomy. Teddy bears love community and emotional affirmation. Magnifying glasses love inquiry and analysis. In my special ed class in grad school, we had to self-identify as one of these. I identified firstly as a magnifying glass, with a touch of a Slinky. Today I found out, however, that Self-Expressive Learners are Slinkies. Self-Expressive Learners are described as:

Curious, insightful, and imaginative. Intuitive Feelers are the ones who dare to dream, are committed to their values, are open to alternatives, and are constantly searching for new and unusual ways to express themselves.

I better not hear the "Some people are like Slinkies" joke.

So much in that short statement captures what I love about studying language: seeing the world from another culture's perspective (open to alternatives) and self-expression through the active use of the target language (searching for new and unusual ways to express themselves).

Self-Expressive Learners' approach to learning:

Intuitive-Feeling students approach learning eager to explore ideas, generate new solutions to problems, and discuss moral dilemmas. Their interests are varied and unpredictable, but they prefer activities which allow them to use their imaginations and do things in unique ways. They are turned off by routine or rote assignments and prefer questions which are open ended, such as "What would happen if...?"

Intuitive Feelers are highly motivated by their own interests. Things of interest will be done inventively well. Things which they do not like may be done poorly or forgotten altogether. When engaged in a project which intrigues them, time is meaningless. Intuitive Feelers operate by an "internal clock" and, therefore, often feel constrained or frustrated by external rules or schedules.

Intuitive Feelers are independent and noncomformist. They do not fear being different and are usually aware of their own and others' impulses. They are open to the irrational and not confined by convention. They are sensitive to beauty and symmetry and will comment on the aesthetic characteristics of things.
Intuitive Feelers prefer not to follow step-by-step procedures but rather move where their intuition takes them. They prefer to find their own solutions rather than being told what to do or how to do it. They are able to take intuitive leaps, and they trust their own insights. Intuitive Feelers often take circuitous routes to solving problems and may not be able to explain how they arrived at the answer.

Highly adaptable to new solutions, Intuitive Feelers are flexible in thought and action. They prefer dynamic environments with many resources and materials. Intuitive Feelers, more than any other type, are less likely to be disturbed by changes in routine. They are comfortable working with a minimum of directions. Their work is sometimes scattered and may look chaotic to thinking types. Intuitive Feeling learners are often engaged in a number of activities at the same time and move from one to the other according to where their interests take them. Often, they start more projects than they can finish.

To little surprise, I was also typed as a Self-Expressive Teacher:

Self-Expressive (NF) Teachers are innovation-oriented. The teacher encourages students to explore their creative abilities. Insights and original ideas are highly valued. Discussions revolve around generating possibilities and new relationships. The classroom environment is often full of creative clutter. The teacher encourages students to develop their own unique styles. The curriculum emphasizes creative thinking, moral development, values, and flexible, imaginative approaches to learning. Curiosity, insight, and artistic self-expression are welcomed.

How does this look in my classroom and beyond?

This blog is a great example. The appearance is upbeat, quirky, and colorful like me. The name combines my professional and personal interests for the sake of authenticity. The field of the Classics itself is a personal interest that later became my profession. On this blog, I will write about anything that relates to the teaching of Latin and of ancient and medieval civilization in general. Unlike many professional blogs, I cannot limit myself to one theme or area of expertise. If readers would prefer something more focused, then they should look elsewhere.

Teaching with CI suits my Self-Expressive teaching style well. Traditional Latin teaching often discourages students from taking ownership of the language and using it for self-expression and creative purposes. As a student, I did not really find any creative outlet in my Latin classes until I had prose composition. My students, on the other hand, get creative when they do timed writes, draw, act out our stories, and write their own mini-stories in Latin. I love when my students ask, "How do you say this in Latin?!" CI teaching must have the three Cs: comprehensible (Do my students understand the input in the target language?), compelling (Do the topics that we study and the activities that we do in class matter and interest my students?), and caring (Do my students feel supported and accepted in my class?). My Self-Expressive style truly prioritizes and values the three Cs in my classroom. The purpose of language is self-expression, so I am honored to encourage that in my students every day.