I am looking for any teachers in Florida that are currently using Whole Brain Teaching for classroom management. I am in the Tampa area and would love to start a chat group for those interested in sharing ideas, tips and strategies.

Kimberlee

Hello!
I am currently living and teaching in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. I have been using Whole Brain Teaching for classroom management--and so much more!--all year and I absolutely love it. The kids really enjoy it too and I would be MORE than happy to start a chat/forum. How has WBT been for you?
Judith

I forgot to mention I teach High School English. I use WBT with my struggling students, but also with my Honors classes. I had taught middle school for years before and, boy I wish I had found WBT then! IT WORKS WONDERS.

Hi Judith,

Sorry I have not responded until now! I have not started using WBT yet as I am teaching preschool children this year. Next year I will be in an elementary school and want to begin WBT from day one. I am trying to figure out the basics still and would love to hear how you began the program with your class.

No problem, I know how busy life can get! I can imagine WBT working really well with the PreK brigade--they LOVE games!!! Sometimes I think it's the High School kids who are the most skeptical, as they are consumed with being "cool." But mostly, my kids do enjoy it--and most of all, IT WORKS!!! The other week I had put some time aside to review words for the following day's vocabulary test. My first two blocks used either www.quizlet.com (a great site) or they worked on sentences etc in pairs. However, my principal walked in on my third block class (my "lowest" FCAT scoring class) so I seized the opportunity to show off the joys of WBT using Teach OK. That block out scored both other (Honors) classes on the test the next day!!!

Hello...I guess I'm #3 in the Tampa Bay area. I teach 5th Grade in Lakeland. I've actually only been using WBT for a day, so I'm excited to see what my class and I can accomplish.

I teach 8th grade math in Hernando County - just north of Tampa. I tried WBT for a day last week in two of my classes with mixed results. I just wanted to get a feel for it and plan to implement fully next year. It takes a lot of work to put together a good WBT lesson with micro lessons and gestures, so I will be doing a lot of planning this summer!

My K-2 team started power teaching two weeks ago. We are impressed with the student response and other teachers in the school stare wide-eyed when they see it in action. I like what I see and am looking forward to opening a new year with this system. We are looking at improving our own implementation of the score board. We would be willing to share our stories and ideas with others in Florida.
Mary

I, too, teach in Hernando County, Florida and would be interested in corresponding with other middle/high school teachers who are beginning WBT or have used it successfully in the classroom. After viewing some of the videos---2 middle school and one college--I feel the best "fit" for my teaching style would be the college WBT. However, I'm open to hearing what worked (what didn't) and the steps you followed as you began the WBT journey. Thanks!

PLEASE seriously consider a summer road trip to West Palm Beach. August 11th is a Whole Brain Teaching conference and it's FREE! Most workshops costs your school (or you) a lot of money, but one of the greatest things about WBT is it's free! The timing is perfect. You can get some training at the workshop, network with other Whole Brain Teachers and then stride into that classroom of yours on Day One with complete confidence, perfect student behavior (and motivation), and, as Chris would say, tears of joy! Get some fellow teachers to carpool....see you there!?

Where and what do you teach in Hernando County? I teach math at Powell Middle School.

Can pre-service teachers attend the conference in West Palm? I'm taking classes this summer and will be graduating in December. I would love to use WBT IF I can land a job next year!

Is it being held at the Wellington Christian School? Or is that just the contact person? I live in Orlando and would have to make arrangements to come to West Palm for the weekend.

I just completed my senior internship and I tried to implement power teaching when I took over. It was a little difficult because the supervising teacher already had rules in place. I sort of combined them both and it worked fairly well. But, I can't wait to get my own classroom so I can use WBT full time. That is assuming I get my own classroom any time soon.

How do we register for the WBT class this summer? I need to look how far away W. Palm beach is from Tampa. Anyone from Tampa attending?

Hi. My Husband and I live in Wesley Chapel (just north of Tampa) and we are attending the West Palm Beach conference. I believe it is about 4 hours to the west. We plan on getting a hotel the night before and maybe the night of the conference also. My husband is a senior in college getting his degree in elementary education and I just graduated with my master's degree in December in another field. I have been unable to find a job in my field so I have taken the subject area exams for biology 6-12, math 6-12, and chemistry 6-12 and passed. I have my letter of intent and all my ducks in a row, and now just waiting for jobs to be posted for external applicants. The only reason I believe I will get a job is because both science and math are critical needs areas. I was originally terrified at the thought of teaching, until I found Whole Brain Teaching. Now I am so excited to get in a class room and put this system to work. The more I discover about it the more I am blown away. I have even talked to the asst. Principal at my son's elementary school about it, but unfortunately it does not seem to have gotten very far. Anyway, I would love to be part of a support group for Whole Brian Teaching in the Tampa Bay area! As soon as I know what subject I will be hired in, I want to start planning right away. I even plan on having a mock class with my kids, their friends, my niece and nephews over the summer to practice. I used just the class - yes (modified to son - yes) on my son when we do his homework and he LOVED it and asked me if we could do it again the next night. I really knew I had hit the jackpot after seeing his reaction! Anyway, I feel like I am rambling now. Point is I would definitely be interested in being part of a group from this area. I also think that finding Whole Brain Teaching is going to be the key to separating me from everyone else when I interview, because when questions about classroom management come up I will have a concrete plan to present to the interviewer! Thank you so much Chris Biffle et. al.!!!! Oh last thing to register for the conference I just emailed Lisa Powell ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and she is sending out information via regular mail.

I just thought of something else. Is there any teachers in the greater Tampa Bay area that are currently using WBT in their classroom that would be able to let me come observe one day before the school year ends? I am an approved volunteer in Pasco County and have observed classrooms in Pasco, don't know how it would work in another county? If there is some way to make it work though that would be really amazing and would help me immensely.

Not sure. Ask Lisa Powell, she's the conference coordinator. Hope to see you there!

Actually, I wasn't talking about at the conference. I was wondering if there are any local (Tampa Bay, FL area) teachers who use WBT this year that I could come observe their class. Hillsborough, Pasco, or Hernando counties would all be close enough for me if I can find someone currently using WBT in these areas.

I'm at West Hernando Middle.
Have you begun WBT in your middle school class this year? If so, what did you implement and how did your students respond?

Unfortunately, I have a workshop scheduled for the week WBT training will be in South Florida. Are you planning to attend?

I only used WBT for 2 classes on one day. I really just wanted to get a feel for it and how it meshed with my teaching style. My first class really responded well and got into it. My second class was mixed, however the following week some of my students in the second class who were groaning that "this is stupid" wanted to know when I would do the "fun" teaching again. So, based on that I think it was a successful experiment and I plan to implement it for next year. I want to go to the conference in Ft. Lauderdale and sent off for the registration material (it's not here yet). Hopefully my schedule will allow it - hard to plan that far off.

If I go, I'll be glad to get with you on what was covered at the conference.

Cheryl
Powell Middle School, Hernando