Stopwatch Teacher

How one teacher got about 1,000 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders to sit up, listen, and learn, through the use of her many innovative techniques."Did you ever march around the playground chanting the multiplication table in time to your footsteps? Did you know how to type 40 WPM by the time you left the fourth grade? Ever play chess with a blindfolded George Koltanowski? Do you know how to correctly score a baseball game for each inning, including runs, hits, errors, and men left on base? Well, if youa?d been one of my students back in the 1960a?s, 70a?s or 80a?s, you would be saying yes to most of these questions.College had taught me what to teach, but not how to teach. When I started in San Josea?s Union School District in 1957, I knew in my gut that kids didna?t learn anything by memorizing - they learned by doing, so thata?s what I did - I got them out of their seats and into action. Students used my stopwatch to time everything from games to spelling tests; learning in my class was interactive, fast-paced, and fun." ~ ECRRobertson, Edith Coffin is the author of 'Stopwatch Teacher', published 2006 under ISBN 9780972772136 and ISBN 0972772138.