2007 Teacher Orientation and
Continuous Learning Institute (TOCLI)

Dr. Rich Allen earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Arizona State University in 1998 with an emphasis on cognitive learning theory. The focus of his research is on how the brain receives, processes, stores, and recalls information. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the same university in 1979 with a Bachelor in Fine Arts. He is the author of two best-selling books in the field of education: Impact Teaching: Ideas and strategies for teachers to maximize student learning and TrainSmart. Dr. Allen is the President of Education Illustrated LLC, a staff development and training firm specializing in the facilitation of dynamic staff development and training programs on a variety of topics including brain-based teaching and brain-friendly mathematics. Education Illustrated may be best known for its use of humorous educational images to motivate and illustrate important educational concepts. Dr. Allen has presented extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, England, Australia, New Zealand, and Rio de Janeiro.

 

Dr. Marcia Tate served the DeKalb County School System in Decatur, Georgia for thirty years prior to becoming a National Educational Consultant and presenter. She excelled in the profession as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, language arts coordinator, and staff development director. She earned the 2001 Distinguished Staff Developer Award for the State of Georgia.

Dr. Tate is the author of four books: Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strategies that Engage the Brain; “Sit and Get” Won’t Grow Dendrites; Reading and Language Arts Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites, and her most recent Corwin publication on classroom management, Shouting Won’t Grow Dendrites: 20 Techniques for Managing a Brain-compatible Classroom.