Educators, Are You Ready To Enhance Your Teaching Methods, Without Burning the Midnight Oil?
Frustrated Over Improving Student Participation And Learning Skills?
K-12 educators get more bad news than good lately in the press, but the expectation remains - in every class room around the globe -teachers should be making students learn AND improving student learning abilities ... which means enhancing life skills. What everyone doesn't know - except teachers - there's a lot more involved to improving learning skills and making like skills than having a student attend class.
I think that the tools at this web site - Education Reporting, Inc. (ERI) - support every K-12 educator in improving student learning skills and expanding student life skills too.
Why? I have been an educator in a classroom. I understand the challenges.
There is more to teaching than having students pass high stakes tests.
The "knowledge transfer" process MUST take place for "meaningful" learning to occur.
Learning isn't automatic just because teacher and student are present in the same room.
Standards for curriculum don't guarantee an equitable learning environment for all students.
What is the secret that turns your lesson into a golden egg?
I have TWO absolute freebies for you. Nothing to buy.
Yes, I'm going to share my homework with you
so you can put advice from experts
to work in your classroom.
1. Five Superior Reports on K-12 Education
2. Five Successful Best Practice Resources
My career includes more than 25 years of working with individuals and
groups in business, academic, and community situations.
I've managed successful technology projects at American Express and
IBM. That means working with employees, engineers, Enterprise
management. I was responsible for developing, driving,
implementing and troubleshooting hundreds of global projects worth
millions of dollars.
Over many years I developed and used successful methods to train
professionals and teachers in using project based material.
As a highly qualified science teacher I taught physics, chemistry and biology in high school.
I have a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction.
Personally,
I sponsored student service-learning projects in my classes which in
turn developed student service-learning at neighboring schools.
Teaching is the most fun and meaningful work I've ever accomplished. My lessons consistently included some level of project based learning.
Teaching, without a doubt, has the capability to touch thousands and thousands of lives with significant results.
In a school where the community was rampant with crime and family distractions, I cultivated an environment where students wanted to learn. Teachers, administrators, and parents acknowledged my successes time and time again.
Now, I want to share my learning strategies with you.
My goal: support you in building a dynamic learning environment in your classroom.
I have seen in my students that project based work helps build life skills: improving social habits, developing critical thinking techniques, peer to peer learning, and global citizen behaviors.
I think two of the best methods for discovering
tomorrow's emerging leaders
in today's K-12 classes today include
Project Based Learning and Service Based Learning.
Clearly, the education goals of the United States have changed profoundly from those of a century ago. Classroom teachers are still often trained to be isolated content lecturers who engage in little collaboration with local communities, colleges, or businesses. Time to reinvent classroom education and I can help you. With a subscription to ERI you have access to grants, mastermind groups and more.
Turn An Ordinary Classroom into a Dynamic Learning Environment Using Project Learning And Service Learning While You Enrich Student Learning.
As a K-12 educator you have to choose the best method to accomplish learning. There are many great successes with project learning documented in current research. "...as students investigate and seek solutions to problems, they acquire an understanding of key principles and concepts. Project-based learning also places students in realistic, contextualized problem-solving environments. In so doing, projects can serve to build bridges between phenomena in the classroom and real-life experiences; the questions and answers that arise in their daily enterprise are given value and are shown to be open to systematic inquiry. Hence, project-based education requires active engagement of students' effort over an extended period of time. Project-based learning also promotes links among subject matter disciplines and presents an expanded, rather than narrow, view of subject matter..."
Blumenfeld, P., Soloway, E., Marx, R., Krajcik, J., Guzdial, M., & Palincsar, A. (1991) Motivating project-based learning: Sustaining the doing, supporting the learning. Educational Psychologist, 26 (3 & 4), 369-398.
What is Service Based Learning (SBL) or Service Learning (SL)? Having students apply class room knowledge to life outside of school is ESSENTIAL. This is the meaningful link from text book doldrums to the pulse of life. By using action oriented projects that provide benefits to the community, you are performing a service-learning project.
Service-learning uses projects that integrates community service with specific instruction and time for student reflection....
A. enables global citizen behaviors
B. enriches the learning experience
C. teaches civic responsibility
D. strengthens communities
E. builds character
Service-learning is designed with a foundation of service objectives in tandem with learning objectives, while both are based on the intent that the activity transforms both the giver (student) and the receiver (community) of the service. Accomplishing this requires the combination of specific service tasks with structured opportunities in the areas of the acquisition and comprehension of values, skills, knowledge content, and time for self reflection.
How To Implement Project Learning?
Project Based Learning (PBL) incorporates proven methods and supports students learning from peers. "PBL is a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges, simultaneously developing cross-curriculum skills while working in small collaborative groups." Eutopia
To support K-12 teachers ERI offers a myriad of tools, ideas and strategies.
grants for K-12 class work
free project learning and service-learning training, resources
free K-12 educator Mastermind group membership
Networking with other educators
green campus projects promoting social responsibility
Take the Step to Improving Student Participation - Be a Better Educator.
Effective learning environments are energetic and fluid. The methods of transferring knowledge are complex. Listening is required. Participation is required. Focused attention is required. Students have told me again and again... "We learn more from our class mates than we do in lectures and teacher presentations."
PBL is not....
- worksheets
- individual reading assignments
- teacher lecturing students
- students doing loads of homework
PBL is....
- students working in small groups focused on an issue/question/situation
- students graded by a definitive rubric
- teacher actively monitoring student groups not sitting at the desk, working on the computer, and/or grading assignments
- noisy class rooms while students actively work on the question/issue/situation
- student groups expected to produce specific tasks/items
I invite you as a subscriber to build dominant lessons with our PBL and SBL nuggets. Make your class environment potent. Students will achieve cross curriculum content and learning windows that examine relevant issues in all scio-economic situations.
Expand you understanding of learning theories, classroom management, and learning resources for 21st century students, which are based on research. Escape lesson drudgery and, without much fuss, take advantage of cutting edge knowledge trends.
Want To Build Project Based Curriculum -- But Can't Get Started?
Gear up your lesson and give students opportunities to jump start their abilities. Before you start you instruction time, be sure to align your learning objectives relative to the Standards in your school/district.
How to deliver a powerful lesson....
First, do brain storming on the board to identify key questions/ideas students have about a specific topic. This works well by putting students in pairs and instructing them to discuss possible questions/ideas for 2-3 minutes, then go around to each group and write down 1 or 2 questions/ideas they discovered.
Once there are plenty of questions/ideas on the board instruct each student to vote for the top three.
On the board now you have all but the top three vote getters crossed out or erased.
Next, have each student vote for their favorite of those three.
The top vote getter is your question/idea dealing with the topic you selected, based on your curriculum, that students are interested in - BINGO, students will study what interests them.
PLUS, your students just did all the work. Your only job was to keep them on task by doing active monitoring of the group discussions. Perhaps you used a student to write the responses on the board and tally the votes?
Next, allow students to discuss the possible solutions to the top vote getter... in small groups (maximum of three students)...
#1 for five minutes: have them discuss possible solutions for that idea/question
#2 have each group share, in two minutes or less, their group discussion results with the class
#3 record the group solutions on the board
#4 have students vote on the best solution from what is recorded on the board THEN award the students - so the entire class sees it happen - in the group that was voted the best solution with extra credit points.
You just completed the beginning of a project based experience.
To move forward from this beginning identify specific tasks students can perform that...
#1 achieve the learning objectives for your lesson
#2 are action oriented - students using their hands... communicating... using technology
#3 require cross-curriculum (reading, writing, math, science, fine arts) work.
For example, let's say the answer to #4 above was... Each student share one idea to reduce pollution in the neighborhood.
You write a simple rubric on the board to tell students the potential grade they can earn.
Be sure to tell them that each student in a group gets the same grade.
Solution or Situation
(focus of the group work)
Each student share one idea to reduce pollution in the neighborhood.
Tasks for groups to complete
Points awarded to all students in a group
End of Day One:
Each group has three potential ideas
3 points: Three ideas clearly documented
2 points: Two ideas clearly documented
1 point: One idea clearly documented
End of Day Two:
Each group has poster
3 points: Poster done with three ideas, everyone is contributing
2 points: Poster done with three ideas, some students doing all the work
1 point: Poster not finished
End of Day Three:
Four minute poster presentation by each group
3 points: Presentation clear and all group members participated in discussion
2 points: Presentation clear and all group members didn't participated in discussion
1 point: Presentation not clear or poster not complete
NOTE: I always have student groups grade the presentation group on presentation day. Then I take those group grades and average them so each student in the presenting group receives that average as their score.
ALWAYS - allow students plenty of time to produce and form their own investigation, using small groups. This will build their social skills, research skills, and cover multiple curriculum areas: reading, writing, science and maybe math too.
ALWAYS - have a clearly defined tasks/products/outcomes (presentation, report, experiment) that student groups make by engaging in design, using problem solving, using decision making, and using investigative activities.
Sign up as a subscriber TODAY and I'll send you an authentic TWO FREE Special Report.This FREE Special Report are chalked full of ideas and resources you can use to PBL and SBL in your classes. Discover the benefits of improving student participation!
Accomplish Improved Student Participation Quickly And Easily - 100% Guaranteed!
Unlock project learning and service learning with my three easy steps:
#1Sign up with an annual subscription to ERI for $25.95$19.95
That's LESS THAN two movie tickets with and one box of popcorn. This is a special price of $19.95, reduced from $25.95, that won't last forever.
Take advantage today for $1.67 per month
#2Apply for the classroom grants. Stay informed by reading our monthly newsletter and the Grant Solution List. Learn about available teacher grants to run a project based lesson with you classes. Then, run the project and receive the grant by fulfilling the grant requirements. Grants range from $95 - $350 per project.
#3 Utilize subscriber total access to the professional section of the ERI web site... reap benefits and jewels for your lessons and activities: FREE Mastermind groups, FREE downloads, and more.
Subscribe today PLUS, I'll send you a bonus of two FREE reports:
Special Report #1: Implement Project Based Learning and Service Based Learning
Special Report #2:Strategies to Build Critical Thinking Into Lessons
Money back guarantee - at the end of your 12 month subscription, if you have not received any benefits I'll refund your full subscription fee.
Two Free eBooks ... A $39.90 Value!
Provide A Gallery of Resources To Open New Learning Doors.
Special Report #1: How to Implement Project Based Learning and Service Based Learning This comprehensive bonus is crammed with resources to explain this type of learning, along with examples of projects already completed by K-12 classes around the word. Included is a wealth of information to help you grasp ideas and models to successfully empower you in designing, building, and instructing your project lessons. If you compiled the information in this ebook it would cost you hours and hours of time. It's a resource packed deal priced at $19.95.YOU CAN HAVE IT FOR FREE AS MY GIFT FOR YOUR SUBSCRIPTION. Special Report #2: Strategies to Build Critical Thinking Into Lessons Using critical thinking methods in your classes' means stepping away from being an instructor and assuming a role of resource, mentor, or coach. Consider this your handbook to guide you in building powerful interactions where students lead discussions. All you need to support students in developer lifelong learner skills. It's another resource packed deal priced at $19.95. YOU CAN HAVE IT FOR FREE AS MY GIFT FOR YOUR SUBSCRIPTION.
Don't Wait Another Moment! Enhance Your Lesson Material Now!
Wait, I have one more FREE Special Report for you....
as a valuable gift for subscribing now. That means you'll receive THREE FREE Special Reports and 12 months of access for $19.95 per year or about $1.67 per month. Don't forget my money back guarantee.
FREE Special Report #3:Unleash the Power of Web Learning Lessons
Technology is required today as a standard component in K-12 lessons because students become expert users at an early age. At your fingertips you now have an amazing wealth of knowledge on a wide variety of web sites for learning. Use them with projects or use them for a specific activity. This handy ebook saves you hours and hours of research. On your own time you'd NEVER FIND ALL THESE RESOURCES. There are over 110 websites listed in this book that cover all areas of the curriculum. It's one more resource packed deal priced at $19.95. YOU CAN HAVE IT FOR FREE AS MY GIFT FOR YOUR SUBSCRIPTION.
Get your subscription - click here - and your three FREE Special Reports - a $59.85 value.
This is my personal guarantee to you.
I think you'll receive tremendous lifetime teaching benefits from utilizing project based learning in your class and/or by doing a service learning project. If you don't get any benefits after 12 months, then I'll refund your $19.95 and you can keep the THREE FREE Special Reports (a $59.85 value) and all ERI grants you were awarded.
There is more to teaching than having students pass high stakes tests.
The "knowledge transfer" process MUST take place for "meaningful" learning to occur.
Learning isn't automatic just because teacher and student are present in the same room.
Standards for curriculum don't guarantee an equitable learning environment for all students.
My career includes more than 25 years of working with individuals and
groups in business, academic, and community situations.
I've managed successful technology projects at American Express and
IBM. That means working with employees, engineers, Enterprise
management. I was responsible for developing, driving,
implementing and troubleshooting hundreds of global projects worth
millions of dollars.
Over many years I developed and used successful methods to train
professionals and teachers in using project based material.
As a highly qualified science teacher I taught physics, chemistry and biology in high school.
I have a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction.
Personally,
I sponsored student service-learning projects in my classes which in
turn developed student service-learning at neighboring schools.
Teaching is the most fun and meaningful work I've ever accomplished. My lessons consistently included some level of project based learning.
#1
