Education Services
Workshops, Training,
Facilitation, and Support for teachers and administrators Kindergarten through
College
The world of education is changing rapidly . Society is looking for bold and innovative approaches to curriculum design and teaching. Students, parents, teachers, school boards, employers and state and federal governments are asking schools to be more responsive to the real world environment. Leading E.D.G.E. uses the latest in educational models to make connections between the classroom, community outcomes, state learning standards and federal competencies. The heart of the Leading E.D.G.E. educational programs is the SPEC, Critical Skills Program, Education By Design classroom models. These approaches to teaching and learning have been developed over 20 years through the contributions of hundreds of kindergarten through college educators in association with Antioch New England Graduate School, Keene, NH.
Since 1999 we’ve had the fortunate opportunity to work with thousands of educators from New York to California and from Maine to Florida as well as England, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Jersey and Beirut, Lebanon. This experience has had a profound effect on our thinking about teaching – particularly our thoughts about the preparation and delivery of formal learning experiences. We are convinced that the teacher-centered, often didactic approach to formal instruction that most of us have experienced needs to be re-examined. Research into the brain and learning, discussions recognizing the existence of multiple intelligences and emotional intelligence, and our increased appreciation of the constructivist theory of learning all suggest we can reach the full range of learners, each of whom have their own perspectives and style of learning, only if we expand our repertoire of teaching strategies beyond traditional chalk and talk.
Didactic, direct instruction is an important tool in the tool bucket of an experienced educator. It should not, however, be the only or, in our view, primary tool. We recognize the incredible power of creating as authentic learning opportunities as possible. Authenticity by its very nature is rich in opportunities for personal growth. The more authentic the learning experience the more students must engage fully in the struggle to meet the real challenges that confront them. In the process, they develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to solve problems individually and as a team. When debriefed and processed appropriately, these experiences often spur leaps of individual insight and growth that are truly profound. Why is this so? And, perhaps more to our point here, why don’t our more traditional lessons and presentations have similar impact? What are some principles about learning that we might glean from the seemingly spontaneous learning that takes place in an authentic learning environment? How can we apply these insights in our formal lesson planning and presentations so that we may enjoy similar results?
CONTACT US
Since 1999 we’ve had the fortunate opportunity to work with thousands of educators from New York to California and from Maine to Florida as well as England, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Jersey and Beirut, Lebanon. This experience has had a profound effect on our thinking about teaching – particularly our thoughts about the preparation and delivery of formal learning experiences. We are convinced that the teacher-centered, often didactic approach to formal instruction that most of us have experienced needs to be re-examined. Research into the brain and learning, discussions recognizing the existence of multiple intelligences and emotional intelligence, and our increased appreciation of the constructivist theory of learning all suggest we can reach the full range of learners, each of whom have their own perspectives and style of learning, only if we expand our repertoire of teaching strategies beyond traditional chalk and talk.
Didactic, direct instruction is an important tool in the tool bucket of an experienced educator. It should not, however, be the only or, in our view, primary tool. We recognize the incredible power of creating as authentic learning opportunities as possible. Authenticity by its very nature is rich in opportunities for personal growth. The more authentic the learning experience the more students must engage fully in the struggle to meet the real challenges that confront them. In the process, they develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to solve problems individually and as a team. When debriefed and processed appropriately, these experiences often spur leaps of individual insight and growth that are truly profound. Why is this so? And, perhaps more to our point here, why don’t our more traditional lessons and presentations have similar impact? What are some principles about learning that we might glean from the seemingly spontaneous learning that takes place in an authentic learning environment? How can we apply these insights in our formal lesson planning and presentations so that we may enjoy similar results?
CONTACT US