I recently presented for a group of museum educators at a national history conference. The presentation was focused around best practices in education and how to engage student audiences. The main take-away? NOT with a “I’m standing up, you’re sitting down” presentation! Indeed, rather than ‘research’ what students are looking for in a field trip, [...]

This awesome video from Colonial Williamsburg gives a glimpse into their Junior Interpreters program, as well as what they have to offer to visitors with children. As the interpreters explain in the video, Colonial williamsburg’s Junior Interpreters know what it’s like to grow up in the past. After completing their training, these young interpreters teach [...]

When I wear my ‘consultant’ hat, I’m usually working with a local theatre company or a small museum, helping them design curriculum and materials to use with schoolchildren. What I always emphasize is that cultural organizations such as museums, zoos, theatres, and galleries have intrinsic value (not only for schoolchildren but for all of us) [...]

Yesterday I “attended” a webinar put on by Education Week. It featured two experts discussing recent trends in informal science education. It’s interesting to think about how those trends affect (mostly in very positive ways!) parents and families who want to encourage the spirit of inquiry and satisfy their curiosity about the world. A few [...]

This is worth the 20 minutes it takes to watch.

Engaging the student, utilizing knowledge of various senses, taking advantage of free online tools, my son’s fourth grade social studies teacher did all these things when she showed the kids the following in class today:

I read an interesting blog post by Dan Brown, a teacher and author of The Great Expectations School: A Rookie Year in the New Blackboard Jungle. He is the also the author of an education blog called Get in the Fracas. Here is an excerpt: “I have a clutch of students who read for pleasure, yet [...]

For a summer trip, my family is going on a two week road trip to Canada. I painstakingly planned all aspects of this trip, which I know will provide an invaluable experiential learning opportunity for our three kids - now it is less than a week away. Needless to say, we are all getting excited. However, [...]

Whether you send your child to public school, private school, or whether you home school, your community no doubt has some treasures – museums, historical societies, science centers, or parks. Here in Virginia, the communities are rich with such treasures, but very few take advantage of these opportunities to learn. When I conduct presentations for [...]

What would you do (assuming your children go to school and are not home-schooled) if your school switched to a four day a week schedule? Last summer’s gas prices caused more schools than ever to switch to a four day schedule, and especially in rural areas, the four day school week has caught on as an [...]