Welcome to The CELT Center!

 

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This proposal requests three-year funding for the development and perpetuation of a real and virtual Center for the Expansion of Learning and Teaching (CELT), established as a collaborative project between UWSP and the Stevens Point Area Schools. The primary purpose of the CELT Project is to create a forum for exploring the intersections and connections between advanced technologically assisted instruction and multiple intelligences and brain-based learning. An additional purpose of this proposal is to train area teachers in both technology and specified newer educational trends with the intent that they become teacher-trainers for the district.

Leslie Wilson: Professor in the School of Education, Leslie has written and taught extensively about implementing multiple intelligences and brain-based learning at all levels of education.

Susan Gingrasso: Program Head of Dance in the Theatre and Dance Department, Susan actively promotes the use of kinesthetic and spatial intelligence to awaken and energize the brain.

Assisted by district liaison, grant coordinator and teacher : 
Andrea Spears: 6th grade master teacher at Plover Whiting, Andrea models the use of MI/BB learning strategies in her classroom and has taught graduate education courses for the past decade. 

In essence, this project is a marriage of interests, and is generally devoted to initiating, supporting and maintaining reformed practices through technologically enhanced instruction. The major incentive behind this grant deals with not only understanding new and educationally useful innovations in technology, but with insuring the continuance of technological literacy within the Stevens Point District by refocusing its usage on investigating, understanding, informing, creating, and showcasing topics of interest in current educational innovations. This grant is driven by the premise that there have to be real, educationally important reasons to use technology, and by the belief that any lasting educational change must start with the personal and professional interests of those responsible for changed practice -- the teachers. 

In these contexts, Stevens Point teachers have expressed an interest in learning more about both multiple intelligences and brain-based learning, two newer educational concepts both of which are supported by neurological research. They have also expressed interest in exploring the intersections as the designated concepts are related to technologically enhanced instruction, and as these concepts offer increased potential for both furthering their understanding of students and for broadening their array of teaching techniques.

This project would establish both a real and virtual Center for the Expansion of Learning and Teaching (CELT) in the Stevens Point District. The center would serve as an electronic center for the development of a comprehensive web-based instructional and informational package. It would also serve as a real center for educational reform by creating a series of seminars training teacher-trainers for the Stevens Point District. This progression ensures that the reform initiative continues within the district by establishing a trained group of peers who are not only proficient in technological advances, but also in how to use technology to investigate and create connections and intersections to pedagogical topics of interest. In this way technology becomes melded with a specific focus that can and will be determined by participant interests and by constituent need. This marriage provides incentives to insure that teachers and students maintain continued interest and devotion to remaining current in the possibilities of technologically assisted education. In this context, perhaps the real power of technology lies in what it can accomplish in changing and supporting pedagogically reformed practice.

Goal 1: Aid Stevens Point District teachers in exploring, finding, and capitalizing on common or possible intersections and connections between MI/BB and technologically supported instruction.

 
Goal 2: Establish a related, supportive real and virtual Center for the Expansion of Learning and Teaching (CELT), and to a) maintain, update and refine CELT virtual center in accordance with participants' contributions and suggestions, and with students' suggestions after usage; b) synthesize web and video taped sessions; c) promote web-site usage by area teachers, parents, and students.

Goal 3: Help SP District teachers to realize desired pedagogical changes by expanding the district's instructional framework so that more teachers are trained in MI/BB principles and strategies through technical training and support. - Activities for this goal include - a) recruiting second-year teacher-trainees; b) developing curriculum and conducting summer seminar and weekend workshops; c) collecting and evaluating data from data sources; d) preparing 9-12 original participants as teacher-trainers for summer seminar and weekend workshops.

Goal 4: Encourage systemic changes in the SP District's educational framework so that beginning initiatives in the grant have optimal, long-term effects, and also leave the district a legacy of a teacher-trainer model that can be used for future reform or teacher training. 

 

Year One (2000-2001) conducted a series of 7 seminars, see individual agenda hyperlinks for details.

Stevens Point teachers participating in the 7 master teacher training seminars were:

Sandy Davis: A 4th grade teacher at Plover-Whiting who enjoys plays, songs, and games to enhance the use of MI with her students.
Gary Glock: Veteran Math teacher at Ben Franklin, Gary discovered his artistic talent when we worked with Kristie Cecil.
Tom Lisack: English teacher at SPASH, Tom developed a successful MI unit for the study of Othello. See the results on the web-site.
Steve Lybeck: An Adventure Ed facilitator, Speech and Communications teacher at the Alternative school, Steve enjoys watching students awaken to their learning potential.
Mary McGinnity: Language Arts teacher in the CARE Charter School at Ben Franklin, Mary has discovered how this approach to teaching-learning turns students around.
Debra Oliver: English teacher at the Alternative School, Debra has discovered her MI practice helped her identify with diversity of students' learning styles.
Val Pankonen: Science teacher at Ben Franklin, digs vermicomposting and has been using MI/BB for years. Result: her students love science.
Pete Thome: Ben Franklin Math teacher, Pete's students leave his MI and CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) math classes excited about math.
Steve Van Ark: 6th grade teacher at Plover-Whiting, uses all of the intelligences in his teaching, especially music, with incredible results.
Carrie Vrieze: Known as Dr. Vrieze the Freeze, Carrie a Science teacher at Ben Franklin, has a monster insect collection that her students upgrade each year. 

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