"Diversity, Learning Styles and Project Based Learning" Upgrading classroom methods for a global Personal Learning Framework

Date Tuesday 11/19/13 10:00 AM EST New York City Time

NOTE: Session Registration available 2 days before conference.

Name and Title: Richard C Close, Servant – CEO

Organization Name: Chrysalis Campaign, Inc.

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: New York City Area

Language: English

Target Audience(s): NGO leaders, Educators, Mentors and Curriculum Developers

Short Session Description: Provide method for how to handle Diversity, Learning Styles within Project based Learning Upgrading classroom methods to handle poverty and trauma in the classroom with a global Personal Learning Framework.

Full Session Description:

"Diversity, Learning Styles and Project Based Learning

Upgrading Classroom Methods for a Global “Personal Learning Framework”

Some place in America a teacher stands in front of highly diverse class filled with students charged with emotional issues impacting the student’s ability to learn and the teacher's ability to teach. The teacher must handle a class with five different Learning Styles, multiple special Ed issues, about 50% divorced, 50% with STDS, 9% sexual abuse not to mention 26 million children of alcoholics, racism, bulling and poverty. Combine this with 22% or the class is hungry. Standing at the front of the room she holds an expensive four color curriculum that simple ignores any of this is happening. It is a methodology designed for tracking and sink or swim. The children do wonderful job masking this, but we see on their faces tells another story. Sadly we teach on and witness many drown. There is a way to handle this in our new collaborative world, but we must upgrade our methods.

This session is not a critic, it is to provide methods we can adopt right now to help these children. This is part of my Masters research at Empire State College SUNY and NGO work in Africa and US poor.

Unfortunately we are working with methods that we developed before our collaborative diverse world and were researched on college graduates. Many of our methods and theories ignore the impact of childhood trauma in the classroom and how it impacts the learning process. This session will provide strategies that break through this classroom tragedy. Our paradox is that we as k-12 and Adult professional educators we do not ignore the pain in our classrooms, however much of our methods and curriculum do.

There is no scaffolding happening with hungry child that is hurting because there lunch room account is empty because dad stopped paying child support. Simply failing (or worse tracking) students is perhaps America and multinational curriculum providers hidden sin. It is delusional to ignore that this is not impacting test results, violence in the street and slums.

Much of our approach has also been trickle down authoritarian methods. Creating many issues as reveled in Carol Black’s documentary “Schooling the Globe.” This session shows how empowering the student with knowledge of their own learning styles and recognition of their own value systems will give them control over their education process and life. It will make clear while Project Based Learning is so powerful.

I will also share a upgraded collaborative view of how we learn as adult and children that will challenge Adult Learning Theories and hopeful inspire, called Personal Learning Framework . This Upgrades vision will show the connection between technology and human collaboration along with the reintegration of values education that will strengthen the teacher student relationship and mentor and guide.

Finally we will share simple methods you can introduce into any curriculum to make it human again.

We will discuss the disconnect between the STEM movement and the Learning Styles methods of UNESCO Four Pillars and how Educators and Common Core can bring us back on track.

We will end with offering simple methods of collaborative learning with your current curriculum.

Note Related White Paper:
Global Education Magazine of ACNUR and UNESCO