"Ed led a day of professional development for our faculty at Athens Academy, and everyone was engaged in actively learning with him. The time flew past, because we were immersed in our work. His preparation and knowledge of our community was obvious. I would highly encourage anyone looking for PD on project- based learning, and other experiential approaches to teaching, to bring Ed to your school! We will have him back again in the very near future."
DESCRIPTION
Experiential Ed provided a full day of professional development and curriculum consultation for the 60+ teachers and staff members at Athens Academy, a preK-12 school in Athens, Georgia.
Athens Academy, a school of ~ 1000 students, was looking for help in transforming academic classes in every division into being more hands-on, experiential, student-centered, and focused on Place-based projects and study both on their large campus and in the local community. Ed spent 10 hours talking with division heads, the director of curriculum, and the assistant head of school to understand where the school was in its journey and how he could provide targeted assistance moving forward.
The day began with a three hour session involving all faculty and educational staff in an interactive workshop which included the larger picture of experiential education in the preK-12 classroom and provided low risk accessible entry points for beginning to change the culture of teaching and learning at each grade level. Ed then gave examples of larger projects that teachers could approach over time. In the afternoon Ed met with each division to address topics specific to that age group. For example, the upper school division was interested in evaluation for mastery and Ed spent time on this with them. Ed continued to provide individual support to teachers throughout the school year as needed.
