Live Events

Gail McGoogan's fourth-grade students could almost feel the presence of the settlers and the Seminole Indians as they paddled down Shingle Creek in Osceola County, Florida. Through this real-life experience McGoogan taught required standards and academic principles in a way that was exciting and fun for teacher and student alike.

The children paddled their canoes softly and slowly. They could almost feel the presence of the settlers and the Seminole Indians as they made their way down Shingle Creek in Osceola County, Florida just outside Disney's Celebration City. As the creek turned the bend, the children saw ancient trees and hanging vines along the creek banks. The pristine landscape appeared as it did 100 years ago.

So was the intent of Narcoossee Community School fourth-grade teacher Gail McGoogan as she guided her students in an outing that would teach them a myriad of academic lessons and skills from real-life experiences, or live events.

This concept of teaching students from live events, while certainly not new, was reinforced for McGoogan after taking a graduate course developed by Performance Learning Systems (PLS) called Discovering the Power of Live-Event Learning®. "This course saved me from getting snookered by too many tests, the strong emphasis on standards. It helped me refocus on what I know are best teaching practices."

Formerly a dance instructor, McGoogan started her career as a classroom teacher ten years ago at the age of 56. "I decided to get my teaching credential because I wanted the rest of my working life to be spent doing something meaningful," she says.

Her efforts have paid off. She was selected as an honoree by the 2002-2003 Disney American Teacher Awards. But what she learned at the PLS course brought her back to where she knew she wanted to be with her teaching.

Discovering the Power of Live-Event Learning® encouraged McGoogan to use real-life experiences to teach required standards and academic principles in a way that was exciting and fun for teacher and student alike. "I learn right along with the children in live events," says McGoogan. "When the children know you’re learning with them, it makes everyone excited. We all become lifelong learners."

Her fourth graders kept a journal of their observations and reflections of the canoe trip. The next day they wrote historical fiction stories using the creek’s setting as a background. Later they tilled a garden, measuring the rows and planting what their research showed the settlers might plant and eat. A barn raising, overnight tent camping experience, the creation of a Seminole Indian Chickee and hands-on museum rounds out this four-month Live-Event Learning® project.

"I've spent the last 10 years knowing this was the way our students learn best. But I had slowly let myself get into a test-pressure mindset. This course really brought me back to teaching what I know in my heart is right."