Joan Seager

State:

Indiana

Testimonial from a participant

"You certainly profess what you teach! You are a true inspiration to teachers across the state. You modeled what you taught and you let us experience what PLS is all about. I wish I had half your energy!"

--S.M. Kokomo, Indiana

PLS Courses I Teach:

• Brain-Based Ways We Think and Learn™
• Building Your Technology Education and Skills™
• Meaningful Activities to Generate Interesting Classrooms™
• Merging Educational Goals and Interactive Projects™
• Purposeful Learning Through the Multiple Intelligences®
• Successful Teaching for Acceptance of Responsibility®

Years with PLS:

Since 1998!

Why I love teaching PLS courses:

They give immediate information to help teachers rediscover the joy of teaching!

Education

• Doctoral Student, Nova Southeastern University
• ME.d., Indiana Wesleyan University, 1997
• B.S., Indiana State University, 1988

Teaching Experience

• Middle School Physical Education, Tipton Middle School, Tipton, IN 1988-1989
• Elementary School Physical Education, West Central Elementary, Francesville, IN 1989-present
• Middle School Swimming and Physical Education, West Central Middle School, Francesville, IN 1989- present
• High School Lifeguard Class, West Central High School, Francesville, IN 1999-present
• Pool Director, West Central School Corporation, Francesville, IN 1989- present

Related experience, recognition, awards, etc.:

JoAnn Jacob Award for Outstanding Student Teaching, ISU 1988

What I love most about teaching:

I love watching the "light" come back into people's eyes as they rediscover the joy of learning and/or teaching.

My favorite moment in teaching

Every day I get enjoyment out of teaching, whether it be elementary kids, middle school students, high school young adults, aquacise class with the adults from the community, or professional educators throughout the state! Every day they give me a reason to rejoice that learning is fun and we can all learn, even through our mistakes…

I was teaching a class during Earth Week and we were participating in an activity to show us the way animals become endangered and/or extinct. The activity was "Oh, Deer" from Project Wild. After the activity, we gather around the Earth Week Wall to discuss animals that are endangered. The wall is covered with different posters of all kinds of animals. I ask the students to name a few animals that are endangered. One day a youngster answered with the elephant. I was surprised since I did not have a picture of an elephant on the wall. I exclaimed that was a correct answer! I then asked the student why the elephant was endangered. The reply was, "Because we eat their ears at the fair."

Sometimes students give us answers we are not expecting. The saying that comes from the Meaningful Activities class is for us to "Think Outside the Box!" I believe this saying would serve us all, especially when the rules of the game are being changed in the middle of our careers! Hey, after all, shift happens.

Personal information

Swimming, Family, and fun that all revolve around the water!