Dawna Vanderpool

State:

Pennsylvania

Year started with PLS:

2004

PLS Courses I Teach:

- Purposeful Learning Through Multiple Intelligences®
- Meaningful Activities to Generate Interesting Classrooms®
- Building Communication and Teamwork in our Classroom™
- Classroom Management: Orchestrating a Community of Learners™

Why I love teaching PLS courses:

It's great to see just how many fabulous educators there are. I've met so many wonderful people and gotten so many great ideas for my own classroom. PLS courses allow me to positively affect education from a different angle than teaching middle school.

Education:

Bachelor's of Science in Education, 1992, Clarion University of PA
Master's of Education, 2002, Gannon University

Teaching Experience:

I taught 7th grade for eight years. Then I "got smart" enough for eighth grade, where I've been since 2001.

Related experience, recognition, awards, etc.:

For several years I was the co-coordinator for our school's peer mediation program and supervisor of the school newspaper. I've served as a mentor teacher and have also presented at two national conferences: Battelle for Kids (on the topic of value-added assessment) and NCTE.

What I love most about teaching:

I love the creativity, the spontaneity, and the opportunity to make a difference in the community.

Personal information:

I enjoy reading, quilting (badly), crossword puzzles, sudoku (again, often unsuccessfully), gardening, and yoga.