Glenn’s first teaching experience was working with a group of middle school students whose reading levels were at the 3rd grade and below. “I was clueless. The first month we read the required Ben Franklin story, made kites from scratch and flew those for about a week and a half. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.”
Since that August twenty years ago, Glenn has learned a few things. Mostly, he says, from watching great teachers and stealing their best ideas. Glenn was hired to work at ESSDACK eight years ago to focus on Social Studies issues but these days you can find him working in a variety of areas.
“My first love will always be history but I’ve really enjoyed getting involved more on the tech side of education. There’s so much that we can do with new tools and teaching strategies to tap into how the brain works.” Some of his current work includes finding ways to integrate video games and simulations into instruction. This research often involves playing the games with his fourteen-year old son. “ . . . it’s tough work but if it means making a difference with just one kid, I gotta be there,” he adds with a grin.
Glenn also spends time working with school districts to implement curriculum mapping projects and guides classroom teachers through the process of creating high-quality Understanding by Design units. He is currently developing training on the integration of reading and writing indicators into K-8 social studies curriculum.
He recently redesigned his web site, Social Studies Central, and is in the process of adding addtional web 2.0 content. The most recent addition is a Tip of the Week that will also be sent via an automatic email program to interested teachers. He quickly admits stealing the idea from Tammy Worcester.
“What I love is the chance to work with a wide range of people and to learn so much new stuff. I’m always amazed at the experience and knowledge of the people I work with; keeping up is a constant challenge!”
Prior to ESSDACK, Glenn taught for almost a decade as a middle level Social Science teacher before spending five years in the Social Science department at Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas.
As a state certified standards trainer with a Master’s degree in American History, he is able to facilitate curriculum and assessment writing for schools and districts as well as research-based best practices in Social Studies. He facilitates technology integration topics such as blogging, social networks, WebQuests, Web Literacy, and provides support in copyright/plagiarism issues.
He enjoys playing golf, surfing the Web, reading Tom Clancy, and watching ESPN Sportscenter.
