ProjectGals

ProjectGals offers school, district and region wide make-and-take workshop opportunities in and around the Dallas/Ft Worth area. The following are workshops we have done in the past: Project Based Learning (How to utilize long term project based learning to engage students), Versatile Make-n-Takes for any classroom (A six- hour workshop that introduces teachers to a wide range of projects from all subject areas), A Make-n-Take a Day Keeps the Boredom Away (Keep your students excited about learning by introducing them to project based learning), Math Make-n-Takes (Unique projects that help reinforce mathematical concepts), Holiday Make-n-Takes (Favorite holiday stories are featured with making make-n-take projects), Putting Students in the Driver's Seat (A Bloom's based Make-and-Take Workshop), Quick-n-Easy Make-n-Takes to organize content. We would love to lead a make-and-take workshop for your school/district/or region. Please email if you are interested in booking one of the workshops above or another hands-on, higher order thinking based training.

Our style of teaching is centered on students' talents and learning styles. Hands-on projects give students freedom to make connections between learning and real life experiences, practice valuable planning and analyzing skills as they synthesize information into a meaningful product. These proects also allow students to view work from an evaluative point of view and discover the varying perspectives in their peers as they see others' work. Ulitmately, our goal is to produce life-long learners through meaningful student-centered work and higher order thinking.

Teacher of the Month – April 97.5 KLAK Allen ISD District Teacher of the Year (2009 – 2010) North Texas Girls Coach of the Year (2009 – 2010) (U9G & U15G) Norton Elementary Volunteer of the Year (2009) Allen ISD Bright Idea Award (2008) Allen ISD Strategic Planning Committee for Technology (2012) Project-Based Learning Grant (2009)

ProjectGals have a combined 18 years in the education field with a passion for hands-on projects that challenge students to dig deep into content, collaborate with peers in making connections, and produce products that showcase high levels of thinking. Student engagement and excitement for learning are top priority in these student-created projects. We lead workshop experiences to inspire and transform typical classroom projects into original masterpieces full of creativity and individuality while demonstrating learning at the highest level of Bloom's.

Project Gals is based on the theory that "Students whose teachers emphasize higher-order thinking skills and hands-on learning activities outperform their peers significantly. Students who ENGAGE IN HANDS-ON LEARNING on a weekly basis outperform those who engage in this manner of instruction on a monthly basis. Students WHOSE TEACHERS CONDUCT hands-on learning actvities outperform their peers by 72% of a grade level in math and 40% of a grade level in science. This study indicates that the MOST EFFECTIVE classroom practices involve conveying HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS and engaging in HANDS-ON LEARNING activities." (Educational Testing Service 2001) We value the idea that "Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learnt. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and where appropriate profits." (Edward De Bono)