Yes, but … if they like it, they'll learn it!: How to plan, organize, and assess learning experiences with meaning, purpose, and joy

"YES...BUT...If They Like It, They Learn It: How to Plan, Organize and Asses Learning Experiences with Menaing"

About the Author :
Susan received her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin, her M.Ed. degree in secondary education from Boston University, an M.A. in special education from Acadia University, and her Ph.D. from the University of South Australia. She has served as a classroom and resource teacher, special education consultant, curriculum and subsystem supervisor, superintendent of education services, assistant superintendent of schools, and graduate and undergraduate teacher educator. She is currently a part-time faculty member at Mount Saint Vincent University in Nova Scotia. In recent years she's also worked as a curriculum consultant and writer for literacy materials in Jamaica, and recruited educators in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. "For most of the last two decades of my career in public education, I was a central office administrator," Susan says. "While that leadership work had its rewards, it took me away from teaching. Now, however, as a teacher educator, I have come full circle, back to the direct interaction with learners that I enjoyed so much when I began my career. I value the intellectual engagement, the opportunity both to share what I've learned over the years and to learn from my students, and the time I now have to read and consider the current professional and scholarly literature in a more leisurely and thoughtful manner. It's a particular delight to be working in the area of literacy again, where I can explore the pleasures and power of language with my undergraduate and graduate students and through my own reading and writing." Margaret's mother warned her that teaching "would be too boring. But with a B.A. in theater and the desperate teacher shortage of the early 1970s, what else could I do?" she says. "So I got into it and made sure no day was ever boring." Margaret received her degrees from Dalhousie University and Mount St. Vincent University, where she currently teaches. She is also involved with international teacher recruitment and writing curriculum for the Jamaica Ministry of Education. Her past experiences include teaching in elementary classrooms, serving as an elementary school principal, secondary principal, university instructor, and professional development leader. Margaret is married and has two children and three grandchildren. She sews costumes and writes books for her grandchildren. She also enjoys gourmet cooking "even while on the perpetual diet."