Carol Baker

State:

Pennsylvania

Testimonial from a participant

She really believes in what she teaches.

— T.F., Blairsville, PA

PLS courses I teach:

• Achieving Student Outcomes Through Cooperative Learning™
• Brain-Based Ways We Think and Learn™
• Meaningful Activities to Generate Interesting Classrooms™
• Project TEACH™ (Teacher Effectiveness and Classroom Handling)
• Successful Teaching for Acceptance of Responsibility®
• Teaching the Skills of the 21st Century®

Years with PLS:

Since 1993

Why I love teaching PLS courses:

The PLS courses are so rich with practical, timely content. Teaching these courses, I feel that I am really making a positive difference in the lives of fellow educators, and in turn, children.

Education:

• B.S. Elementary Education, Pennsylvania State University
• M.A. Special Education, West Virginia College of Graduate Studies
• 30+ additional graduate hours, West Virginia University, Carlow College

Teaching experience:

• Elementary (Grades 5/6) — 4 years
• Gifted Elementary (Grades K-6) — 6 years

Related experience, recognition, awards, etc.:

• Elementary Gifted Coordinator, Summers County, WV
• Helped to write and received funding for a grant to provide a novel program for elementary gifted students (entitled CAMPUS — Classes Aimed at the Mentally Proficient in a Unique Setting), Raleigh County, WV
• Educational Consultant Harcourt School Publishers/Holt Reinhart and Winston, 18 years

What I love most about teaching:

Students!

My favorite moment in teaching:

One of my first teaching positions was in a split 5/6 grade classroom in a very small town in southern West Virginia. I started each grade out in Chapter 1 of their social studies textbooks, which just wasn't working. Most of these kids had never traveled outside their town. They had never seen a city, a tall building, an elevator or escalator, even a red light. This content just wasn't relevant at all. That's when I really realized that we teach children, not subjects. Away went the textbooks, and out came the maps, films, filmstrips (I guess I'm really dating myself here), guest speakers, and field trips. We returned to the text occasionally later in the year, but with a much richer background and purpose for reading.

Personal information:

My family is my life. I have a wonderful husband and two great sons. We share our home with two German Shepherds, four adopted cats, and two snakes. I love to travel — one of my life's goals is to visit all 50 states. I'm also an avid reader and Jimmy Buffett fan.