Thomas Escott

State:

Online

PLS Courses I Teach:

• Building Online Collaborative Environments - Online

Year started with PLS:

2008

Why I love teaching PLS courses:

I appreciated the opportunity to work with other teachers and to help them expand their teaching repertoires to include 21st Century skills.

Education:

2007, Walden University, MSED Integrating Technology in the Classroom
1971 - Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, BS in Liberal Arts.

Teaching Experience:

Grades 9-12, Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II (5 years)
Grades 7-8, PreAlgebra (4 years)
Grades 9-12 (Virtual High School), Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, PreCalculus (6 months)

Related experience, recognition, awards, etc.:

One of the most rewarding recent experiences has been to contribute to our students' success last year in math. Based on their performance on our state's high stakes test, our school was removed from the NCLB warning list.

What I love most about teaching:

I enjoy working with students 1-on-1, when I have the opportunity to discover how they approach problems and to learn about their individual learning styles. I love to experience with my students, that special time when they say "I got it" and feel confident to tackle new problems on their own.

My favorite moment in teaching:

During a math lesson when we were talking about calories burned in different activities, I asked students to estimate how long it would take doing their favorite activity, to burn the calories contained in their favorite food. One student's favorite food was a Big Mac and his favorite activity was sleeping. When we estimated it would take as long as 10 hours to burn off a Big Mac, the student remarked "I don't thing I could sleep that long!"

Personal information:

I recently bought my first iPod which I am using to listen to audio books. I love the freedom of audio books that you can listen to during virtually any activity. The first book that I "read" on my iPod was "21: Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions."