Don Garrett

These courses are the best and Don Garrett made the experience come alive. He is great! - D.R., Illinois

State:
Indiana Coordinator
and Illinois Instructor

Years with PLS: Since 1987

Education:
B.S., 1969, Murray State University, Chemistry and Education
M.A., 1971, Murray State; Master's of Art in Teaching Science

PLS Courses I Teach:

• Achieving Student Outcomes Through Cooperative Learning™
• Brain-Based Ways We Think and Learn™
• Building Communication and Teamwork in the Classroom™
• Building Your Technology Education and Skills™
• Classroom Management: Orchestrating a Community of Learners®
• Coaching Skills for Successful Teaching™
• Designing Motivation for All Learners™
• Differentiated Reading Instruction™
• Discovering the Power of Live-Event Learning™
• Meaningful Activities to Generate Interesting Classrooms™
• Merging Education Goals and Interactive Projects™
• Purposeful Learning Through Multiple Intelligences®
• Reading to Learn: Comprehension Instruction™
• Successful Teaching for Acceptance of Responsibility®
• Teaching the Skills of the 21st Century®
• Teaching Through Learning Channels™

Why I love teaching PLS courses: I am very excited about sharing outstanding information with the excellent teachers that take these classes and knowing that hundreds of school children are positively affected!

Teaching experience: Thirty-three years teaching chemistry, physics, live-event computer classes and math.

In the 20 years Garrett has taught master’s level courses for PLS, he has trained over 4,000 teachers. The majority of his classes are held in Illinois and Indiana, and Garrett has also taught in Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania.

Garrett was instrumental in establishing a PLS program with Indiana Wesleyan University in 1991. Since that time, he has coordinated the program and currently supervises 25 instructors teaching PLS courses at numerous locations in Indiana.

In May 2005, Garrett retired from Carmi Community High School after teaching chemistry for 35 years. While at the high school, Garrett and another teacher co-developed and instructed a community-oriented, technology-based, live-event class. The Governor of Illinois recognized Garrett as a Master Teacher in 1984, and in 1996 the Carmi Kiwanis Club named him Teacher of the Year of the local school district.

In addition to coordinating and teaching PLS programs and classes, Garrett contracts with various Southern Illinois school districts for in-service programs and teacher mentoring.