Did you have that teacher that just got it? The one that helped you learn to creatively, problem solve, and believe that you could do it—even when you were SURE you couldn’t? 

Today in this very special episode, we will take a look at a teacher who has made a lasting impact. I'm chatting with Terry Risdon, unofficial co-founder of our LEADPrep micro-school, an amazing hands-on science teacher, and my educational partner-in-crime since 2014. 

Terry has helped grow LEADPrep into a learner-centered sanctuary serving a multitude of students over the past seven years. All good things must come to an end, and Terry is retiring, but her legacy of educational excellence and accessibility will live on in our students, teachers, and our community. 

 

About Terry Risdon:

Terry Risdon is the recently-retired Director of Learning at LEADPrep. Her education is in Zoology, Ecology, and Secondary Education. After teaching briefly in public schools, Terry found her heart’s calling while homeschooling her son through high school, in addition to teaching many other homeschooled students and students with special needs. She can be found gardening with native plants, swimming, and watching birds at her backyard feeders in her spare time.

For more information, visit LEADPrep’s website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

  Jump in the Conversation:

• [3:11] Inquiry-based learning starts with the student exploring
• [5:06] Scaffolding to get past student resistance
• [14:43] Science and service-learning combined
• [16:58] Obstacles to learner-center, hands-on learning
• [21:23] Turbo Time with Terry
• [29:09] Terry’s Magic Wand: Letting students design and implement their own learning experiences
• [30:52] Maureen’s Take-Aways

  Links and Resources:

• Inquiry-based learning
• Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History is a 1989 book on the evolution of Cambrian fauna by Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould
• The Disarming Case to Act Right Now on Climate Change, Greta Thunberg’s TED talk
• LEADPrep’s video tribute to Terry
• LEADPrep’s Tribute to My Partner-in-Crime blog
• Email Maureen
• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids
• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep