Academics > Faculty > Stephen Currie Teaches Vassar Students

Vassar College Students Get "Front-Line" Teaching Techniques from PDS Teacher

Education courses are full of theory. But how do future teachers learn how to put all of the theory into practice? Vassar College's coordinator of adolescent education and visiting instructor, Linda Cantor, asked PDS lower school math specialist Stephen Currie to add some reality to the Mathematics for Elementary Teaching: Content and Methodology for Regular and Special Education course.

Stephen was the guest instructor for three classes in which he introduced the college students to adapting and differentiating within a math curriculum and the reasons why that is important to do. The students then developed lesson plan ideas that would meet the needs of kids with different learning styles and backgrounds. He introduced them to algebra-type concepts that could be taught across the elementary grades and showed how those related to national math standards. Students also learned games and projects that could be used to teach and reinforce basic mathematical concepts, such as multiplication.

As Stephen says, "It's helpful for them to learn here is what the theory says; here's what happens when you plug it in with actual children."

Poughkeepsie Day School often hosts Vassar College students and students from other nearby colleges, both informally and formally, so that they can see the principles of progressive education (and joy-filled learning) put into practice.

Stephen began his teaching career as a kindergarten teacher PDS when he graduated from Williams College in 1982. In addition to his outstanding teaching ability, he is a published author, accomplished singer and Gilbert and Sullivan aficionado. He was interviewed by the History Channel about his research on women inventors during its Women's History Month program in 2005.

Read earlier interview of Stephen regarding his History Channel appearance.

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