For the past two years I've volunteered with TEDx Asheville.  For the November 2012 event we selected the theme of "THE EDGE".  I thought the theme was the perfect opportunity to send a video camera to "the edge" of Earth's atmosphere. In the fall of 2012 I began working with a group of middle school students and their science and math teacher to design a payload to carry the video camera.

This project turned into a great community builder for the school (teachers, students, parents). Area businesses gave us a great deal of support.

It was an amazing experience.

Here's the video of the flight.

Asheville, NC Tedx Near Space Project from Peter Lutz on Vimeo.

Audio Interview

Imagine a public school that teaches leadership skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and communication WITH STUDENTS EXCELLING ACADEMICALLY!

Would YOU like to send your children to such a school?

Meet Scott Hartl who is the President & CEO of Expeditionary Learning (EL).  Over the past 18 years EL has grown from 10 schools to a network of 165 schools, serving 45,000 students and 4,300 teachers.

EL schools outperform neighboring district schools on every measure.  More importantly, EL schools teach students about leadership through valuable, real-life experiences.  Students in EL schools have a positive and profound impact on the communities they operate in.

EL schools ask students to be leaders NOW.

In this special TeleSeminar, Scott Hartl will share the secrets of EL's success.  Scott has keen knowledge about how to fully engage students (learners) and how to leverage the passion of teachers.  Scott also has a deep understanding about how to create a learning community based on trust. 

This TeleSeminar is for you if you are a parent, teacher, administrator, teamwork facilitator, leadership coach, change management facilitator, manager, or supervisor.

Expeditionary Learning schools (EL) partners with school districts and charter boards to open new schools and transform existing schools at all levels and in all settings – urban, rural, and suburban. The EL model challenges students to think critically and to take active roles in their classrooms and communities, resulting in higher achievement and greater engagement in school, and works to improve curriculum design, instruction, school culture, leadership, and assessment practices.

This TeleSeminar will be interactive - - you'll be able to talk with our special guest speaker and ask him your questions directly (or send them in as text).  It's "just in time" training and development! 

Dial in, share your experiences… and then start unleashing even more team power in your organization.

Call Details

TITLE

How To Build Leaders for Tomorrow

DATE

Wednesday,   March 7, 2012

TIME

Starts at 1 pm  Eastern (NY City time zone)
runs for 60- 70 minutes

PRESENTERS

Scott Hartl, President and CEO of Expeditionary Learning

Tom Heck, President & Founder of the IATF

REGISTER

 CLICK HERE to register. It's FREE. Registration closed.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Come to the call ready to participate in small group discussions, share ideas and resources, ask questions, answer quick polls, and be fully engaged as we put the newest distance learning telephone conferencing technology to use!

RECORDING

This call was recorded and archived in the IATF Members Only Area. Not yet an IATF member?  Join HERE.

Have you ever worked with a teacher who was so good at what he did that your life was forever changed for the positive? John Hunter is that kind of teacher.

John Hunter is an elementary school teacher from the Charlottesville, Virginia area where he's been helping students learn important life lessons for 30 years.

John achieved noteriety outside of Charlottesville because of a TED tealk he did in 2011 (video below).  In this presentation John explains how his "World Peace Game" helps 4th grade students learn how to solve complex world problems experientially.  The amazing experiential game he developed allows students to experience life changing lessons spantaneiously (and sometimes surprisingly).  The experience the students have always go further than a classroom lecture can.

I had the opportunity to meet John recently (photo of John Hunter and Tom Heck to the left) when a documentary about his work was shown (documentary trailer below).  John is an amazing person and the kind of teacher I wish my kids could spend hours with.

John understands the power of experiential learning.  Through the game he's developed John is able to touch the heart of the student (not just the mind of the student) and thus, the learning experience is deeper and more profound for the student.

To what degree are you using games in your training events?  If you're not using games then you're probably not touching the heart of your participants.

Learn more about the World Peace Game HERE.

Tony Robbins produced a series of reality TV shows that were broadcast during the summer of 2010.  There were six episodes but only two were broadcast on TV with the remaining four episodes available online.

The series was called "Breakthrough with Tony Robbins" and the reviews were not so great and the viewer numbers were not high enough for NBC so the show went to the web.

I loved the shows and one of the reasons was because of how Tony integrated experiential learning into each program.  Each episode actually revolved around the experiential learning opportunities.

In an interview Robbins explains why experiential learning is so powerful.

"But if I can get you to experience something you think is impossible that destroys the old belief system, because the belief system is a weak substitute for life experience. I can believe what it’s like to be in China but if I can go to China I have an experience."

"And so what I try to do here with all these people is give them some experiences that cause them to see what they thought was impossible is possible, create that opening and to get them to act on that moment to do something to kind of lock it in place."

I'm a big believer in experiential learning and I teach experientially every chance I get - - with the groups I serve, with my one-on-one coaching clients, and with my children.  Have you seen some of the experiential activities I like to use HERE?

By teaching experientially we help the student experience the learning at a deep level.  Experiential learning engages the mind and the HEART.  People move beyond "beliefs" to a deep "knowing".

The job of the Teamwork Facilitator (coach, manager, supervisor, executive, parent) is to create opportunities for growth and expansion.  Our job is to help people remember who they are and what they are truly capable of:  GREATNESS.  Teaching experientially helps people get their faster and in a way that sticks.

Here is the 43 minute video of one of my favorite episodes from Breakthrough with Tony Robbins.  Watch how Robbins masterfully uses experiential learning to create openings for growth and transformation.

NOTE:  The video is provided through HULU.com and that site says the Robbins video may be removed at some point in the future (so watch now).