AERO
Conference
June 21 - 23, 2024
Mini-Talks
Thursday, June 25th
1:00 pm - 2:45 pm - Eastern Time
Gina Riley, Ph.D.
Homeschooling and Unschooling Research: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever
1:00 pm - 1:20 pm
In recent months, print and visual media surrounding homeschooling and unschooling has increased tremendously. However, what is missing from that media is actual research on outcomes of those who have engaged in self determined learning outside a traditional school environment. In this presentation, academic research on self-directed learning outcomes is presented and discussed. Finding research, evaluating research, as well as the importance and organizational process of doing research itself will be reviewed. Finally, together, we will examine how qualitative and quantitative research can be used as a tool to increase knowledge about and legitimacy of self-directed learning environments.
Gina Riley, Ph.D. is an educational psychologist and Clinical Professor/Program Coordinator of the Adolescent Special Education program at CUNY – Hunter College. She is a seasoned academic, with almost 20 years of teaching, research, and supervisory experience within the fields of special education, psychology, school psychology, and mental health counseling. For the past 18 years, Dr. Riley’s research has concentrated on topics relating to homeschooling, unschooling, and intrinsic motivation/self determination; an interest stemmed in part from unschooling her own child from birth through 12th grade. Recent peer reviewed articles have focused on young adult unschooling outcomes, homeschooling and intrinsic motivation, unschoolers who also identify as LGBTQ, and how unschoolers learn to read. Dr. Riley also has extensive experience in online education and distance learning at the college/university level.
Mara Linaberger, EDD
Business Strategies to Crisis-proof Your School
1:25 pm - 1:45 pm
In this time of pandemic, everything has changed. You've had to figure out how to take your students online, and how to do all of your communications with parents at a distance. After you've triaged those immediate needs, how do you map out your alternative school's marketing and enrollments going forward? Join us to learn more about how to focus in on your clients' precise needs, and to market in new ways, in order to pivot your school in ways that help to ensure its financial stability and continued viability in the future.
Dr. Mara Linaberger's essential belief is that each of us has chosen to be here on the planet at this moment in time for a specific reason - that we're all on a mission we chose for ourselves. And that figuring out what it is that we love, what we're good at, and why we've chosen to be her here now, is the main reason for continuing to engage in rich and meaningful learning throughout a lifetime. Mara also believes that many schools actually slow down or stifle those goals and outcomes. So she's passionate about helping parents and kids figure out the very best ways to harness learning in order to develop to their highest potentials!
Zoe Greenhouse
Education Through the Lens of Adventure
1:50 pm - 2:10 pm
Would students be more motivated to learn if they were given the opportunity to explore the outdoors, push themselves, and take risks? In this talk you'll learn about my experience of learning through adventure, others’ views on it, and why it should be done more often.
As a worldschooler, Zoe Greenhouse called everywhere from Guatemala to France home until sixth grade, when she decided she wanted to be normal. She spent the next five years at school, but in tenth grade finally realized traditional education wasn’t for her. Since then, she’s been planning adventures, doing self-directed projects, and encouraging others to think outside the box.
Andrew Pudewa, Founder, Author & Director
Principles of Motivation
2:15 pm - 2:35 pm
A student of motivation for decades, Andrew has organized his most important discoveries about motivation into three categories: four forms of relevancy, three laws of motivation, and two secret weapons. Make the most of your mentoring with a deeper understanding of how motivation occurs!
Andrew Pudewa is the founder and director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing and a father of seven. Traveling and speaking around the world, he addresses issues related to teaching, writing, thinking, spelling, and music with clarity, insight, practical experience, and humor. His seminars for parents, students, and teachers have helped transform many a reluctant writer and have equipped educators with powerful tools to dramatically improve students’ skills.