HOLLAND - The department of education at Hope College and the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD) have received a grant to develop online graduate courses for in-service teachers.

Hope and OAISD have received $100,000 for "Brain-compatible Instruction in the Content Areas," and are creating four courses, focusing on the language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. The grant has been made through Michigan LearnPort, a statewide, online professional development management system for teachers jointly administered by the Michigan Department of Education and Michigan Virtual University.

Each course, designed for elementary and secondary teachers alike, will run for a semester, and will be available to educators throughout the state via Michigan LearnPort. The plan is to have the completed courses ready by the fall of 2005.

The courses are being developed by a five-member team that includes OAISD Assistant Superintendent Dr. Dan Jonker, education consultants Dave Neifer and Dr. Jan Dalman, and Hope professors Linda Jordan (pictured above left)  and Dr. Leslie Wessman (pictured above right). The project has grown out of the week-long summer "Midwest Brain and Learning Institutes" that the team has coordinated at Hope since 2001.

The annual institutes focus on the latest brain research information and its implications for learning. Featuring nationally known presenters, the discussion-oriented institutes have drawn teachers from throughout the state and around the country. The on-line courses will build on and share the lessons with a broader audience.

"We live in an absolutely incredible time," said Jordan, an assistant professor of education at Hope. "We can now see what happens in the brain as learning takes place. As researchers have discovered what seem to be the most effective ways for the human brain to learn, that's being translated into classroom practice."

"The old view was that teachers delivered instruction for people to learn, understand and give back as they received it," said Wessman, who is the Arnold and Esther Sonneveldt Professor of Education and chairperson of the department at the college.

"We're focusing on a different approach or different theoretical basis for>learning on-line, and that has to do with it being brain-compatible," she said. "It is based on the belief that people construct understandings and meaning based on their experiences both in and outside the classroom."

Each 16-week, three-credit course, which will be tested and then managed through Hope/OAISD, will blend brain research, subject content, and information concerning effective instruction and assessment of student learning. The courses will be discussion-oriented, with the teachers who enroll able to discuss ideas with one another. The planning team will serve as instructors and will be actively engaged throughout, to help guide the discussions and the participants' learning.

The courses can be applied toward the 18 credits of academic work that must be completed by teachers seeking professional certification. Jordan and Wessman noted that they hope that the program will offer a helpful alternative to beginning teachers in particular, both through the quality of the coursework and by eliminating the need to travel to what for some could be a great distance for an on-site experience.

LearnPort awarded six grants, chosen from among 13 proposals. In addition to the Hope/OAISD project, the recipients and their programs are: Berrien County ISD, "Social Studies Content Benchmarks Using Technology"; Clinton County RESA, "Early On Michigan and Unified System of Learning"; Michigan Association of School Administrators (MASA), "Champions for Teaching and Learning"; Michigan Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (MASCD) and Successline Inc., "MI Strategies Online"; and Tuscola ISD and East Central Michigan Education Consortium, "Empowering Teachers with Data."

Even as the online courses are being developed for next fall, planning for the fifth annual Midwest Brain and Learning Institute is underway. Co-sponsored by Hope, OAISD and the Muskegon Area ISD, the event will run Monday-Thursday, June 20-23, at the college's Haworth Inn and Conference Center. Additional information about the summer institute can be obtained online at www.hope.edu/brain.

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