David Ciancutti Email and Phone Number

I am interested in working with people ages 6 to 60+ who are motivated to learn. I believe that strengthening the mind is congruent with nurturing the heart. Young people have an innate curiosity about life and as the years go by, that wonder about things sometimes begins to wane. Motivating children through science is easy. Once I set the stage for an juicy experiment or challenge the class with a interesting problem to solve, all I need to do is facilitate the process and stay out of the way.Adults however, sometimes have a passionate opinion about a topic that gets in the way of learning. They, therefore, may need upfront coaching to diffuse the opinion and catalyze the emotion of interest. Interest, or curiosity then eases up on the opinions and openness to explore begins to take over. The passion to be right about the opinions explodes and converts into the passion to learn.I have always practiced engaging, hands-on experimentation in the classroom. I started with one of the earliest lab-oriented biology programs called BSCS which was revolutionary in its teaching approach at the time. Introductory Physical Science was another innovative approach that allowed 8th and 9ith graders to delve into chemistry by introducing a concept, follow-up immediately with an experiment to capture the experience of the concept.An outsider, looking in to my classroom, would see students engaged in experimentation or a team-oriented activity discussing a key concepts that highlights the day. Sometimes the classroom gets noisy but it is constructive, learning conversation that leads to insight and joy. Key values that provide a framework for all the work that is being accomplished includes kindness, respect and accountability. These values will promote students to out-reach and therefore be helpful contributors to the world. There is spirituality implied here. Without the nurturing of spirit, our connection to, say, Mother Earth, is academic.