The Brick School Team
The Brick School Team is made up of experienced, successful teachers who are experts in language arts, math, music or computers.
Darren Michalczuk
Darren Michalczuk is the founder of the Brick School. He is an experienced classroom teacher who has developed and designed many program and materials for elementary students. He has done countless workshops and has recently spoken at the Provincial Literacy Convention and the 2007 Teachers' Conventions for Red Deer and Calgary City.
New Learning
New learning tools for elementary students have been developed with amazing results. These materials reach a broad range of students from those who struggle with school to those who need new extra challenges. They approach learning in a new way that reflects the way students learn rather than the way teachers teach. Although it seems to go against traditional styles of teaching, it encourages the proper learning that older generations grew up with, it just makes it easier. Knowing the times tables, spelling and grammar rules, or the notes on a musical scale are still important, it just doesn’t take endless hours of rote and drill to learn them. New tools and strategies are available for students.
These new tools and strategies started in the classroom, at the roots of learning. Darren Michalczuk, a teacher in rural northern Alberta school, started developing techniques for students who were struggling with school. His “thinking outside the box” combined with the “do what works” attitude paved the way for some innovative ideas. These new ideas turned the light on for many students, who in the past have been overwhelmed, discouraged or frustrated with school. Essentially he found something that worked when nothing else did.
He created very specific mnemonic devices for learning language, math and even music. Although these ideas came from age old techniques, they were previously reserved for an elite group. After researching and studying these techniques, Darren recreated them, making them so simple and fun that anyone, especially kids could use them. Using specific images and patterns, he taught math in a way that eliminated much of the effort and energy that is normally spent learning things like the times tables. He did the same in language, starting off with phonics, or learning the sounds for each letter and letter combination. In music, each note was learned using a very specific image that allowed students to read and fluently play on a number of instruments including recorder, piano, guitar and violin. Although the images seem simple, they lead to very advanced thinking. The music notes for example, help students learn simple melodies at first but eventually lead into harmony, chords and key signatures. Learning the basics became as easy as drinking water and the strategies evolved into an entire classroom environment.
The results were astounding. Children as young as six were learning the times tables within a few hours when normally students aged ten to twelve years spent months, even years learning these skills by rote or drill activities. Students in grades four, five and six were playing complex four part harmony songs with ease. Students who usually struggled with language became strong readers, writers and spellers well beyond grade level. In an average class only about one third of the students master these “basic skills” while the other two thirds struggle with or simply miss them altogether. With these techniques, the mastery percentage was near one hundred every time. Some students only needed a few hours to learn the techniques to go from an “at risk” student to a “high achieving” one.
Darren furthered his techniques by developing progressions that helped students develop and practice their skills, much the same as an athlete trains for competition. By allowing each student to work at his/her own level with the right tools for learning, students could take control of their own learning. These tools to learn, study and assess information gave the students metacognition, or the ability to learn how to learn. This is a huge step as a student is no longer a passive recipient of information, but rather an active participant in the class, motivated and capable of any new challenge.
Understanding this style means understanding the difference between teaching and learning. Teaching means presenting information to students. Often this reflects the teacher’s knowledge or expertise and may or may not be what the student needs. Learning on the other hand means the student has gained the skills or knowledge. Although teaching is taking place, learning may not be. The right skills combined with the right materials leads to learning and these are very specific. Imagine a swimming instructor that doesn’t know how to swim trying to teach a group of young children. Although the enthusiasm is there, it doesn’t make up for the lack of knowledge on how to progress from floating to gliding or proper leg and arm action for front crawl. Solid learning doesn’t happen by accident.
Darren has developed on-line resources for language arts, math and music. Although they are no replacement for the direct teaching experience, they follow and outline these strategies so students and teachers can enjoy the same success.
What kind of people work at the Brick School?
Down to Earth
Every person who works at the Brick School comes from a small town. Values like honesty, hard work and integrity are second nature to them.
Expert
Each team member is very good at what they do. Working with our subject area daily, we are able to work out even the smallest detail.
Passionate
We believe in our work and are passionate about learning.
Young at Heart
As we create materials for children, not for adults, we try to see through their eyes. We ask questions and listen to what they have to say.
Family Centered
We treat each other and those we meet like family.
"Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." Henry Ford