LEARNING FROM THE PAST.
Almost a century ago George Revis, as Assistant Superintendent of the Cincinnati Public Schools sent The Animal School to
American teachers.
George described how the animals tried to address the world’s problems by organizing their own school.
E-Team Learnings, developed in Australia during the past 40 years, has the world’s animals encouraging and supporting
learners through a highly motivational collection of somewhat unexpected and
thought-provoking experiences.
E-TEAM LEARNINGS PROVIDES INDIVIDUAL CHOICE.
E-Team Learnings was established to provide children, parents, other family members, and friends with accurate and up-to-date information about a wide variety of topics.
E-Team Learnings choices are non-threatening, enjoyable, and firmly based on modern neurological research that is now
informing us, not about what to learn but how to learn.
WHAT DOES THE ‘E’ in E-TEAM LEARNINGS MEAN?
The ‘E’ can refer to many things.
• It can be about enjoying and sustaining our environment.
• It can be about supporting ethical and essential relationships.
• It can be about encouraging and rewarding excellence.
• It can be about developing an empathy with other living things.
But most of all it is about an excitement for personal learning and self-education
ENDORSEMENTS.
"The view of the Board was that the program is by far and away the most comprehensive and advanced program we
have ever seen." - Robin Crawley, Executive Director, Banksia Environmental Foundation.
"The material is very impressive and I can understand its attractiveness to teachers. The materials speak strongly to
practicing teachers working under pressure." - Warren Brewer, International Programs Consultant Curriculum Corporation.
"During my extensive travels throughout the world, I have neither discovered nor
observed any initiative that is as extensive, highly integrated, or as thoroughly
planned and developed ..." - Professor Donald Huisingh, Lund University,
Co-Chair of the Education Group, United Nations Environment Programme
THE FURTHER AIMS OF E-TEAM LEARNINGS.
• To encourage young people and other community members of all ages and circumstances to discover and develop
confidence in their intelligence and to value knowledge and education.
• To assist learners and job seekers to take their place in and enjoy productive employment and its associated rewards
in the new age of the knowledge economy.
• Make knowing things and exercising the brain fun, entertaining, and "cool".
ROBERT ANDREW PALMER
THE AUTHOR
When Robert Palmer began his training at Ballarat Teachers’ College in the
1960’s his experiences had been as a receiver of education, rather than an
encourager of thinking.
The political climate at the time was all about ‘individual differences’ and
‘thematic studies’, but very few knew what these meant. Robert certainly
didn’t.
While in the classroom for each ‘teaching practicum,’ he became known as ‘the
magic man’ by the children attending schools in Ballarat, and Robert later found
there was competition among the supervising lecturers to come and see what
Robert was doing next.
On graduation, Robert decided that he would like to further his experience in
rural, or country, locations – so that is what he did.
Early in 1980, Australia’s newly formed National Curriculum Development Centre
asked Robert to trial some of the materials and approaches he had created in
1000 classrooms throughout Australia.
A grant was provided to create, assemble
distribute, and independently assess ten teaching/learning packages, under the
name of FUN ONES. Each pack contained 24 activity pages, followed by a
thematic approach for the numbers from 1 to 10, and addressed a wide range
of individual experience levels.
The amount of funding could not address the demand – from within Australia
and also from overseas – and this led to the Curriculum Development Centre, in
conjunction with the Education Department of Tasmania producing a large format 86-page book ‘The Best of FUN ONES’.
In 1985 Robert produced 4 books in a series entitled ‘BRAIN FUN’. Each book
contained 30 units and 20 gently-graded math questions, each for a specific
area of mathematics development.
These took up two-thirds of a page and
were supported by a logic puzzle, and a full-page pencil and paper activity.
The success of this series, and other publications, caused Robert to investigate
the curriculum of fifteen different countries, correlate their aims and objectives,
and create an A1-size chart ‘The Sequential Development of Mathematics’.
The chart provided a ‘road map’ for teachers,
children and parents – some of whom considered it to
be the first Scope and Sequence Matrix for
Mathematics in the world.
We have much to share.
RANDY FALCATAN
WEBMASTER
A proud Filipino, Randy Falcatan is a high school graduate with a
strong interest in the current workings and immense potential of the
Internet.
Randy has a positive ‘can do’ attitude and is a great believer in self-study. He was a member of the Linkedin community and in August
2023, wanting to develop new experiences, contacted Robert Palmer
in Australia.
Robert sent Randy some samples of his work and an exciting interplay
of ideas took place. Robert was most impressed by Randy’s thoughts
and developing skills so a collaboration began - the results of which
can be seen in the eteamlearnings.com website.
Throughout the development of the website, there have been no
disagreements and a few ‘hiccups’ - with a focus on the continual
searching for new information, understandings, and improvements.
Randy has been, and continues to be, greatly impressed and
constantly surprised by the vast amount of intellectual properties
that he has now been trusted with.
For Randy, every day seems to be a new adventure. Robert’s founding
work with OSSNET - the Online Student Support Network (which has
supported more than 6,000 international students with personal issues)
- and a world-first and industry-proven Alcohol Diversion Program have
been put ‘on hold’ at the moment, but have certainly not been
forgotten.
Randy, his partner Angel, and young daughter Hannah now consider
Robert and his wife Helen as family, mentors, and friends to be
cherished.
He wishes that he could have had Robert as his teacher much, much
earlier - but is looking forward to sharing much of his newfound skills
and understandings with Hannah as she grows up.