Engaging Teens in Their Own Learning

Dr. Paul Vermette has been a professional educator since l971. He has served as a teacher and supervisor of Social Studies in public and parochial schools in New York and New Jersey and has been at Niagara University (NU) in a full-time capacity since l985. He has authored (or coauthored) three texts on learning from teaching and is the author of over twenty articles on the topics of constructivism, cooperative learning, and concept learning.Vermette has been a highly visible advocate for teacher professional growth, conducting hundreds workshops and serving as a consultant on both sides of the United States-Canadian border. Vermette has served in various capacities for external agencies and organizations and was President of the Executive Board of New York State ATE in the early 90s. He has also been deeply involved in the activities of the Institute for Learning-Centered Education (Potsdam, NY), The New York State Middle School Association, The New York State Council for Social Studies and the Great Lakes Association for Cooperation in Education (Toronto).Vermette has been named to Educational Awards several times, the first as a teacher in the Diocese of Buffalo, later as Niagara University Professor of the Year, and for the Neal Appleby Award for New York's Outstanding Teacher Educator in 2007. (He is also Niagara University's candidate for U.S. Professor of the Year in 2008-09.)Vermette is extraordinarily proud of his former students, NU graduates who have made their marks as superb classroom teachers. This list is lengthy, but includes Jason Blokhuis, Cindy Kline, Susan Hibbard, Toby Marr, Tim Rudan, John Solarski, Dan Johnson, Mary Murray, Edie White, Monica Burgio, Karrie and Jennifer Jones, and Molly Koelle.The native Western New Yorker and former football coach has been married to Kathleen since l970, and the couple's one child, Matthew, is another NU grad who is a superb Social Studies teacher, now in the Lockport, NY district.Among his publications are the following three articles that are relevant here:Vermette, P.J., & Foote, C.J. (2001). Constructivist philosophy and cooperative learning practice, American Secondary Education, 30(1), 26-37.Vermette, P.J. (1994, March). Four fatal flaws: Avoiding the common mistakes of novice users of cooperative learning. The High School Journal, 255-260.Vermette, P.J., Foote, C.J., Battaglia, C., Mesibov, D., Bird, C., & Harris-Ewing, S. (2000) Understanding constructivism(s): A primer for parents and school board members. Education, 122(1), 87-93.