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Dennis Ray

Professional Info

• I work at Montevideo Middle School.
• I teach 7th grade Civics and 8th grade World Studies.
• I am involved in Destination Imagination, PULSAR, and the British Exchange.
• I am also the Morning Detention "warden."
• I have just completed Clinical Faculty training.

Personal Info

• I am married to a Registered Nurse at RMH. She works in the ER.
• I have a daughter who is starting her senior year at TA. I think she would make an excellent elementary teacher, but her interests are in Ecology.
• I love to cycle and to read. My favorite books are historical fact and historical fiction.
• I'm also a Star Trek fan.

Learning Experience

• I learn something each day that I teach, either about my students or about myself. That's one of the reasons I enjoy teaching so much.
• I had the opportunity to take a class this past summer that taught me a great deal about current technology. I was able to get a lot from the course because of the hands-on approach to learning that we used.

Learning Style

• I tend to learn best when I am able to use a hands-on approach. I don't usually learn as readily with only a visual or an auditory lesson.
• I would like to be better able to create lesson plans that appeal to the multiple learning styles of individual students.

Intelligence Type

• My type of intelligence is Linguistic. Apparently that's good for teachers (luckily for me).
• Secondary type is Musical, although it's better for everyone that I listen to music a good deal rather than compose or play.

Research Topic Idea

• *Using PowerPoint in instruction to enhance critical thinking skills and heighten student interest.

  Modern students are facing the daunting task of a highly technical and fast paced society. Modern businesses are seeking employees who display higher level thinking skills and can therefore keep pace with a changing economic environment. It is, as teachers, our mission to prepare our students for the challenges they will undoubtedly face upon graduation. The Effectiveness of Student-created Power Point Presentations for Instruction

Today's students are of a new electronic generation. They have grown up knowing computers, video games, the internet and text-messaging as matters of course. They have demonstrated an ever-decreasing attention span and need to be instructed in new ways that impact a variety of senses. Technology can provide the visual and auditory stimuli these student crave. It is my belief that PowerPoint software is capable of satifying both research topic goals.

A partial list of resources includes:

"Using PowerPoint to Promote Constructivist Learning" by Susan Elliott and Mordechai Gordon (2006) The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint by Edward R. Tufte (2003) "Learning Strategies and Performance in a Technology Integrated Classroom" by Kathleen Debevec, Mei-Yau Shih, and Vishal Kashyap (2006) "Using PowerPoint Animations" by Ken Zetie (2004) "No more the bore.(PowerPoint as an educational tool)" by Chris Higgins (2004) "Software to make you look marvelous: PowerPoint offers creative ways to get your message across" by Kathy Schrock (2003)