Kayla Womack
6th Grade Teacher

Let's Give This Thing a Try

Kagan totally transformed my teaching style. My teaching style was old school; students sat in rows, I lectured, and attempted to throw in a little so-called cooperative activity once a six weeks.

Then my career changed when I was introduced to Kagan in my fifth year of teaching. I had the opportunity to attend a two day workshop on math and science. To be honest, I was a little skeptical after the first day. At the end of the second day, I decided I might as well give this thing a try. I came home that evening and worked on placing my students in leveled groups. The next morning the students and I rearranged my classroom. I did a teambuilding structure within each group. I was AMAZED; it actually worked and there was no mass confusion. To say the least, I was hooked! I have been using Kagan since and now I am currently in my tenth year.

I had another opportunity to attend a Level I workshop two summers ago. Now I am able to implement many Kagan Structures throughout every subject due to teaching in a self-contained 6th grade classroom.

Another component of Kagan that I LOVE is it actually teaches children how to be mannerly and respectful to others. I have seen students transform their attitudes just due to Kagan Structures. In Louisiana, our state recently adopted a new teacher evaluation tool called Compass. I have to give my thanks to Kagan because if it was not for Kagan training and structures, I would not be able to meet all the components of the rubric to attain being a highly effective teacher. So I am a success story for Kagan. It makes teaching and learning fun and exciting.