Highlighted Projects

Contract: Trends in Education Today: Grades 4 to 12 Pedagogy and Resources in Canada
Client: Parks Canada
Description: This report reveals emerging national trends in pedagogical practices and educational
resources as they relate to grades four to twelve history, social and natural sciences
in all regions of Canada including northern audiences and First Nations, Métis and Inuit. In order to elicit both the theoretical and applied knowledge-base in the field of education today, research included both an extensive literature review and interviews.
It highlights emerging instructional strategies, factors for creating a positive learning environment, approaches for measuring student learning and the nature of both mainstream and cutting-edge educational resources.

Contract: "Flights of Fancy" Lesson Plan & Classroom Materials
Client: Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada
Description: "Flights of Fancy" is an interdisciplinary lesson plan in which students relive moments from the life and research of Alexander Graham Bell. It features a role play, kite design, and constructivist kite-building activity where students explore forces, flight, and the value of asking questions.

Contract: Pesticide Applicator Test Question Review
Client: Council of Atlantic Premiers
Description: This review analyzed a set of multiple choice test items from an education perspective. It provided feedback to the client about how to improve item stems and distractors according to research-based principles of question design.

Contract: Facilitator's Guide and Participant Workbook for Traffic Management Guidelines for Emergency Scenes
Client: Lantz Safety Training
Description: This kit provides overviews, practice scenarios, demonstrations, and hands-on activities that lead participants through the Traffic Management Guidelines for Emergency Scenes. It includes administrative materials, a lesson plan, and a complete set of handouts with answer keys.

Contract: A Scan of Halifax Regional Municipality High School Contacts and Interest in the St. John Ambulance LifeSmart Program
Client: St. John Ambulance
Description: LifeSmart is a First Aid Training Program offered to high school students in schools throughout Nova Scotia. This project involved researching and meeting with faculty representatives from each high school in the region, providing information, generating interest, and making key contacts within the schools. A report summarized teacher availability, key challenges, communication with teachers, and detailed feedback from schools.

Contract: A Scan of the Formal Education System in Atlantic Canada and Environment Canada's Potential Involvement
Client: Environment Canada
Description: This report outlines the national and provincial educational structure in the four Atlantic provinces and the key opportunities for Environment Canada’s involvement within the formal education system. It includes curriculum documents, roles of key departments/school boards, teachers’ associations, teacher professional development and key processes such as supplementary resource approval.

Contract: Toronto Zoo Learning Center Feasibility Study
Client: Toronto Zoo
Description: Sprout Educational Consulting worked as part of an education team to produce a comprehensive, integrated program analysis at the Toronto Zoo, with consideration of both formal and informal education settings, audiences, and delivery methods.

Contract: Instructor/Part-Time Faculty, EDUC 5349: Advanced Curriculum Practices in Science
Employer: Faculty of Education, Mount St. Vincent University
Description: This second year course for pre-service teachers focuses on preparing for middle school and senior high school science teaching. Topcis include the integration of science, technology, society and the environment into teaching, inquiry-based approaches to developing lessons and labs, constructivism, interdisciplinary units, and meta-cognition in science teaching.

Project: Canadian Wildlife Service Curriculum Database
Client: Canadian Wildlife Service
Description: The K to 12 CWS curriculum links were integrated into a searchable database that will allow both departmental and external users to access the data via the web.

Project: K to 12 PlantWatch Education Guide
Client: Nature Canada
Description: This national teachers guide provides engaging activities before, during, and after students observe plants flowering in their own backyard. It is divided into clusters of activities that help students overcome aversion to prickly plants, explore the use of plants in society, study plant structure and function, and gain an appreciation for nature. It includes unique lessons complete with outcomes, background for teachers, instructional and assessment strategies, recommended grade levels, and ready-to-copy handouts and evaluation tools. The best thing about the PlantWatch Education Guide is that it is designed with both the educator and the student in mind – it is practical enough for easy classroom use and interactive enough to engage students in the content.

Project: Ontario Professional Foresters Association High School Presentation
Associate: Gesner & Associates Environmental Learning (GAEL)
Description: A fun, full-class, interactive game designed to teach senior high students about careers in forestry. Part of an awareness campaign, it is built using standard presentation software so that it is accessible to all.

Project: Motivational Strategies Course
Client: Lantz Safety Training
Description: This is a three-hour course targeted to individuals who are interested in starting a business or changing a career. It motivates participants and helps them recognize strategies to gain confidence, interpersonal and leadership skills. This course includes an overview, outcomes, lesson plan, detailed activities, educational materials, and assessment strategies. Students participate in student-centered activities such as a role-play and a case study to learn how to deal with a variety of situations.

Project: Canadian Wildlife Service Curriculum Links
Client: Gesner & Associates Environmental Learning (GAEL)
Description: As a sub-contractor to GAEL, Sprout Educational Consulting linked the Ontario Provincial Curriculum to target topics for the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS). These links will help the CWS design learning materials that are appropriate for use in Ontario schools.

Contract: Tutoring Post-Secondary Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics
Client: Acadia University
Description: Sprout Educational Consulting developed individualized study techniques, lessons, and learning materials for students with disabilities attending Acadia University for a variety of subject areas.