Dr. Seann Dikkers
SPEAKER - AUTHOR - ADMINISTRATOR
Dr. Dikkers is an experienced Christian educator, Calvary Chapel Pastor, and a passionate advocate for Christ-centered, project-based learning. A husband and father of two children, he currently works as the Chief Product Officer at Portals, developing support for new schools and homeschooling families. He has worked as a middle school teacher, high school principal, researcher, professor, and authored books including Teacher Craft, Mobile-Media Learning, and Real-Time Research exploring the powerful impact of play, design, and project-based learning. His insights have resonated with many across a wide variety of audiences. As a previous school administrator, he knows how hard it can be to find quality, affordable professional development opportunities for your staff. Fill out the form below and we will respond within 1-2 business days with more information.
Select from a variety of topics:
Why Leave Schooling to Do More Schooling?
Education and discipleship are not the same as mass schooling. They have different traditions and different expectations. Have you ever asked, “How do I know if they are on pace?”, “What if they miss something?”, “How do I know if they are learning?”, or even “I’m not sure I know enough to teach high school!” then this session should settle your mind and help you plan for discipleship with excitement. Explore some of the key differences and save massive amounts of time and stress trying to recreate schooling at home.
Carrots, Not Sticks: Designing Learning for Joy
What drives our learning? What convinces anyone to pursue knowledge, invest, and embark on great endeavors? Is ‘boredom’ necessary or to be avoided? Why do we learn new skills? This session will explore learning for joy, motivational strategies, and outline practical planning tools that will help you take any content and foster joy in the process. If your child is less than motivated, this session may help answer why and offer key approaches you can use starting tomorrow.
The Digital Divide
No child should sit in front of a screen all day. If we can agree on that, then the core question for parents is, “How much, if any, screentime is good for children?” What does research and common sense say about cognitive growth and the strengths and weaknesses of digital tools for learning. If our children are entering workplaces that use computers, how can we equip them over time, give them spiritual armor and ethics around usage, and find balance for a healthy family.
Play More
It’s easy to recognize how valuable play is to our children. They love it! It is not so easy to convince ourselves that play has a variety of long term benefits and that play is actually learning. It is arguably the most pure form of learning we have. Dr. Dikkers will walk us through an overview of the physical, developmental, social, and academic benefits of non-directed outdoor play time.
The Insidious Nature of Schooling
For the history lovers, this session will review 150 years of government schooling in America against the backdrop of freedom keeping Christian education. We’ll review key legislation, key thought leaders, and the motivation, design, and intentions of education leaders; answering questions like “What were government schools designed for?”, “Where they go so wrong?”, “How might the system itself be contributing to the dumbing down of learning?”, and clarify how powerfully different home discipleship is in contrast.