Forming A Human Connection And Making Topics Engaging Are Core Educational Beliefs For Reynolds

By Larissa Martins, LSI Communications Intern

Jim Reynolds has an expansive role at Florida State’s Learning Systems Institute (LSI) as a Science Content Specialist and Curriculum Coordinator for the CPALMS team. His work is essential for furthering education as CPALMS is the official source for course descriptions and standards in Florida and provides benchmarks for general education classes. CPALMS offers 12,000+ high-quality educational resources developed by K-12 educators and FSU faculty. There are more than 1,300 original tutorials for students to use anytime and anywhere.

Prior to joining the LSI in 2015, Reynolds worked in the classroom for fourteen years as a middle and high school science teacher. Fueled by his passion for education, he spent the last five of those years presenting at state conferences and hosting workshops with current LSI colleague Carrie Meyers. Their careers progressed organically as they juggled teaching full-time with hosting workshops at different districts after school and on weekends. As they eventually began looking for opportunities to expand their audience, they discovered new homes at LSI.

Reynolds has witnessed the evolution of the CPALMS online platform throughout the years and has contributed to its ongoing success. CPALMS has a massive impact on Florida public school teachers because it is designed to save them time by providing them with a large library of educational materials and lesson-planning resources.

“We’re the intermediaries; we sift through all the research to provide teachers with information that helps them in their classrooms and content areas,” said Reynolds. “Teachers can be assured that what they are looking for is going to be good quality materials for their classrooms.”

One of Reynolds’ favorite aspects of his role at LSI is being able to continue his work as an educator by organizing professional development workshops for teachers across Florida. He enjoys seeing first-hand the benefits of what CPALMS provides teachers through vetted resources and new pedagogy practices. Reynolds describes these workshops as vital for teachers to continuously advance in their careers because education itself is ever-changing.

“We try to make ourselves available for teachers and educators in all different facets because we know that they’re striving to improve their educational directives in their classrooms,” said Reynolds.

As someone who has dedicated so much of his time to educating children and adults, Reynolds approaches education in the same way regardless of his audience’s age. He believes in the importance of forming a human connection and making the topic engaging for his learners to easily acquire new knowledge. He also focuses on sparking interest so their learning can further develop through insightful conversations.

Ultimately, Reynolds loves the dynamic nature of his job and how it gives him opportunities to be flexible and creative. At his core, Reynolds believes that striving to be a good learner is the key to being a good educator.