On Giants' Shoulders is a resource for elementary or middle school teachers to motivate students. It is also a
rewarding community service project for high school students.
It is easy to implement, requires less than one hour per week and is virtually maintenance free. If needed, we are
available to provide assistance to you.
As a nonprofit organization, there are never any fees or costs.
The program was featured on the Today Show and in other news media and is listed in the National Service
Learning Clearinghouse and the National Service Learning YouthSITE, and was a featured presentation at a
TEDx conference and in a guest blog on the George Lucas Educational Foundation’s website (Edutopia.Org)..
BENEFITS FOR THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AND SCHOOL:
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Stimulates motivation.
Teaches communication skills.
Encourages respect for teachers and school.
Encourages respect for the learning process.
Provides recognition for success and attempts to succeed.
Counters low self expectations.
Teaches computer skills.
Fun and exciting.
Minimal time commitment.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is On Giants' Shoulders?
It is a resource for elementary or middle school teachers to motivate students. It is also a community service
program for high school students.
What is the problem?
How to motivate underperforming students to respect and appreciate the value of classroom learning or to enroll
in tutoring, homework help or mentoring programs if they are unwilling to do so.
Does this involve homework help, tutoring or a Big Brother/Big Sister type mentoring program?
No.
This is solely intended to motivate underperforming elementary and middle school students to succeed in
school. For some this is all that is needed. For others, it provides the inspiration necessary to enroll in and
meaningfully engage with the tutoring, homework help and mentoring programs that are already available to
them.
Why is this important?
Poor academic performance in elementary and middle school can lead to failing courses in high school and
dropping out.¹ Over 3 million students drop out of high school each year (41% of students in the 50 largest US
cities).² 75% of U.S. crimes are committed by dropouts.²
How does it work?
It is a simple 15 minute, once per week strategy, using online chats with older (high school) peers, to
repetitively motivate and inspire underperforming elementary and middle school students to excel academically
and socially and to respect their teachers, schools, peers and the learning process.
Academically accomplished students from a high school or college are paired on a one-to-one basis with
elementary or middle school students according to individual interests. Small groups of 3 mentor/mentee pairs
each share a computer for group chats.
Describe the typical elementary/middle school student who would benefit.
Students can range from, mildly undermotivated to severely underperforming, disruptive and/or
disrespectful. However, even accomplished students can benefit and are often included in the program.
What do you mean by peer motivation?
Many younger students, for various reasons, do not consider it “cool” to be "smart", especially in group
situations such as in the classroom. This manifests in behavior ranging from a simple lack of enthusiasm about
learning to, in some cases, disruptive conduct and outward disrespect towards the teacher and school.
Academically accomplished older peers can be powerful role models. This is further enhanced by basing the
older/younger student pairings according to interests (such as sports, music etc.).
We don't have a partner school.
We often know of schools that are interested in participating. Just contact us.
Must the schools be from the same school system?
No. The schools can be from within the same school district or from different school systems across the United
States and Canada.
How many students are involved?
This is entirely flexible, but typically 10 – 30 students per school to start.
What if we have very little time available?
Not a problem. Once a week online chats usually last approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Since a group of at least
3 student pairs from each school "chat" on each computer, 3 computers can accommodate 27 students from each
school in 45 minutes or less. 9 computers can accommodate 27 students in 15 minutes (see the video on our
website: http://www.OnGiantsShoulders.ORG/ ).
What if we have NO extra time available?
● Many consider this a student club and run it during scheduled club time.
● Chats can occur during the first 15 minutes of a lunch period, followed by a discussion over lunch for the
remaining time.
● It can be an after-school program
● Because the chats are online, differing time zones can be advantageous. An after-school program in one time
zone will be an-in school program for a partner school in a more western time zone. (International partner
schools are also possible).
Is 15 minutes per week really enough time?
Yes! The sole purpose of this program is to motivate students to want to learn. This is done by interacting with
older peers who appreciate the value of education. As a result, the younger students will be more willing to put
in the time that is required for more time-consuming activities, such as classroom learning, tutoring, homework
help or "Big Brother/Big Sister" type mentoring programs.
Why once a week?
Repetitive reinforcement is the key to maintaining student motivation.
Why would an unmotivated student want to participate in On Giants' Shoulders in the first place?
Because chatting online is fun, particularly when there are shared interests. And interacting with an older peer
is "cool".
Why videoconferencing over the internet? Why not motivate the children face to face?
By chatting over the internet we save a lot of time and eliminate traveling expenses. And it is also much
“greener”.
How easy is it to start a branch of On Giants' Shoulders in a school?
The program is extremely easy to implement at no cost and requires minimal time. Everything you need to
know is on this website and we are always available to help you along the way. Feel free to contact us at
anytime.
Costs?
We are a not-for-profit organization. There are never any costs or fees involved.
Please visit our website (www.OnGiantsShoulders.ORG) to view a 3 minute video about our program and to
view the Today Show video.
No matter what approach is used to educate or quantitatively assess the progress of a child, a motivated
student will have greater success than an unmotivated one.__________________________________
1. Rumberger, Russell W. Dropping Out: Why Students Drop out of High School and What Can Be Done about It. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press, p15, 2011.
2. Education Week,