Four pre-conference workshops will be offered in Burlington on Friday, July 26th and Saturday, July 27th in advance of the 2019 Summer Conference at the DoubleTree by Hilton Burlington.

 

Engaged Learning Online	A Day on the Farm: Experiencing Place & Sustainability in Teacher Education	Supports for the Classroom Mentor	"I am from Here" A Workshop on Racial Equity

1.  Engaged Learning Online (Fri. 7/26/19, 1:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m., $50)

More and more universities are providing online courses for students.  Teaching and learning online is very different from teaching and learning in a face-to-face environment.  If you have ever thought about teaching online, or want to learn some tips and tricks to improve your online teaching, this 3-hour workshop is for you.  Some topics to be discussed during this workshop include:  designing learning experiences, community building, creating active discussions and activities, creating presence in the online environment.

Presenter:

Jean Kiekel, PhD graduated with a degree in curriculum and instruction from Kansas State University.  She is currently a tenured professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas.  She holds an active Texas social studies certificate.  At the University of St. Thomas, she teaches courses in teacher education – Curriculum and Instruction, Classroom Management, Adolescent Learning, Essentials of Social Studies, Digital Medial Strategies, and Instructional Technology Methods.  She is the director of the M.Ed. in Instructional Technology and the Master of Arts in Teaching with initial certification.  She has been developing and teaching online courses since 2001 and currently teaches a high school AP Economics course completely online.  Jean has been a member of ATE for four years and has recently joined the Board of Directors.  She has been actively involved in the state chapter of ATE (TxATE) and was secretary of this organization for two years.  She is also active in ISTE and SITE.

2.  A Day on the Farm: Experiencing Place & Sustainability in Teacher Education (Sat. 7/27, 8:30 a.m.- 3:00 p.m - see schedule below, $75)

Note: transportation and lunch included
Location: Shelburne Farms, Education Center

Total Time: 8:30am to 3:00pm (Bus leaves hotel at 8:30 sharp - see schedule below)

Event Time: 9:00am to 2:00pm

Participant limit: 25

Shelburne Farms and the University of Vermont are working together to envision a new kind of teacher education that is place-based and attuned to global sustainability challenges. In this workshop you will learn the principles, pedagogies, and protocols that are guiding this work as you experience the Shelburne Farms landscape—Forest, Farm, and Garden. Together, workshop facilitators and participants will explore how sustainability concepts, systems thinking, and nature’s principles can be used to transform teacher education and PK-12 schooling at a time of rapid climate disruption and societal change.

Agenda:

8:30 am - Depart hotel

9:00 am - Welcome and place-based introductions

9:30 am - Connecting to and Exploring Place-based Curriculum Connections

Forest, Farm and Garden experience and exploration

(short walk from Education Center; small hill but can get access to site via farm vehicle if needed)

We’ll explore Big Ideas of Sustainability and how these concepts come alive in place - concepts include diversity, systems, cycles and social justice/equity.

11:00 am - Overview of Place-based Education and EFS - especially as it relates to teacher education and between community partners and higher education institutions

11:45 am - Farm fresh lunch (outside picnic if nice out)

12:30 pm - Systems Approach to Transformation in Teacher Education and PK-12 schools. Explore using a systems approach and nature’s principles as a way to re-imagine teacher education and PK-12 schools. This will be a combination of small group conversations and sharing tools for helping apply a systems approach.

1:45 pm - Reflective Close

2:00 pm - Departure -Shelburne Farms, Education Center

3:00 pm - Return to hotel

Presenters:

Simon Jorgenson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at the University of Vermont. He worked as a classroom teacher and Instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School before earning a Ph.D. in the social foundations of education and sustainability from the University of Cincinnati. Currently, he teaches courses in social studies, science, and sustainability education. His courses are designed to model place-based and experiential approaches to instruction and feature regular trips to Shelburne Farms and other field sites. His research focuses on the convergence between STEM and environmental education--past, present, and future. His publications include articles in the Journal of Environmental Education, Elementary School Journal, Journal of STEM Teacher Education, and Bank Street Occasional Paper Series.

Aimee Arandia Ostensen is a Professional Learning Facilitator at Shelburne Farms. She embraces learning as a life-long process. Her own pathway has been a spiral of explorations into art, nature, movement, and community. Aimee has spent most of her teaching career at Manhattan Country School guiding students through adventures in interdisciplinary learning in many elementary grade levels. Most recently, she has held the position of Founding Teacher at The Hudson Lab School and Farm Curriculum and Outreach Coordinator at the Manhattan Country School Farm. Additionally, Aimee has had the privilege of partnering with a range of teachers, schools, and districts in the Northeast as a professional learning consultant in the i of Education for Sustainability.

Jen Cirillo, Shelburne Farms, Director of Professional Development After working in integrated art sustainability programs, city government, and small scale farming, Jen firmly planted herself in the world of education. Since 1996 she has worked in education for sustainability and now leads Shelburne Farms’ EFS professional development programs for K-16 educators. Jen holds a B.S. in Plant and Soil Science from the University of Vermont, an M.S. in Environmental Education from Lesley University’s Audubon Expedition Institute, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Vermont.

 

 

3. Supports for the Classroom Mentor by NEA (Sat. 7/27/19, 9:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m., $50)

This workshop description will be available soon.

Presenters:

4. "I am from Here" A NEA workshop on racial equity. (Sat. 7/27/19, 1:00 p.m - 4:00 p.m., $50)

Description available soon.

Presenter:

Blake West, Ed.D., Senior Policy Analyst, NEA Center for Great Public Schools - Teacher Quality, Washington, DC