AUNE: Register Now for Inside-Outside Conference
Liz Ellsworth
Includes Workshop Descriptions
Inside-Outside Conference
Saturday, October 22, 2022
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
at Chesterfield School, Chesterfield, NH
Grounded in Place will be the focus of our fifth day-long conference for educators who are redefining what’s possible in education. As we build school programs around place-based social studies, outdoor science lessons, Forest Fridays and more, we’re connecting children to the natural world, local communities and big ideas. The Inside-Outside conference is experiential and active. We’ll spend the majority of our day outdoors. Please come dressed for and prepared to be out in the weather. We’ll begin the day with an active opening, followed by a group immersion.
Morning Key Experience
Place as Community from an Indigenous Perspective
Rich Holschuh and Melody Walker Mackin
Atowi, Wantastegok, (Brattleboro, VT)
Community binds us together and informs how we walk in the world. Join us for a full morning of exploring our place as community from an Indigenous Perspective. This experience will be lead by Rich Holschuh and Melody Walker Mackin of The Atowi Project, an Elnu Abenaki community initiative to affirm Native relationships to the Land and its inhabitants, raise Indigenous voices, and foster inclusion with understanding, in place.
Rich Holschuh
Rich is a resident of Wantastegok (Brattleboro, VT) and immersed in the stories layered within this landscape. He serves on the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs and is a public liaison and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Elnu Abenaki, members of the contemporary Native community. Rich is founder and co-director of the Atowi Project. His work draws upon history, linguistics, geography, and culture to share beneficial ways of seeing and being in relationship with place.
Melody Walker Mackin
Melody Mackin is a mother, educator, and artist. She is a citizen of the Elnu Abenaki Band and has previously served as the vice chair and chair of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs. She received her master's degree in history and within her community Melody has focused on cultural revitalization and concepts of personhood. She has been an adjunct professor for 14 years at various institutions. She is also a member of the VT Abenaki Artists Association. Melody was named one of USA Today’s Most Influential Women of the Century as part of the centennial celebration of the Suffrage Movement.
Lunch
In conjunction with some citizens of the Elnu Band of the Abenaki Nation, lunch will feature heritage foods helping us to integrate our morning experience to our ongoing work of connecting students with nature as we strive to honor Indigenous traditions.
Afternoon Workshops
SESSION ONE
1:00pm – 2:15pm
A Trip to the Boiler Room: Using Local Energy Systems as a Context for Engaging Place-based Education
Simon Jorgenson, Associate Professor, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Where does the heat in our classroom come from? Who keeps us warm in the winter? Where do these pipes lead? This session will provide real-world examples by taking a look at indoor energy systems. As a complement to extensive outdoor workshop offerings, participants will investigate Chesterfield School and learn how teachers can use local energy systems—including schools—to teach elementary STEM and social studies concepts.
Nature Journaling as a Foundation for Writing
Hannah French and Claudine Poplawski, 3rd and 4th grade teachers, Rowe Elementary School, Rowe, MA
Have you been thinking that nature journaling sounds great, but you’re wondering how to get started? Have you tried nature journaling with your students, but not much writing is taking place? In this workshop, we will share how we’ve built a student-led nature journal routine in our 3rd and 4th grade outdoor classroom. We will show how we’ve connected this foundational piece of our writing practice to state standards and discuss curriculum extensions. Participants will leave with their own nature journal, a sample set of usable nature journal prompts for the fall, and plenty of ideas to move this work forward!
Leading a Journey of Change: Disrupting the Usual Way of Doing Things *
Marie Robinson, Superintendent, Katahdin Schools, RSU 89,
Stacyville, ME
Learn about a small rural school district’s outdoor learning journey and the implementation of a pilot project, Connect, Reach & Teach All Children with Outdoor Learning. The project is designed to disrupt “the usual way of doing things.” Data show that after just one year of a shift to outdoor learning children are happier and teachers have a greater sense of job satisfaction. School principals, district administrators, and teacher leaders who attend will gain a greater understanding around why allocating time and resources for outdoor learning is critical at this time in public education. Participants will be guided to analyze schools’ current context, use nature materials to design a creative representation of their organization and identify the next best steps for positive change!
Natural Sensory Motor Experiences:
The Connection to Play, Learning and Development from an OT Perspective
Sue Ford, Occupational Therapist, Coorie Wellness LLC, Kittery, ME
This outdoor sensory rich workshop will deepen your understanding of and experience with movement and senses, and how they help shape our awareness of and rhythm with the world around us. Through hands-on learning, participants will explore sensory processing and emotional regulation, and how executive functioning supports development of these skills. Topics will also include concepts around “behavior vs. sensory” and will provide hands-on practice implementing strategies for use with all students outdoors!
Exploring and Playing at the Water’s Edge
Emily Kaplita, Environmental Educator and Debbie Archer, Education Manager, Audubon Vermont,
Huntington, VT
Water can be a powerful tool. It is where many animals live and hide; it keeps plants (and people!) healthy and growing; it is a wonderful medium for imaginative play. But water has to be respected. This workshop will help you learn about the living and nonliving components of aquatic ecosystems in the Northeast and how to engage students safely at the water’s edge in discovery, learning and play. Participants will define a watershed, identify aquatic organisms, discuss ways to mitigate risk around water, and leave with at least one resource for identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates.
Imaginative Outdoor Learning by Design
Mandie Goodwin, Nature-based Elementary Teacher, Mary C. Dondero Elementary School, Portsmouth, NH and Jake Goodwin, Sixth Grade Social Studies Teacher at the Exeter Cooperative Middle School, Exeter, NH
How do you start to create space for students to joyfully explore the world? Join us for a session of imaginative play and design! Participants in this workshop will experience hands-on activities that can be used to design and plan lessons for students in K-6 classrooms and beyond! We will model the “design principles” from Childhood & Nature, by David Sobel (2008) through what we call “mini-collaborative bursts”. We will outline each of the principles, reflect on how folks may use these ideas in their own practice, and close with offering a rich list of resources.
SESSION TWO
2:30pm – 3:45pm
The Blizzard of 1888:
Creative Writing Inspired by Historical Primary Sources
Emilia Whippie Prior, 5th Grade Teacher, Nelson School, Nelson, NH
Students can learn from storm events and natural disasters on many levels. The Blizzard of 1888 was an epic storm that impacted the northeast U.S. in significant ways. Join Emilia as she shares an overview of her blizzard unit, guides you to practice using primary sources from your local historical society, and reveals how social studies, science, and language arts learning outcomes can be met. See how students utilize an engaging nonfiction mentor text and local resources to craft exciting historical fiction stories.
Sit Spots, Storytelling, and Tea: Using Observation and Nature Journals to Integrate Standards Into Outdoor Learning
Alissa Alteri Shea, Instructional Coach, Vernon Elementary School, Vernon, VT
Taking students out in nature every week for sit spots, storytelling, and tea builds community and directly addresses curriculum standards. Early childhood students (Pre-K-2) love this experience. While in their sit spots, they write about what they observe in their nature journals and share their work with classmates. By collecting observational data, writing, and sketching, math, science, and writing standards are integrated.
Critical Skills for Nature- and Place-based Learning
Gina Gitchell, 4th Grade Teacher, Chesterfield School, Chesterfield, NH
The Critical Skills Program is an Antioch University New England teaching model intentionally designed around standards-driven, problem-based, experiential, and collaborative learning. Students need to learn how to learn, play, and grow together in all contexts. Gina has tailored Critical Skills and collaborative learning to meet the needs of her elementary students as they learn through place-based education. Join her to experience how she builds community in her outdoor learning spaces. She will focus on intentional community-building and engaging in an outdoor challenge.
Nebizun: Cattails and Baby Ducks
Vera Longtoe Sheehan, Elnu Abenaki Tribe, Executive Director of Abenaki Arts & Education Center and Vermont Abenaki Artists Association, City, VT
Nebi is the Abenaki word for water, which is an important element for keeping everyone healthy and strong. During this hands-on workshop we will explore the important role of cattails, in waterways and for humans, through Indigenous perspectives and for STEM purposes. Come ready to make a small cattail duck and be prepared to participate in a lively conversation!-;p
Shape, Symmetry and Angles: Exploring Geometry in Nature
Jen Kershaw, 5th grade teacher & Educational SupportCoordinator, High Mowing School, Wilton, NH
This workshop combines stories and legends from early cultures with real world experiences of geometry in nature. Early discoveries from the Babylonians and the Egyptians will be our focus as we explore different methods of identifying lines, angles, shapes and symmetry in the natural world around us.
The Nature-based Ripple Effect: How to Start and Sustain Outdoor Learning at Your Public Elementary School *
Mandie Goodwin, Nature-based Elementary Teacher, Mary C. Dondero Elementary School, Portsmouth, NH
You take your students outside and an explosion of learning happens for one student and maybe the whole group. You explain the experience to a colleague and get the “that sounds like fun” reply. Your nature-based program is robust. Yet, when your students move on to the next grade, that love for learning in nature may fade. You can be a leader for nature-based learning that is sustainable, engaging, and integrated with the curriculum. It can start with you and one or two people throwing the stone and starting the ripple. In this workshop, learn more about how to lead for nature-based learning, either as a teacher or from a formal leadership role. Learn how to gain support, motivate colleagues to teach outside, and spread the magic of learning outdoors.
* These two workshops are geared specifically for school administrators or school/program leaders.
Workshop Sign-Ups will happen at morning registration.
Questions? Contact Peg Smeltz
603-762-0012 cell
Register Here
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