In partnership with:

Generously supported by:

We are pleased to present this 4-Part Professional Learning Series
(Fall 2021):

Solutions-focused climate change education through Natural Curiosity’s four-branch framework

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Program Overview:

Natural Curiosity and Green Teacher are excited to launch a 4-Part climate-focused virtual professional learning series this fall. This series is for educators of intermediate and senior grades who wish to deepen their own inquiry into the ecology of natural curiosity — growing a learning environment where educators and students experience themselves in relationship with the Land and each other in community — and how this pedagogical approach can be applied to climate change education.

Over the course of four months, educators will explore the four-branch framework of environmental inquiry and the associated Indigenous lenses, that present tangible entry points towards a reciprocal relationship with the Land participating as a co-teacher. This framework will be applied to a solutions-focused approach to climate change education that leaves students both informed and empowered about the challenges and opportunities of anthropogenic climate change. Strategies to overcome barriers will be discussed in a safe and collegial online environment where educators may process their experiences, ask questions, and share stories. A Slack communication channel will be created to allow for conversation and mutual support between sessions.

Sessions will take place monthly from September to December, 2021 from 7 PM – 9 PM ET:

Learning Goals:

• Develop comfort with inquiry-based teaching
• • The four branches of NC
  • Knowledge building with students
  • Placing student voice, interest, and heart at the centre of their learning
• Develop a relationship with Indigenous perspectives
  • What is the Indigenous lens on Natural Curiosity?
  • Land acknowledgements and principles of reciprocity
  • How can we use the Indigenous lens of NC to introduce Indigenous stories and history?
• Develop comfort going outdoors
  • Addressing barriers to getting outside regularly
  • NC in all weather
  • Benefit/risk assessment
  • Scaffolding students’ capacity to risk assess
• Develop comfort with inquiry-based climate change education
  • Learning local and from the land
  • Systems thinking
  • Focusing on solutions

Required Reading:

• Natural Curiosity 2nd Edition
• Teaching Teens about Climate Change
• Other resources will be referenced in session or on a private online communication platform, e.g. Slack

At the end of the workshop series, educators will receive a certification of participation, along with access to recordings and resources.

Meet your facilitators:

Haley Higdon (OCT) is a guest and settler on Turtle Island and is the Program Director of Natural Curiosity, Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study Laboratory School, OISE-University of Toronto. She has her BEd and MA in Child Study and Education from the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study at UofT. She has spent the last four years working as the managing editor for the development and creation of Natural Curiosity 2nd Edition: The Importance of Indigenous Perspectives in Children’s Environmental Inquiry. Haley has extensive experience in supporting educators with incorporating environmental inquiry into their practice.

Ian Shanahan (OCT) is a guest and settler on Turtle Island. His combined passions of nature, education, art, writing, and editing have led him to Green Teacher, where he is the General Editor of the quarterly magazine, webinar host, podcast co-host, and lead educator of climate change and biodiversity programs. Ian also conducts biological surveys, professional workshops, and field trips for Shrew Nature, for whom he works with fellow Ontario Parks alumni. He completed his BAH at Queen’s University and then his BEd at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, UofT.

Maria Vamvalis (OCT) is the daughter of Greek immigrants to Turtle Island and has spent almost two decades deepening her understanding of, and enacting her responsibilities to, Indigenous Nations through the wampum-inspired and treaty relationships that bind us together. These responsibilities include commitments to reparations and land back. Maria is currently a PhD candidate at OISE where she is researching the pedagogies for climate justice which nurture meaning, purpose, and hope in learners. Maria has also been an educator, primarily within a public school context, for over a decade and has supported educators and learners nationally and internationally in enacting transformative pedagogies as a facilitator, curriculum developer, writer, and post-secondary instructor.

Price: CAD $250 per person + HST

• We are offering a discount (50%) for Indigenous educators and those who support Indigenous students.
• Please contact us for more information about compassionate pricing.

Registration Options:

*CAD $250

*Add-on: Natural Curiosity 2^nd Edition: CAD $25 (By selecting this option, you will receive a code to order your copy through Natural Curiosity’s main distributor, University of Toronto Press.)

Add-on: Teaching Teens about Climate Change: CAD $18 (By selecting this option, you will receive a discount code to order your copy through GreenTeacher.com)

*Donation (optional)