Experiential Education: Educator Summit

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Event Summary

This full-day workshop aimed at formal and informal educators will feature eight interactive, interdisciplinary, and inspiring workshop sessions. The event will also feature networking opportunities and the chance to learn from peers. Whether you are a classroom teacher, a museum educator, or an aspiring educator, there is something here for you. Each session will include hands-on learning activities and several will include outdoor learning elements, hiking, and even some water exploration. Dress comfortably for indoor and outdoor programing and a day full of adventure and learning! 

This event is being planned and facilitated by the Experiential Education Collaborative. A catered lunch from Estela's Fresh Mex is included in your ticket purchase.

Program Schedule

8:30-9:00 a.m. Check-in 

9:00- 9:45 a.m. Welcome & Opening Activity

Morning Concurrent Sessions

• 9:50-11:20 a.m. 

1. Write Outside the Lines! Presented by the Iowa Youth Writing Project
2. The Biodiversity Challenge: Fungi!

• 11:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

1. Earth-Inspired Arts: Fostering Creativity and Connection through Interdisciplinary Exploration
2. Watershed Exploration with the Iowa Flood Center

12:30-1:30 p.m. Lunch

Afternoon Concurrent Sessions

•  1:30-2:30 p.m.

1. Student Led Nature Playscape: A Year Long Project Based Learning Experience at Willowwind School
2. Driving Questions and Local Connections: Teaching Climate Change with Purpose

• 2:40-3:40 p.m.

1. Tag, You're It! Monarch Science in the Classroom
2. "Kids, put down the worm!": Launching a Kid-Focused Garden and Structuring Outdoor Lesson Plans to Support Student Success!

3:50-4:30 p.m. Program Close- How to Stay Involved & Event Surveys

Session Descriptions

Write Outside the Lines!

Presenter: Gwyneth Forsythe & Mallory Hellman, Iowa Youth Writing Project 

We all know the image: a lone writer looks dreamily into the middle distance of their paper-strewn study as they patiently clack out the next American bestseller. When and how did we learn that writing is necessarily solitary, fixed, internal? How can we un-learn this limiting notion and encourage young people’s literary creativity in a context of movement, energy, and community? Let the IYWP lead the way!  In “Write Outside the Lines,” participants will engage in a 90-minute experiential learning module that brings hands-on pedagogical techniques to the art of expressive/creative writing. The 60-minute "lesson" portion will include a series of innovative prompts and activities, group work, discussion, and optional sharing time. Throughout, we'll leave room for discussion of implementation strategies for this type of lesson and a more general conversation about the IYWP's mission and programs. Participants will leave with a written version of the activities they engaged in, as well as a packet of other experientially focused creative writing prompts. This workshop will be most useful to educators of students aged 10-15. 

The Biodiversity Challenge: Fungi!

Presenter: Sarah DeLong-Duhon & Amanda Flaata, Prairie States Mushroom Club

This session has participants actively engaged with the outdoor world, mimicking the work done by field mycologists in the discovery, identification, collection, and study of fungi. Our focus is to explore Iowa’s fungal biodiversity through fun, hands-on experience.

Earth-Inspired Arts: Fostering Creativity and Connection through Interdisciplinary Exploration

Presenter: Sophie Taft, Iowa City Community School District

This session will focus on exploration of the natural environment through interdisciplinary arts experiences. By integrating music with visual arts, movement, and poetry, we’ll discover ways to engage students in exploring environmental themes through creative expression. Participants will leave with practical strategies for incorporating nature-inspired music lessons that use sound, rhythm, melody, and poetic language to spark curiosity, foster creativity, and deepen students' connection to the environment.

Watershed Exploration

Presenter: Ellen Carman, Kate Giannini, & Breanna Shea, Iowa Flood Center

The session will demonstrate how educators can combine real-time, local water data and outdoor inquiry to help students develop critical skills in investigation, data interpretation, and scientific explanation. Resources provided will include online data tools and inquiry-based outdoor lesson plans. Topics of outdoor exploration will include soil infiltration rates, watershed surveying, and investigating local wetlands, providing students with opportunities to connect water data to their local environment and community.

Student Led Nature Playscape: A Year Long Project Based Learning Experience at Willowwind School

Presented by: Ann Creasey and Christine Sobocinski, Willowwind School

This year at Willowwind School, our 3rd through 6th grade students embarked on a transformative, yearlong project to research, design, plan, and build a nature playscape on our school campus. Rooted in the principles of project-based learning (PBL), the experience emphasized student voice, and authentic collaboration with community partners. As is always true in project based learning, this project was driven by student ownership and choice.

From the initial spark of inspiration to the hands-on construction phase, students worked in teams to explore design, gather information, apply knowledge, and ultimately synthesize their learning through construction of the playscape. The project not only fostered deep engagement but also empowered students to see themselves as capable designers, builders, artists, fundraisers, etc.

In this workshop, we will share the steps we took to guide and support students through this ambitious project—from ideation and inquiry to implementation. Participants will also have the opportunity to brainstorm and explore how they might adapt and lead similar student-driven, interdisciplinary projects in their own educational settings.

Driving Questions and Local Connections: Teaching Climate Change with Purpose

Presented by: Ann Jameson

In this interactive session, experience a climate change lesson designed for middle/high school students using soil as the anchoring phenomenon. You’ll observe soil samples, engage in See-Think-Wonder, analyze printed climate data, build models, and create a driving question board—all without tech. Learn how to introduce soil carbon sequestration as a hopeful, solution-oriented response to climate change, and connect to local partnerships like the Iowa State Extension Office. Walk away with ready-to-teach strategies that spark curiosity, systems thinking, and real-world action.

Tag, You're It! Monarch Science in the Classroom

Presented by: Frances Owen, Johnson County Conservation

Discover how to bring one of nature’s most magical migrations right into your classroom! In this hands-on session, a Johnson County Conservation naturalist will guide you through the process of raising and tagging monarch butterflies with your students. Perfect for beginners, we’ll cover the full monarch rearing timeline, what to expect along the way, and share all the resources you need to get started.

"Kids, put down the worm!": Launching a Kid-Focused Garden and Structuring Outdoor Lesson Plans to Support Student Success!

Presented by Amanda Crosby Perry and Ben Smith, Iowa City Community School District

We would love to share with community educators some of the challenges and solutions we ran into while building our garden in the ICCSD as well as strategies that we have been workshopping to engage all students in our outdoor garden classroom! One of the largest barriers that we've encountered (and have heard others are weary of as well) is difficulty managing a large group of students outside of the traditional classroom setting. It is an amazing thing to watch students find joy, excitement, and curiosity out in the garden and although this is a gift, it's very different than managing a lesson indoors. We would love to share the strategies that we have found successful and hopefully workshop some new ideas with the brilliant community of educators here! Outdoor learning can't (and shouldn't) look exactly like classroom learning and it takes some creative thinking to ensure that students have the flexibility to think big about their goals in the garden.

Presenter Bios

Gwyneth Forsythe (she/her) is a writer, teacher, and theatre artist. She received her BAs from the University of Iowa and her MFA from Northwestern University, where she was awarded the Krevoy Screenwriting Prize. Gwyneth has worked as a freelance writer, taught for the Chicago City Colleges, and was a 2024 semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill Center's National Playwright's Conference. Gwyneth recently partnered with the Perfume Passage Museum to produce a play at the San Filippo Theatre in Illinois. Later this summer, her work will be featured in a New York City Play Festival produced by RJ Theatre Company. Currently, she serves as the Associate Director of the Iowa Youth Writing Project.

Mallory Hellman (she/her) has served as the Director of the Iowa Youth Writing Project since 2015. In that capacity, she designs, executes, and oversees the creation of innovative experiential arts curricula. Mallory earned an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a BA in English and American Literature from Harvard. Her nonfiction has appeared in Tuesday Magazine, Forbes, and elsewhere. She has taught creative writing at the University of Iowa, the Duke University Talent Identification Program, and at K-12 schools, community centers, residential rehabilitation facilities, and shelters throughout the Midwest.

Sarah DeLong-Duhon is a biologist, photographer, and the president of the Prairie States Mushroom Club. She is passionate about nature education for all ages, especially when it comes to fostering wonder and curiosity about the natural world, and loves to discover and document fungi. 

Amanda Flaata is an outdoor enthusiast, committed to the protection of our planet through education. An avid hiker, biker, and skier, she promotes all outdoor activity and especially enjoys discovering, studying, and teaching about fungi and foraging. She also loves to interact with the natural world through drawing and photography. Amanda is an Iowa Master Naturalist, board member and chair of the arts committee with the Prairie States Mushroom Club, and a Taproot Nature Experience teacher. 

Sophie Taft teaches K–5 general music in the Iowa City Community School District, where she focuses on creating joyful, inclusive, and student-centered learning experiences. She is an active member of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and draws on its principles to support creativity, collaboration, and exploration in the classroom. Sophie’s professional interests include culturally responsive pedagogy, trauma-informed practices, popular music education, and empowering young people through meaningful artistic expression. She believes in the power of comprehensive arts education to build community and foster belonging.

Ellen Carman supports water-resource focused programs at the Iowa Flood Center helping to advance education and outreach initiatives. Ellen has a background in science and environmental education with experience as a elementary school educator and outdoor education program director.

Kate Giannini leads partner engagement and strategic initiatives to strengthen flood resilience and improve water quality across Iowa. With a strong background in watershed management and conservation, she works closely with communities, researchers, and stakeholders to translate water science into practical solutions.

Breanna Shea leads the development of strategic communications and outreach initiatives for IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering and the Iowa Flood Center. She leverages her educational background in natural resources management and communications to promote program activities and foster collaboration amongst internal staff and local, state, and federal partners, including agency personnel, policymakers, community leaders, and the public.

Ann Creasey and Christine Sobocinski are progressive educators in the K-6 program at Willowwind School where they design and implement a student-centered project-based curriculum. In Willowwind’s multi-age setting, Ann teaches 5th and 6th grade and Christine teaches third and fourth grade.  These two educators collaborate on a variety of cross-curricular projects each year in order to engage students as active participants in their education. Some of their recent projects include a scavenger hunt of murals in downtown Iowa City, an art installation and model of the solar system in Court Hill Park, and a nature playscape on the Willowwind campus.  Project-based learning provides a flexible framework for each Willowwind student to take risks and experience unique challenges at their own level.  In this unique learning community, Ann and Christine think critically, solve problems, collaborate, research, communicate, organize, and manage tasks alongside their students while supporting the social emotional growth and development of versatile executive functioning toolkits for each child.

Ann Jameson is a dedicated science educator with 17 years of experience teaching grades 6–12 in both Missouri and Iowa. Before entering the classroom, she worked as a naturalist and mammal keeper, experiences that continue to inspire her hands-on, real-world approach to learning. Ann is passionate about transformational education that empowers student agency, fosters problem-based learning, and builds meaningful connections through community resources. Most recently, she helped launch City View Community High School, a new magnet school in downtown Cedar Rapids. She brings energy and enthusiasm to her work, focusing on engaging learners while building transferable skills that extend beyond the classroom.

Frances Owen is a naturalist and outdoor enthusiast who grew up exploring creeks, catching frogs, and searching for fossils in Eastern Iowa. She holds a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science from the University of Dubuque and an M.S. in Biology from Fort Hays State University. She has worked as a naturalist in several Iowa counties and now shares her love of nature and outdoor recreation with the people of Johnson County. She loves moths and butterflies, foraging for wild edibles, and adventuring with her husband, two daughters, and their dogs, Peanut and Biscuit.

Amanda Crosby Perry and Ben Smith are elementary educators at Horace Mann Elementary in Iowa City. Both avid (though novice) gardeners, they have a shared passion for getting kids outdoors and encouraging students of all ages to follow their natural curiosities. They assisted K-6 students in launching a school garden and small native prairie and are currently in the process of expanding both to give students even more opportunity to explore.

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Cost

Adults - $25.00

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Category

Programs

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