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!
\nThis 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.
\n8:30-9:00 a.m. Check-in
\n9:00- 9:45 a.m. Welcome & Opening Activity
\nMorning Concurrent Sessions
\n12:30-1:30 p.m. Lunch
\nAfternoon Concurrent Sessions
\n3:50-4:30 p.m. Program Close- How to Stay Involved & Event Surveys
\nWrite Outside the Lines!
\nPresenter: Gwyneth Forsythe & Mallory Hellman, Iowa Youth \nWriting Project \n
\n\nWe all know the image: a lone writer looks dreamily into the \nmiddle distance of their paper-strewn study as they patiently clack out the \nnext American bestseller. When and how did we learn that writing is \nnecessarily solitary, fixed, internal? How can we un-learn this limiting notion \nand encourage young people’s literary creativity in a context of movement, \nenergy, and community? Let the IYWP lead the way! \nIn “Write Outside the Lines,” participants will engage in a \n90-minute experiential learning module that brings hands-on pedagogical \ntechniques to the art of expressive/creative writing. The 60-minute \n"lesson" portion will include a series of innovative prompts and \nactivities, group work, discussion, and optional sharing time. Throughout, \nwe'll leave room for discussion of implementation strategies for this type of \nlesson and a more general conversation about the IYWP's mission and programs. \nParticipants will leave with a written version of the activities they engaged \nin, as well as a packet of other experientially focused creative writing \nprompts. This workshop will be most useful to educators of students aged \n10-15.
\nThe Biodiversity Challenge: Fungi!
\nPresenter: Sarah DeLong-Duhon & Amanda Flaata, Prairie States Mushroom Club
\n\nThis session has participants actively engaged with the \noutdoor world, mimicking the work done by field mycologists in the discovery, \nidentification, collection, and study of fungi. Our focus is to explore Iowa’s \nfungal biodiversity through fun, hands-on experience.
\nEarth-Inspired Arts: Fostering Creativity and Connection \nthrough Interdisciplinary Exploration
\nPresenter: Sophie Taft, Iowa City Community School District
\n\nThis session will focus on exploration of the natural \nenvironment through interdisciplinary arts experiences. By integrating \nmusic with visual arts, movement, and poetry, we’ll discover ways to engage \nstudents in exploring environmental themes through creative expression. \nParticipants will leave with practical strategies for incorporating \nnature-inspired music lessons that use sound, rhythm, melody, and poetic \nlanguage to spark curiosity, foster creativity, and deepen students' connection \nto the environment.
\nWatershed Exploration
\nPresenter: Ellen Carman, Kate Giannini, & Breanna Shea, Iowa Flood Center \n
\n\nThe session will demonstrate how educators can combine \nreal-time, local water data and outdoor inquiry to help students develop \ncritical skills in investigation, data interpretation, and scientific \nexplanation. Resources provided will include online data tools and \ninquiry-based outdoor lesson plans. Topics of outdoor exploration will include \nsoil infiltration rates, watershed surveying, and investigating local wetlands, \nproviding students with opportunities to connect water data to their local environment \nand community.
\nStudent Led Nature Playscape: A Year Long Project Based \nLearning Experience at Willowwind School
\nPresented by: Ann \nCreasey and Christine Sobocinski, Willowwind School
\n\nThis year at Willowwind School, our 3rd through 6th grade \nstudents embarked on a transformative, yearlong project to research, design, \nplan, and build a nature playscape on our school campus. Rooted in the \nprinciples of project-based learning (PBL), the experience emphasized student \nvoice, and authentic collaboration with community partners. As is always true \nin project based learning, this project was driven by student ownership and \nchoice.
\n\nFrom the initial spark of inspiration to the hands-on construction phase, \nstudents worked in teams to explore design, gather information, apply \nknowledge, and ultimately synthesize their learning through construction of the \nplayscape. The project not only fostered deep engagement but also empowered \nstudents to see themselves as capable designers, builders, artists, \nfundraisers, etc. \n
\n\nIn this workshop, we will share the steps we took to guide and support students \nthrough this ambitious project—from ideation and inquiry to implementation. \nParticipants will also have the opportunity to brainstorm and explore how they \nmight adapt and lead similar student-driven, interdisciplinary projects in \ntheir own educational settings.
\nDriving Questions and Local Connections: Teaching Climate \nChange with Purpose \n
\nPresented by: Ann Jameson
\n\nIn this interactive session, experience a climate change \nlesson designed for middle/high school students using soil as the anchoring \nphenomenon. You’ll observe soil samples, engage in See-Think-Wonder, analyze \nprinted climate data, build models, and create a driving question board—all \nwithout tech. Learn how to introduce soil carbon sequestration as a hopeful, \nsolution-oriented response to climate change, and connect to local partnerships \nlike the Iowa State Extension Office. Walk away with ready-to-teach strategies \nthat spark curiosity, systems thinking, and real-world action.
\nTag, You're It! Monarch Science in the Classroom
\nPresented by: Frances Owen, Johnson County Conservation
\n\nDiscover how to bring one of nature’s most magical \nmigrations right into your classroom! In this hands-on session, a Johnson \nCounty Conservation naturalist will guide you through the process of raising \nand tagging monarch butterflies with your students. Perfect for beginners, \nwe’ll cover the full monarch rearing timeline, what to expect along the way, \nand share all the resources you need to get started.
\n"Kids, put down the worm!": Launching a \nKid-Focused Garden and Structuring Outdoor Lesson Plans to Support Student \nSuccess!
\nPresented by Amanda \nCrosby Perry and Ben Smith, Iowa City Community School District
\n\nWe would love to share with community educators some of the \nchallenges and solutions we ran into while building our garden in the ICCSD as \nwell as strategies that we have been workshopping to engage all students in our \noutdoor garden classroom! One of the largest barriers that we've encountered \n(and have heard others are weary of as well) is difficulty managing a large \ngroup of students outside of the traditional classroom setting. It is an \namazing thing to watch students find joy, excitement, and curiosity out in the \ngarden and although this is a gift, it's very different than managing a lesson \nindoors. We would love to share the strategies that we have found successful \nand hopefully workshop some new ideas with the brilliant community of educators \nhere! Outdoor learning can't (and shouldn't) look exactly like classroom \nlearning and it takes some creative thinking to ensure that students have the \nflexibility to think big about their goals in the garden.
\nGwyneth Forsythe (she/her) is a writer, teacher, \nand theatre artist. She received her BAs from the University of Iowa and her \nMFA from Northwestern University, where she was awarded the Krevoy \nScreenwriting Prize. Gwyneth has worked as a freelance writer, taught for the \nChicago City Colleges, and was a 2024 semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill \nCenter's National Playwright's Conference. Gwyneth recently partnered with the \nPerfume Passage Museum to produce a play at the San Filippo Theatre in \nIllinois. Later this summer, her work will be featured in a New York City Play \nFestival produced by RJ Theatre Company. Currently, she serves as the Associate \nDirector of the Iowa Youth Writing Project.
\nMallory Hellman (she/her) has served as the Director \nof the Iowa Youth Writing Project since 2015. In that capacity, she \ndesigns, executes, and oversees the creation of innovative experiential arts \ncurricula. Mallory earned an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and \na BA in English and American Literature from Harvard. Her nonfiction has \nappeared in Tuesday Magazine, Forbes, and elsewhere. She has \ntaught creative writing at the University of Iowa, the Duke University Talent \nIdentification Program, and at K-12 schools, community centers, residential \nrehabilitation facilities, and shelters throughout the Midwest.
\nSarah 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.
\n\nAmanda Flaata is an outdoor \nenthusiast, committed to the protection of our planet through education. An \navid hiker, biker, and skier, she promotes all outdoor activity and especially \nenjoys discovering, studying, and teaching about fungi and foraging. She also \nloves to interact with the natural world through drawing and photography. \nAmanda is an Iowa Master Naturalist, board member and chair of the arts \ncommittee with the Prairie States Mushroom Club, and a Taproot Nature \nExperience teacher.
\n\nSophie Taft teaches K–5 general music in the Iowa \nCity Community School District, where she focuses on creating joyful, \ninclusive, and student-centered learning experiences. She is an active member \nof the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and draws on its principles to \nsupport creativity, collaboration, and exploration in the classroom. Sophie’s \nprofessional interests include culturally responsive pedagogy, trauma-informed \npractices, popular music education, and empowering young people through \nmeaningful artistic expression. She believes in the power of comprehensive arts \neducation to build community and foster belonging. \n
\nEllen Carman supports water-resource focused \nprograms at the Iowa Flood Center helping to advance education and outreach \ninitiatives. Ellen has a background in science and environmental education with \nexperience as a elementary school educator and outdoor education program \ndirector. \n
\n\nKate Giannini leads partner engagement and \nstrategic initiatives to strengthen flood resilience and improve water quality \nacross Iowa. With a strong background in watershed management and conservation, \nshe works closely with communities, researchers, and stakeholders to translate \nwater science into practical solutions. \n
\nBreanna Shea leads the development of \nstrategic communications and outreach initiatives for IIHR—Hydroscience and \nEngineering and the Iowa Flood Center. She leverages her educational background \nin natural resources management and communications to promote program \nactivities and foster collaboration amongst internal staff and local, state, \nand federal partners, including agency personnel, policymakers, community \nleaders, and the public.
\nAnn Creasey and Christine Sobocinski are progressive \neducators in the K-6 program at Willowwind School where they design and \nimplement a student-centered project-based curriculum. In Willowwind’s \nmulti-age setting, Ann teaches 5th and 6th grade and Christine teaches third \nand fourth grade. These two educators collaborate on a variety of \ncross-curricular projects each year in order to engage students as active \nparticipants in their education. Some of their recent projects include a \nscavenger hunt of murals in downtown Iowa City, an art installation and model \nof the solar system in Court Hill Park, and a nature playscape on the \nWillowwind campus. Project-based learning provides a flexible framework \nfor each Willowwind student to take risks and experience unique challenges at \ntheir own level. In this unique learning community, Ann and Christine \nthink critically, solve problems, collaborate, research, communicate, organize, \nand manage tasks alongside their students while supporting the social emotional \ngrowth and development of versatile executive functioning toolkits for each \nchild. \n
\n\nAnn Jameson is a dedicated science educator with 17 \nyears of experience teaching grades 6–12 in both Missouri and Iowa. Before \nentering the classroom, she worked as a naturalist and mammal keeper, \nexperiences that continue to inspire her hands-on, real-world approach to \nlearning. Ann is passionate about transformational education that empowers \nstudent agency, fosters problem-based learning, and builds meaningful \nconnections through community resources. Most recently, she helped launch City \nView Community High School, a new magnet school in downtown Cedar Rapids. She \nbrings energy and enthusiasm to her work, focusing on engaging learners while \nbuilding transferable skills that extend beyond the classroom. \n
\n\nFrances Owen is a naturalist and outdoor enthusiast \nwho grew up exploring creeks, catching frogs, and searching for fossils in \nEastern Iowa. She holds a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science from the \nUniversity of Dubuque and an M.S. in Biology from Fort Hays State University. \nShe has worked as a naturalist in several Iowa counties and now shares her love \nof nature and outdoor recreation with the people of Johnson County. She loves \nmoths and butterflies, foraging for wild edibles, and adventuring with her \nhusband, two daughters, and their dogs, Peanut and Biscuit. \n
\n\nAmanda Crosby Perry and Ben Smith are elementary \neducators at Horace Mann Elementary in Iowa City. Both avid (though novice) \ngardeners, they have a shared passion for getting kids outdoors and encouraging \nstudents of all ages to follow their natural curiosities. They assisted K-6 \nstudents in launching a school garden and small native prairie and are \ncurrently in the process of expanding both to give students even more \nopportunity to explore.
SUMMARY:My County Parks - Experiential Education: Educator Summit PRIORITY:3 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR