2nd Annual Nature-Based Education Summer Institute at UMF
Starts: 1:00 PM
Location: UMF Farmington
A longstanding leader in teacher education, the University of Maine at Farmington is pleased to announce its second annual Nature-Based Education Summer Institute. This innovative conference will help educators inspire learning in their classrooms and educational settings based on a child’s sense of wonder about nature.
The full-day conference will be held on Saturday, June 24, 2017. It will be preceded by a day of pre-conference workshops and an evening presentation on Friday, June 23. Registration is open to formal and informal educators at every level beginning Monday, Feb. 6. Sessions for both days will be held at venues on the UMF campus and at local outdoor areas.
Building upon last year’s success, this year’s summer institute has expanded to include curriculum for students from birth through high school. Sessions will include exploring nature through agriculture, journaling with adolescents, demonstrating proficiency through nature based education and more.
In addition, STEM related sessions (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) will be offered, making the connections between nature and physics, engineering, mathematics and integrating technology.
Saturday’s featured keynote is Michelle Rupiper, Ph.D., distinguished educator, author and international speaker. Her presentation will explore how nature-based learning supports the ability to pay attention, plan, remember, use self-control and solve problems, often referred to as executive functions. She will discuss a growing body of research that indicates spending time in nature can reduce overall stress, improve health and provide foundational experiences that lead to school success.
A passionate educator, Rupiper’s research interests are in preparing pre-service teachers to be effective and efficient teachers of young children. She is currently a professor of practice at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Friday’s pre-conference workshops consist of full and half-day outdoor sessions where educators will learn the creative beauty, history and healing characteristics of nature. In the evening, Deborah Schein, Ph.D., notable early childhood educator, will speak on the transformation of STEM to STREAMS. This new acronym is more inclusive of developing whole children and builds upon a definition of spiritual development useable for all children.
Schein currently works as an educational consultant and teaches early childhood graduate courses at Champlain College.
This lecture is sponsored by the Biosophical Institute, a Maine foundation that provides grants and scholarships furthering character and peace education.
Space is limited on both days, so please submit your registration and payment soon to reserve your space. For cost, registration forms and more information on all sessions, please visit http://www2.umf.maine.edu/gradstudies/nbe/nbe_17/
For more information, contact Johanna Prince, director of UMF graduate programs in education, at johanna.prince@maine.edu
