ISEEN West Coast Regional Expedition

Wellness and Belonging in Experiential Education

Vancouver, B.C., Canada | Friday, October 25, 2024

Hosted by St. George's School

 9 AM to 5 PM
Pub Social to Follow

Thank you for your interest! The registration period has closed.

Who Should Attend | What You Will Leave With | Expedition Activities | Workshop Options
Registration

You are invited to join the 3rd West Coast Regional Expedition! We are so excited to be building connections and welcome you and your colleagues to St. George’s School in Vancouver, B.C. We are thrilled to host educators from the island, from the Lower Mainland and from further afield and across the border as we explore themes of wellness and belonging in experiential programs. 

What is an ISEEN regional expedition? Whether you are from a member school or not, you are welcome to join us for a day of connection, discussion, learning and professional development around the topic of wellness and belonging in experiential education. This one-day PD day gathers educators to connect, network, attend an experiential workshop, share great ideas, collaborate and get support on your challenges. We also have a lot of fun together as all of the activities are experiential in design. Interested? Why not come along and find out more. For BC teachers, it is your Provincial ProD day so please consider choosing us for your PD experience this term. Part of an experiential team? Feel free to bring your whole team along!

Who should attend? 

• Classroom teachers 
• Experiential Education Program Leads 
• Outdoor Educators
• Community Engagement and service learning coordinators 
• Global Education Program Leads 
• Academic Program and Learning Directors 
• Student Life Program Leads 

What will you leave with?

• Ideas to take back to your classroom/program/school on how to implement experiential activities that build community and foster wellness
• Support on challenges you are currently experiencing in your roles
• Understanding of sample experiential activities you can use in your own school 
• A sense of community and connection after meeting educators working in similar roles as your own
• Network connections for possible support and collaboration

What is happening on the day?* 

Tentative Schedule: Arrive 9 AM - Conclude 5 PM

• Morning coffee and connection
• Student Panel
• Choice of Experiential Education workshop on Wellness and Belonging 
• Lunch
• Afternoon hiking or walking activities
• Professional affinity discussion groups 
• Pub social

*activities subject to change

Workshop Options

Option 1: Building Belonging in your Classroom and Teams

Learn how to adopt a facilitator and coach hat in your classroom as we explore how to apply thinking protocols, coaching tools and visible learning to build a connected learning community in your classrooms or faculty teams.

Facilitator: Sarah McLean, Head of Global Stewardship, St. George’s School

Option 2: Connected Communities by Design

Learn about our signature Grade 10 cohort programs and “Flex Day” integrated experiential education day before taking action on designing a new or redesigning an existing element of your school programming.

Facilitator: Sam Johnston, Director of Learning; and Stephen Ziff, Deputy Associate Principal Academics, St. George’s school

Option 3: Active Based Learning and the SGs: Improving Engagement, Empowering Agency

Explore real concerns students have about our future, including climate anxiety, elections, etc., and how they can be tackled through a lens of agency. Kickstart student learning with activities and experiences that can be brought into your classroom/program.

Facilitator: Craig Vandermeer, Founder and CEO, Insight Global Education

Option 4: Mental Health Tools: Regulation and Rationality

Using the "Wise Mind" model of mental health as a framework, we will explore the neurology of stress and regulation from a "Lizard vs Wizard Brain" perspective, and then experiment with a number of practical anxiety response tools. Are regulation strategies or rational strategies more effective? (Is this a trick question?) Come away with a handful of new mental health tools from both regulation and rational perspectives, including appreciation for both theory and practice of when to use which!

Facilitator: Daye Hagel, M.A., C.C.C, Director of Mental Health Wilderness First Aid

 Registration

Thank you for your interest! The registration period has closed.