Learning Opportunities

This is a fun and interactive playshop that supports teachers to lead in creatively engaging ways, and inspire students to become leaders themselves. It is in response to the evolutionary shift occurring in our education system away from prescriptive approaches of teaching to more co-creative and exploratory based-models.

These changes require teachers to have new skill sets based in emotional and social intelligence. The skills include flexibility, openness, inquiry/curiosity, listening, releasing control, trust, adaptability, improvisation and imagination. Teachers must not only excel at imparting information, but also be able to sense and respond to individual needs and the emerging curriculum in the room.

“If the child is not learning the way you are teaching, then you must teach in the way the child learns.” ~ Rita Dunn

This learning opportunity focuses on seven primary outcomes:

1. Authenticity: Empower teachers to lead from their authentic self, versus who they think they “should” be.
2. Co-Created / Collaborative Learning: Build a bridge between the teacher’s plan and the agenda emerging in the room, enhancing creative contribution from both sides.
3. Social Responsibility: Communication and awareness skills that support an empowered learning environment.
4. Strength-Based Learning: Explore how to teach strengths, versus weaknesses, such that both teacher and student are more engaged.
5. Educate the Rational Mind and Heart: Discern between heart-based and rational-based knowledge. Learn how wisdom, service, success and fulfillment are achieved when the heart is made primary in education and life.
6. Creative Self-Expression: Embody and appreciate many forms of creative self-expression (art, music, poetry etc.) so they are recognized and encouraged as means of learning.
7. Practical Application: Look at practical ways to adapt your teaching style and model so that you and your students are more empowered.

When teachers recognize that they are students as much as teachers, all are empowered to learn, with everyone being responsible for the education process. The teacher leads much more from the heart, and engages students to do the same.