Bringing Learning to Life: Place-Based Learning in K-8

Who Should Attend?

Teachers - K-8 Elementary & Middle School Classroom, Special Education and Specials (Art, Music, PE, Enrichment, Library)
Administrators & curriculum coaches looking to energize and engage learners and faculty
Teams - Grade Level, Co-planning, Interdisciplinary, Collaborative, Building, Buddy Classrooms etc.

Introduction:

This workshop encourages educators to harness not just their fellow learners’ curiosity, but their own. It focuses on strategies for making learning relevant in elementary and middle school classrooms through bringing local resources into school and bringing classes out to the world as a means of universal design to meet the diverse strengths and needs of the learners in front of them.

In 1899, in his book The School and Society, John Dewey summed up the a major problem facing the institution of education that still exists today, when he wrote “From the standpoint of the child, the great waste in school comes from the child’s inability to utilize the experiences he gets outside the school in any complete and freeway within the school itself; while at the other hand, he is unable to apply in daily life what he is learning at school.” Deep understanding of the world around us is not built in silos. The skills we develop must be transferable to complex situations. Content instruction can be so isolated from its real world applications, that it becomes abstract and inaccessible to our young fellow learners. Knowledge and competencies can effectively be constructed when integrated and woven together in realistic, actionable and authentic ways. Common Core (CCSS), National Council of Teachers of Math (NCTM), College, Career and Civic Life (C3) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) offer opportunities to overlap.

An important indicator of school health & success is how seamlessly it is integrated with the greater community around it. As we move farther away from COVID we find ourselves rebuilding our schools’ infrastructure for learning in the field, with local experts. While we focus a lot on social emotional learning and advocate for flexible pathways to show understanding, we must provide opportunities for learners to practice skills out in the world. This workshop aligns with the Vermont Educational Quality Standards pertaining to Curriculum and Instruction.

Goal of the Workshop:

Examples will be provided for participants to learn about different ways teachers have directly connected their curriculum to the world outside the classroom. They will also have time to share their own experiences. Through this workshop, they will design a learning experience that brings their already existing curriculum and the concepts/skills they are teaching to life, in authentic and relevant ways. It could be a one time field expert visit, field trip or a year long integrated project. Dedicated time is provided to building connections and partnerships with community resources. Educators will leave the workshop having designed a ready-to-go, accessible and engaging lesson plan or unit that enhances and deepens learners’ understanding and provides flexible pathways for demonstrating knowledge. Focus will be placed on stepping outside of siloed content areas, utilizing place-based and project based learning strategies to weave and integrate content areas naturally together and meet multiple overlapping CCSS, NCTM, NGSS & C3 standards.

Individual follow up sessions to touch base, troubleshoot and share progress will be provided. Upon completion of the workshop, participants will receive a certificate with professional development hours and a blurb to use for the recertification process.

Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

✅ Design and plan an experiential lesson or unit to facilitate learning experiences that enhance and deepen already existing curriculum

✅ Investigate the history of experiential learning and contemporary exemplars

✅ Examine the benefits and challenges of experiential learning & connecting curriculum to the context they would encounter and use the skills or knowledge in life beyond the classroom.

✅ Explore ways to reach multiple ways of knowing and doing (UDL) and play to learners’ strengths

✅ Create community beyond the school walls

✅ Build your educator network

✅ Utilize field experts in instruction

✅ Fan teacher and learner curiosity

✅ Create sustainable systems/infrastructure to regularly include field work or experts in lesson planning.

Helpful things to bring with you:

Curriculum maps for the specific literacy, social studies, science, math, music, art, STEM, library etc. program you work with, the PBGRs you teach and or your year outline to identify a place or places you can build out an experience or experiences from.
A list of the standards related to the area you teach in, ie. Common Core (CCSS), National Council of Teachers of Math (NCTM), College, Career and Civic Life (C3) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Date and Time: June 24, 2026 9am-3:30pm

Location: CVEDC Classroom (150 Kennedy Drive, South Burlington) includes a light breakfast and lunch.

Cost: includes the book Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond

CVEDC Member: $250 Non-Member: $300

About the Presenter:

Harmony Lanen Roll, M.Ed. holds a bachelor's degree in art history from the University of Maine, a master’s of education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and is a doctoral student in the Education Leadership & Policy program at UVM. She is currently the Enrichment Program teacher at Richmond Elementary and an occasional adjunct lecturer/clinical supervisor at UVM. Her work focuses on ways of knowing, universal design, accessibility, learners' view of self, metacognition, learning differences, as well as outdoor, multicultural, place-based and aesthetic education. Over her 25 year career, she has served as an elementary and middle school classroom teacher, specialist, founded and ran outdoor family networks across Alaska, taught at the university level and consulted. She lives with her family in Huntington and enjoys photography, painting, hiking with her dog and hockey.

Note: CVEDC Member districts receive a discount on registrations for their personnel. Visit https://www.cvedcvt.org/members to see if your district is a member.