Professional Development for Teachers, Educators and Support Staff
Vancouver Outdoor School offers a variety of engaging and skill-building workshops for teachers, educators, support staff and those interested in developing their skills, techniques, and strategies for interacting with students, both in and outside the classroom. We provide the tools and support for overcoming challenges, so you and your staff can feel more confident in your ability to design, lead and offer learning and life-shaping experiences.
Which Workshop Should I Choose?
Take a look at our top 10
You can also contact us to create a customized experience!
PLAY AND EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
When Peter Rabbit Stepped on Pooh: Connecting Famous Children’s Characters to Place-Based Education
- Many of our beloved fictional children’s characters creatively display social-emotional learning opportunities in a simple and relatable way, through their adventures in nature, their simplicity, and friendship.
- Introduces the fundamentals of place-based education with an emphasis on environmental responsibility and imaginative play.
- Walk away with simple and low-cost ideas of how you can use place(s) and stories as tools for learning that are engaging and relevant.
Organized Chaos: Understanding the Importance of Balance in Structured and Unstructured Learning Experiences
- Increase creativity and resiliency in your workplace through discovering balance, the importance of unstructured play and the concept of ‘work life.’
- Learn the concept and theory of organized chaos, through fun and motivating activities.
- Explains the art of imperfection and how to create teachable moments.
Outside Play: Bringing Back the Fun into Natural Play
- Learn about the expansive “outside” classroom and how to teach kids hands-on learning material through experiential learning techniques, play and sometimes getting a little dirty.
- You will learn a ton of games, activities, and ideas that are transferable to the home, centre or school.
Connecting the Dots Between Experiential Learning and Cultural Practices
- Provides participants with transferable learning tools, play activities and resources for ages 5 and up through interactive and discussion based activities.
- Schools, community
centres , and camps are central to honouring diversity and bringing inclusivity and connectivity to their communities and students. - Challenges our paradigms on building a sense of community, and leaves you with tools and perspectives to continually reshape them.
TEAM BUILDING & LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES
Team Building Essentials 101:
Finding the Groove in Managing Teams and Staff
- Boost productivity, increase employee staff worth and build a stronger team identity using practical, interactive and easy-to-use tools.
- Examines Tuckman’s Five Stages of Group Development (link)
- Dives into Five Dysfunctions of a Team, and Five Assets of a Successful Team curriculum developed by Creative Toolbox (link to website)
- Goes beyond the basics! Uses creative and empowering measures to help your team build upon the essentials.
The Universal Team Fixer-Upper:
Balls, Duct Tape and Rope
- Experiential activities to increase the fun factor while tying up any of your team’s loose ends.
- Team building activities that use duct tape, balls
and rope as tools and learning devices. - Duct DodgeBall, Rope Webs, Duct Tug of War, and much more!
The Fundamental of Leadership, Mentorship, and the Art of Following:
A Jedi Bootcamp for Management Staff
- Learn the fundamentals of corporate leadership and mentorship, through the approachable principles of becoming a Jedi Knight.
- Informative, yet fun, interactive and meaningful.
- Teaches core concepts such as leadership styles, and attitudes, roles of followers, and how to craft mentorship within the workplace.
Developing the Learner and Facilitator Essentials
- Learn the art of facilitation, and the essential tools needed to become a better facilitator and teacher.
- Clarify the purposes and responsibilities of the learner(s)
- Organize and make available valuable learning resources for your work setting
- Discover how to set a positive climate for learning, as well as how to balance intellectual and emotional components of learning.
TOOLS FOR TOUGH TIMES
Taming Tigers and Slowing Down Tasmanian Devils: The Secrets of Working with Those with Challenging Behaviours
- Learn and utilize new skills that will bring more balance to a challenging, discouraging environment
- Put resources such as “The Big R Words” and “HALTS” into your everyday toolkit.
- Understand the differences between independence, dependence, codependency and interdependent relationships
- Personal stories and examples of resources that provide perspective of the teacher, student, family and community worker regarding the need for change, challenge and more direct approach to care
Unplugging the Little Monsters and Reconnecting the Virtues of Childhood Learning
- Examines the current realities and potential directions we are heading in the 21st Century in regards to outdoor and experiential based learning techniques.
- Provides attendees activities, games, perspectives and resources to support educators/instructors/camp leaders in being back in the driver’s seat.