Inside-Outside Conference

Promising Practices in Nature- and Place-based Elementary Education

Join us for a new, day-long conference of educators who are redefining what’s possible in elementary education. As we build school programs around place-based social studies, outdoor science lessons, Forest Fridays and more, we’re connecting children to the natural world, local communities and big ideas. Antioch’s popular In Bloom conferences have energized the nature-based early childhood movement, and participants have wondered, “What about the big kids?” Inside–Outside is our response.

We’ll begin the day with a ceremonial opening, followed by a morning keynote. Breakout workshop sessions will follow, then lunch (on us)! The afternoon program consists of a second keynote and a second set of workshops from which to choose content of interest to you.

This conference is a collaborative event among the Department of Education at Antioch University New England, the Monadnock region Place-based Education Committee, the Harris Center for Conservation Education, The Caterpillar Lab, Symonds Elementary School and the Keene School District. It is made possible through funding from the George B. Storer Foundation.

Conference Date and Location

Saturday, October 21, 2017
9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Structure of the Day

Morning Keynote

Jennifer Kramer, Guilford Central School, Guilford, VT and
David Sobel, Senior Faculty, Antioch University New England, Keene, NH

Place-based education is a response to the alienation of schools from community, and the decoupling of schools from historic sites, local landscapes, and farms. Instead, we need schools that capitalize on the variety of local community resources. In this way, place-based education develops academic skills, preserves community heritage and contributes to the economic revitalization of the community. David will provide the big picture and Jen will describe curriculum projects from her classrooms that engage students in mapmaking, survival journal writing, botanical drawing, watershed tracing and saving the country store.

Afternoon Keynote

Ellen Doris, Core Faculty, Antioch University New England, Keene, NH
Once Upon a Time: Nature-Study in New England Schools, 1890–1930

A century ago, the nature-study movement transformed American schools. The Three Rs didn’t disappear altogether, but tadpoles, forests and flower gardens became part of the curriculum as well. Trace the nature-study era to our present efforts in nature-based education to see how our early coun-terparts can inform, inspire and hearten us.

Morning Workshops

• Decomposers: Nature’s Recyclers, Laura White, Chesterfield Central School, Chesterfield, NH
• Push Me, Pull You: Meeting NGS Standards through Outdoor Play, Hannah Lindner-Finlay, Teacher and Consultant, Westminster West, VT
• Building Models to Combat Erosion, Orly Hasbani, The Academy School, Brattleboro, VT
• Noticing Nests, Sam Sintros, Franklin Elementary School, Keene, NH
• Educating with Native Caterpillars, Sam Jaffe, The Caterpillar Lab, Keene, NH

Afternoon Workshops

• Nature Writing: Connecting Students to the Natural World through Writing, Reading and Observation, Betsy Bennett Stacey, Keene, Middle School, Keene, NH
• Unearthing History: Using Cemeteries in a Place-based Classroom, Jen Kramer, Guilford Central School, Guilford, VT
• Cavemanning, Jason Lovett, Kindle Farm School, Newfane, VT
• Growing and Using Dye Plants with Kids, Michelle Parrish, The Common School, Amherst, MA
• Up Close and Personal: Investigating Local Woodlands, Paul Bocko, Antioch University, New England, Keene, NH

Questions? Contact Peg Smeltz at msmeltz@antioch.edu