CELF Summer Institute

To prepare students for the challenges of the 21st Century, teachers must be comfortable with the concepts of sustainability and with integrating those concepts into required curricula. To educate for sustainability, they must shift from traditional teaching methods to inquiry-based, student-centered teaching.

CELF’s Summer Institute equips K-12 teachers with the knowledge and tools to accomplish both of these objectives, reorienting teaching and learning to give their students the skills, knowledge and values they need for a more sustainable future. Teachers who attend the CELF Institute help their students to grow as critical thinkers and, to use systems thinking to understand the complex interrelationships among diverse social, cultural and natural systems.

The CELF Summer Institute is designed to achieve change that is both meaningful and practical. Included are:

• Carefully-crafted learning activities that enable teachers to experience key concepts as learners, and model methods they can use with their students;
• Complete lesson materials with readings, directions and necessary CONTENT. Teachers are not left to figure out how to teach complex issues such as the ecological footprint; we provide materials and instruction to guide them.

Institute sessions and materials unfold complex issues to build understanding. For example, in the case of the ecological footprint, we engage learners in multiple activities to explore what it is and how this measurement tool is used. We use constructivist practices to familiarize educators with a wide range of sustainability principles. This approach is critical if we want students to understand what is at stake with regard to public policy, sustainable economics and development, environmental stewardship, and other multi-dimensional issues.

Our Summer Institute is organized by grade level and includes breakout sessions with experts from diverse topics.

CELF Institute for Middle and High School Educators (Westchester, NY)
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CELF Institute for Elementary School Educators (Westchester, NY)
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CELF Institute for Middle and High School Educators (Boston, MA)
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