Designed by Sue Roppel (Kimberley Foundation), Tom Harding (West Point Grey Academy) and Travis Fuchs (UBC Doctoral Candidate), The Collaborative is a multiday, transformative professional development (Pro-D) series that brings together topic experts, passionate teachers of grades 7-12 and dedicated professionals who strive to develop a deeper understanding of the interconnected nature of climate change.
Comprised of three in-person sessions, The Collaborative employs a variety of learning and engagement formats to deliver an innovative pedagogical experience. Learning takes shape through:
The Collaborative was envisioned as a response to the growing youth mental health crisis experienced as eco-anxiety, the expectation that the school system should be doing more to educate youth about climate change, and the lack of comprehensive professional development programming that takes a holistic view of the science, policy implications, and impacts of climate change experienced personally, within communities and globally.
The Climate Change Collaborative was, without a doubt, the most inspiring and impactful professional development opportunities I have ever been offered. It combined all who attended with both the academic grounding and scientific knowledge of Climate Change (delivered in a safe and accessible way for teachers with differing understanding and knowledge of science), alongside outstanding pedagogical approaches that were practical and grounded in research. I am still speaking about it to anyone who will listen – genuinely a life changing conference. I cannot wait to bring all of my learning back into the classroom! I feel so empowered and hopeful about the future!. – Elizabeth Gregory – York House School
Learning together with colleagues and resource guests, The Collaborative has been designed to achieve four key learning outcomes:
Resource Guests are climate change scholars, indigenous knowledge holders, innovators, or action leaders, and are fundamental to the success of our initiative. Resource Guests are the individuals who define and shape participants’ knowledge acquisition, spark topic curiosity, and stimulate highly interactive discussions to deepen climate change understanding: they are learning journey guides.
We have an amazing line-up of Resource Guests participating in this endeavour and express our sincere gratitude to all for sharing their knowledge and leading our collective learning journeys.
Three in-person sessions:
PLEASE NOTE: All participants accepted into “The Collaborative” must commit to participation for the entirety of the program
The Climate Change Collaborative is a fairly significant commitment in terms of time and energy but completely worth it. I was humbled by the decades of varied collective experience and knowledge of organizers, presenters, and colleagues alike, and The Collaborative itself was incredibly well-organized and meaningful. – Leona West – Meadowridge School
Members of ISABC Schools (teachers, staff, counsellors and administrators):
There will be a modest fee to participate in The Collaborative to cover the costs of food, program supplies and incidentals. This fee will be collected by the ISABC. Exact fee forthcoming soon.
The Climate Change Collaborative was an incredible best professional development opportunity. I feel ready to work with students in my class as well as to work with my colleagues to create multidisciplinary units and school-wide initiatives. I felt empowered from this experience and appreciated how thoughtful the planning was for teachers. It was time well spent. – Helen Erickson, Smithers Secondary School
If you have any other questions, please direct them to Dr. Elizabeth Moore, Executive Director, ISABC, at [email protected] or Ms. Sue Roppel, President, Kimberley Foundation, at [email protected] We thank you for your interest in The Collaborative.