Please call Omega at 845-266-4444 if you have any lodging questions or would like to book your accomadations.

The Cloud Institute's Annual Curriculum Design Studio Attend Online or On Campus

Join us for the popular Introduction to Education for Sustainability (EfS) One Day Workshop or a full week of Curriculum Design and Coaching. Register to access expertise, resources, and tools required to design elegant curricula for use in the classroom, protocols for professional development, or action plans designed to implement EfS change initiatives in schools and communities. The agenda can be found here.

Campus Location: Omega 150 Lake Drive, Rhinebeck, NY 12572
For more information about travel and lodging please click here.

If you choose to attend online, you will be sent zoom details and materials. If you choose to come in person to the Omega Campus please book lodging separately.


What is the Summer Design Studio?

The unique challenges that define our time require fundamentally new ways of thinking. If we intend to transition to a sustainable way of life, educators and young people have an important role to play. Join us as we explore what’s possible through education for sustainability.

Introduction to EfS will immerse participants in systems thinking games and simulations, group discussions about economics and quality of life, and the science of sustainability. Stories and case studies will be shared, we will explore contemporary ideas in EfS and we will envision what is possible when we educate for sustainability.

During the Curriculum Design Studio, we will use backwards design/ Understanding by Design (UbD), to re-orient, innovate, build, and map curricula designed to meet academic standards in addition to EfS standards, performance indicators, and enduring understandings - without additional class time or add-ons.

Educators, curriculum specialists, administrators, and program designers will:

  • Learn what Education for Sustainability (EfS) is

  • Learn how to embed standards into curricula, assessments, performance criteria, and performance tasks

  • Gain access to expertise, resources, and tools to re-orient and enrich curricula

  • Participate in guided working sessions, learning circles, coaching, peer review, and optional mini-sessions

  • Develop units and protocols that prepare students to participate in and lead with us, the shift toward a sustainable future


One Day Introduction to Education for Sustainability

This special, single-day offering is designed to increase participants’ awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the core concepts, content, and habits of mind that characterize Sustainability and Education for Sustainability (EfS).

Date: August 5, 2024

Cost: $149 *

Five Day Curriculum Design & Coaching

In this 5-day curriculum design studio, we use backwards design, or Understanding by Design, to reorient, innovate, build, and map curricula designed to meet academic standards and EfS standards, performance indicators, and enduring understandings—without additional class time or add-ons.

Date: August 5 -9, 2024

Cost: $495 *

* Tuition covers your workshop costs, materials, and time spent in class with the faculty.
Earn up to 24 Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) credit hours for this event.


* Schedule in Eastern Standard Time *

Schedule

Monday | August 5th, 2024

9am - 12pm

 

 Introductions and “The Fish Game” Simulation
This hands‐on workshop engages participants in an interactive, replicable learning experience that combines systems thinking tools with interdisciplinary content for a deeper understanding of our role in moving toward a sustainable future. A discussion of ‘mental models that contribute to sustainability’ and ‘behaviors and strategies that contribute to sustainable outcomes’ provide participants with a hopeful paradigm for education and community action.

12pm - 1pm

 

Break

1pm - 5pm

 
 
 

Quality of Life Indicators
What is an indicator of progress? What indicators do we currently use in our society? Are these the best measures of our quality of life and, if not, what would be better measures?

“Diminishing Resources” Activity
How can you, your colleagues, and your students use systems thinking to address problems? How do you know you are distinguishing the problem from the system? How can you ensure that you don’t make your problem worse in the long run and create new problems? This session will make use of critical systems thinking tools of Education for Sustainability (EfS) in order to create a framework for effectively identifying and solving problems.

The Natural Laws and Principles What are the operating instructions for the planet? Are we abiding by them? Do we have a choice?

Q&A

Tuesday | August 6th, 2024

9am – 10am

 

10am - 12pm

 
 

Introductions and Overview of the Week’s Activities
Meet, greet and identify participants who might form affinity groups during the week. Review of Studio agenda and goals, design workbook, and resources available from the Cloud library and the Cloud Commons digital library. Participants will be given the wireless code for the facility and asked to begin developing their Work Plan – online

Presentation: Education for Sustainability (EfS) Framework This session will introduce the EfS framework, including the core content and habits of mind of EfS.

Getting Started View EfS Curriculum Design Manual, exemplars, and plan the week’s work.

12pm - 1pm

 

Break

1pm - 3:45pm

 

3:45pm-4pm

 

(Choice #1)

Work Time Identify target audience, enduring understandings and learning outcomes for design project.

(Choice #2)

Professional Development Workshop w/ Jaimie Cloud | Backwards Design Process Jaimie will walk through the backwards design process and address questions regarding the Curriculum Design Components and the EfS Design Worksheets and Templates. For those who haven’t become familiar with and chosen EfS Standards, performance indicators and Enduring Understandings to work with, they can do so in this session. In addition, we will cover how to conduct a strengths assessment and analysis. Work time will be included.

Q&A

Wednesday | August 7th, 2024

9am

9:30am- 12pm



12pm - 1pm

1pm - 3:45pm

 

3:45 - 4pm

 
 

Check-in

Work Time and Coaching Get familiar with and begin using the EfS Standards and Enduring Understandings; View Exemplars; Work on Curriculum Maps, Design Worksheets, and the Unit Overview Template (for interdisciplinary grade level teams, we recommend reviewing the EfS Grade Level Curriculum Alignment Grid to look for interdisciplinary connections)

Break

(Choice #1)

Work Time

(Choice #2)

Professional Development Workshop w/ Jaimie Cloud Overview - Assessments that Produce Learning Assessments should produce learning - not just measure it. In this mini-session we will explore the attributes of assessments that produce learning, and participants will conduct a self-assessment on their own assessment practices. We will then talk about our findings and the implications for the design work in which we are engaged.

Q&A

Thursday | August 8th, 2024

9am

9:30am -12pm

 

12pm - 1pm

1pm - 3:45pm

 


3:45pm - 4pm

 

Check-in

Work Time and Coaching
Design work and coaching continues.

Work Time: Design lessons and units, assessments, rubrics, mapping curriculum, sketches and pacing calendars. Vertical and lateral curriculum mapping (teams) and integration of EfS across curriculum and project plans.

Coaching: Receive one-on-one consulting to assist with thinking deeply about your design and development work, make resource recommendations, ask critical questions and promote idea generation

Break

(Choice #1)

Work Time Design work continues.

(Choice #2)

Professional Development Workshop w/ Jaimie Cloud | Part I - Assessing for the Attributes of EfS Participants will learn how to design performance assessments that produce learning and evidence of student learning outcomes in EfS. (Please bring current work with you so we can work with your outcomes.)

Part II - Analyzing Student work for Evidence of EfS
Participants will analyze student work exemplars for evidence of EfS to practice recognizing what performance indicators look like in student work products.

Q&A

Friday | August 9th, 2024

9am

9:30am-10:30am

 

10:30am - 12pm

12pm - 1pm

 

Check-in

Work Time and Coaching
Design work and coaching continues.

Work Time: Design lessons and units, assessments, rubrics, mapping curriculum, sketches and pacing calendars. Vertical and lateral curriculum mapping (teams) and integration of EfS across curriculum and project plans.

Coaching: Receive one-on-one consulting to assist with thinking deeply about your design and development work, make resource recommendations, ask critical questions and promote idea generation

Peer Reviews
Participants will provide feedback to one another using the ‘Critical Friends’ protocol.

Close Out and Reflections


Join us this summer or contact us to discuss hosting an online introduction to EfS workshop and curriculum studio event for your school.

Have any questions about the Summer Design Studio? Please reach out to kaitlyn@cloudinstitute.org and we will get them answered as soon as possible.

Educate your students for the healthy and sustainable future we want—and meet academic standards, increase engagement, and improve performance.