Workshop for Educators
Curiosity-Driven Education Workshop
We craft and curate workshops to convene small groups of educators for in-depth, collaborative conversation as we all move forward in our work to reimagine education.
Learn about designing educational experiences that trust the child in their learning. Dive deep into recognizing and maximizing opportunities for discovery toward realizing a student's potential. How do we as educators best provide ample opportunity for creativity, and foster a child's unique curiosity in a safe and nurturing learning community? Slate School’s Head of School, Julie Mountcastle, will hold a workshop at Slate School to dive deep into curiosity-driven learning, innovation in education, and mentoring and collaboration on how to incorporate child-centered learning and authentic assessment into all aspects of the classroom. The workshop will be a small, intimate forum.
Who: Kindergarten through Grade 8 educators from any school, and advanced education students, are eligible to apply. Successful applicants will have demonstrated an interest in child-centered education.
When: December 6, 2023 (9:00am-1:00pm Eastern Time)
Where: Slate School, 124 Mansfield Road, North Haven, Connecticut
How: Enrollment instructions are below
Workshop Schedule: 9:00am-1:00pm on December 6
Child-Centered, Curiosity-Based Learning: Best Practices, Strategies, and Implementation
A comprehensive and interactive discussion about the principles, strategies, and implementation of child-centered, curiosity-based learning. What are best practices, and what does this look like in the field?
What is authentic assessment, and how are outcomes measured? What frameworks are used to evaluate curiosity-based learning? Growth is best measured through the observation of skills in practice, during presentation, and from ongoing portfolio review. These methods of assessment provide excellent understanding of progress and serve the dual purpose of informing instructional next steps for teachers, while providing natural opportunity for student reflection and subsequent personal goal setting.
Curriculum Design and Development Idea Incubator
Participants will learn how to start and expand their classroom initiatives. What makes a great idea, and how does one transform ideas into action? This session includes a round-table discussion about the ideas of the workshop participants. The workshop participants are an impressive, diverse group who are committed to advancing child-centered, curiosity-based learning. They are encouraged to network and collaborate.
How to Enroll
Slate School accepts applications on a rolling basis, and the first qualified applicants will be accepted.
Please complete this application to enroll in the workshop. The workshop is available on a first come, first served basis upon completion of this enrollment form. By submitting the $35 course fee, an applicant commits to participating in the workshop, and Slate School confirms the applicant's position in the limited-capacity workshop.
About the Workshop Instructor
Julie Mountcastle is Slate School's Head of School and Chief Innovator. She is an experienced educator who joined Slate School's team as Head of School early during its founding. Throughout the course of a more than 20-year career as an educator, she has taught at nearly every elementary grade level, in both traditional and project-based classrooms in public schools and at Slate School. She developed and leads Slate School's innovative curiosity-driven curriculum that is both developmentally appropriate and academically rigorous. She designed a school which trusts each child in their learning, and which responds to each child’s wonderings and creativity. She leads Slate School’s ability to dive deep into recognizing and maximizing opportunities for discovery toward realizing a student's potential, and she creates a framework that allows for authentic assessment in all aspects of the classroom. Julie also builds, mentors, and supports the exceptional talent of Slate School's faculty. At Slate School, in addition to being Founding Head of School, Julie has taught Grades K/1, 1/2, 2/3, and Grade 5.
Slate School is a unique model for exceptional education that has drawn local, national, and international interest and recognition. Slate School is working to change the landscape of education, and Julie mentors other schools and educators through workshops, expert panels, and other educational forums. She frequently gives presentations at large conferences, including at TEDx, as well as at smaller events and in courses. She speaks about a variety of topics, including curiosity-driven education, being a founding Head of School of a unique K-12 school, the art of listening, the career journey, leadership, finding your passion and purpose, and collaboration. Her work has been profiled in Wendy Ostroff's book Empowering Young Children: How to Nourish Deep, Transformative Learning for Social Justice. Additionally, Julie has had 1-hour in-depth conversations with more than 120 respected experts and thought leaders in 40 Education Idea Labs, and these recordings have been viewed more than 160,000 times across the world.
Before becoming a teacher, Julie was a professional actress and appeared in plays and musicals on Broadway, on London’s West End, and in regional theatre across the country. She has also produced and directed many original theatre works with student performers ranging from elementary school to high school. She continues to sing and perform locally, while also integrating the arts throughout every day at Slate School.
Julie believes that trusting the natural curiosity of the child to drive learning leads to the most joyful and meaningful discoveries for the student, the teacher and, ultimately, our beautiful world. Julie received her BFA from Florida Atlantic University and a Teaching Certificate from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is also an alumna of Columbia Teacher’s College Summer Institute. Read more about Julie Mountcastle.