Explorations Academy is an independent school in Bellingham, Washington, United States that integrates experiential education with academic studies. [1] The school was founded in 1995 as a program of the not-for-profit educational organization Global Community Institute.
The Explorations curriculum is built around theme-based interdisciplinary units called clusters. Each cluster includes college-preparatory academic coursework in three to five subject areas. Students study fine arts, foreign language, PE, and occupational education in addition to the core academic subjects. Coursework typically includes study, lecture, and discussion in class as well as field outings to investigate the applications of academic learning. In keeping with preparation for college, the school's program is reading and writing intensive, with a high degree of individual student responsibility.
In 1986 [2] , three friends who had been instructors for Pacific Crest Outward Bound School, talked about creating an experiential school in their home town of Bellingham, Washington. They realized that to get funding, they would need to ask for donations, and they started a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization, Global Community Institute, to shepherd in the school that would emerge several years later. After running several pilot programs, the last being in the spring of 1995, Explorations High School was launched in the fall later that year. A couple years later, the school was renamed Explorations Academy to reflect the addition of a middle school.
Experiential education is a philosophy of education that describes the process that occurs between a teacher and student that infuses direct experience with the learning environment and content. The term is not interchangeable with experiential learning; however experiential learning is a sub-field and operates under the methodologies of experiential education. The Association for Experiential Education regards experiential education as "a philosophy that informs many methodologies in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people's capacity to contribute to their communities". Experiential education is the term for the philosophy and educational progressivism is the movement which it informed. The Journal of Experiential Education publishes peer-reviewed empirical and theoretical academic research within the field.
Keuka College is a private college in Keuka Park, New York. Founded in 1890, the college emphasizes experiential learning as well as career and pre-professional education. It is classified among "Master's Colleges and Universities (small)" and accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The college offers both bachelor's and master's degrees on its home campus.
Experiential learning (ExL) is the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly defined as "learning through reflection on doing". Hands-on learning can be a form of experiential learning, but does not necessarily involve students reflecting on their product. Experiential learning is distinct from rote or didactic learning, in which the learner plays a comparatively passive role. It is related to, but not synonymous with, other forms of active learning such as action learning, adventure learning, free-choice learning, cooperative learning, service-learning, and situated learning.
MEI Academy is a study abroad organization that specializes in experiential learning, academic coursework, and educational travel. Founded in 1997 by Joe and Rita Mei, the company aims to offer a global high school experience. Thousands of students have graduated from MEI programs.
Miss Hall's School is an independent school for grades 9-12 located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1898 by Mira Hinsdale Hall, a graduate of Smith College, it was one of the first girls' boarding schools established in New England. It is recognized internationally for its experiential leadership curriculum, service and internship programs, and inclusive global community. Miss Hall’s is committed to its mission of inspiring and encouraging each student to pursue the highest standards of learning and character; to contribute boldly and creatively to the common good; and to seek a purposeful life based on honor, respect, growth, and personal authenticity. Guided by this mission and sharpened by daily practice, Miss Hall’s continuously reimagines girl-centered education to foster a pioneering intellectual spirit and authentic engagement among students and adults. Located in the Berkshires, the School currently enrolls 190 students from 23 countries and 10 states living and learning together as global citizens.
Envision EMI, LLC is a privately held, for-profit, tuition-based education company that creates, markets, and runs career exploration and leadership development programs for students in elementary school through college. The company manages twenty unique summer educational programs, including programs in Government and Leadership, Law, CSI, Medicine, Mass Media, Gaming and Technology, Engineering, National Security, Business Innovation, and Early STEM Exploration. Many of Envision's programs are held at university and college campuses. In addition, the company has collaborated with several national universities, including Stanford University for its Advanced Emergency Medicine, and Intensive Law & Trial programs, Rice University for the Rice University Aerospace & Aviation Academy, and George Mason University for its Game & Technology Academy.
The Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs, colloquially known as Arthur Kroeger College or AKC, is a specialized institute within the Faculty of Public Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. The College offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the fields of public policy, international studies, and political management. These include the Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management (BPAPM), the Bachelor of Global and International Studies (BGInS), the Master of Political Management (MPM), and the MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies (MDS).
Bellingham Bay is a bay of the Salish Sea located in Washington State in the United States. It is separated from the Strait of Georgia on the west by the Lummi Peninsula, Portage Island, and Lummi Island. It is bordered on the east by Bellingham, Washington, to the south-east by the Chuckanut Mountains, and to the south by Samish Bay. The Nooksack River empties into the bay, as does Whatcom Creek.
The Doctor of Management is an applied research doctorate with a degree focus in management, leadership, and organizational topics."
International Student Volunteers (ISV) is a voluntourism not-for-profit organization based in Yorba Linda, California. It provides educational volunteer and travel adventure programs to university students and youth internationally. ISV has offices in each host country it operates in and is also established in Australia as International Student Volunteers Pty Ltd with a head office in Sydney.
Internationals Network for Public Schools is an educational nonprofit supporting International high schools and academies, serving newly arrived immigrants who are English language learners (ELLs), in New York, California, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Internationals Network also partners with other schools and districts across the country.
The Pacific Buddhist Academy is a private, co-educational college preparatory high school in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Jewish Day School of Metropolitan Seattle (JDS) is the oldest community Jewish day school in the Pacific Northwest. JDS offers an integrated curriculum of Judaic studies and general studies focusing on the "whole student," from Pre-Kindergarten to grade 8.
UIC College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois Chicago is one of the oldest pharmacy schools in the US, and oldest unit of the University of Illinois system.
Blyth Academy is a Canadian private education company founded in 1977 by Sam Blyth and is now part of the Globeducate network. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Blyth Academy is a chain of private secondary schools and academic credit programs in Canada and abroad. Primarily located throughout Ontario, Blyth Academy also has schools in the United States, Florence (Italy) and Qatar, in addition to an online program and study-abroad programs that offer academic credit. In 2018, Blyth Academy founder Sam Blyth sold the organization.
The School for International Training, widely known by its initials SIT, is a private non-profit regionally-accredited institution headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The institution has two main divisions. SIT Graduate Institute administers a wide range of internationally-focused master's degree programs as well as a Doctor of Education degree in Global Education. SIT Study Abroad administers undergraduate study abroad programs which combine field-based experiential learning with academic research or internship opportunities.
A high school diploma is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school. A high school diploma is awarded after completion of courses of studies lasting four years, typically from grade 9 to grade 12. It is the school leaving qualification in the United States and Canada.
ACT, Inc. is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, primarily known for the ACT, a standardized test designed to assess high school students' academic achievement and college readiness. For the U.S. high school graduating class of 2019, 52 percent of graduates had taken the ACT test; the more than 1.78 million students included virtually all high school graduates in 17 states.
The term learning environment can refer to an educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to "classroom", but it typically refers to the context of educational philosophy or knowledge experienced by the student and may also encompass a variety of learning cultures—its presiding ethos and characteristics, how individuals interact, governing structures, and philosophy. In a societal sense, learning environment may refer to the culture of the population it serves and of their location. Learning environments are highly diverse in use, learning styles, organization, and educational institution. The culture and context of a place or organization includes such factors as a way of thinking, behaving, or working, also known as organizational culture. For a learning environment such as an educational institution, it also includes such factors as operational characteristics of the instructors, instructional group, or institution; the philosophy or knowledge experienced by the student and may also encompass a variety of learning cultures—its presiding ethos and characteristics, how individuals interact, governing structures, and philosophy in learning styles and pedagogies used; and the societal culture of where the learning is occurring. Although physical environments do not determine educational activities, there is evidence of a relationship between school settings and the activities that take place there.