Robert Macfarlane wrote The Lost Words in reaction to the Oxford Junior Dictionary dropping words like “acorn,” “willow,” and “dandelion” in favor of technology-related words that were more popularly in use. At last year’s teacher institute, we explored ways AI might serve as a companion to learning in classrooms. This year’s institute will look at the non-digital side of learning, asking how “analog” tools are critical for developing students’ attention, engaging deeply with classroom content, and cultivating skills across multiple modalities.

This year’s teacher institute will explore how classrooms can be designed to incorporate a variety of tactile materials—paint, stone, wood, paper, and string, to name a few. We’ll use these materials to create through performance, visual art-making, sound creation, and writing.

Moving from the idea of “lost words” to “found words,” this institute will also include a day trip to the nearby ocean for an interdisciplinary study of shoreline habitats with our community partners.

As always, the Habla Teacher Institute will demonstrate how we can create spaces that amplify our students’ stories, lived worlds, languages, and their creative and intellectual capacities. Teachers will receive a set of concrete, interdisciplinary tools that can be applied to different age groups and settings. Experience what project-based, student-centered, hands-on learning can be!

At this institute, teachers will learn how to:

• integrate multiple modalities in student work, including visual, textual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning.
• move beyond the traditional delivery approach of education toward an experiential approach designing engaging and inspirational learning for all students.
• apply strategies and activities that engage every student and provide multiple opportunities for differentiated learning.
• build a thriving and supportive classroom community that fosters kindness, care, and equity.

The Habla Institute will be highly interactive and participatory. Sessions are hands-on workshops where participants will “learn by doing.” The event will culminate in an exhibition of work on the final day, modeling how we can make students’ learning visible to our global education communities and classrooms.
The institute is designed for teachers of every discipline and age level, from preschool to higher education.

Location: Habla: The Center for Language and Culture.

Merida, Mexico