Place-Based & Experiential Learning Workshop

Two people standing in a vast field of tall grass, surrounded by a dense forest in the background.

 

Join us at the beautiful Bill '67 and Peter '71 Alfond Coastal Research Center at The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts for a collaborative, hands-on Place-Based and Experiential Learning (PBEL) seminar.
This workshop is designed to boost your students’ engagement and turn your local community into a powerful hook for student inquiry. This workshop is led by two active classroom teachers—one history and one science—who can share stories from their own implementation of these ideas with current students.

Whether you would like to evolve an existing project or you are looking for some brand-new tools to add to your teaching practice, you’ll walk away with actionable ideas that you can start implementing on the very first day of classes. Through structured discussion with other educators, excursions into our local environment, and time to work and reflect, we will build expertise together. We’ll also discuss how tried-and-true pedagogical tools like Backwards Design and gold-standard assessments integrate well with PBEL principles. Come ready to explore, collaborate, and rediscover the importance of play and connection. Join us this August to build the lessons your students will remember long after they leave your classroom.

Dates: Tuesday, August 18 -Thursday, August 20, 2026
Registration Deadline: Monday, June 1, 2026
Cost: $100.00 for the 3-day workshop. (Cost includes daily lunch and snacks).

Schedule:
Tuesday: 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Thursday: 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Register here

Course Instructors:

Erika Mitkus is a National-Board Certified Science teacher and the Director of the Bass Institute at The Governor’s Academy. Outside of Governor’s, Erika is the founder of KELP (the Knowles Experiential Learning Project) and has been a lead designer on several PD initiatives sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education. She is a frequent presenter at the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) annual conferences and a Senior Fellow at the Knowles Teacher Initiative. Erika is passionate about PBEL learning in her own practice and spreading it more widely in the teaching community.

Gary Satow is the Associate Academic Dean and a history department faculty member at The Governor’s Academy. He holds a Master’s in Education degree in Independent School Leadership from Vanderbilt University. A dedicated AAPI advocate, Gary serves on the Educator Advisory Board for TeachAAPI and is a member of the leadership team of the Asian American Footsteps Conference, a regional affinity conference for AAPI-identifying students at New England independent schools. He organized and ran the conference when Governor’s hosted in 2024. He also presented at the People of Color Conference in 2022 and 2023. Gary is dedicated to leveraging PBEL to ground student learning into their surroundings and to deepen their understanding of the world around them.

Frequently asked questions