About Seedlings Community of Practice

What is the Seedlings Community of Practice?

Seedlings Community of Practice (CoP) brings together a group of dedicated alumni who are passionate about the summer workshop experience and want to bring the week’s experiences to their students. Mentored by Seedlings staff members, community partners and one another, teachers in the CoP enjoy continued support and a community of like-minded peers. Along the way, they deepen their pedagogical stance and develop resources that can be used to support the Seedlings community. Members of the Seedlings CoP teach a range of grade levels (PreK-8th) and disciplines in a variety of school settings (public, parochial, private, magnet, and charter).  They represent a diverse array of city and suburban schools from all over the state (from Hartford to New Haven to Wilton and everywhere in between). Participants commit to regular monthly meetings at group members’ schools and local community partner sites. The principles of place-based education provide our members with a framework to unpack their immersive Seedlings experience.

What is the structure of the Seedlings Community of Practice program?

The first two-thirds of the school year is devoted to exploring the power of place to transform teaching and learning, as well as exploring each of the six place-based education (PBE) principles as defined by the Teton Science Schools. In between our monthly meetings, group members try out some of the tools and strategies they have learned in fieldwork assignments. The final third of the year is spent developing a community impact project that reflects PBE principles.  Project examples include:
  • adapting a standard unit of study to make it more place-based;
  • enhancing the school’s outdoor learning spaces;
  • planting a pollinator garden with students;
  • developing a community asset map with and for middle schoolers;
  • designing one’s own school-based CoP
At the end of the school year, our CoP members present their work to the broader community at our Seedlings CoP Expo. These projects are made possible through mini-grants provided by the Seedlings Foundation, and can be found in SEC Place-Based Learning Project Repository.

Why a place-based education (PBE) approach?

The Seedlings Summer Workshop is a busy and immersive week. Teachers take on the roles of learners as they engage in inquiry grounded in the city of New Haven and walk away inspired but not always being able to articulate what enabled the mindshift.  Underpinning this transformative experience are the principles of place-based education. When we learn to love where we live, use the resources of where we live to construct meaning, and empower learners to engage as active participants in the world around them, we are restoring connection to and care for our communities.

The PBE framework developed by the Teton Science Schools and Getting Smart helps our CoP members break down the Seedlings experience into bite sized pieces that can be tried out and adapted.

What’s the Ambassador Program?

Our Ambassador program was designed to be a less structured, more member-driven program that enables CoP1 graduates to maintain their connection with one another and the CoP program in ways that are supportive of their continued development. In the first two years of its existence, this has looked like continued curricular collaboration. Ambassadors set goals in the beginning of the year for refining a place-based project or designing a new one and meet twice per trimester at schools or community partner sites to strategize, problem-solve, and share successes and challenges. Similar to the CoP1 program, Ambassadors receive grant funding to support these projects, but also have the additional benefit of access to Seedlings-generated professional development materials should it prove useful. We pride ourselves on being an organization that is always adapting and evolving to meet teachers’ needs, so we expect for this to be a dynamic program that changes along with our Ambassadors.

How can I find out more?

Read reflections from past CoP members here.

Email Katy Botta at kbseedlingseducator@gmail.com

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