Education Futures

Visioning Futures in Education

I have a variety visioning tools that are very helpful for experientially exploring and for teaching about the future.

One of the most important of these is an imaginal visioning exercise on  Experiencing Your Impacts on Future Generations. It is an ideal way to introduce the idea of experientially exploring the future in order to make better decisions in the present.

Here is a one hour video of my leading this exercise for coaches in the Texas Future Problem Solving Program on July 21, 2010: Our Impacts on Future Generations Video.  And here is the script for the exercise you can download:  .

 

How to Host a Futures Camp for Kids

A Summer Futures Camp for middle schoolers was held in the Summer of 2010 by a team of educators led by Drs. Kay Strong and Peter Bishop under the aegis of the University of Houston’s Futures Studies program.  I volunteered to video the proceedings, and when it became clear that the camp so successful that a How to Host a Futures Camp package was needed to benefit the larger community of Gifted/Talented teachers and Future Problem solving coaches, Kay and I created a CD with full instructions and a DVD with video clips illustrating all aspects of the camp.  Not only can it help you do a futures camp yourself if you wish, it is also useful for any classroom teacher wanting to introduce simple but useful ways to think about the future for their students.

To buy the “How To” package, click here ($24.99 plus shipping).  To see a six minute video introduction to the package, click here.  And here are some informed testimonials about the package:

The strategies we used at the Futures Camp easily translated into my daily classroom activities.  Now my students experience the “energy” created when you study the future.      –Margaret Fitzgerald, Coordinator, G/T Program & Future Problem Solvers Coach, West Briar Middle School, and Volunteer Trainer at the UH Summer Futures Camp

This is a concise, and well-documented example of an exciting way for teachers, schools and administrators to prepare for hosting their own Futures Camp!  The DVD includes everything one needs to know to launch  an innovative approach to an enrichment opportunity for the youth of today in order to delve into the fantastic world of the FUTURE.               –Cyd Rogers, State Director, Texas Future Problem Solving Program

We at FPSPI know how important it is to be prepared for alternative futures.  In our Futures Camp, students were able to visualize times beyond the present, and interactions among the participants allowed their imaginations to flow – so important for new and meaningful ideas!     –Marianne Solomon, Executive Director, Future Problem Solving Program International, Inc.

The study of the future is a most appropriate topic for gifted youth. The instructional design and activities presented can provide the necessary depth, complexity, rigor and relevance for these students.    –Tracy Weinberg, Associate Director, Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented

 

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