This fellowship aims to catalyze a global community of transformative stewards in liberatory STEAM Education who embody healing-centered values, place based learning, cultures of belonging, ancient knowledge, ARTS, different ways of knowing, and social justice.
The program offers an 9-month cohort from October to July, providing access to workshops, online workshops, in-person gatherings and retreats, and one-on-one coaching.
Upcoming initiatives include a retreat in Pescadero, close to the Anõ Nueva State Park and the creation of a supportive community focused on societal change. Each participant will have a year to create a project to imagine, test, revise, and implement, culminating in a final presentation during the ceremony.
K-12 STEAM Educators.
Educators from the nonprofits sectors.
Administrator interested in creating a more participatory STEAM learning environment.
Curriculum designers interested in culturally relevant and place based learning.
Higher Education faculty from the teacher Ed department
The future is asking us to be responsible and to give ourselves spaces to dream big through relational gatherings.
We created this fellowship so that you can get the space, the tools and the community to create and re-imagine what a liberatory STEAM space towards system change can be.
It is a nine months journey that aims to embody healing centered education, place based learning, cultures of belonging, ancient knowledge, ARTS, different ways of knowing, and social justice within the worlds of STEAM to imagine and speak a new future.
The Fellowship aims to catalyze a community-centered learning experience, a communal space of design and research, arts and imagination towards system change.
You will receive personalized support throughout the journey from the team and the community of peers who are educators and stewards like you.
If you want to dive into the details, we recommend viewing the full curriculum.
Notice/See Systems
Participants will explore the Liberatory Design. It is a framework and a way of working that helps us:
- Embed our liberation values into how we design.
- Practice self awareness to move beyond status quo.
- Reimagine the relationship between the people who traditionally hold the power to design and the people impacted by those designs.
- Increase agency for those involved in, and influenced by, the design work.
- Create conditions for collective liberation!
Making Kin with Place and Self
The three gatherings are carefully curated to provide a deep experiential learning in places that already doing the work for a regenerative education.
- Making Kin with soil: Regenerative Farm
- Forestry and the role of the tree
- Community based STEAM-Non institutionalized learning that promotes creativity and imagination.
- Agroforestery : place based learning and how do we belong to place?
Relationality and Belonging
Three online workshops that provide foundational knowledge and support.
- Symbology in STEAM/Epistemology
- Emotional Salience: Role of art and creativity.
- Design for Belonging and the Art of gathering.
Imagining New Words/Worlds
What are qualities and textures of connection, communication and response with the more-than-human?
What are qualities and textures of connection, communication and response with the more-than-human?
In this retreat we will explore other forms of knowledge through our connection to mammals and plants.
Support System for Final Project
Each participant will receive three personal coaching sessions to support their growth and project.
Celebrating Creative Expression
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"Creating Thriving Spaces gives opportunities to explore diverse ways to connect or re-connect your students to a wholistic, STEAM based learning environment, where everyone is part of the process and is engaged in both the art of belonging and relationship building. This practice is imperative in order to build a strong, positive, and supportive learning community."
"Thank you for creating this space and opportunity. Your sessions have been so rich, bridging existence with all of the beautiful elements of art, heritage, and science."
"This was one of the best experiences that I have had as an educator in a long time. It was well organized, I learned a great deal, and left with enthusiasm as well as something practical that I can do with students. Imene has a beautiful and powerful way of describing the importance of developing our lens and practice toward equity and celebration of all in our work with students. I really appreciated the metaphors she offered for this (the poem, murmurations, etc.) and will take them into my work to center and ground our community in these values."
"This course made me feel seen, validated, and connected. This course opened up my mind to more ways to teach STEAM and to not be afraid to make connections in different ways with my students and those I work with. I appreciate how it is a much more holistic approach to education than traditional STEM education. It really considers the student & the teacher for their unique cultural & social history. This course made me feel more empowered to try new ideas in and outside of the classroom."
About the Instructor(s)
Dr. Imène Ghernati is the Executive Director of the STEAM Learning Institute. Trained as a veterinarian and a researcher, Imene's career spans academia, the pharmaceutical industry, the Ed tech and serving as an educational leader in the classroom and with new and aspiring STEAM educators. Her journey from researcher with multiple patents to an advocate for liberatory STEAM education is driven by her passion for education and her commitment to equity and belonging. Imène has built strong partnerships with educational communities across the Bay Area and beyond, and maintains close ties with a broad network of STEAM educators nationwide.
David H. Clifford takes on whatever form is needed to challenge white dominant culture in schools: designer of tools to break status quo rule(s), shop teacher, leadership coach, sparkly ray of sunshine, benevolent agitator, and/or a mere catalyst for people’s equity-centered creative courage. David currently takes the form of Director of Design + Making at Head-Royce School’s Collaboratory, a living ecosystem and culture of relationships by design where all that we imagine, design & make are embodied acts of care for ourselves, our communities, and our shared planet. David is co-creator of Liberatory Design, Redesigning White Dominant Culture, Equity Design Collaborative, design school x, and East Bay School for Boys.
Please reach out to imene@steamlearninginstitute.com for questions.
Scholarships are available for K-12 educators who teach in public diverse schools.
Still have questions about this fellowship? Get in touch with Imène Ghernati, STEAM's founder, to request more information.
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