GLSI’s WINTER 2026 PLACE-BASED EDUCATION INSTITUTE
GLSI’s Winter 2026 Place-Based Educators Institute
Build your foundation. Connect with purpose. Start your place-based journey.
Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI) invites Great Lakes Region K-12 classroom educators to apply for the Winter 2026 Place-Based Education (PBE) Institute. This virtual, cohort-based professional learning experience is designed to launch or re-energize your journey with Place-Based Education.
If you’re curious about how to make learning more meaningful, community-connected, and student-driven, this is your starting point. In just a few weeks, you’ll gain the frameworks, tools, and peer support to begin designing learning experiences that engage students with the world around them and help them make an impact.
Why Join This Institute?
This isn’t your typical PD. You’ll be part of a cohort of passionate educators, exploring how to use the places you live and teach to spark inquiry, amplify student voice, and build authentic connections between curriculum and community. Whether you’re brand new to PBE or looking to strengthen your foundation, this program will meet you where you are and move you forward.
What You’ll Learn
Over a series of asynchronous videos and live, interactive Zoom sessions, you’ll explore:
- What Place-Based Stewardship Education (PBSE) looks like and how it can work in any classroom with any subject
- How to identify and build on local assets to design relevant, engaging learning
- How to center student voice and agency through inquiry-based projects
- How to align your teaching with GLSI’s Elements and Guiding Principles for exemplary PBE
- How to move from idea to implementation with a realistic plan and the tools to support it
What You’ll Experience
Foundations of Quality PBE
Explore the “what, why and how” of PBE using GLSI’s Guiding principles for Exemplary PBSE and the Elements of Place-Based Stewardship Education. These frameworks will help you understand what quality PBE looks like and how to begin or strengthen your own projects.
Project Planning with Support
Work through your own PBE idea (or adapt a new one) using tools and protocols aligned with the Elements and Principles. You’ll consider student voice, community connections, curriculum alignment, and real-world impact.
Collaborative Peer Learning
Join a supportive peer cohort from across the Great Lakes region. Through structured collaboration and reflection, you’ll build confidence, develop your ideas, and learn from the experiences of others. Participants will have monthly opportunities to connect with other cohorts, engage with guest presenters, and access additional resources to support their learning.
Ready-to-Use Resources
Each session includes practical tools you can use right away whether you’re looking to launch a small-scale classroom project or lay the foundation for a larger initiative.
Live, Interactive Zoom Sessions
Held weekly, each session blends foundational learning, collaborative discussions, and time to apply what you’ve learned to your own context.
Asynchronous Videos of your presenters
Each week you will watch a video prior to that weeks’ Zoom session to become familiar with the content. This will give you the opportunity to watch, absorb, and think about questions and be prepared to interact during the zoom sessions.
Virtual Institute Schedule – Winter 2026
Weekly Wednesday Zoom Sessions
- February 4
- February 11
- February 18
- February 25
- March 4
- March 11
- March 18
Pick One of Two Sessions to Attend
- Session 1: 4:30-5:30 PM ET
- Session 2: 5:45-6:45 PM ET
Monthly Wednesday Zoom Meetings
Tentatively scheduled for 5–7 PM ET
- April 15
- May 13
- June 17
1:1 Coaching
Receive up to 4 hours of personalized coaching from GLSI PBSE Specialists throughout the year.
Who Should Participate?
This institute is designed for:
- Great Lakes Region K-12 school educators
- Teachers in all subject areas and grade levels
- Educators new to PBE or building early-stage projects
- Anyone looking to make learning more authentic, community-connected, and student-centered
Only 45 slots are available for the Winter 2026 cohort.
What You’ll Gain
- $200 stipend to honor your time and commitment
- Certificate of completion (and any additional documentation needed for state recertification credit)
- SCECH credit for Michigam teachers
- One-on-one coaching and support
- A network of peers from across the Great Lakes region.
Apply Now
Application Process: Now Open
Deadline to apply: January 25, 2026
Questions: Contact Patty at patty@greatlakesstewardship.org
