Cutting edge trips for IB diploma schools.

At last I know what TOK is! Actually, I am now teaching a TOK class in an IB international school. This has resolved the ‘TOK’ puzzle for me, after all these years of being told by IB teachers that my style and approach is very ‘TOK’.  Upon hearing this, I used to nod my head and smile and wonder what they were on about! Was this term; ‘TOK’ yet another new UK slang, or idiom that I was unaware of after my prolonged ex-pat status? Did my being very ‘TOK’ mean they thought I was good, bad or indifferent in my professional endeavours? Anyway, after having immersed myself in the IB world of TOK, I came realise that this subject would make a great theme for a hands-on Ecowise adventure. I have noticed that in class most students have difficulty relating the ideas about the nature of knowledge to real life examples. So I’ve put together an exciting new TOK trip that will help them to find out for themselves how TOK relates to current, real world issues.

I have also developed a new series of CAS projects for schools that want their students get their hands dirty and involve them in exciting and valuable action work experiences that affect living communities. Please let me know if you want more details about these new 2017 trip opportunities and I can give you a run-down of costs other practical information. Ciao ciao, Adam.

Theory of Knowledge (TOK) Residential Trip for IB Diploma Groups.

This unique trip has been created to help students understand concepts and ideas of TOK in relation to real life situations and encourages students to actively engage with the subject in an exciting and applied way though exploring ideas and knowledge claims about the natural world and the environment. Students will take part in role-playing games, story telling, thought experiments and artistic activities.  They will be using their creativity, imaginations and critical thinking skills to unpack some predominant ideas about the nature of reality and the reality of nature. They will be exploring some ‘big ideas’, symbols and diverse world-views related to nature and what it means to be human in the context of various cultural perspectives, epistemologies, and social constructions about the cosmos and the natural world. We will be focusing on areas of knowledge (AKs) such as the natural sciences, the human sciences, ethics, history and ethics as well as helping students to explore and investigate the principal of ways of knowing (WOKs) in relationship to the natural and social world. The trip will provide ample opportunity for students to utilise their experience as a basis for developing ideas and finding topics that could be used for IB relevant TOK essays, presentations and assignments. This trip is a fun and effective way to make what can be an opaque subject come to life and help students realise that the world is not black and white or a dull grey, but a wonderful colourful place of significance and mixed Meaning!

Creativity Action Service (CAS) Projects for IB schools

Tailored trips that connect your school community to a vibrant, rural community through developing short and long-term CAS projects. The emphasis is on helping students to connect in a meaningful way to another local community through engagement, volunteerism and work. In this way, cultural exchanges and long term relationships can be established between your school and other places. These relationships enable students to get embedded into alternative social and ecological realities helping foster their sense of responsibility and interconnectedness and empowers them to realize they can change the world.  We create projects that provide personal challenges and involve purposeful activities that involve students planning and reflecting on outcomes.

Such projects involve themes like:

·Habitat restoration conservation work to help save rare orchids and endangered ecological communities:

· Creating ponds and other wetland features to help amphibians and aquatic ecosystem communities and to develop learning resources for local school children by creating ‘nature study’ sites:

· Promotion of small-scale green tourism enterprises as part of local rural economy development schemes. Such projects involve helping to identify touristic resources and potentials, which promote sustainable tourism ideals, as well as creating marketing and promotional materials for green tourism projects and businesses:

· Working in small-scale organic agriculture enterprises that provide food and products for local inhabitants and the greater market:

· Working in woodland management to conserve biodiversity, local land use traditions and broadleaf woodland habitats:

·Helping local natural resource managers to create and maintain paths and facilities in nature reserves, protected areas and sites of scientific and landscape importance:

· Creating wildlife gardens and native plant landscaping schemes in public spaces to promote sustainable horticulture and develop educational pilot programs:

· Working in a variety of ecosystems to help promote community based conservation projects and long-term landscape management schemes that enhance sustainability and grass roots natural resource stewardship:

· Hands-on labouring to help traditional wine producers work in their vineyards harvest grapes and make wine, as well also developing marketing tools to promote and create markets for specialised local wine products).