School and Group Programs
Core Educational Framework
Headlands Institute's innovative and quality programs are guided by the core educational framework of its parent organization, Yosemite National Institutes. The framework is routinely assessed and is ever-evolving, so that the best and most current teaching methods are incorporated.
The framework asks educators to focus on several key components when planning and delivering an educational program:
- Student-centered approach: Our educators consider students developmental level, grade level, prior knowledge, and cultural experiences as they plan each program.
- Content: Our programs seek to balance process skills with content. Programs focus on 3 core themes: sense of place, interconnections, and stewardship.
- Teaching methodologies: Our educators incorporate multiple teaching methodologies, including inquiry-based learning, multiple intelligence theory, thematic teaching, and an emphasis on developing critical thinkers.
- Outcomes: Within each program, educators plan opportunities for students to achieve 4 program outcomes in 4 areas: personal growth, group development, responsible environmental behavior, and educational impact.
Student-Centered Approach
Acknowledging the uniqueness of learners and distinctness of each school and community is a key component of Headlands Institute's core educational framework.
Educators are trained to consider:
- Students' developmental levels based on grade level and other available information
- Students' knowledge and process skills
- Students' ethnic, cultural, and linguistic experiences that influence their understanding of the environment
Before a class arrives, our educators review the pre-trip questionnaire that has been completed by their classroom teacher. This document gives educators an overview of school and community demographics, local issues, group dynamics, and individual issues. Upon arrival, educators engage students in describing their school and comparing their home communities with the Marin Headlands. By striving for this student-centered approach, Headlands Institute makes the outdoor learning experience more relevant to the students' daily lives.
Content
Our programs balance the need for process skills—such as observation, questioning, and communication—with science or ecology based content areas. We teach for conceptual understanding rather than for the memorization of facts.
Each program is created around the areas of study requested by the visiting school, the distinct highlights of the Marin Headlands' seasons, and our 3 core themes: sense of place, interconnections, and stewardship. In addition, our programs also address themes of community-building and personal growth.
Sense of Place
Sense of place focuses on grounding learners in the natural and human communities studied. Skills learned while developing a sense of place include:
- Observing
- Mapping
- Questioning
- Building relationships
Interconnections
Interconnections focuses on understanding the biotic and abiotic components of ecological communities and the interrelationships that exist in those communities. Knowledge developed while studying interrelationships includes:
- Identification and classification
- Understanding ecological principles
- Investigation using the scientific method
Stewardship
Stewardship focuses on promoting awareness and appreciation for shared environments and thinking critically about action strategies to enhance human and natural communities into the future. Including stewardship concepts and projects gives students the opportunity to:
- Identify reasons why humans should take responsibility for their impacts
- Describe positive contributions they might make or steps they can take to minimize negative impacts on environmental health
- Begin to make positive changes in their lives
Teaching Methodologies
Our educators are trained to incorporate multiple methodologies into their teaching including inquiry-based learning, multiple intelligence theory, thematic teaching, and an emphasis on developing critical thinkers.
Inquiry-Based Learning
From developing observation skills to encouraging students to devise methodologies, Headlands Institute uses the natural curiosity of learners to develop concrete science process skills. Such skills can be applied across disciplines and encourage students to become active and engaged learners.
Teaching to Multiple Intelligences
Headlands Institute programs are designed to be interdisciplinary, incorporating the intellectual access points of every learner. Learning occurs collectively, in pairs, or alone, 
and challenges students visually, kinesthetically, linguistically, spatially, and musically.
Thematic Teaching
Thematic teaching correlates with research that shows that brains function at a higher level when activities link and build on each other. At Headlands Institute, a key tool for this type of teaching is the mindmap. Every field science educator begins the day by presenting a colorful mindmap of activities. In the center of the mindmap is the theme for the day. The photo to the right shows a mindmap for the theme "Ocean Action Strategies." In the mindmap, the activities are drawn in a circle around the theme. That day's activities are designed to introduce and build on the theme. Team-building initiatives or teachable moments are incorporated into the theme as well.
Developing Critical Thinkers
Headlands Institute helps young people develop the skills to be independent thinkers and active and responsible participants in society. Educators engage students through analyses of controversial issues, examinations of personal beliefs and values, role-playing characters with viewpoints distinct from theirs, and assessment of the appropriateness of action strategies.
Outcomes
Within each program, educators plan opportunities for students to achieve 4 program outcomes: personal growth, group development, responsible environmental behavior, and educational impact.
Personal Growth
By incorporating concepts of personal growth into instructions, educators give students the opportunity to:
- Improve self-esteem and self-confidence
- Understand the difference they can make (loci of control)
- Think about their attitudes and values towards the environment, science, and learning
Group Development
Educators pay attention to group dynamics so that students will be able to:
- Practice effective strategies for working in a group
- Use efficient communication techniques
- Engage in cooperative learning processes
Responsible Environmental Behavior
Emphasizing responsible environmental behavior during the day allows students to:
- Learn about environmental sensitivity for cultural and natural resources
- Engage in stewardship activities
- Explain the value of National Parks and open spaces in their communities
- Learn about personal actions and consumer decisions that will reduce their impact on environment
Educational Impact
During the course of their program, students will be able to:
- Learn ecological concepts and explain complex interactions in the ecosystem
- Describe ways that they depend upon and impact local and global ecosystems
- Engage in inquiry and investigative activities
