mindSpark Learning Announces mSL futureS, Next-Generation Fellowship for Educators

mindSpark Learning (mSL), a Denver-based national nonprofit dedicated to empowering educators with industry-oriented professional learning experiences, today announced the launch of mSL futureS, a dynamic, 10-month next generation educator fellowship program. With so many unknowns, especially in the era of COVID-19, educators are expected to pivot quickly to adjust to fast-changing societal needs. mSL futureS prepares educators to accept and embrace ambiguities through this free resilience and futures thinking training. The first trimester begins July 15.

Participants must register in teams of three to five classroom educators to create their fellow group. Over the course of three trimesters, these fellow groups will work with a cohort of 20 peers to develop mental pathways to prepare for the 2020-2021 school year and beyond. They will fine-tune their problem-solving abilities and futures thinking to tackle issues like burnout antibodies, an agile mindset, social emotional resilience and community needs.

Futures thinking fosters ongoing observation, pattern recognition and conversation while considering macro forces, like environmental, social and economic factors. This mindset prepares Educator Futurists to create actionable strategies for specific issues within their organizations and communities using multiple perspectives.

During the first trimester, mSL futureS fellows will learn to develop and understand their role as Educator Futurists. The second and third trimesters involve solving problems that are relevant to their organization and iterating solutions. Each fellow group will develop a portfolio presentation detailing their experiences, challenges and outcomes at the conclusion of the fellowship.

“There is no better time to reimagine education and educators are uniquely positioned to drive innovation and create solutions leading to an education system that is better than the one we left behind before the pandemic,” said mindSpark Learning CEO Kellie Lauth. “We’re thrilled to launch mSL futureS as a way to shift educator mindsets to include futures thinking, while reinforcing resilience and empathy.”

For more information and to register, visit https://www.mymindsparklearning.org/msl-futures.

 

 

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About mindSpark Learning

mindSpark Learning, a Denver-based national nonprofit founded as Share Fair Nation in 2007 and rebranded in 2017, is the catalyst and intermediary between education and industry. It empowers educators with industry-oriented professional learning experiences, resulting in more students prepared for the modern workforce. It does so by leading programs and services designed to help schools understand workforce development, participate in work-based learning experiences, foster career literacy and directly connect students to mentors and authentic opportunities at a young age. Its core areas of focus are critical to today’s education landscape and include problem-based learning (PBL) STEM, EdTech, Social-emotional learning (SEL) and Equity-centered Design Thinking. These lay the foundation for skills that are inherently necessary for career success.

mindSpark Learning is re-engineering education by incorporating the voice of community leaders in a variety of fields – from education, to industry, to government. To date, mindSpark Learning has impacted more than 18,000 educators in 1,041 schools across 48 states. For more information, please visit www.mymindsparklearning.org.