Education

The ten-month Graduate Residency in Education, Environment and Community at IslandWood (EEC), developed in partnership with the University of Washington, draws on the best practices of experiential, environmental and multicultural education, using natural and cultural environments as a context for learning. All courses are held at IslandWood and are taught by full-time IslandWood faculty on our Bainbridge Island campus.

Graduate students arrive in August for an intense month of training at the beautiful IslandWood facility, including instruction in the natural history and ecology of the Puget Sound region, group management strategies and wilderness first aid.

Beginning in the fall, students combine academic coursework with teaching experiences in the School Overnight Program on the IslandWood campus and in surrounding Puget Sound-area elementary and middle schools. The focus of the teaching practicum is to work with fourth through sixth-grade students to help them develop an awareness of basic ecological concepts, the interconnectedness of natural and cultural communities and the impact humans have on the environment and each other. Low faculty-to-student ratios and a close-knit working community allow EEC faculty to mentor students frequently throughout the program and support them in their academic studies and professional growth.

Program participants come from a range of backgrounds and undergraduate majors, but share an interest in education. On completion of the EEC program, many graduates apply their EEC program credits towards master’s degree programs in the second year (click to Program Completion), while others move directly into positions in education, non-profit management, the arts, or public policy. In the 2004 EEC class, for example, 55 percent went on to Master in Education degrees in the year following EEC program, 18 percent pursued their master’s degree with teaching certification and 27 percent worked in environmental fields and non-formal education.

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