Photo Credit: Mark Thiessen

Photo Credit: Joshua Dutt

Seeing myself as an explorer and an educator has been transformative. I no longer think of developing the “life long learner” with my learners (which are both students and teachers).  It is a great concept but about as motivating lukewarm canned peas. Now I think of it as developing the explorer. I look for opportunities to pique learners’ excitement in my work by giving them exciting, almost adventurous experiences and real research opportunities in the field. I work with both students and educators and I think both groups should view themselves as explorers.
The transformation into an explorer was more a process than an event. The transformation started with the Nat Geo Educator Certification, specifically the Learning Framework. The first time I saw the Learning Framework I felt a little shock of recognition since it outlined a lot of what I seeking for myself and my teaching. After educator certification, the next impactful thing was being a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow. Being a Fellow deepened my affinity with National Geographic and allowed me to do field work in the Arctic, a dream of mine! And honestly, the affinity with Nat Geo cannot be underestimated I could have done the same activities as part of a different program without the same impact. Being part of the Nat Geo family and its 130-year history is part of the transformation!

Adding explorer to my personal and professional identity has given me the confidence to attempt things I don’t think I would have otherwise, i.e. applying to speak at TEDx events. It has also helped fight back the imposter syndrome I would sometimes feel when taking groups of teachers out into the field.

In the last field session I led for educators, there was a teacher who was very, very hesitant about taking her students out into the field to do any sort of field studies. At the beginning of our time together she mentioned how she wouldn’t take her students out of the classroom because they were too much of a discipline challenge. However, after our three days in the field, she was on fire! A lot of that change in attitude is really because she was ready for it. But I think some of it was due to how I structured the field session to develop the explorer’s mindset.

To embrace this mindset, start with yourself. If you are an explorer, you will have the classroom of an explorer. Your students may or may not embrace this mindset but they will remember it. There are many ways to bring the explorer spirit into the classroom depending on the age of your students and content you teach. The most important thing is that YOU have the mindset of an explorer.