🌍🔎 Welcome to the 2025 Academic Innovation Conference! 🔎🌍
“Where in the World...?”
Welcome, education trailblazers, to a conference unlike any other—where we set out on a high-stakes global mission to transform our classrooms into communities for the future! 🌎✨
Just like the legendary Carmen Sandiego, our students are on an adventure—but instead of searching for stolen treasures, they are discovering knowledge, cultures, digital tools, and opportunities that prepare them to be true global citizens. The question is: How do we equip them with the tools to navigate and thrive in an ever-changing world? That’s where YOU come in!
Over the course of this conference, we’ll decode the mysteries of innovation, track down best practices from around the globe, and unlock the strategies that will empower our students to think critically, collaborate across cultures, and make meaningful contributions—no matter where their journey takes them.
So, grab your thinking caps and passports, because together, we are about to embark on an educational expedition that ensures our students do not just ask where in the world they belong—but boldly go out and shape it through citizenship.
In this hands-on teacher workshop, educators will explore the powerful intersection of Global Citizenship and Service Learning through an engaging, challenge-based approach inspired by Participate Learning and Destination Imagination(DI). Participants will dive into the principles of global competence—such as global interconnectivity, critical thinking, and collaboration—while actively learning how students design and carry out service projects that address real-world community needs through a S.T.E.A.M based competition. Using the Destination Imagination Service Learning Challenge and Creative Process as a framework, teachers will learn how to guide students through creative problem-solving processes that empower their students to become empathetic, action-oriented global citizens. By the end of the session, educators will not only have participated in DI activities, but they leave with practical strategies on how to start a Destination Imagination team at their school that will make their students true Global Citizens.
*Participants should bring a Laptop, Creativity, and a desire to serve.
Middle Grades Teacher, Burke County Schools, Heritage Middle School
Tim Gallagher is a dedicated 8th-grade English Language Arts (ELA) teacher with 16 years of experience at Heritage Middle School in Burke County, North Carolina. With a passion for global education and a commitment to fostering a global perspective among his students, Tim serves... Read More →
