Earn 35 free PD hours or 2 free Semester Hours from Dominican University!
The application window for the Fall 2024 Teaching Safari opens May 20, 2024!
(Applications will be accepted through August 22, 2024 or until spaces are filled.)
*Spaces are limited, please apply early. Special consideration is given to teachers from CPS and Title I Schools. We encourage applicants to register with 1-3 other teachers from their school to support collaboration and professional learning communities.
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ABOUT THE TEACHING SAFARI
The Teaching Safari is a free 35-hour program for teachers that combines professional learning with onsite exploration of nature and animals at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. The program welcomes K-12 educators in all subject areas, and consists of four full-day, onsite sessions at the Zoo, and two 60-minute virtual sessions. In addition to attending and participating in these classes, participants engage in ongoing reflection on professional growth, and create and revise a lesson plan applying program content to practice. Content and strategies explored on the Teaching Safari are informed by Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and the Danielson Framework. The fall Teaching Safari will include two cohorts, one targeted to K-5 educators, and the other targeted to educators who serve students in grades 6-12.
OVERVIEW
✔ Enhance your content knowledge of conservation, animals, and ecosystems.
✔ Explore effective, equity-minded classroom strategies to support student inquiry, critical thinking, conceptual understanding, argumentation based on evidence, student ownership, and engagement in all subject areas.
✔ Discover new ways to develop conservation awareness in your students and to enrich learning through zoo resources and exhibits.
✔ Reflect on your classroom practice, engage in discussion with other educators, and receive individualized, written feedback from experienced zoo educator program facilitator on a lesson plan that you create and revise during this program.
✔ Connect and expand your professional learning community by becoming a part of our Brookfield Zoo Chicago Teaching Safari Network and enjoy free registrations for designated online and in-person professional development events.
✔ Teaching Safari participants who complete all course requirements may elect to receive 35 free professional development hours or two (2) free graduate semester hours from Dominican University.* Participants who complete the Safari will also receive a Certificate of Completion from Brookfield Zoo Chicago and four (4) complimentary zoo passes.
ITINERARY
Our safari begins with a two-day expedition focused on Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Great Bear Wilderness, inhabited by brown bears, polar bears, bison, and the bald eagle! As you learn about these amazing animals, you will explore a variety of inquiry-based, student-centered teaching strategies that you can apply in your classroom across subject areas.
Teachers will also participate in an onsite, two-day "variety expedition" adventure combining educator professional development to support student learning as we explore The Swamp, The Living Coast, Hamill Family Wild Encounters, Hamill Family Play Zoo, and other animal habitats throughout the zoo.
Fall 2024 Schedule
Fall 2024 Flyer