About Us

O nas
Outdoor learning

Center for Innovative Education

Center for Innovative Education (CIE) ensures what most of us did not experience at school

  • trust in one’s own capabilities,
  • awareness of one’s own strong suits,
  • information on how to strengthen one’s inner motivation,
  • teamworking skills
  • the ability to face emergencies
  • the development of leadership skills.

Each of us possesses a set of natural, deep-rooted skills that often come in handy in various everyday contexts, personal and professional alike. In recent times, rapid changes, new technologies, the climate crisis, Big Data, and the pandemic have made these skills virtually indispensable. Even though formal education should place particular emphasis on developing them, in reality, it tends to give them a wide berth.

There are several reasons underlying this state of affairs, chief among which are: overloaded curricula governing the transfer of knowledge between teachers and students, inadequately prepared teaching staff or difficulties in grading progress, for instance evaluating young people who have successfully used their classes to give better feedback.

Ever since its establishment, CIE has been cooperating with businesses by following and adapting its offer to labour market trends and employer needs. We have been engaged in a continuous dialogue with business associations within the framework of our New Education Forum conferences, as well as events that have extended their hospitality to us, such as The European Forum for New Ideas, and Congress of the Future.

We support Polish education by conducting the Mentor teacher programme and continuously expanding the range of subjects covered by the scheme. Our recent workshops have been devoted to the activities of schools and students during the climate crisis, as well as preparing education for circular economy and advancing digitization.

CIE also reaches underserved communities, typically from smaller urban and rural areas.
CIE offers outdoor educational activities designed for the young. Find out more about our projects.
CIE currently operates in Poland, Ireland, and Spain.

Centrum Innowacyjnej Edukacji

Our 2020-2025 strategy provides for the development of Outdoor Learning and its countrywide and cross border expansion. The Foundation aims to focus on building individual educational and career paths as well as enhancing our beneficiaries’ social skills.

We can boast extensive experience based on working with various target groups, e. g.:

  • executives wishing to boost their transversal skills,
  • youth,
  • pedagogues,
  • individuals aged 50+,
  • the unemployed,
  • socially excluded individuals,
  • SME employees,
  • NEET groups (young people that are “Not in Education, Employment, or Training,” aged 18 – 29),
  • foreigners,
  • individuals from underserved communities, including small urban and rural areas.
Outdoor learning
O nas

What is Outdoor Learning?

Outdoor Learning (OL) is a teaching method based on participants’ uninterrupted experience of nature. We researched the method during our 2016 and 2017 study visits to Scotland’s University of Edenborough and the Venture Trust foundation. Both entities developed the Outdoor Learning method over 20 years ago and have been successfully implementing it across various groups of beneficiaries. Since 2018, we have been incorporating OL in Poland within the framework of the FOLM project.

While implementing the FOLM project, we have noted that Outdoor Learning method has proven to be a highly effective means of individual, social, educational, and professional development. It is a direct response to the assumptions of the Ministry of National Education contained in the The Integrated Skills Strategy 2030 (2019), emphasizing professional activation and the development of social competences.

Outdoor learning ensures that participants have enough time to analyse their past, thus creating a better future for themselves – all thanks to a week-long trek in the wild. Daily covered subjects facilitate trekkers’ self-discovery, aid them in finding out about their assets, and help form bonds with their colleagues.

Mentoring

Coaching and mentoring

Coaching and mentoring contribute to developing essential, everyday skills gained during the Outdoor Learning phase. Having recognised one’s strongest suits while being in the woods, participants are advised by coaches and mentors on how to take advantage of these assets in education or one’s workplace.

Coaching and mentoring both serve to facilitate the employment seeking process and to develop a new outlook on education.

Mentoring
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