Teach The Future Course
The Teach The Future Mini-Course is a professional development experience designed for educators, parents, and counselors who want to inspire young people with learning that feels meaningful, inclusive, and future-ready.
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Module 1: Welcome & Orientation
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Lesson 1.1 – Meet Your Facilitators
Get to know your course hosts, Ava Turnquest and Kya Nguyen, co-founders of Sustainable Me, and learn how this mini-course will help you bring sustainability and creativity into your classroom or home.
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Lesson 1.2 – Setting Intentions
Take a moment to reflect on your goals for this course. What do you hope to learn? How do you want to grow as an educator, parent, or counselor? This activity will ground your learning journey.
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Lesson 1.3 – Centering Student Voice
Student voice is at the heart of teaching the future. In this lesson, you’ll explore the Spectrum of Youth Voice—from tokenism to youth-led leadership—and reflect on where your practice sits today. You’ll see how shifting power to students builds ownership, engagement, and agency, creating classrooms where young people don’t just learn about change, but help lead it.
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Module 2: Core Concepts for Future-Ready Classrooms
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Lesson 2.1 – Understanding the SDGs
Explore the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discover how they can inspire real-world, student-centered learning.
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Lesson 2.2 – The Playlist Process
Learn how to structure flexible, student-driven activities through the “Playlist Process” — a method that encourages co-creation, exploration, and reflection.
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Lesson 2.3 – Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Discover how UDL helps you design inclusive lessons that meet diverse student needs. You’ll explore strategies to increase engagement, representation, and expression in your learning environment.
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Module 3: Hands-On Activity 1 – Paper Making
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Module 4: Hands-On Activity 2 – T-Shirt Business Challenge
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Module 5: Hands-On Activity 3 – Planter Making
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Module 6: Teaching Through Culture & Technology
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Module 7: Wrap-Up & Next Steps
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Lesson 7.1 – Final Reflection
Take time to synthesize your learning. Which strategies or activities stood out? How did student voice, UDL, and the Playlist Process show up in your thinking? What’s one concrete step you’ll take forward?
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Lesson 7.2 – Certificate of Completion
Celebrate your progress! Complete a short exit survey and download your certificate of completion as recognition of your commitment to future-ready education.
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Meet your instructors
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Meet your instructors ✳
AR-T
KY
Based on our Teach The Future 2025 workshop, this course blends hands-on activities, reflective practice, and practical strategies for the Caribbean and Global South context. You’ll leave with ready-to-use lesson ideas, creative tools, and a renewed vision for future-ready education.
What you’ll learn
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Learn how to integrate sustainability into everyday teaching.
Practical, hands-on activities ready to use with students.
A deeper understanding of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their relevance to the Caribbean and Global South.
Tools to help students see the link between global challenges and their daily lives.
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Empower every learner through choice, flexibility, and leadership.
Strategies from Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to make lessons accessible to all learners.
The Playlist Process: a flexible structure that gives students ownership over their learning journey.
Frameworks to center student voice and leadership, moving from token participation to genuine co-creation.
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Bring learning to life with projects that blend hands-on creation and digital tools.
3 Signature Activities: Paper Making, T-Shirt Business Challenge, and Planter Making.
Ways to integrate cultural identity, storytelling, and creative expression into your lessons.
Smart, ethical approaches to using AI and technology to support student engagement and critical thinking.
Course FAQ
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The mini-course is designed to be flexible. You can complete it in 4–6 hours total, spread across a weekend or a few weeks at your own pace.
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Most activities use low-cost, easily available supplies (recycled paper, old t-shirts, plastic bottles, markers, soil). We provide a materials list in advance for each activity.
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Yes! Upon completing the course and final reflection survey, you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion, which can be used to demonstrate professional growth.
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Absolutely. This course is designed not only for teachers but also for parents, counselors, and community leaders who support young people.
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You can reach us at sustainableme242@gmail.com or connect with our community on Instagram @sus.camp. We’d love to hear from you!
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This pilot course is available for $47 (introductory price). This helps us cover production costs and build future workshops and resources for educators across the region.