Linking Extraordinary Expeditions with the Classroom
There is a sense of adventure in everyone; a yearning to step beyond the commonplace and routine. The impossible2Possible (i2P) Education Program is an interactive and free adventure-based learning program that uses the theatre of adventure to build unique and educational expeditions. i2P believes that learning can be made more meaningful by placing it in the context of extraordinary experience. Furthermore, knowledge is continuously gained through both personal and environmental experience. Combining concrete lessons with abstract learning is an educational philosophy that i2P embraces, called Experiential Learning.
Touted as "21st Century learning" and "truly groundbreaking" by Apple Distinguished Educators, our Experiential Learning programs allow school children to interact with expedition Youth Ambassadors, tying real-life adventure & standard curriculum with live video conferencing into classrooms. By using interactive technology and enlisting the active participation of students, i2P takes experiential learning to another level by bringing the expedition into the classroom and the classroom onto the expedition, providing a two-way street of communication; a portal into the real world.
With each new expedition the i2P team strives to push boundaries of the Experiential Learning Programs by introducing new and innovative ways of engaging students. i2P has now provided free interactive education resources to tens of thousands of students from countries all over the world using the fertile stage of the Antarctica, Canada, the Arctic, Siberia, North Africa, the Amazon Jungle, and the Bolivian Salar de Uyuni.
World Health - Curriculum Overview
During Expedition India i2P will investigate the important issue of World Health. Illness touches all human beings at some one point in their life. Without health we cannot lead individually, socially and economically productive lives. In North America many people take access to health care for granted, yet many millions of people around the world lack the basic resource of health. Poverty, overpopulation, and environmental degradation are among the important factors that adversely influence the health of people.
India, home to great wealth and great poverty will serve as the backdrop for the exploration of World Health. India has some of the world's most advanced hospitals and yet many of its citizens have little access to healthcare. The Times of India estimated that nearly one million Indians die every year due to inadequate access to healthcare services. India is a microcosm for the challenges faced delivering health to the people the world over.
How to Use the Curriculum
On Expedition India, i2P will explore the issue of World Health by looking at six themes.
Each theme will be accompanied by one or two simple illustrative questions that participating schools are asked to answer. These questions will involve gathering some information about the health care service in the local community where a school is located. Answers are to be submitted to i2P through the convenient response link on each theme page. Answers from all participating schools will be graphed on the Expedition India website. This data will be compared to data from the communities visited in India and from other nations around the world. Instructive material (modules, links, data) is available on the expedition website to support each theme.
Curriculum Themes
- Health & Population
A discussion on how the world population explosion is straining access to health care.
- Health, Exercise & Nutrition
The impact of exercise and nutrition on health status.
- Health, Wealth & Poverty
The impact of wealth and poverty on access to health care.
- Health & Government
The manner in which different governments around the world provide health care.
- Health & the Environment
The impact of the environment on world health.
- The Future of World Health
A look at the future of healthcare and how services around the world can be sustained or improved.
Education Resource
The Expedition India team will set out in the fourth week of November 2011.
After arriving in Delhi the i2P team will then travel through Jaipur & Jodhpur, visiting a local health center for kids and finally arriving at Osiyan, where their first running day will take place. Once en route daily updates from the field will be posted on the i2P website. These posts will include:
- Daily physiology experiments of the Youth Ambassadors to illustrate basic principles of health, exercise & nutrition. These experiments will be lead by Dr. Greg Wells, a physiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and expert in exercise physiology.
- Daily video blogs from the four Youth Ambassadors.
- A daily quiz linked to the World Health curriculum.
- Daily webcasts that link the expedition team to participating schools, and allow school children to interact live with expedition team members.
Audience
The i2P educational program is available to students of all ages. As a web-based service, primary
and secondary schools, institutions of higher learning, as well as individuals without school-affiliation can follow the expedition as it unfolds, and benefit from the education resources as the team progresses through the expedition. Here are some examples of how educators have incorporated elements of previous i2P expeditions:
About i2P
impossible2Possible is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the field of
experiential learning. We achieve our mission by directly involving youth in extraordinary
expeditions, and communicating the experience of these expeditions to a larger student
audience through our free web-based education program. i2P has staged successful experiential learning
expeditions to the South Pole, Baffin Island, Sahara Desert and the Amazon Jungle. For more
information please see our website (impossible2possible.com).
For More Information
Matt Howe
i2P Educational Coordinator and Logistics
mhowe@impossible2possible.com
612-508-5555
