.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
Fellowship Snapshot
Cohort 4.0
This report presents the journey of Cohort 4 of the Earth Education Fellowship. Explore snapshots of their journeys as education leaders and their passion projects with children. Discover their learning experiences throughout the fellowship, capturing growth, purpose, and impact shaped by collaboration, reflection, and meaningful engagement.
How do people who care deeply about nature grow into confident educators and leaders?
The Earth Educators Fellowship aimed to understand how emerging educators develop and strengthen their teaching practice. In particular we examined how ideas become programmes, how teaching methods evolve, and how educator identity takes shape over time.
Fellows used the first iteration of the YouCAN Learning Pathways to map their development across the fellowship year. The framework helps educators trace how their knowledge, practice, and reflections evolve as they design and implement learning experiences.
Four Dimensions of Educator Growth
Educator development was analysed using multiple sources of evidence gathered across the fellowship year. Hover over each dimension to learn more.
Turning Passion into Projects
Fellows' general commitment to nature expanded into work grounded in specific learner groups and places, using school campuses, wetlands, farms, or lakes as learning sites. Fellows who anchored their work in a clear local context were generally able to translate ideas into more stable educational projects.
Internal Motivation becoming place-based educational work
Methodological Maturity
Across the cohort, teaching methods became more intentional. Fellows increasingly used biodiversity walks, storytelling, creative arts, reflective dialogue, and student-led exploration as core learning tools. Practices such as systematic documentation, baseline assessments, and tracking learning evidence were still developing.
Teaching evolving from activities to thoughtful learning design
Reflexive Navigation
Many fellows described a shift in how they approached teaching. Instead of trying to control every session, they began adapting to children’s curiosity and responses in real time. Reflections also show growing awareness of their authority as educators, including questioning assumptions about expertise and classroom control.
Educators developing voice, reflection and confidence in decision-making
Sustainability & Scale
While fellows developed meaningful educational approaches, many were still exploring how this work could sustain itself over time. Questions around funding, paid engagement, and institutional support appeared frequently, even as fellows emphasised depth of engagement with children rather than rapid expansion.
Thinking about long-term impact, livelihood and program continuity
Across the cohort, leadership often appeared through practice rather than position.
We saw fellows...
design their own learning experiences
facilitate inquiry instead of delivering fixed answers
anchor learning in local ecosystems and communities
As they seek continued connection and
sustained support beyond the fellowship, they ask for...
Passion Project Sustainability
Funding Pathways
Connection with Educational Institutions
Credits
Aarathi Subramanian
Data Analytics & Measurement
Harini M S
Visual Design and Content Strategy
Sridhar Raja
Editing & Web Content Support
Ramakrishnan Muthulingam
Videography & Video Editing
Sanath Kumar
Video Editing
Aswathi Asokan & Bushra Asif
Documentation & Photo Curation