The Institute for Purpose-Driven Education
Join us to explore how connection, academic rigour and purpose transform student learning
Dates:
August 26 and 27, 2026
Price:
$425 (Register by Fri., June 19)
Location:
Pickering College (16945 Bayview Ave., Newmarket, ON)
Format:
Two-day immersive institute
Daily Schedule:
- Optional breakfast at 8:30
- Core program 9:00 to 3:30
- Optional informal social (Day 1)
What Is Included:
- Breakfast and lunch each day
- A copy of Connections, Academics and Purpose
- Reflection materials
- Facilitated design studio sessions
- Implementation planning template
Cohort Size:
Enrolment is limited to support in-depth conversation and collaborative design.
Strengthening connection. Deepening academics. Clarifying purpose.
Join educators from public and independent schools for a two-day immersive experience exploring how relationships, academic rigour, and authentic purpose can work together to deepen student learning.
Hosted at Pickering College, participants will engage in collaborative design studios, experience purpose-built learning environments including West Lake House and Blue & Silver Farm, and take thoughtful steps toward shaping purposeful learning in their own classrooms.
Designed intentionally for late August, the Institute supports meaningful preparation for the year ahead.
A Two-Day Professional Learning Experience
The Institute for Purpose-Driven Education is a two-day professional learning experience grounded in practice, reflection, and collaborative design.
Participants learn inside a working school community. The experience combines structured dialogue, faculty case studies, guided site visits, and protected design time.
The goal is not to deliver a finished solution in two days. The goal is to support educators in strengthening alignment between connection, academic depth, and purpose in ways that fit their own context.
What Participants Will Do
- Reflect on how connection, academics, and purpose show up in their current practice
- Visit innovative learning spaces designed to support collaboration and applied learning
- Hear from Pickering College faculty integrating purpose-driven learning across disciplines
- Engage in collaborative design studios grounded in real classroom constraints
- Take steps toward shaping a lesson, unit, or pilot for the upcoming school year
- Outline practical next steps appropriate to their own setting
The emphasis is thoughtful movement forward rather than sweeping change.
The Guiding Framework
The Institute is informed by the work of Dr. Cinde Lock and her Connections, Academics, Purpose framework. Her work explores how meaningful learning grows when strong relationships, academic depth, and authentic purpose are intentionally aligned. Throughout the Institute, participants will consider how:
- Connections strengthen engagement through relationships and community context
- Academics maintain intellectual challenge and curriculum integrity
- Purpose invites students to apply learning in meaningful and contributive ways
The framework is not presented as a prescribed program. It serves as a lens for reflection and design. Deeper engagement with these ideas unfolds within the workshop experience itself.
Learn more about Dr. Lock’s work at cindelock.com.
Connections, Academics and Purpose
A copy is included with your registration!
As part of the experience, each participant will receive a copy of Connections, Academics and Purpose: Designing the Future of School by Dr. Cinde Lock.
Grounded in the belief that education should connect academic rigour with meaning, contribution, and real-world relevance, the book extends many of the ideas explored throughout the Institute experience.
Learning Spaces
West Lake House
West Lake House is Pickering College’s new academic hub. The 50,000 square foot space was designed to reflect contemporary approaches to teaching and learning, with flexible classrooms, collaborative learning areas, science labs, a makerspace, arts spaces, a 600-seat auditorium, and a library. It is also home to 102.7 CHOP FM.
Design studios and faculty showcases will take place within these flexible learning environments, allowing participants to experience how space can support connection, academic rigour, and purposeful work.
Blue & Silver Farm
Participants will also visit Blue & Silver Farm, Pickering College’s 75-acre sustainability learning environment. The farm serves as a living classroom where students engage in systems thinking, environmental stewardship, and community-connected projects.
The visit invites reflection on how place and context can deepen purposeful learning in any school setting.
Meet Your Facilitators
Julia Hunt
Hi, I’m Julia Hunt, Assistant Head of School for Strategic Initiatives at Pickering College.
I help with the design and implementation of new programs and initiatives, auxiliary programs and the strategic development of our school farm.
A large part of my focus is on building partnerships that give students real-world opportunities to apply what they learn.
Joshua Armstrong
I’m Joshua Armstrong, Director of Teaching and Learning at Pickering College.
I support the growth of innovative teaching and learning across the school, helping develop programs and experiences that connect students with authentic, real-world opportunities.
My work focuses on experiential education, community partnerships, leadership development, sustainability initiatives, and helping students apply their learning in meaningful ways both inside and outside the classroom.
Niki Mehta
I'm Niki Mehta, an educator, maker, and experiential learning leader at Pickering College.
I design learning experiences that blend technology, empathy, design, and community partnership, helping students tackle real-world challenges through purposeful creation.
My work spans robotics, maker education, sustainable design, and social innovation, with a focus on empowering students as changemakers.