Quality of Life Institute, Inc.

a FALL Webinar Series: enriching learning environments with sensory solutions

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~ communicating  ~  creating  ~  connecting  ~

A free webinar series (English with Spanish translation) is offered by Quality of Life Institute, Inc., in partnership with INCLUSI of California. This series is a public service outreach for community awareness of possibilities and resources for parents, educators, and other caregivers and mentors who impact the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Research is collecting increasing evidence that emphasizes how multi-sensory integration in learning environments adds value to everyday perceptual tasks, and is showing how interactions within multi-sensory environments ‘increase neural plasticity and enhance one’s ability to learn  (Shams & Seitz, 2008).

Our hope is that all of us, including Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and their families and mentors/teachers can thrive in their communities. A Sensory Solutions Learning Framework supports each learner’s well-being and offers meaningful direction for the facilitator. It’s applications achieve a quality-of-life outcome by nurturing the relational, social-emotional foundation for learning, expanding from this center to cultivate a climate of reciprocation in the learning environment.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER for any or all four of the go-to-webinars.

PART 1: Saturday, September 18, 2021, 10am/pst

PART 2: Saturday, October 9, 2021, 10am/pst

PART 3: Saturday, November 6, 2021, 10am/pst

PART 4: Saturday, November 18, 2021, 10am/pst

Gentle Teaching International Conference 2019

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Ghent, Belgium is the destination for this year’s Gentle Teaching International Conference, September 17, 18, and 19. Quality of Life Institute, Inc. will be represented. Executive Director Dr. Anthony M. McCrovitz with Curriculum and Communications Coordinator Mara Hawks, will present The Relation in Support and Care: In The Direction of Gentle Teaching.

The relation dynamic is at the heart of a Gentle Teaching practice, cultivating relationships with others that accelerate awareness, generate transformation, and create a culture of hope. 

With an understanding of how to use our tools (hands, eyes, words, presence) for creating mentoring steps that move us in the direction of Gentle Teaching, one can cultivate mindfulness for turning support and care toward relationship-building, with mutual benefits for each one’s discovery of potentials.

If there is no safety, there will be no learning. -Dr. John McGee, 1995

Learn how to map out mentoring steps with a Personal Teaching Planner that can be used for charting the course, incorporating elements of companionship and quality of life values. 

The teacher-centered Personal Teaching Planner supports the mentoring role. The Planner is a template for constructing a Gentle Teaching framework, prompting self-reflection, valuing, and meaningful planning of priorities and goals, along with the formulation of practical dialogue for successfully integrating the learning processes.

Every framework of Gentle Teaching uses the same “materials”for building the relationship, but the content of value and meaning differs for each one, as this is based on the unique needs and goals for each Individual or group with whom we are mentoring a spirit of gentleness.

 

 

Gentle Teaching Workshop Days at SHARE Foundation, May 2019

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Registration is open for our annual Gentle Teaching workshop days at the SHARE Foundation, May 21, 22, 23. This is a 3-day learning event, held at the St. Timothy Center on the grounds of the SHARE Foundation in LaPorte, Indiana. This event is produced by the Quality of Life Institute, in collaboration with the SHARE Foundation and the agency of Globe Star.

LEARN MORE HERE!

We will be welcoming back Dr. Anthony M. McCrovitz, director of Quality of Life Institute, executive director and co-founder of Globe Star, president of Indiana Professional Counseling Foundation (IPCF) and former president of Indiana Counseling Association (ICA), and Maurits Eijgendaal from the Netherlands (former president of the Gentle Teaching International organization, current president of the International Snoezelen-MSE (Multi-Sensory Environments) Association (ISNA-MSE.org), and a leader and manager of social organizations for more than 35 years.

A foundational understanding of Gentle Teaching will be presented, in its philosophy, practical planning for interactions, and essential applications for mentoring a spirit of gentleness.

In the direction of Gentle Teaching, relationship-building centers each step with four pillars: safe, loved, loving, engaged. This is at the heart of a Gentle Teaching practice.

“Change for the better (quality of life) can occur when one can access their right to self-determination. Mentoring a spirit of gentleness implements learning processes that engage exploration, discovery, and the emergence of one’s unique voice and narrative.

When this is recognized and supported, one is given responsibility for their own life, with the invitation to grow and move beyond limitations.” ~Dr. Anthony M. McCrovitz

Our Location

In the heart of a small town in midwestern America, our office is found in the historic district of Chesterton, Indiana, a part of what is known along a stretch of Lake Michigan as the Duneland area. We connect and work with others around the world.

621 Broadway, Chesterton, IN, 46304, USA

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CLUBHOUSE Program

PICO Art Books Project & Fundraiser

Your donation is greatly appreciated and will be used to help fund the bilingual PICO ART BOOKS PROJECT (click the link to learn more). This is a collaborative effort sponsored by Quality of Life Institute, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, with the The CLUBHOUSE program that supports the mental health of its members in a restorative environment, providing resources and opportunities for personal growth and community engagement.

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We’d love to hear about your project plans or proposals relating to Gentle Teaching and quality of life research.

Tell us all about it using our contact form.

 

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