Inspired Experiences: Elevating Learning Beyond the Classroom
For many schools, experiential learning has long been confined to a familiar rhythm—annual excursions, adventure weeks, and field trips that offer a welcome break but often fall short of their transformative potential. At Inspire Citizens, co-founder Aaron Moniz alongside facilitators like Aimee Meditz, Director of Inspired Experiences, have been asking a vital question: what would be the impact if we unlocked the full potential of experiential learning?
Experienced international educator, Aimee Meditz, enjoys working with schools to strengthen experiential education (image supplied)
“Inspired Experiences” emerged as a direct answer to a challenge voiced by international educators worldwide. “Representatives of nearly every school we speak to say the same thing,” Aaron explains. Schools often say, “‘We kind of have service on our Week Without Walls trips, but it’s usually volunteerism, or sometimes even harmful service. We wish we could do more—but we don’t have the capacity.’”
This is a clear call for support: schools are eager to realign these excursions with their missions, but they are often at a loss when it comes to bridging the gap between good intentions and impactful outcomes.
The Why: Agency, Empowerment, and Sustainable Impact
Aimee, an international school leader turned Inspire Citizens facilitator, articulates the heart of the matter: “I get super excited about kids doing things with their learning that even their teachers have never done—things that are impactful, meaningful, sustainable, and truly needed by a community.”
For Aimee, this transcends idealism to speak to something more essential. “Many students, and adults too, feel anxious and powerless in today’s world. They think, ‘Maybe someday I’ll be able to help—if I have enough money or education’” she explains. “But I believe even a third grader can make an impact. That’s the power of experiential learning when it’s done right”.
That’s where Inspired Experiences enter with purpose. Designed to meet United Nations SDG 4.7—global citizenship and sustainable development—these programs help students move from learning about the world to engaging with it. The aim? To develop not just knowledge, but a sense of agency. As Aimee puts it, “These students walk away thinking, ‘I matter. My community matters. I can’t just watch. I have to do something—and I know how.’”
The How: From Audit to Action
The Inspired Experiences model offers a flexible, multi-tiered framework:
1. Onsite Experiences: Directly facilitated by Inspire Citizens, these include high-impact experiences such as:
Eco-Photography: Mindfulness and Deep Ecology through Nature Photography
Out of the Blocks: Community Storytelling and Digital Media Experiences
60 Seconds to Change the World: Film Festival and Digital Advocacy
2. Trusted Collaborators: As a well-established and networked organization, Inspire Citizens connects schools with vetted service providers, like World Volunteer, who are trained in IC’s best practice service and sustainability pedagogy.
3. Value-Add Consulting: Experienced Inspire Citizens facilitators help schools redesign their own existing experiences to better align with learning goals (resonating more fully with a school’s mission, vision and values; fulfilling interdisciplinary unit design, project-based learning, inquiry-based learning goals, IB - CAS, Service as Action, or Collaborative Sciences Project alignment). Importantly, this extended collaboration includes coordinating directly with service providers so all parties are involved in the integrated design and delivery of programming.
Aimee describes this third approach as “applied professional development.” Teachers don’t just receive a set of instructions; they collaborate on the design and execution. “We’re not showing up to run the show,” she says. “In accordance with the school’s preferences, we facilitate effective planning with school leaders and tool up the teachers so they are confidently able to run the experience. That’s what makes our work stick”.
Regardless of the preferred framework, the process often begins with an audit—whether self-initiated or prompted by accreditation demands. Schools assess how well their missions are reflected in real student experiences. From there, IC works with educators and administrators to co-create learning that is both rigorous and relevant.
A Case in Point: American International School of Dhaka
One standout example is the American International School of Dhaka (AISD) in Bangladesh. Facing the challenge of aligning their well-established Week Without Walls trip with the International Baccalaureate’s Collaborative Sciences Project, AISD turned to Inspire Citizens.
“The trip was already great,” Aimee explains, “but it didn’t support the science project goals. So we helped them reimagine it.” Working with their long-time trip vendor, IC guided a transition which inspired them to bring in soil, water, and biodiversity specialists to enrich the students’ scientific inquiry. “They collected real data, interacted with experts in the field, and applied their learning to genuine environmental questions. It was exciting to see it come alive.”
Aaron is in full alignment with the capacity-building perspective. “This wasn’t just about making the trip better. It became a meaningful, inquiry-driven experience that ticked every box for the IB Collaborative Sciences Project—and it was more memorable for the students. Now that it’s built, they don’t need us next year. We’ve shifted our focus to another grade level trip. That’s our goal: to work ourselves out of a job”.
Lasting Value: Sustainable Structures, Not One-Off Solutions
Inspired Experiences are not quick fixes. They are invitations to lasting change. “We don’t aim to be an annual vendor,” Aimee says. “We aim to build a culture. We want schools to say, ‘This is the way we do things here,’ long after we’re gone.”
From initial brainstorming to post-trip responses, Aimee’s specialty is to be a thought partner for educators seeking to improve the impact of experiential learning at their schools. (image supplied)
What makes this possible is IC’s commitment to co-creation and capacity-building. The result? More than a memorable week—it’s a structural shift in how a school thinks about learning, leadership, and community engagement.
As Aaron reflects, “There are lots of organizations offering trips. But we’re not selling a product—we’re co-creating a solution, tailored to each school’s mission and context. That’s what makes it real.”
A Call to Action
For schools seeking to elevate their experiential learning, this is a timely invitation to avoid settling for the status quo. Whether schools are auditing for accreditation, launching a new initiative, or just sensing that more is possible—Inspired Experiences are ready to join in the journey by taking a lead role in supporting:
Design inquiry or driving questions
Itinerary alignment with inquiry focus
Preparation of pre-learning tied to trip goals and collaboration
Development of meaningful reflection opportunities
Facilitation of post-trip sharing to highlight learning and impact
Learn more about transforming school trips into Inspired Experiences
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