2026 Formative Education Summer Institute:
Educating for Wholeness, Purpose, and Community
June 26-28, 2026 (in-person) and July 7, 2026 (virtual; tentative)
Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development
The Institute is a comprehensive three-day in-person professional development program designed for PreK-12 educators and school leaders. Hosted by the Transformative Education Lab (TLab), the Institute builds on Boston College鈥檚 commitment to whole-person education. This program equips teachers, administrators, and other school professionals to nurture both academic achievement and the interconnected social, emotional, ethical, and spiritual growth of students.
The Institute positions educators at the forefront of a growing national movement dedicated toeducating for meaning, purpose, and service. Our comprehensive curriculum is structured to introduce participants to an iterative process of learning, enactment, reflection, and redesign, while intentionally fostering collaboration, reflection, and community among peers.
What is formative education?
Formative education goes beyond academic achievement to shaping the whole person. Every lesson, activity, and relationship in school plays a role in helping students develop across multiple dimensions. As educators, you have many opportunities to engage students not only in academic learning, but also in becoming thoughtful, compassionate, and purpose-driven individuals.
The Institute focuses on advancing the following key principles of whole-person education:
- Wholeness: Integrating intellectual, social, emotional, ethical, and spiritualdimensions of learning. Participants will explore innovative pedagogies and explore curricula designed to facilitate intellectual, social, emotional, ethical, and spiritual development. An integrated, holistic approach allows educators to nurture curiosity, character, and self-awareness.
- Purpose: Reframing education as a process of formation for both students and educators. It connects student development, teaching practice, and educators鈥� vocational purpose, moving beyond the transmission of knowledge toward meaningful personal and professional growth.
- Community: Building authentic relationships and communities that nurture growth and belonging for students and educators. The Institute emphasizes intentional cultivation of communities that foster sustained, collaborative engagement as a way to strengthen teaching and support a shared commitment to holistic education.
The program equips teachers, administrators, and other professionals to cultivate academic achievement alongside students鈥� social, emotional, ethical, and spiritual growth. Successful participants will take part in various activities and workshops, including Co-Design Labs, where they begin building curriculum and instruction aligned to formative education. They will also discuss alternative forms of assessment, such as portfolios and reflective tools.
Learning Outcomes:
Participants will be able to:
- Explore formative education, deepening their understanding of the key principles of wholeness, purpose, and community.
- Integrate Jesuit values鈥攍ike cura personalis, magis, reflection, and discernment鈥攊nto practice.
- Develop practical tools to practice formative education in their classrooms and schools.
- Design and implement formative activities in their own educational context.
- Engage in collaborative inquiry about formation.
Participants will receive a Certificate of Completion to recognize their successful participation in the Institute.
Reading & Reflection
Participants are encouraged to read and begin reflecting on the following foundational texts prior to arrival at the Institute. [ on Google Drive]
- Boston College. (2014). A Pocket Guide to Jesuit Education
- Wortham, S. et al. (2020). Educating for comprehensive well-being
The Institute will include the following session formats and modes:
- Faculty talks
- Practitioner panel
- Interactive workshops
- Curriculum co-design labs
- Facilitated dialogues and guided reflection
- Peer collaboration
听
Institute Culmination
Design Workshopping (In-Person on Day 3)
Participants present well-developed draft plans, receive feedback from peers and facilitators, and refine their work.
Virtual Capstone Presentations
Participants deliver finalized implementation plans one week after the in-person Institute, reinforcing accountability and shared learning.
Friday听 听 听 听 June 26, 2026听 听听
听
8:30 AM听
Breakfast听
9:00-9:30 AM
Welcome Remarks + Orientation
Deoksoon Kim,听Director, Transformative Education Lab, Boston College
TLab Team:
Zixi Li,听Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Jieun Sung, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Drina Yatsu, Ph.D. Candidate and Graduate Research Assistant
Katrina Borowiec, Research Head
Kiki Wang, Ph.D. Student and Graduate Volunteer
Zhongyu Cheng, Volunteer Research Associate
Alex Cho, Undergraduate Volunteer
9:30-10:30 AM
Dean's Welcome Lecture: What is Education For?
Stanton Wortham, Inaugural Charles F. Donovan, S.J., Dean, Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College
10:30-10:45 AM听
Break
10:45-12:00 PM
Session 1:听Educating for Purpose and Formation at 海角社区 and Beyond
Chris Higgins, Chair, Department of Formative Education, Boston College
12:00-1:00 PM
Lunch
1:00-1:15 PM
Group Walk to The Hatchery (245 Beacon)
1:15-3:15 PM
Session 2: Community-Building + Hands-On Formative Experience @ The Hatchery Makerspaces (245 Beacon)
Brian Reeves, Design and Prototyping Manager, The Hatchery Makerspaces, Boston College
Lucas Ewing, Design and Prototyping Manager, The Hatchery Makerspaces, Boston College
TLab Team
3:15-3:45 PM
Walk & Talk Feedback Session
Throughout the Institute, pairs or small groups of participants engage in recurring structured reflection,conversation, and workshopping sessions.
Tony Bryk, President Emeritus, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
3:45-4:00 PM
Group Walk to Campion
4:00-5:15 PM
Session 3: Wholeness, Formation, and the Digital Age
Marina Bers, Augustus Long Professor of Education and Director, Developmental Technologies (DevTech) Research Group, Boston College
5:15-6:00 PM听
Debrief + Reflection + Day 1 "Pulse Check"
Each day concludes with a 鈥減ulse check鈥�: What insights (if any) were gleaned from the day? What are you thinking about? What do you think needs further discussion or clarification?
Tony Bryk, President Emeritus, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Deoksoon Kim, Director, TLab, Boston College
TLab Team
6:00 PM
Dinner
Saturday听 听 听 听June 27, 2026
听
8:30 AM
Breakfast
9:00-9:20 AM
Welcome + Belonging Icebreaker
Deoksoon Kim, Director, Transformative Education Lab (TLab), Boston College
TLab Team
9:20-9:40 AM
Dean's Welcome: The Practice of Formative Education
Stanton Wortham, Inaugural Charles F. Donovan, S.J., Dean, Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College
9:40-10:40 AM
Session 1: Cultivating Community, Collaboration, and Belonging
Sue Shea, 海角社区 鈥�76, Secretary, Boston College Board of Trustees; Founder and President, Dancing with the Students
10:40-10:50 AM
Break
10:50-12:30 PM
Session 2:
Practitioner Panel: Formative Practices in Action
Deoksoon Kim, moderator
Tony Bryk, discussant
2025 Formative Education Grant Awardees:
Mike Gardner and Katie McKiernan, Boston College High School, Boston, MA: 鈥淚ndividualized Formation Plans鈥�
Elizabeth Loehr, Sacred Hearts Academy, Honolulu, HI: 鈥淔rom Framework to Formation: A UDL-Danielson Journey for Teacher Growth in an All-Girls Catholic School鈥�
Andrea Serdio L贸pez, Curley K-8, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA: 鈥淏eyond the Steps鈥�
Victoria Smith, Blessed Sacrament School, Walpole, MA: 鈥淐ompassion by Design: Inclusive App Creation for Empathy and Impact鈥�
12:30-2:00 PM
Lunch + Campus Tour
2:00-2:45 PM
Session 3: Lesson Plan + Design Modeling
So Lim Kim, Assistant Professor, Department of Adolescence Education and TESOL, SUNY New Paltz
2:45-3:15 PM
Design Lab
Deoksoon Kim, Director, TLab, Boston College
Katrina Borowiec, Research Head, TLab, Boston College
TLab Team
3:15-4:15 PM
Session 4:
Seeing the Whole: Holistic Design Thinking for Deeper Learning
Tony Bryk, President Emeritus, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
4:15-4:30 PM
Break
4:30-5:15 PM
Co-Design Lab
Deoksoon Kim, Director, TLab, Boston College
Katrina Borowiec, Research Head, TLab, Boston College
TLab Team
5:15-5:35 PM
Walk & Talk Feedback Session
Jieun Sung, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, TLab, Boston College
5:35-6:00 PM
Day 2 鈥淧ulse Check鈥�
Deoksoon Kim, Director, TLab, Boston College
Jieun Sung, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, TLab, Boston College
TLab Team
6:00 PM
Dinner
Sunday听 听 听 June 27, 2026
9:00 AM
Breakfast
9:30-11:30 AM
Co-Design Lab: Design Workshopping Session
Deoksoon Kim, Director, TLab, Boston College
TLab Team
11:30 AM-12:00 PM
Walk & Talk Feedback Session
Megan Satterthwaite-Freiman, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Education
12:00-12:30 PM
Wrap-Up + Community Commitment-Setting + Day 3 鈥淧ulse Check鈥�
Deoksoon Kim, Director, TLab, Boston College
TLab Team
12:30 PM
Lunch-to-Go + Departure