Professional Learning

Professional Learning

Professional learning at the Woodleigh Institute has been designed to provide a continuum of learning for people with different levels of experience and across a range of roles in school, system, and organisational settings. Scroll down to read more and register for upcoming programs.

The 2024 workshop series at the institute has concluded for this year. Check out the upcoming offerings for 2025 below.

Discovery Workshops

  • Target audience: People who are new to the field

  • Focus: Establishing a foundational understanding of the field or topic

  • Content: Core frameworks, concepts, and principles, and an introduction to relevant tools and practices

Exploration Workshops

  • Target audience: People with some experience in the field or in relation to the topic

  • Focus: Deepening understanding and skills

  • Content: Teaching and learning methodologies, professional practice, implementation

Retreats

  • Target audience: People with experience in the field

  • Focus: Deep, holistic experiential learning

  • Content: Leadership development, advanced practice, wellbeing, community building

Access

Please note the following levels of access:

Open: Open access

Network: Available to network members - pre-requisite learning required

Internal: Available to Woodleigh staff only

For some offerings, pre-requisite learning is required, please see the specific program page for further details. Feel free to contact the institute if you have any questions.

A group of people wearing jackets stands near a chicken farm, observing chickens roaming in a grassy field. Two dogs are visible, one standing and one lying near the fence. Trees and a cloudy sky are in the background. There are signs on the fence.
A person giving a presentation in a classroom setting with several attendees seated at tables. There's a laptop and screen displaying presentation slides.
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Regenerative Learning

Facilitators: Kim Shore and Dr Richard Owens

Dates: 30 - 31 May 2025

Locations: Sustainability Learning Center, Hobart, Tasmania

Access: Internal

Duration: 1.5 day


A tranquil garden path lined with lush green plants and trees under a clear blue sky. A broken terracotta pot is visible in the foreground on the right side of the path. Sunlight filters through the leafy canopy.

Exploration Workshops

Hand holding a glowing light bulb surrounded by symbols of renewable energy and sustainability, including solar panels, wind turbines, water, and plants.

Exploring Regenerative Design

Facilitators: Kim Shore and Dr Richard Owens

Dates: 4/9 - 5/9 2025

Location: Woodleigh Institute, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Access: Internal

Duration: 2 days

Diagram showing global challenges faced by young people, including climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, contestation of knowledge, genetic engineering, pandemics, assaults on democracy, the 4th industrial revolution, shifting geopolitical relationships, growing inequality, AI, and global connectivity.

Exploring Systemic Wellbeing

Facilitators: Dan Lukies and Dr Rachel Colla

Dates: 25/6 - 26/6 2025

Location: Woodleigh Institute, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Access: Open

Duration: 2 days


Retreats

Group of people having a meeting at a wooden conference table, with notebooks and pens in hand.

Discovering Middle Leadership

Facilitators: Dr Richard Owens

Dates: tbc

Locations: Woodleigh Institute, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Access: Internal

Duration: 1 day

Illustrated infographic on systems awareness by Dr. Mette Boell. It explores human behavior, generative social fields, and education ecosystems. Visual elements include a person thinking, a systems diagram, and figures interacting. Highlights include phrases like "WTF is going on?", "layers of systems", and "cultivate clarity and kindness." The graphic encourages studying compassionate systems and developing universal human values. Created by Jessamy Gee, 2023.

Systems Leadership Retreat - Asia

Facilitators: tbc

Dates: 2026 dates tbc

Locations: Venue tbc

Access: Network

Duration: 3 days

People sitting around a table covered in brown paper with notes and drawings, discussing how to restructure schools. Various markers and a jar of candies are on the table.

Discovering Complex Competencies

Facilitators: Dr Richard Owens

Dates: tbc

Locations: Woodleigh Institute, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Access: Internal

Duration: 1 day

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Discovering the Regenerative Futures Program

Facilitators: Dr Richard Owens

Dates: 18/3, 26/5, 4/8, 20/10 2025

Locations: Woodleigh Institute, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Access: Open

Duration: 1 day

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A group of people sitting in a circle having a discussion, with visual aids on easels and a video call screen in the background. Participants are engaged in conversation, indicating a collaborative or workshop environment.

Discovering Futures Thinking

Facilitators: Dr Richard Owens

Dates: 1/8/25

Locations: Woodleigh Institute, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Access: Open

Duration: 1 day

Systems Leadership Retreat - Australia

Facilitators: Dr Richard Owens, Mignon Weckert, Jodie Kirchner

Dates: 16/6 - 18/6 2025

Location: Barossa Valley, SA

Access: Open

Duration: 3 days

Discovery Workshops

Exploring Compassionate Systems

Facilitators: James Clapham and Rod Davies

Dates: 12/6 - 13/6 2025

Location: Woodleigh Institute, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Access: Open

Duration: 2 days