What happens when educators are seen not just as implementers of curriculum, but as designers of transformation?
That’s the question we found ourselves exploring—intentionally and organically—during a recent Thinkering Fellowship session with Dr. Mara Huber, founder of the PEARL Project and longtime leader in experiential education, civic engagement, and international partnership development.
And while we expected inspiration, what we witnessed was something else entirely:
- Fellows being activated.
- Capstones coming into focus.
- A framework for experiential learning coming to life in real time.
This wasn’t a presentation. It was an invitation for innovation.
From Lecture to Activation
The session began with the usual discussion of impact and opportunity - but Dr. Huber took the mic and invited Thinkering Fellows into a new model for education—one where college is not the ultimate destination, and experiences are “the new coin of the realm.”
And that line landed.
Suddenly, Fellows weren’t just listening. They were reimagining. Repositioning. Reframing their work—not as curriculum units, but as opportunities to leverage care into curiosity, and curiosity into community-powered change.
The PEARL Framework in Motion
Dr. Huber introduced PEARL as both a philosophy and a guide for educators and students to design meaningful, experiential learning journeys:
P – Prepare
E – Engage
A – Add Value
R – Reflect
L – Leverage
She explained how this framework has helped university students build globally recognized initiatives—and how it could be translated into middle school, high school, and community-based settings just as powerfully.
But the most powerful moment?
Watching our Fellows begin to map their own Capstones onto the PEARL arc.
We saw:
A virtual reality storytelling project that could invite students to engage with Indigenous history and earn digital credentials
An idea for an outdoor leadership course that suddenly had a way to connect kayaking with academic outcomes
A health equity initiative gaining clarity around what it means to “add value” to community health work
These weren’t abstract conversations. They were immediate applications of Mara’s framework.
What Makes This Different?
Traditional PD asks teachers to listen, take notes, and go back to business as usual.
The Thinkering Fellowship says:
What are you building—and how can we help you build it?
This session with Dr. Huber was a model of that ethos:
Fellowship mentors didn’t just talk. They connected.
Tools didn’t replace— they scaffolded.
Fellows didn’t just absorb—they activated.
It was a reminder that when you treat educators as collaborators, not consumers, you unlock something profound.
What Comes Next
We’re continuing to integrate PEARL into:
Fellowship Capstone design
AI prompts in ThinkerBot
Our research collaborations with university partners
New digital credential pilots focused on experience-based learning
Because this isn’t just a framework. It’s a mirror—showing us what’s possible when students, educators, and communities co-design learning that matters.
“Curiosity rooted in care is more powerful.”
— Dr. Mara Huber
We agree. And we’re building a fellowship around that truth.
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🎧 Explore the previous Thinkering Minds episode on PEARL with Director of Experiential Learning Network at University at Buffalo, Christina Heath.
