Jennifer Stanchfield

In her 20 years as an educator Jennifer Stanchfield has worked as a clinician in treatment centers for children, adults and adolescents, as a teacher, and in the professional training setting. Through these experiences she has developed an extensive repertoire of experiential activities, tools and strategies she brings to her workshops, publications and training sessions. Jen is known for her work helping schools and community programs throughout the country use experiential methods to develop a positive learning environment, increase student engagement, enhance learning outcomes and develop positive assets and social emotional skills.

Along with her work in schools, Jen provides team-building and professional development programs for community organizations, college staff and faculty as well as open enrollment and customized training for counselors, trainers, classroom teachers, college programs, coaches and human resource professionals. She is an instructor at the Southeast Vermont Learning Collaborative, a coach for the Vermont Center for After School Success, and offers open enrollment trainings on teaching and group facilitation at the UNH Browne Center for Innovative Learning.

Jennifer is author of Tips and Tools: The Art of Experiential Group Facilitation and co- author of A Teachable Moment: A Facilitator’s Guide to Activities for Processing, Debriefing, Reviewing, and Reflection along with Jim Cain and Michelle Cummings. She is also creator and regular contributor to the byline “Facilitators Toolbox” published by the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT). She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of New Hampshire in recreational therapy and outdoor education and a Masters of Science in Experiential Education and Educational Leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Consulting Services:

Jennifer offers a holistic approach to training and consulting. Rather than providing a prescriptive curriculum or program, her style as a consultant involves ongoing collaboration with educators and program administrators to develop curriculum and methods that meet the specific needs and goals of their school or program. Providing a combination of staff teambuilding and professional development along with direct service classroom mentoring and coaching sessions leads to the development of sustainable ongoing experiential learning programs and practices that will be part of the school or organization for years to come.

Facilitation and Teaching Tools:

A passion and focus of Jen’s work has been promoting methods to engage learners in meaningful reflection and group dialogue. At the request of the teachers, facilitators and counselors she has worked with she now offers some of these tools as products.

Jen carefully hand selects the items that make up her facilitation tools focusing on usability, quality and aesthetic appeal. She “field tests” the tools regularly in her own work as a facilitator with students and adults. She seeks out locally made sustainable and green materials  such as the lead free pewter charms found in her miniature metaphors kits and the hand made in Vermont hemp bags that hold the “conversation starters”.  All of the Experiential Tools products can be tailored for your specific needs. Larger and smaller quantities and customized assortments are available.