Half Day Workshop - Townsville

Presenter: Stephen Gallen

Topic: Wondering with children - A mindset for curiosity, creativity and inquiry.

It is easy to see creativity as something ’special’ and ‘extraordinary’ : something outside the everyday.  Instead what if creativity was a mindset?  Something that involved a way of approaching things with curiosity, wonder and a sense of inquiry?  Not just for children but for educators as well. What possibilities open up when we transform our programming and planning and bring a creative sense of curiosity and inquiry to our curriculum? This session will use stories of practice to ground an exploration of key strategies and processes that can be used in all contexts. 

Biography Stephen has over 30 years experiences in ECEC, with more than 20 years as a contact educator/teacher.  He has taught across all service types including long day care, in home care, school age care, primary school and preschool.  He has been supporting educators in their professional development since 1999. He is especially interested in social justice in Early Childhood, and in the ways educators and children can use documentation to make meaning of the time they spend together.  

Presenter: Margaret-Anne Carter

Topic: Be Intentional ... Behaviour Change is on its way!

In this session we engage in a behaviour audit to identify what behaviours are and what behaviours are not working in your learning and teaching spaces.  An audit is a catalyst to begin a process of change, to consider possibilities and plan creative ways forward.  In this workshop we will consider three dimensions - Dimension 1 - Behaviour teaching Dimension 2 – Behaviour coaching Dimension 3 – Behaviour modelling Participants are encouraged to be intentional, to formulate plans for action, translating learnings from this workshop into daily practices.

Biography I am an enthusiastic and ethical leader who is passionate about quality educational outcomes for this generation of children, their educators, and families.   My professional background includes – Early childhood teacher, school counsellor, special education consultant, behaviour change specialist, education consultant, writer, researcher, and academic. I have a broad knowledge base and depth of experience specific to young children’s social behaviour, with an intentional focus on social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and behaviour teaching. Throughout my career I have worked in this space, with children, educators, families, community-wide services, and organisations – locally, nationally and internationally.

Presenter: Caroline Fewster

Topic: How can the early childhood learning environment enhance children’s social and emotional competence?

An opportunity to expand our vision what may be possible. The way we design environments can be closely explored with children and educators with three key aspects of a learning environment with a goal of enabling a pro-social environment.

• The physical environment – the organisation and aesthetics for learning experiences.
• Interactional – the social interactions between children and other children and children and educators.
• Routines and transitions – the timing of the day (the temporal features).

The possibilities in this professional learning workshop are designed for educators to choose practices for their particular service in the context of their community.

Biography Before developing Bond University’s Bachelor of Children’s Services’ program Caroline enjoyed a long and varied career working starting as a pre-school teacher in ACT progressing to advisory and consultancy roles with regional and government education authorities. Her experience encompasses all aspects of early childhood learning from classroom teaching to managing services and from educating future teachers to consulting and developing professional development programs. She consults for a range of organisations, local state and the Commonwealth government offering early childhood educators a wealth of real-world knowledge combined with high level qualifications and superior teaching skills, developing customised professional development programs.