As part of our MoE funded PD (click here to read more), we are offering free seminars in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato.

Enrolments for all seminars: please send an email with your names, your centre email, your preferred seminars, times and seminar location to Amy: admin@elp.co.nz

Hamilton

11 October 2012 – Carol Marks
Image of the Child

What happens to our practice and our settings when we truly consider what it means to be a robust and resilient learner - a learner who is a curious explorer of their world. The possibilities are full of surprise as passionate learners take risks, puzzle over, investigate and build working theories. This workshop reflects on powerful images of children as researchers, enabling teachers to stretch their imaginations to build collaborative learning communities where children have the support, inspiration and passion to let them ‘fly’.

8 November 2012 – Gillian Fitzgerald
Environments

‘The space between’ children’s intentions and teachers’ intentions is a collaborative space that thrives on shaping and re-shaping knowledge for a purpose, testing ideas and throwing these into surprising combinations. How can we recognise and plan for that? This seminar looks at how the environment as the third teacher provokes curious exploration, enabling children to work together on meaningful investigations.

7 February 2013 – Kathryn Delany
Pedagogical Leadership: Strengthening Personal Dimensions of Leadership in ECE

Pedagogical leadership is vital to the growth and development of us as teachers of very young children. In this seminar, we will look at pedagogical leadership in practice. How does this impact on the building of relationships within a learning community and strengthen learning and teaching practice?

19 March 2013 – Robyn Lawrence
Companionship

Researchers claim that from birth, and most likely before birth, babies seek the companionship and engagement of others. If this is so, then in what ways can teachers of babies and young children become trusted companions? Does the companionship of another nurture the tendency to take risks, try out new things and thus shorten the gap that exists between uncertainty and courage?

17 April 2013 – Kathryn Delany (for Jo Colbert)
The Language of Learning

In this seminar we will be focussing on how we as teachers can support children’s learning power or the disposition to learn, throughout the curriculum. Guy Claxton refers to Building Learning Power, where children (and adults) feel a growing sense of achievement, and become steadily more resilient, resourceful and reflective... The conversations and language we use when we identify learning can be the vehicle for children and adults to build learning power. I will be drawing on the work of Guy Claxton and Margaret Carr for this seminar to deepen understandings around dispositional learning.

Time: 6pm - 8pm (FULLY BOOKED) - afternoon session cancelled
Venue: Grosvenor Motor Inn & Conference Centre, 165 Ulster Street, Hamilton

1st May – Wendy Lee
Revisiting Learning Stories

Whether you are new to writing Learning Stories or feeling like you need a bit of an update on Learning Stories, then this is the seminar for you! We will be looking at what makes a Learning Story a Learning Story and we’ll be focussing on the key elements of a Learning Story. There will be opportunities for discussion and sharing of your experiences of Learning Story writing.

Time: 3pm - 5pm, repeated from 6pm - 8pm
Venue: Grosvenor Motor Inn & Conference Centre, 165 Ulster Street, Hamilton

Morrinsville

17 October 2012 – Jo Colbert
Revisiting Learning Stories

Whether you are new to writing Learning Stories or feeling like you need a bit of an update on Learning Stories, then this is the seminar for you! We will be looking at what makes a Learning Story a Learning Story and we’ll be focussing on the key elements of a Learning Story. There will be opportunities for discussion and sharing of your experiences of Learning Story writing.

6 November 2012 – Lynn Rupe
Belonging - Turangawaewae - A Place To Stand

Margaret Mead said,  "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

A sense of belonging can change the world or at least the lives of the tamariki within our centres. Let's look at how we create a sense of belonging within our centres for the children, families and teachers and rock the world.  If you have a Learning Story that you want to bring regarding belonging please feel free to do so, we would love to hear what you are doing. 

12 February 2013 – Robyn Lawrence
Social Competence

Building a collaborative community within a socio-cultural framework is not a prescribed policy.

This workshop will explore some of the changes that are required as we move away from a behaviour management paradigm into a social competence paradigm. Helping children to take responsibility for learning with and alongside others in ways that build empathy, fair-mindedness and positive attitudes towards diversity becomes embedded in practice.

It is about teachers sharing power with children, supporting one another and learning and growing together. Individual passions and shared endeavors flourish.

Wise leadership enables these things to become part of the cultural fabric of the setting. Above all social competence is about ensuring that the dignity of children and teachers is protected at all times. 

Taumarunui

20 March 20123– Lorraine Sands
The Language of Learning

We will focus on how we as teachers can support children’s learning power or the disposition to learn, throughout the curriculum. Guy Claxton refers to Building Learning Power, where children (and adults) feel a growing sense of achievement, and become steadily more resilient, resourceful and reflective... The conversations and language we use when we identify learning can be the vehicle for children and adults to build learning power. The aim of this seminar is to deepen understandings around dispositional learning.

Te Awamutu

14 March 2013 – Kathryn Delany
On the Mat - Wrestling with the BIG ONE

“Mat times”, “Group times”, “Circle times”, “Meeting times” and “Whānau times” feature largely in our early learning centre programmes and fill the curriculum.

This workshop will wrestle with ideas on teacher’s learning intentions and possible learning outcomes for children.

18 April 2013 – Tania Bullick (instead of Wendy Lee)
Social Competence

Building a collaborative community within a socio-cultural framework is not a prescribed policy.

This workshop will explore some of the changes that are required as we move away from a behaviour management paradigm into a social competence paradigm. Helping children to take responsibility for learning with and alongside others in ways that build empathy, fair-mindedness and positive attitudes towards diversity becomes embedded in practice.

It is about teachers sharing power with children, supporting one another and learning and growing together. Individual passions and shared endeavors flourish.

Wise leadership enables these things to become part of the cultural fabric of the setting. Above all social competence is about ensuring that the dignity of children and teachers is protected at all times. 

Time: 3pm - 5pm, repeated from 6pm - 8pm
Venue: i-SITE Visitor Centre, 1 Gorst Avenue, Te Awamutu

22 May 2013 – Jo Colbert
The Language of Learning

We will focus on how we as teachers can support children’s learning power or the disposition to learn, throughout the curriculum. Guy Claxton refers to Building Learning Power, where children (and adults) feel a growing sense of achievement, and become steadily more resilient, resourceful and reflective... The conversations and language we use when we identify learning can be the vehicle for children and adults to build learning power. The aim of this seminar is to deepen understandings around dispositional learning.

Time: 3pm - 5pm, repeated from 6pm - 8pm
Venue: i-SITE Visitor Centre, 1 Gorst Avenue, Te Awamutu

Whakatane

23rd October 2012– Lynn Rupe
Social Competence

Building a collaborative community within a socio-cultural framework is not a prescribed policy. This workshop will explore some of the changes that are required as we move away from a behaviour management paradigm into a social competence paradigm. Helping children to take responsibility for learning with and alongside others in ways that build empathy, fair-mindedness and positive attitudes towards diversity becomes embedded in practice.

It is about teachers sharing power with children, supporting one another and learning and growing together. Individual passions and shared endeavors flourish. Wise leadership enables these things to become part of the cultural fabric of the setting. Above all social competence is about ensuring that the dignity of children and teachers is protected at all times. 

19 November 2012 – Kathryn Delany
The Language of Learning

In this seminar we will be focussing on how we as teachers can support children’s learning power or the disposition to learn, throughout the curriculum. Guy Claxton refers to Building Learning Power, where children (and adults) feel a growing sense of achievement, and become steadily more resilient, resourceful and reflective... The conversations and language we use when we identify learning can be the vehicle for children and adults to build learning power. I will be drawing on the work of Guy Claxton and Margaret Carr for this seminar to deepen understandings around dispositional learning.

26 February 2013 – Robyn Lawrence
Companionship

Researchers claim that from birth, and most likely before birth, babies seek the companionship and engagement of others. If this is so, then in what ways can teachers of babies and young children become trusted companions? Does the companionship of another nurture the tendency to take risks, try out new things and thus shorten the gap that exists between uncertainty and courage?