Playful Learning: Promoting​ ​Children’s​ ​Creative​ ​Learning​ ​through​ ​Play

When

14 Jun 2018 - 15 Jun 2018
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Australia/Brisbane

Where

Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise (exact venue to be advised), QLD

Event Tag

Playful Learning is a workshop aimed at supporting educators in infusing creative play experiences into the classroom.  This workshop is a hands-on exploration by participants of their own creativity, and a variety of resources, tools, ideas, and exercises to translate creative play experiences into your own educational settings.  This workshop focuses on how creative experiences drive learning, with a special focus on problem solving and social interactions. Participants will learn about materials and the learning environment as factors in children’s playful, exploratory learning.

Objectives
Upon successful completion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the benefits of play for children’s overall development, with a focus on creative and social development.
  • Reflect on how one’s own playful experience inform classroom curricular planning
  • Analyze materials and physical spaces as part of curating playful experiences for children’s learning
  • Understand the role of the adult in playful learning, including observation, reflection, support, and planning.

Outline
Day 1:

  • What is playful learning?  Defining playful learning and exploring the benefits for all areas of development.
  • Exploring materials and playful learning environments through hands-on explorations.
  • Choice Wonder, and Delight: exploring the factors that lead to focused, playful engagement in learning
  • The role of play in social development

Day 2:

  • Adding structure:  planning for playful early academic experiences
  • The role of the adult in playful learning: teacher as facilitator, playmate, curator, and documenter
  • Creating playful lessons, activities, and opportunities within the structure of your learning environment
  • Sharing playful learning with stakeholders: parents, families, teachers, and the learning community

Trainer’s Profile
Allie P., M.S., is an early childhood educator from Washington state, USA.  She holds her B.S. in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education from New York University, as well as her M.S. in Early Childhood Education/Child Development from the Erikson Institute in Chicago. She is an experienced early childhood educator, having spent ten years teaching children 0-8 in a variety of educational settings.  Her personal curiosities have brought her to visit learning environments around the world, including forest Kindergartens, children’s museums, and the schools of Reggio Emilia.  She believes that child-directed play is a powerful learning tool, and spends her time writing about early childhood education and working with teachers around the globe on bringing play into the curriculum.

Methodology
This workshop is structured as playful inquiry, creating the conditions for learning that participants will learn to bring back to their own classrooms.  Participants will engage in hands-on, exploratory play; small and whole group discussions; games/challenges; and personal reflections.  The majority of the time will be spent at play and deepening understanding of how the concepts may look in the spectrum of classrooms that are represented.

Target Audience
Early Childhood Educators of children 2-5 years old; Elementary School Educators of children 5-8 years old; Early Childhood and Elementary Administrators.

Investment
AUD800.00/pax
AUD700.00/pax if register by 1 Feb 2018

Duration: 2 days, 12 hours
Closing Date: 1 Apr 18



Other Available Sessions
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