PLAY MATTERS - The post-pandemic classroom and why play matters more than ever. NESA Accredited PD

Description

PLAY MATTERS - The post-pandemic classroom and why Play Matters more than ever. 

NESA Accredited

(F/K/P or R to Year 2)

Join us for a one-day symposium to address the impact of the pandemic on our children, their learning, and how to best address the new challenges.

Attend in person at the Teacher's Federation in Sydney or click HERE to attend live online.

Please note - if you would like to attend online, you must register on the online event page. CLICK HERE TO BE REDIRECTED.

After 2 years of rolling lockdowns and online learning, teachers, principals, and psychologists are reporting changes in children’s classroom behaviour. This includes a reduced ability to focus, boisterous behaviour, and a ‘shadow pandemic’ as referred to recently in The Australian, of debilitating mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression alongside a regression in social development.

There is no doubt, that the post-pandemic classroom can be a challenging place. So, what can you do to engage your children and address reluctance and anxiety now?

During our NESA Accredited morning session, Dr. Dee O’Connor will share research on the post-pandemic classroom and discuss the importance of child-initiated, self-directed play experiences. Dee will inspire educators to optimise children’s engagement through relationships and a play-based pedagogy. Our Educational Consultant will follow Dee with a presentation on how to implement an Investigative learning pedagogy that meets children’s development and wellbeing needs whilst still addressing curriculum outcomes.

In this session you will:

  • Learn about the very latest research related to the post-pandemic classroom and how to address the resulting needs.
  • Explore the theory of play and why play is fundamental for education in the early primary years
  • Hear about breakthroughs in neuroscience and how this impacts our understanding of young children’s development
  • Discover innovative ways to add value to the teaching of literacy, numeracy, STEM, and life skills
  • Learn implementation strategies to introduce a personalised and holistic pedagogy that links to intentional teaching in all curricular areas

Dr Dee O’Connor is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Notre Dame, Australia – specialising in Early Childhood Education. Dee holds over 25 years of experience in the field within a variety of positions across early childhood practice, policy, and academia.

Professor O’Connor’s research relates to play, learning environments, creativity, and child development through education. Dee is a published author and regularly speaks at national and international conferences.

Australian Professional Teaching Standard APTS: 1.2, 3.4, 3.6, 3.7, 4.1,4.2, 5.4, 6.2

NESA ACCREDITED PD
Completing Play Matters will contribute 3 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and assessment of NSW Curriculum/Early Years Learning Framework addressing standard descriptors 1.2.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

CREATING AN ENGAGING AND INTENTIONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT. (F/K/P or R to Year 2) NESA Accredited

The morning session is followed by our NESA accredited PD Creating Engaging and Intentional Learning Environments. The morning session addressed WHY & HOW a play-based pedagogy is the answer to meeting children’s needs. Known as the third teacher, the environment is brought into focus when Dr Dee O’Connor’s introduces the afternoon session. Following this, our Educational Consultants will guide participants with practical ideas on how to create interesting and meaningful classroom environments that promote, engage, and sustain children’s learning through play.

In this session we will explore:

  • Creating environments to enhance wellbeing and engagement
  • The key elements of quality learning environments indoors and outdoors
  • Considerations for design, set up, materials, and equipment
  • The importance of open-ended learning spaces
  • Supporting children to resource their own learning
  • Planning for ongoing modifications
  • Intentional teaching.

You will also see examples of how to add and use everyday materials within a realistic budget to assist children in their learning, engagement, and exploration both indoors and outdoors.

This PD is for those educators who want to offer inviting, collaborative, environments that engage and empower children in their learning, whilst at the same time providing an environment that builds skills such as effective research, problem-solving, risk-taking, and resilience.

Australian Professional Teaching Standards: APTS –1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.5, 3.4 6.2, 6.3

NESA ACCREDITED PD
Completing Creating Engaging and Intentional Learning Environments will contribute 3 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of delivery and assessment of NSW Curriculum/Early Years Learning Framework addressing standard descriptors 1.1.2, 2.5.2 & 3.3.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

This one-day symposium will take place in Sydney, however, if you are unable to attend in person, join us online for our live webinar which will be broadcast in real-time. Click here to be redirected to our booking information for the online session.

Attending a full day in person or online will contribute 6 hours of NESA accredited PD towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

* Coffee, morning tea, and lunch are provided

Book to attend ONLINE – click HERE