Due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, we have moved our annual Big Ideas in Early Learning event online. This series of virtual workshops is open now, with 5 unique sessions. You can register for one session, several, or all of them.
Overview
The Virtual Big Ideas in Early Learning is open to all early childhood educators - teachers, teacher assistants, school/center administrators, and coaches, among other roles.
Each session is a 2.5-hour virtual, interactive workshop with experts from Erikson Institute, who will lead attendees through an in-depth exploration of a particular topic within early childhood education. Each will happen on separate days to allow for participating in single or multiple sessions. Each session will follow up with online resources that can extend the learning that took place.
Although it is $50 to register, each session is a $25 add-on. So the event starts at $75 for one session, $100 for two, and goes up to only $175 for all five sessions.
Available sessions include:
- Collaboration: Monday 7/6/2020, 1:00-3:30pm CT
Collaborating with Colleagues and Families: Power of Relationships
- Language & Literacy: Tuesday 7/7/2020, 1:00-3:30pm CT
Pretend Play in PreK and Kindergarten: Facilitating Conversation and Imaginative Thinking
- Math: Wednesday 7/8/2020, 1:00-3:30pm CT
What’s the Big Idea? Thinking about sets and number sense
- Technology: Thursday 7/9/2020, 1:00-3:30pm CT
Rethinking Technology in Early Childhood Education: How to Use Technology to Support Learning
- Social & Emotional Learning: Friday 7/10/2020, 1:00-3:30pm CT
Using Social and Emotional Learning to Face Stress and Uncertainty in Early Childhood Education
COVID-19 Updates
Previously the Big Ideas in Early Learning summer institute was a 3.5 day in-person event on the Erikson Institute campus in downtown Chicago. Due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event has been changed to something different, a virtual event. This new online opportunity cannot completely replace the event, but we hope it will provide a helpful learning experience in this unique time.
Those who registered for the event before this change: Please check your email. Information about refunds and changing registrations to this new online format have been communicated. If you have any questions, please contact summerinstitutes@erikson.edu.
Learning Sessions
When participants register, they will choose 1-5 learning sessions that will take place at 1:00PM CT the week of July 6th. The more sessions that you register for, the more cost-effective they are.
Collaboration: Monday 7/6/2020, 1:00-3:30pm CT
Collaborating with Colleagues and Families: Power of Relationships
As educators, we are experts at reading the cues of children and responding. Reading the cues of adults—parents and even our own colleagues—can be more challenging! We can find ourselves reacting in team meetings or in a parent conference instead of reflecting and responding. In this virtual, interactive workshop, you will explore the FAN (Facilitating Attuned Interactions), a conceptual model and practical tool for communication in relationships and reflective practice. You will learn how to read the subtle and not so subtle cues of adults and use the FAN as an internal GPS to help you match your communication to where the parent or team member is and move toward collaborative problem solving. You will learn how to strengthen relationships, repair miscommunications and use Mindful Self-Regulation to track and regulate your own reactions to stay calm and think clearly. The FAN also provides reflective questions to structure parent conferences and group meetings and serves as a guide you can use for individual and team reflection after action.
Language & Literacy: Tuesday 7/7/2020, 1:00-3:30pm CT
Pretend Play in PreK & Kindergarten: Facilitating Conversation & Imaginative Thinking
Why are opportunities for pretend play in school essential for young children’s academic learning? In this virtual, interactive workshop, we examine the teacher’s role in providing opportunities for pretend play throughout the school day, and making connections between children’s play and learning across the curriculum. We will focus on how teachers harness conversations with young children through questioning to encourage inquiry, higher order thinking and vocabulary development.
Math: Wednesday 7/8/2020, 1:00-3:30pm CT
What’s the Big Idea? Thinking About Sets and Number Sense
In this virtual, interactive workshop, we will explore the big ideas of sets and number sense. We will discuss how children learn to think mathematically about sorting and quantifying. We will share resources for supporting children and families in doing math with joy.
Technology: Thursday 7/9/2020, 1:00-3:30pm CT
Rethinking Technology in Early Childhood Education: How to Use Technology to Support Learning
This virtual, interactive workshop will introduce participants to research and practice to effectively use technology to support children’s learning in classroom and virtual classroom contexts. This workshop will provide tips to support educators in selecting quality educational technology tools to support academic learning and social emotional skills. The use of technology to support or supplement non-screen based activities and the use of technology to communicate and connect with families will also be discussed.
Social & Emotional Learning: Friday 7/10/2020, 1:00-3:30pm CT
Using Social & Emotional Learning to Face Stress and Uncertainty in Early Childhood Education
In this virtual, interactive workshop, members of Erikson’s SEL Initiative will present ways that SEL strategies can be used in early learning communities to de-stress and reconnect when the going gets rough. Sometimes, even the grown-ups don’t have all the answers, but there are ways to move through these moments of difficulty as a journey, together with your students. Including strategies directed at both adults and children, the online session will emphasize concepts such as mindfulness, self-care and self-compassion, and sense of belonging as means to boost safety and care in your group. Resources will be provided to help you get started or integrate practices you are already implementing.
FAQ
Who should attend?
Big Ideas in Early Learning is open to the public, and is designed specifically for educators working with young children or adults who work in an early education environment.
What does it cost?
The price starts at $75 when registering for a single session. Each additional session costs $25. ($100 total for 2 sessions, $125 total for 3 sessions, $150 total for 4 sessions, $175 total for all 5 sessions)
What does the cost include?
The fee includes a 2.5-hour virtual, interactive workshop led by Erikson Institute experts. It also includes online resources after the event, which vary in particulars based on the session.
What technology is being used for the workshops?
Participants should expect to use Zoom meeting software and access other web-based resources. You will receive an email with information on how to join the meeting. Each session will have multiple facilitators to provide support on all software and interactive needs.
Do you have group rates for registration?
No. Because the event is now online and available in a menu-style format where different participants can register for different sessions, there are not group rates available.
Do you offer professional development credit for time spent at the Summer Institute?
We will provide a certificate of completion that states total contact hours. State requirements vary, so please feel free to contact us if you have further questions: summerinstitutes@erikson.edu.
Is there a cancellation policy?
Yes. Refund requests must be made in writing to summerinstitutes@erikson.edu on or before June 15, 2020. After that date, there will be no refunds of registration fees but transfer of registration to a colleague can be arranged before July 6, 2020.