On June 1, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) launched its Virtual Institute offering free weekly presentations of content by NAEYC experts and a diverse group of presenters from all sectors of the early childhood field. Presenters include policy experts, higher education faculty, school leaders, researchers, and educators. There are currently over 100 presentations available. Typically, this content is exclusively offered at the NAEYC Professional Learning Institute. Presentations will be available on-demand to watch free of charge until July 30. Once you have completed a presentation, you will receive a certificate to download.
The Institute’s Director of New York Works for Children and the Aspire Registry, Louisa Higgins, facilitated a session on Reflect and Rebuild: Using Data to Evaluate and Improve Trainer Approval Processes. The session provided a forum for policymakers and stakeholders to exchange ideas and identify strategies to build and improve approval processes for providers of professional development. Ten years after launching an Early Learning Trainer Credential, New York Works for Children and NYAEYC decided to look at the available data and figure out how to build a better process for trainers and coaches. The result is an authentic, reflective assessment of knowledge and skills with a focus on cultural competence and ethics.
The Institute’s Director of Research and Evaluation, Kate Tarrant, facilitated a session with members of the NYC Early Childhood Research Network on The Power and Possibilities of Early Childhood Leadership: An Interactive Discussion on Instructional Leaders and Professional Learning. The team shares findings from three studies carried out with instructional leaders (ILs), including the impact of accountability measures on supervision and mentoring, coaching strategies used by ILs, and time use of instructional coaches. They also explore strategies from a leadership initiative started to support the work of current and prospective instructional leaders and engaged in an interactive dialogue on how to coordinate the efforts of all ILs working to support teachers, children, and their families.
We hope you will be able to take advantage of this great opportunity to access NAEYC’s professional learning opportunities in this new format!
