Sample Topics and Descriptions

These are some of the conversations I typically offer when partnering with schools, agencies, and conference events. Many of these topics can be explored lightly in a single short session, or studied more deeply in a half-day or full-day workshop, or across multiple sessions over time. These ideas can also be “mixed and matched” to create a relevant combination for a particular group, or adapted to the context and circumstances of a specific school or organization. For some of these topics, particularly those addressing Anti-Bias Education, I typically work with a co-presenter who can bring additional perspectives of culture, identity, and work experience to the conversation.

Taking the Leap: Values and Practices for Planning a Responsive Curriculum

Though we don't usually think of "planning" something "responsive," many educators have found that it takes a great deal of intention to facilitate a curriculum that truly emerges from children's own questions and pursuits. This workshop offers examples of structures and dispositions that can support a dynamic, customized curriculum for young children. We'll examine supportive practices like In-Depth Investigation and Pedagogical Documentation, and explore strategies for facilitating a responsive curriculum in your own programs.

Environments for Responsive Curriculum

How do we set up classrooms and offer materials in a way that best supports an emergent, responsive curriculum? What specific environmental choices can help us observe children's play, and create opportunities for children to extend their thinking? And how can we design classrooms that honor the childhoods that are being lived in our schools? This workshop will explore these questions, keeping in mind the words of author and designer Anita Rui Olds:  "Children are miracles. We must remember it is our job to create, with reverence and gratitude, a space that is worthy of miracles."

Engaging Families in Responsive Curriculum

How do we encourage families to join us in studying children's learning? By weaving documentation and Learning Stories into a year-round plan for partnership, we can meaningfully engage families in curriculum planning and assessment. In this workshop we’ll discuss effective strategies for authentic collaboration between families and educators.

Responsive Curriculum to Support Playful Inquiry

How do you plan for play? How do you cultivate inquiry? Although play and inquiry are natural dispositions for young children, many have found that in fact it takes a great deal of structure and intention to facilitate a curriculum that is truly responsive to children’s questions and pursuits. Specific protocols for reflection and study can foster a pedagogy of play, and encourage an attitude of inquiry for children, educators, and families. This session will offer examples of practices that can support a responsive curriculum for young children, including Responsive Planning, In-Depth Investigation, Pedagogical Documentation, and Collaborative Conferences.

Responsive Curriculum and Anti-Bias Education

As responsive educators, we aim to keep children's experiences and perspectives at the heart of our work, while supporting them to become competent citizens in a diverse world. By promoting Anti-Bias Education in our classrooms and schools, we encourage children's social development and bring focus to our own awareness of equity issues. In this workshop,  we'll examine the goals of Anti-Bias Education, discuss contexts that foster social learning, and  investigate how a responsive teaching practice can enhance cultural competence for children, families, and educators.

Values-based Leadership: Program Models to Support Responsive Curriculum

Many of us want to offer children a stimulating responsive curriculum, but how can we build an Administrative infrastructure that enables reflective and responsive work, and design Professional Development to support reflective educators? In this workshop, we’ll discuss effective models of recruitment and hiring, faculty training and mentoring, and performance evaluation for reflective, responsive curriculum programs.

Responsive Administration

Many of us are attuned to arranging classrooms and designing curriculum with a focus on children’s experience and needs...but how can we extend that child-centered thinking to our Administrative work? What values, structures, and practices might help align our organizational systems with our beliefs about what children and educators deserve? How can we build from our image of the child to arrive at an image of the educator that will inform the systems and structures we put in place to support teachers’ work? This open-ended conversation is intended for directors, mentors, administrators, and anyone interested in considering how a school's organizational culture can support its pedagogical intentions.

Welcome to Anti-Bias Education

As educators and program leaders, we want to support children’s healthy social-emotional development, and help them to become competent citizens in our diverse world. By promoting Anti-Bias Education in our classrooms and schools, we foster social learning for children, and bring focus to our own awareness of equity issues. But many educators wonder where to begin, and how to grow our own confidence in facilitating Anti-Bias Education. This workshop offers a constructive space to share concerns and ideas, and begin planning steps you can take in your own classroom or school. We'll examine the goals of Anti-Bias Education, discuss contexts that foster social learning, and offer strategies to enhance cultural competence for children, families, and educators.

NOTE for Washington educators: I am a State-Approved trainer in Washington State, approved by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to train at all levels in the following Core Competency Areas: Child Growth & Development - ECE, Child/Adolescent Growth and Development - SA, Child/Adolescent Observation & Assessment - SA, Cultural Competency & Responsiveness - SA, Curriculum & Learning Environment - ECE, Families & Community Partnerships - ECE, Families, Communities & Schools - SA, Health, Safety & Nutrition - ECE, Interactions - ECE, Interactions with Children/Youth - SA, Learning Environment & Curriculum - SA, Ongoing Measurement of Child Progress - ECE, Professional Development & Leadership - ECE, Professional Development & Leadership - SA, Program Planning & Development - ECE, Program Planning & Development - SA, Safety & Wellness - SA, Youth Empowerment - SA.

Presentations at National, State, and Regional Conferences

This is a list of some of my publicly-offered presentations over the last 30 years. Past engagements with specific schools and agencies are not listed here, but would typically have been customized from some combination of the topics above. Likewise, all outreach work that I offered through the Hilltop Educator Institute is not listed here, but consisted of multiple events and presentations per month, locally in Seattle and throughout North America, over the past 15 years.

Compass Anti-Bias Conference Series, online, September 2021 - February 2022 - “Anti-Bias Education in Action”

Wisconsin Early Childhood Association Annual Conference, online, October 2021 - “Welcome to Anti-Bias Education”

London Bridge Anti-Bias Conference Series, online, May-July 2021 - “Anti-Bias Education in Action”

Frog Hollow Reggio-Inspired Conference, online, October 2020 - “Taking the Leap: Values and Practices for Planning an Emergent Curriculum”

Michigan Learning Stories Conference, online, October 2020 - “Engaging Families in Reflective Practice”

National AEYC Annual Conference, Nashville, TN, November 2019 - “Growing Responsive Programs: Anti-bias Education in Action”

Washington AEYC Annual Conference, Lynnwood, WA, October 2019 - “Introduction to Anti-Bias Education”

Head Start ECEAP Summer Institute, Ellensburg, WA, June 2019 - “Taking the Leap: Values and Practices for Planning an Emergent Curriculum”

NAEYC Professional Development Institute, Long Beach, CA, June 2019 - “From Survive to Thrive: Leading Early Childhood Programs”

Day of Dialogue, Seattle, WA, March 2019 - “Reflective Practice and Anti-Bias Education”

Frog Hollow Learning Centre Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, February 2019 - “Engaging Families in Emergent Curriculum”

NAEYC Annual Conference, Washington, DC, November 2018 - “Growing responsive programs: Engaging children, families, and educators in reflective practice and anti-bias education”

WAEYC Annual Conference, Lynnwood, WA, October 2018 - “Engaging Families in Reflective Practice”

WAEYC Annual Conference, Lynnwood, WA, October 2018 - “Reflective Practice and Anti-Bias Education”

Annual Learning Stories Conference, San Francisco, CA, May 2018 - “Engaging Families in Reflective Practice”

NAEYC Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, November 2017 - “Reflective Practice to Support Playful Inquiry and Emergent Curriculum”

WAEYC Annual Conference, Lynnwood, WA, October 2017 - “Taking the Leap: Values and Practices for Planning an Emergent Curriculum”

NAEYC Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA, November 2016 - “Values-based Leadership: Administrative Structures to Support Reflective Practice”

WAEYC Annual Conference, Lynnwood, WA, October 2016 - “Reflective Practice to Support Playful Inquiry”

WAEYC Annual Conference, Lynnwood, WA, October 2016 - “Child-centered Administration”

Vancouver Reggio Consortium Society, Vancouver, BC, October 2016 - “Taking the Leap: Values and Practices for Planning an Emergent Curriculum”

Elevate Annual Conference, Tacoma, WA, September 2016 - “Reflective Practice to Support Playful Inquiry”

Elevate Annual Conference, Tacoma, WA, September 2016 - “Child-Centered Administration”

Opal School Summer Symposium, Portland, OR, June 2016 - “Reflective Practice to Support Playful Inquiry”

London Bridge Institute, London, OT, May 2016 - “Structures for Reflective Practice”

Michigan Inspirations, East Lansing, MI, February 2016 - “Taking the Leap: Values and Practices for Planning an Emergent Curriculum”

WAEYC Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, October 2015 - “Young Scientists: How Children Learn from Experience”

Infant and Early Childhood Conference, Tacoma, WA, May 2015 - “Baby Scientists: How Children Learn from Experience”

Administrator to Innovator Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, January 2015 - “Breaking Down the Barriers”

Administrator to Innovator Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, January 2015 - “Values-Based Systems for Supporting Reflective Pedagogy”

Day of Dialogue, Seattle, WA, November 2014 - “Environments for Reflective Practice”

Harvest Resources Leadership Seminar, Tennessee AEYC, Knoxville, TN, October 2013 - “Breaking Down the Barriers”

Leadership Connections National Conference, Chicago, IL, May 2012 - “Engaging Families in Studying Children’s Learning”

Administrator to Innovator Institute, Chicago, IL, May 2012 - “Breaking Down the Barriers”

Administrator to Innovator Institute, Seattle, WA, March 2012 - “Breaking Down the Barriers”

WAEYC Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, October 2011 - “Creating a Values-Driven Infrastructure for Supporting New Staff”

Administrator to Innovator Institute, Chicago, IL, May 2011 - “Breaking Down the Barriers”

Leadership Connections National Conference, Chicago, IL, May 2011 - “Creating a Values-Driven Infrastructure for Supporting New Staff”

Day of Dialogue, Seattle, WA, November 2010 - “Moment to Moment: Reflective Practices with Children”

Administrator to Innovator Institute, London, OT, June 2010 - “Pedagogical Orientation for New Teachers”

NOTE: from 1999 to 2009 I focused on delivering “in house” workshops and presentations, similar to the topics and descriptions noted above, through the Seattle Institute for Early Childhood Development, later known as the Hilltop Educator Institute. Oh, and I had a kid. That’s why you might notice a large gap in my flow of presentations offered at conferences.

Snohomish County ECEAP, Everett, WA, March 1998 - “Reflecting Children’s Experiences”

Snohomish County AEYC Annual Conference, Edmonds, WA, January 1996 - “Learning to Fly: An Introduction to Emergent Curriculum”

California AEYC Annual Conference, Long Beach, CA, March 1995 - “Come Fly With Me: Collaborating with Children to Let Curriculum Soar”

CAEYC Annual Conference, Santa Clara, CA, March 1994 - “Drawing as a Significant Addition to the Project Approach”

CAEYC Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA, March 1993 - “Listening to Parents: Conference Early to Start the Year Right”

NAEYC Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, November 1992 - “Initial Intake and Daily Updates: Enhancing Parent/Teacher Communication for a Child-centered Curriculum”

Clients, Partners, Friends

There are a handful of schools and organizations that I’ve had the pleasure of working with on more in-depth partnerships, or over a long period of time. I’m so grateful to these communities for welcoming me, exchanging stories, and stretching my thinking, I enjoy the novelty of one-off workshops and conference presentations, but deepening relationships through ongoing collaboration is one of my favorite ways to connect. We are lucky to work in a profession where collegial connection can so often grow into true friendship.

London Bridge Child Care Services, London, OT

Compass Early Learning Centre, Peterborough, OT

Society of Richmond Children’s Centres, Richmond, BC

Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House, Vancouver, BC

Southside Mother’s Day Out, Edmonton, AB

University District Children’s Center, Seattle, WA

Tomorrow’s Hope Child Development Center, Everett, WA

Wallingford Child Care Center, Seattle, WA