The final Educational Leader meeting for the year had a festive flare, as the Educational Leaders held a Christmas dress-up competition, shared a Christmas lunch, and played a couple Christmas themed team building games in-between their research and professional discussions.
The Educational Leaders watched the recording of Professor Alison Clark’s Keynote from the ECA National Conference Brisbane 2024, “Running out of time? Reconsidering the relationship with the clock in early childhood education and care”, thinking deeply about the theories and practices of Slow Pedagogy. They engaged in reflective conversations around their relationships with the clock, how and why they may need to reflect on some routines and practices, and how the EL role can support educators to think about Slow Pedagogy to promote quality improvement.
The Educational Leaders reviewed AERO’s “Early Childhood Learning Trajectories” resource, and considered how this could be used within our current pedagogical documentation/planning cycles in conjunction with the use of the EYLF V2.0 Learning Outcomes and Developmental Milestones, to interpret and plan for children’s learning and development. They also considered the potential of this resource to support educator professional development.
Educational Leader Presentation:
“Growing your Leadership: Communities of Practice”, a delegated leadership approach for supporting quality improvement – empowering the implementation of the Statement of Play;
Educational Leader Fiona from Stepping Stone Aberfoyle Park, inspired us in her presentation, to think about how the EL role can support educators of any role, to take up research opportunities based on their interests, and share their knowledge, skills and ideas with others in a leadership and mentoring capacity. This delegated collaborative leadership approach in response to the centre’s reflection of ECA’s Statement of Play, has empowered educators to take on active research and mentoring roles that foster the professional learning of their peers, sharing multiple interests and perspectives that enable educators to think more broadly about their work.