Track 

Track Description  

Topics  

1. Caring equitable community of learners (Social/emotional, equity, etc.)  

One of the DAP guidelines, this track explores what creates a sense of belonging for each child and family including establishing strong relationships, selecting materials that reflect children and families, fostering relationships and problem solving between children, and creating classroom, and school climates that are equitable and culturally responsive. Includes thinking about both what is taught in higher ed on this topic as well as how the guidelines apply to higher ed settings.  

2. Building Family and community partnerships  

Strength and opportunities for growth in family and community partnerships and engagement.  

3. Observing, documenting, assessing children's development and learning   

Addresses formal, informal and teacher made assessments. How do educators know what children are learning in order to make decisions about teaching? What is working systemically and what is not? What are the tools needed for emphasizing teacher observation and documentation into the assessment process?  

4. Teaching to enhance children's development and learning  

Outlines the many things teachers do to support children's learning from scaffolding children's learning, to creating engaging joyful environments, to how systems and school and education leaders and policies support such environments. Includes explorations of environments, materials, approaches and scaffolding to support learning in key areas such as math, science, literacy, and social and emotional learning,  

5. Creating an engaging research based curriculum 

Describes what curriculum is, what makes a quality early learning curriculum, how educators make adaptions and considerations for specific curricular areas such as math; literacy; social and emotional learning; science; technology, media, etc.  

6. Incorporating ethical decision-making  

These sessions focus on NAEYC's Code of Ethical Conduct; how ethics connects to equity and new research and contexts for ethical decision making.  

7. Building A Strong Profession  

This track addresses NAEYC's Professional Development Standards and Competencies as well as topics such as equitable and livable wages for preschool educators and Guidelines 6, being an early childhood professional