By Kelli Agnich, Teacher
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Annual Conference is a prominent event in the field of early childhood education, gathering educators, practitioners, researchers, and advocates from around the globe to share insights, research findings, and innovative strategies aimed at enhancing the learning and development of young children. The 2023 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, was held November 15–18 and offered an engaging platform for professionals to connect, learn, and inspire one another in their shared mission of advancing the quality of early childhood education.
The lineup of distinguished speakers included thought leaders in early childhood education and several of our own Bing Nursery School educators. Head teacher Todd Erickson and team members Kathryn Carruthers and Melissa Gier shared their extensive practical and pedagogical experiences in “Playing With the Basics: Integrating Children’s Developmental Domains Through Play With Basic Materials (Blocks, Clay, Paint, Sand, and Water).” Their presentation examined the role of the teacher in facilitating an array of classroom experiences with materials that, while simple by nature, challenge children at all developmental levels and across the three educational domains: cognitive (thinking skills), affective (emotional responses), and psychomotor (physical skills). The team helped attendees understand how materials as simple as sand and water are also powerful and elegant educational tools. The presenters also invited participants to engage with these open-ended materials, which had been thoughtfully arranged on tables for their use and exploration.
Teacher Jenna Valasek’s presentation, “Be Our Guest: Seeing Young Children As Honored Guests,” examined what it means to create a classroom environment that champions respect, care, and inclusivity as tenets of a school’s philosophy. Allowing children freedom of choice and movement can and should coexist within a pedagogical milieu that promotes a strengths-based competence model—one that values children as capable individuals rather than seeing them in terms of a deficit model (emphasizing what they can do rather than what they cannot). Together, participants envisioned other ways to encourage children to reach deeply into their natural capacities and to practice a positive growth mindset. This kind of perspective views learning as a process that can be enhanced through effort, as opposed to looking at intelligence as a fixed entity.
Head teacher and research coordinator Chia-wa Yeh presented a poster session titled “Beyond Sushi and Tacos in the Dramatic Play Area: A Journey in Supporting Emerging Bilingual and Multilingual Children.” The poster documented strategies suggested by members of the dual-language learning reflection group, a voluntary group of Bing teachers that Yeh organized, and how some of those strategies had been implemented in the classrooms. Incorporating children’s home languages through songs, stories, and other play-based activities fostered a sense of belonging for dual-language learners and promoted curiosity about and awareness of different languages for monolingual children. And, by welcoming family participation in the classroom, strong home-school connections were forged.
Teacher Angela Aquilizan was recognized by the National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Education (NAECTE) for her teacher research project on social justice and advocacy in early childhood education. She also participated in a presentation with Dr. Barbara Henderson from San Francisco State University and Dr. Maleka Donaldson from Smith College, her fellow developmental editors for NAEYC’s online journal, Voices of Practitioners. They discussed the importance of engaging in reflective practice and inquiry work as educators. The cycle of inquiry work begins with an intention to effect change within the classroom or the overall program. Part of this process is to identify a question or a challenge that educators are currently facing that is related to their work with young children and families. This is followed by a search for and implementation of strategies that can help improve their current practice. The goal of engaging in inquiry work is for educators to become more aware and reflective about the impact of their systems and practices on the lives of young children and the families that they serve. In addition, Aquilizan presented her work using elements of the Critical Ethnographic Action Research (CEAR) project as a lens and form of teacher inquiry. (Go to https://bit.ly/affirming-identity to learn more about her research.)
A wide range of workshops and breakout sessions offered attendees the opportunity to explore specific topics in depth. These interactive sessions covered various aspects of early childhood education, including STEM learning, social-emotional development, literacy, play-based learning, and family engagement. Presenters shared evidence-based practices, cutting-edge research, and practical strategies that participants could implement in their own classroom settings.
This enriching event reinforced the critical role of early childhood education in supporting the development and well-being of young children. It offered a platform for professionals to engage with the latest research and innovative practices and to network with peers dedicated to making a difference in the lives of young learners and their families. The conference highlighted the current achievements and challenges in the field while also charting a path forward for advancing the quality and impact of early childhood education.