Category: Educator Professional Development
Articles and resources to support educators professional growth and development
Floor time for babies and toddlers: why freedom of movement matters
Dr Emmi Pikler was a Hungarian paediatrician who, in the 1940s, established a residential nursery in Budapest. She and her team developed the Pikler approach through decades of watching infants move. What they observed – carefully and systematically – is that when infants are given the freedom to move without adult interference, they don’t just develop physically; they develop grace...
What is infant and toddler pedagogy and why does it matter?
Infant and toddler pedagogy is one of those terms that can sound abstract until you start to sit with what it actually means in practice. At its simplest, it’s the thinking and values that underpin how we care for and educate children in the first three years of life. But in reality, it shapes everything – how we set up...
From policy to practice: Working through children’s digital safety in ECEC
Wanting to provide practical resources for anyone on a children’s digital safety journey, Storypark’s pedagogical team has developed a free workbook to help you put children’s digital safety policies into practice: In a community-led approach to children’s digital safety everyone from administrators to IT professionals, educators and families are invited to bring their knowledge and experience to the table, creating...
What does a holistic, community-led approach to children’s digital safety look like?
Storypark has always had children’s digital safety at the heart, however like the vast majority of the ECEC sector, recent events in Australia have given us pause to deeply reflect and evaluate our contribution. Our discussions led us to a powerful guiding question: What does a holistic, community-led approach to children’s digital safety look like? This question emerged from reflection...
The framework helping Sharon from Storypark navigate AI literacy
Today’s digital landscape and the many different tools we now have available to us in ECE, brings to mind the saying “it’s tough to keep up with new technology and be a change agent”. There’s a sense that not only do we have to comprehensively understand tools like artificial intelligence (AI) but also need to be implementing them at the...
Documenting the EYLF planning cycle
When planning, documentation is essential and all the elements of the Early Years Learning Framework’s ongoing planning cycle need to be considered. In this blog we unpack the planning cycle’s five separate sections: observe, assess, plan, implement and evaluate. Under each section we will share insights on how rich pedagogical documentation can serve as evidence of planning and support...
Reflections on the 2023 ECA Conference
Like many others, I am now recovering from this year’s wonderful ECA Conference. As usual, Storypark took a team to the conference and this year I gave my very own presentation–a somewhat scary but exciting experience! From powerful keynote speakers to engaging sessions and meaningful conversations, this conference left a lasting impression. In this blog post, I will document my...
Documenting children’s learning – slow down!
Documenting children’s learning – are we rushing the process? When documenting children’s learning, it can sometimes feel like we are racing against the clock to gather information, turn it into a story, and hit publish. We rush to provide the evidence that we have noticed, recognized and responded to the learning. Early childhood educators have a lot of boxes to...
Community of Practice Guidelines
Community of Practice Guidelines Do you want to nurture the growth of your community, foster innovation, and support and share quality practice? A Community of Practice is a great way to network with like-minded professionals who share a concern or common passion. Communicating and collaborating within a Community of Practice supports everyone in the community to be the best version...
Stop the cobwebs and ghouls
Is it time to stop the cobwebs and ghouls? Tessa McStravick asks this question and offers some non-spooky alternatives for Halloween. One October, walking into a department store, my friend Ani came across a human skeleton seated on a bench at the entrance. She had her two small children with her and she wasn’t too pleased to find that the...