KU Quarterly May 2017 | Page 4

Upcoming Events The Pedagogy of Loose Parts – Regional Tour Pop Up Shop & Professional Development Day DAY ONE LOOSE PARTS POP-UP SHOP 11:00am – 4:00pm Open to the local community during the school holidays, this Pop Up Shop, hosted by Reverse Garbage and KU Children’s Services, will offer hands-on samples and examples of loose parts play and projects that demonstrate how educators and families can include recycled and reused materials in their centres, schools and homes. This shop will include informal ‘how to sessions’ from Reverse Garbage and information about KU Children’s Services will also be on display. DAY TWO THE PEDAGOGY OF LOOSE PARTS: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY 9:30am – 3:30pm This Professional Development Day will provide insight into the benefits of incorporating loose parts into play and learning spaces and the daily curriculum. The day will offer evidence-based information, ideas and strategies for educators and teachers, offering three sessions across the day as outlined below. FOR THE LOVE OF LOOSE PARTS This session, hosted by Reverse Garbage, provides an insight into how teachers and educators can incorporate loose parts into teaching programs in early childhood settings. This session will include ideas for display and storage. UNDERSTANDING SCHEMAS This session will explore a contemporary understanding of schemas, a repeatable pattern of behaviour that children engage in to explore and express their developing ideas, thoughts and understanding of the world. This session will look at how loose parts, as well as other open-ended objects, can support the development of a schema-supportive environment. TRANSFORMING PLAY SPACES This session will look at how teachers and educators can create thoughtful and inspiring environments in their early childhood setting. The Loose Parts Pop Up Shop will be open on site from 8:30am – 4:30pm during this professional learning day. DATES AND LOCATIONS Illawarra Day One: Tuesday 4 July – Early Start, University of Wollongong Illawarra Day Two: Wednesday 5 July – iC Event Centre, Wollongong Hunter Day One: Thursday 6 July – KU Kahibah Road Child Care Centre Hunter Day Two: Friday 7 July – Apollo International Hotel, Newcastle COST Day One: Free Day Two: $190 NQS Area 1, 3, 5 & 6 Completing The Pedagogy of Loose Parts: Professional Development Day will contribute 4.5 hours of registered PD addressing 1.1.2 and 2.1.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW. To book visit https://ku.com.au/professional-services Page 4 www.ku.com.au MAY 2017