ES Professional Development

On Friday, February 18, the teachers of The Experiential School of Tampa Bay will have a chance to learn from Swedish educator Suzanne Axelsson. 

Her online bio tells us: Suzanne Axelsson works as a pedagogical consultant using listening and philosophy with children as tools to improve democratic learning and play spaces in early childhood education. She works on the EY program at the Department of Child and Youth Studies, Stockholm University. Suzanne has a masters in ECE and has traveled globally to hold workshops, presentations, and visit EY settings. She writes on her blog, “Interaction Imagination,” about play, listening, neurodiversity, and sustainability etc and curates the facebook group “The Original Learning Approach”. She is exploring Indigenous Knowledge to deepen her thinking in Original Learning, where play, learning, teaching and understanding are equally valued and interwoven.

During the workshop, which is part of CITL’s Winter Institute, our teachers will have a chance to examine how play-responsive educators can facilitate transdisciplinary projects for students ages 3 to 7. They will discuss the science of how to achieve their goals, in particular the need for pedagogical documentation - observing, analyzing, planning, putting into action and observing again. As well, they will explore the art of being a play responsive educator - how it feels, how it can be done through a deeper look at play and how to respond to children’s play in the classroom. The Experiential School team will also learn about the pedagogy of listening and how to create effective spaces for listening.