Reflective Learning Institute 

With Lorrie Baird and Anne Marie Coughlin

We are living in a rapidly changing world, where we are becoming more aware of the societal and environmental challenges that impact all of us.  As people who live and work with the earth’s youngest humans, we make decisions every day that have an extraordinary impact on children, ourselves, and our communities.   As early childhood educators and leaders, how might we start to evolve our approach to early learning and take up the work of creating inclusive, vibrant learning communities in a way that is responsive to our times?   How might we nurture an approach to leadership that is constructed around relationships rather than rules?  How do we focus our teaching practices around compassion, curiosity, imagination, experimentation, collaboration, innovation, and kindness?

This institute is supported by using a reflective model which invites participants to think with the ideas shared over the course of the two days within their small learning communities.  These groups remain consistent and are supported by a table facilitator.

Registration will open In January 2023, but spaces will be limited so Save the Date!

Graduates of the MSVU Early Childhood Administrator Continuing Education Certificate will be given registration priority.

Institute Details

Friday, April 14, 2023 & Saturday, April 15, 2023,    9am – 4pm

Creating a Culture of Reflective Practice – The Role of Pedagogical Leadership in Early Childhood Programs. Spend two full days with Lorrie Baird and Anne Marie Coughlin.  Lorrie and Anne Marie will show how pedagogical leadership can help transform the way we think and work in early childhood programs. This institute is designed to highlight pedagogical principles that when layered together help to create the cultural elements that transform practice and lead to sustainable change. They will use stories and structures from their book to unpack each principle, share specific ideas to enhance the work of educational leaders and engage participants in thinking about their own practice.

Friday, April 14, 2023   6 – 8pm – Alumni Anniversary Celebration

An alumni celebration for all past attendees of the Early Childhood Administrator Continuing Education Certificate program. Alumni, program faculty, and guests from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development will enjoy an evening of celebration, recognition, and reflection.

About the Presenters:

Anne Marie Coughlin, RECE, Educator Director at London Bridge Child Care and Lorrie Baird, RECE, Executive Director of Pedagogy at Compass ELC are Pedagogical Leaders and Early Learning Mentors from Ontario, Canada.  Individually they head professional learning programs for large multi-site childcare organizations.  Together they offer Learning Institutes across Ontario, Canada and the US that offer unique, engaging, and meaningful experiences for teachers and administrators.

Lorrie and Anne Marie are co-authors of Research on Pedagogical leadership for the Ontario Ministry of Education, Think, Feel, Act documents and the Book, Creating a Culture of Reflective Practice: The Role of Pedagogical Leadership in Early Childhood Programs.