SPRING TEACHER FEATURE 

The Pedagogy of Play: Playful STEM Learning for Schools and Community Spaces

February 28, 2024
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM ♦ Virtual Event; Registration by School

WHY ATTEND?
Is your faculty eager for research-informed practical teaching methods?
Is it hard to schedule Professional Learning opportunities for your whole faculty?
Do you want your faculty to connect to and collaborate with VAIS peers who are eager to learn more, too? Then this is the program for you!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
PreK and Lower School Teachers - Teacher Leaders - Deans - Directors

HOW WILL WE LEARN?
1. Faculty members at your school will watch Dr. Bustamante’s recorded keynote (think “watch party”) or view it individually before the February virtual event. You name the date and time.

2. On February 28, the live Q&A features Dr. Bustamante on Zoom and includes a richer discussion of the pedagogy of play. Teachers can submit questions in advance and/or during the session.

 Featuring Dr. Andres S. Bustamante
Assistant Professor, University of California Irvine's School of Education 

  
The Pedagogy of Play: Playful STEM Learning for Schools and Community Spaces.  Children learn best in active, engaged, meaningful, and socially interactive settings, making play an ideal context for learning. This two-part event explores findings and future directions from a series of projects that use developmental science to infuse everyday spaces with playful STEM learning opportunities. Findings will focus on caregiver-child conversation, interaction, and STEM learning. During the live interactive hour, attendees will be offered a hands-on opportunity to experience playful learning activities and reflect on the learning opportunities that were present, connections to developmental science, and brainstorm new activities that they can bring to their own classrooms and communities.

Dr. Andres S. Bustamante is an Assistant Professor at the University of California Irvine’s School of Education and directs the Social, iTerative, Engaged, and Meaningful (STEM) Learning Lab. He designs and implements play-based early childhood STEM interventions in places and spaces where children and families spend time (e.g., parks, school yards, grocery stores etc.). He maintains an intentional focus on translating rigorous science from the lab into meaningful research in the classroom and the community. Andres is invested in research that has practical implications for school and life success for children and families from underserved communities. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF), Heising Simons Foundation, and the American Educational Research Association (AERA). He was recognized by the Association for Psychological Science (APS) through their Rising Star Award for early career scholars. He is also committed to sharing and interpreting early childhood research with a broader audience through blog posts for the Brookings Institution, Psychology Today, BOLD Blog, and other media outlets.

REGISTRATION:
This two-part event will provide VAIS educators with key takeaways and actionable teaching strategies for reaching our youngest learners. Registration deadline is Monday, February 26, 2023.

REGISTER BY SCHOOL 

WHO?  FEE
VAIS Member  $295/school
Non-Member            $590/school      

REGISTER for the SPRING TEACHER FEATURE