Early Childhood Conference 2019
.jpg?sfvrsn=c2bcfe5d_2 "ECDA-Awards (1)")
TAKE LEARNING OUTDOORS: BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
A world of learning opportunities awaits young children beyond the preschool classroom. Early childhood (EC) educators can use the outdoors as a pedagogical tool to stimulate healthy brain development, strengthen children's language, mathematical and scientific development, foster socialisation and enhance their mental wellbeing.
ECDA held the Early Childhood Conference 2019 on 13 and 14 September 2019 at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre! Throughout the 2-day professional development conference themed "Beyond the Classroom: Take Learning Outdoors", EC educators learnt about the science behind the holistic benefits of outdoor learning.
STRIVING TOWARDS PROFESSIONALISM
A BIG THANK YOU to the 1,500 EC educators who attended the 2-day conference and over 10,000 EC educators, parents and members of the public who visited the conference exhibition. THANKS also to our 60 ITE student volunteers, 150 presenters, partners and preschools, and all who have contributed towards making Early Chilhood Conference 2019 a resounding success!
Click here to view photos of the conference.
Leading up to the conference, many educators also participated in Learning Journeys to expose themselves to new approaches to teaching their preschoolers. Click here to view photos of the Learning Journeys.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EXHIBITION 2019
Similar to previous years, over 10,000 educators, parents and members of the public visited the conference exhibition for lots of fun and learning experiences.
Click here to view photos of the Early Childhood Exhibition!
QUALITY WITH A SPARK
A total of 112 preschools received their SPARK (Singapore Preschool Accreditation Framework) Certification from Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary of Education. This brings the total number of SPARK-certified centres from 880 in 2018 to 951 in 2019. With more than half of the sector on board SPARK certification, it signals an ever growing commitment of preschools towards improving their programme, processes and practices to provide a quality preschool experience for children.
Click here to view photos of the SPARK Certificate Presentation Ceremony!
RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION
Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development honoured 22 early childhood educators and preschools at the 2019 ECDA Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Development across five awards categories - Educarers, Teachers, Leaders and Centres for their exemplary contributions to teaching, learning and innovative practices. Mr Lee said, "All 22 winners of the ECDA Awards embody a high standard of professionalism and an exemplary innovative spirit. They are role models who can inspire the early childhood fraternity. This is how we can give every child a good start."
Click here to view photos of the Awards Ceremony!
Click here to view the series of ECDA Award videos!
Click here for more information on this year's Awards.
HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS
During the conference, there were 42 hands-on concurrent workshops to pick up strategies on how to harness the rich landscape of our garden city spaces and attractions, as well as integrate the outdoors with the indoors to design enriching experiences for children.
OUTDOOR LEARNING - TRAINING OF TRAINERS (TOT PROGRAMME)
ECDA engaged overseas expert Dr Helen Little from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia to develop a Training of Trainers (ToT) programme to strengthen the outdoor learning content and pedagogical skills of local early childhood trainers. As part of the programme deliverables our local trainers have developed and conducted a series of Outdoor Learning pilot training workshops catering to different age groups of children from 0 to 6 years. This video provides a brief overview of the ToT programme, pilot workshops and features the voices of educators and trainers who have attend the programme. Look out for the range of new Outdoor Learning workshops for both leaders and educators available from 2020!
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