Annie White, Ed.D. Courtesy photo.
CAMARILLO — Ventura and Santa Barbara County early education and care workers will have a chance to learn about the “Learning Stories” method of child assessment at an April 28 conference in Camarillo entitled: “The Power of Learning Stories: Transforming Relationships in Early Care and Education.”
CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Studies, Annie White, Ed.D., advanced the “Learning Stories” approach in the U.S. after a 2015 visit to New Zealand in which she heard “Learning Stories” expert Wendy Lee speak about how successful it was being used in New Zealand.
In fact, Wendy Lee will be the keynote speaker at the conference, which will be held Saturday, April 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ventura Office of Education Conference and Educational Services Center located at 5100 Adolfo Road in Camarillo. Registration is $20 and includes continental breakfast and lunch. The fee is waived for CSUCI students and faculty.
Learning Stories involves educators’ documenting children’s learning experiences by writing a story directly to the child rather than about a child. The technique involves writing a story, pictures/audio recordings, and welcomes input from the child, parents, family members and community.
“It’s really important because it’s written in a way parents can understand,” White said. “It captures their hearts. Stories cross all cultures, and they are all about how we all see the learning transpire. You don’t just have the teacher’s perspective, it’s also includes multiple voices and perspectives.”
White was so impressed that she developed a technique for using Learning Stories in the U.S. called “Journey of Discoveries” in collaboration with a California Head Start program.
“Learning Stories” offers an observation approach that can be used with the California child assessment tool, called the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP).
“For teachers, it’s is a part of their daily practice to write observations about children,” White said. “They’re trained to write objective observations. But once they use the Learning Stories technique, they’re hooked because they are more personal and create deeper connection with children, parents, and families.”
Last November, White took a team of educators and consultants from all across the state, including from University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and Santa Barbara County Office of Education to learn more about Learning Stories and spread the word throughout their respective organizations. “We decided we needed to start local and then go global to support the advancement of Learning Stories across the US,” White said.
The group formed a task force called, Supporting Advancement of Learning Stories in America or SALSA, which was responsible for initiating and helping to plan the Learning Stories conference and another that will take place at San Francisco State University the following week on May 5.
Nine morning workshops which will repeat in the afternoon include: “Learning, Recognizing and Responding: Learning Stories 101; Beyond the Basics: Creating Learning Stories of Significance, Power and Lasting Value; and Engaging Families through Learning Stories — a Pilot Project of Head Start Home Visiting Program, to name a few.
The Home Visiting Program is a Head Start program where educators make home visits to families enrolled in Child Development Resources program in Oxnard and throughout Ventura County. Child Development Resources is piloting Learning Stories to support preschool child development goals in addition, to providing services to ensure basic needs such as, health and dental care, family nutrition, goal setting for parents, employment and housing resources for families.
Learning Stories has also been successfully used at Transition House in Santa Barbara, a home for families transitioning from homelessness and UCSB Early Childhood Care & Education Services.
The Learning Stories conference is a collaborative effort with multiple community partners from Ventura and Santa Barbara County including both the Santa Barbara and Ventura County Offices of Education and the CSUCI Early Childhood Studies program. Learning Stories create opportunities for partnerships, deeper connections, and meaningful engagements with families in the areas of curriculum planning, documentation, and children’s assessment.
To register, visit: http://vcoe.k12oms.org/1618-146216.
About California State University Channel Islands: CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CSUCI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CSUCI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CSUCI’s Social Media.