Building the Foundations for Learning to Read and Write: A Training Series for Early Childhood Teachers in Hawaii

Join the Erikson Institute, the premier graduate school in child development along with Chaminade University and CEED Hawaii for this exciting professional development opportunity focused on reading and writing for young children.

This yearlong Erikson Early Literacy series will illuminate concepts in early literacy and enhance your skills in the classroom. Participants will engage in face-to-face and online trainings, all while networking with your peers from around the state. 

This training is free to participants. Together, we are grateful for the commitment and continued generosity of the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation for making opportunities like these possible.

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Registration for the 2020 cohort is now closed! The cohort will meet six times throughout the year (see dates below) and offer an engaging professional development opportunity for many across the state. If you applied, you will be notified if you have been accepted by December 4, 2019.

For other updates, stay connected to learn about other opportunities by joining our mailing list today!

Training Dates for 2020 – 2021

• March 7th – whole cohort on Oahu
• April 18th – in-person or by video conference
• August 29th – in-person or by video conference
• October 17th – in-person or by video conference
• November 21st – in-person or by video conference
• January 9, 2021 – whole cohort on Oahu

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More about the Erikson Early Literacy Series

Through in-person learning labs in Honolulu, live web-labs, and an online community of practice, teachers will engage in hands-on/minds-on exploration of important ideas about language and literacy; children’s learning of concepts about books and print; and how adults can support children in expressing and developing their thinking and communication skills in talking, drawing and pretend play.

Teachers will build understanding through investigations, video analysis, discussion of children’s literature, and discussion of their teaching experiences with colleagues. After each session, you will use what you are learning in your own classrooms, gather evidence of your children’s learning, even the day-by-day baby steps, and discuss your new insights with colleagues.

Download a copy of the 2020 informational sheet here. Print an extra for sharing too!

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Participants Receive

• A collection of high quality children’s literature that assist teachers in practicing specific strategies to help elevate your teaching practices and engage young learners in talking, reading, drawing and writing

• 2 books by professional educators (Vivian Paley and Gillian Dowley McNamee) that bring the voices and ideas of experts into your hands, people who are trying out the very ideas we will be discussing

• Skills and versatility in learning with one another in the same room, in live WebLabs and learning in ongoing online discussions. We provide close up support in learning in all formats

• Ongoing professional guidance in an online community of practice

• Close work with expert facilitators from Erikson Institute and committed colleagues in Hawaii

Erikson Facilitators will support teachers in developing an online community of practice with their Hawaii colleagues: a place where teachers can respond to facilitator prompts, post photo and video evidence of practice, and discuss growth and change in practice as well as their children’s learning.

Preparing & Sharing: A Celebration of Learning

As part of the final day of face-to-face learning lab in January 2021, teachers will share documentation and/or classroom artifacts that demonstrate shifts made in their teaching practices that support young children learning to read and write.