Here is the detailed overview of workshops provided on Saturday, May 17th. More will be announced soon.
1) Jonathan Levy
Title: Democracy begins with children's rights
Participation is the building block of democracy. It creates active citizens and thriving civil societies. It can hold governments to account and challenge corruption and undemocratic practices. Where do we
teach people that their input is a valuable resource?
Participation empowers children in their diverse situations to make decisions about the primary issues that affect their lives (growing, learning, loving) and the lives of others and the environment. It is essential for children and young people to develop their own capacities and skills to participate fully in their communities and society. However, for most children, being heard and respected and having the opportunity to play a meaningful role in issues which affect them is not an option. There is much to be done to mainstream children's participation to ensure that all children are able to realize their right to be heard and have their viewpoints respected. Implementing this right involves a profound and radical change in the status of children in most societies and the nature of relationships between adults and children.The workshop will focus on the pedagogy of children’s rights and conditions needed to make it work.
2) Gina C. Duarte-Romero, M.Ed.- Ana Seoane
Title: Sharing Successes, Strategies and Insights in the International Primary Years Programme
This workshop will focus on the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Programme and how it is implemented. The Biltmore School has been authorized with the IBO Primary Years Programme since 2012. Educators from the school will share best practices as well as an overview of the program, the challenges they went through and all the benefits of the IBO framework.
3) Ana C. Pizano, Ed.D. - Corina Febres, M.S.:
Title: Relationships, Service, and Purpose: Building Communities of Practice for Teacher Learning, Belonging, and Wellbeing
The outgoing Surgeon General of the United States made a powerful final recommendation: to strengthen communities in order to tackle the epidemic of loneliness and isolation. Communities provide three key essentials for humans: relationships, service, and purpose. In this workshop, we will dive into the transformative role of learning communities in helping educators find belonging, thrive, and improve their pedagogical practices. These communities offer opportunities for teachers to develop their voices, share common values, and grow together. Drawing from our experiences as immigrant educators in Miami, we’ll share how learning communities have been vital spaces for personal and professional growth, connection, and development. We’ll introduce and apply facilitation tools from various frameworks that have shaped our professional development. Participants will explore how to foster trust, critical thinking, teacher empowerment, and perspective-taking in ways that cultivate belonging and a sense of purpose among educators.
4) Tharrenos Bratitsis
Title: Competence cultivation through storytelling and gamification (offered in greek)
The workshop will present concrete examples of competence cultivation in contemporary education, following the established competence frameworks (e.g. DigComp, EntreComp). Through the experience of 3 EU funded programs (Cthink.IT, Game It Away and Blooming the Future), the approach of studying competence frameworks and designing focused educational approaches and activities will be exemplified. Selected activities will be implemented in a hands-on workshop, specifically focusing on the power of storytelling within such diverse approaches.
5) Marla McLean & Veronica Boix- Mansilla
Title: Telling Untold Stories through 100 Languages: From Love to Action
Stories make us human. They give voice to what makes us unique and connect us with universal themes of human experience. Through the sharing of stories, we make sense of the world around us and give meaning to our experience weaving together a sense of where we come from, who we are, who we could become with others. Yet stories are passed along selectively, many are silenced, and forgotten. This workshop is about the power to keep storytelling -- especially the stories of the marginalized majority -- alive!
Together we will examine a number of practices where stories take center stage, in classrooms, museums, homes, communities. You will learn about our emerging “from love to action” framework for global competence education, about the power of critical and joyful storytelling, and about the art of engaging children to express themselves through studio arts, music, poetry, dance, nature, and more. This hands-on course will invite you to re-imagine what engagement and art activism might look like in your context as we prepare our children for an interconnected and just world. This work builds on our work at Washington DC Reggio Emilia Inspired Public school and as part of Harvard Project Zero’s Global Children design research initiative.
6) Hannah Birney-Margi Fineran
Title: Weaving together our lives and the earth
How do you foster and encourage empathy when teaching very young children? How do you encourage students to slow down and look closely with love at differences? In this workshop we will explore the promises and wonders of educating for global competence in early childhood in our Washington DC Reggio Emilia Inspired Public school and as part of Harvard Project Zero’s Global Children design research initiative.
We will introduce a project that began with the inspiring life story of black botanist and agriculturalist Dr. George W Carver and became an exploration of our connection to the earth, about collaboration, love, wonder and the development of young global environmental stewards. We will learn how, through project work, in the earliest years of school, we can raise empathetic, altruistic global citizens who will tell us that even a 4-year- old can rise to action and make a difference in the world.
In this interactive workshop, participants will learn to use the Global Children framework as a guiding tool for cultivating global competency in early childhood. Using thinking routines, participants will extract teaching strategies and grounding examples of cultivating environmental stewardship in early childhood as well as connect lessons learned to their own classrooms
7) Eleni Geroulanou-Koula Panagou-Marianna Psihalou
Title: Stories for a Shared World: Using Literature to Foster Identity, Empathy, and Citizenship (offered in Greek)
This workshop explores how children’s literature can foster personal expression and intercultural understanding. Through the analysis of selected books and hands-on activities, participants will discover ways to help children develop their cultural identity, appreciate diverse experiences, and embrace inclusivity. The workshop offers practical strategies for cultivating active citizenship and creating democratic, inclusive classrooms. By linking stories to personal experiences through a “narrative map,” participants will explore tools for nurturing empathy, responsibility, and active participation, empowering students to make meaningful contributions to society.
