Fiona Zinn is an educator and consultant, based in Hobart, Australia. With a background in early childhood, primary and tertiary education, Fiona works with educators around the world to boldly re-imagine early years pedagogy, curriculum and learning environments in response to research. She has a sustaining interest in teachers collaboration to develop a ‘shared pedagogy’ as an authentic reflection of their culture, community and context. Much of this work focuses on aligning and re-designing learning spaces and processes in response to the educational project of Reggio Emilia, Italy but is also shaped by interpretation and experience across a wide range of contexts. Fiona consults extensively with International Schools, has spent a decade as an invited sessional lecturer at the University of Melbourne Graduate School of Education, is elected to the National Committee of the Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange and collaborates with the International Baccalaureate as a Professional Development Educator and Workshop Developer.
Venue:
Gems World Academy, Dubai
Al Barsha South
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
+971 (0) 4 373-6373
8:30 am to 4:00 pm
Registration at 8.00 am
on the 22nd January 2021.
Deep Dive Sessions: Exploring the ways in which our spaces generate voice, choice and ownership in learning, the relationship between spaces and learning engagements for individuals and groups, bringing our awareness to the potential for spatially responsive pedagogy in the early years.
Who or what has agency within the spaces for children’s learning?
How does the environment act on the experience of learning?
In the three decades since Blenkin and White head declared “the most neglected and misunderstood dimension of the planned curriculum is the creation of an environment or a setting in which education is to take place” (1988, p.35), the significance and impact of the places and spaces for children’s learning has earned a higher profile in schools around the world.
Educators across the school continuum are now engaging in a search for deeper understandings of the structure, function, purpose and impact of their learning environments. Echoing a collective of voices heard in international early childhood settings, this generates a powerful call for early years educators to re-cognize (re-think) our learning spaces as agentic, active participants in the learning process.
