Learning with Grown Ups

I just finished presenting my third two-day introductory training on Teaching Strategies GOLD® (TS GOLD®) to another group of of Vermont early childhood educators and, while I am a little tired, I am always thrilled at what I get out of these trainings as much as what I am teaching to the participants. 

TS GOLD® is a mandated assessment by Vermont for providers who are drawing down State Education money to pay for preschool children participating in their programs. As the number private providers who are doing this expands with the passage of VT Act 166, more will need to be trained in using this tool correctly. 

So, I am out there, training providers how to use the online assessment system for the children they have in their programs. Today and yesterday, I was with a group of teachers in the Northeast Kingdom both from private settings and Head Start who teach kids ranging from infants to 5 years old. It was an excellent variety of learners. Most of them had some familiarity with TS GOLD®, but at least three of them had never seen it before.

As we got to know the tool, the more experienced participants shared their knowledge with the newer learners. Thankfully, I was able to also show the veteran participants some new functions of the tool as well, so they walked away with new tricks.

One of the participants has made her own hand-held version of what is called the Objectives for Development and Learning (ODL) that she shared. It was a clever design that I plan on sharing with my Teaching Strategies trainer. It is pictured below. 

Another participant shared a set of infant and toddler activity cards called Mighty Minutes that her Head Start program had purchased from Teaching Strategies that could be a time saver when working with the TS GOLD® data system. While these are not cheap, they were a new resource that everyone in the room was able to get their hands on and open the box and look through, rather than just look at a picture on a website.

These two resources were new to me and to the other participants. They are just a couple of examples of what I love about sharing early childhood learning with others. I go in with my agenda and goals and learning objectives for the day, but I come out with new, unexpected knowledge and ideas from my participants that re-energizes me about my work and the whole early education field.