News
Bethesda, Md.-Westover Consultants, Inc. (WCI) is pleased to announce that proposals for conference presentations have been accepted by the 2007 Annual Conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC – www.naeyc.org). The conference will be held for over 20,000 attendees in Chicago on 7-10 November. One of the largest professional conferences convened in the world, NAEYC offers a wide range of learning opportunities for early childhood practitioners, researchers, educators of teachers, and advocates. Westover staff members have presented at NAEYC annual conferences for over 25 years.
Dr. Faye E. Coleman, President and CEO of WCI, will present a premier workshop titled “Are You Listening to Me? Overcoming Common Communication Barriers and Promoting Interpersonal Communication Success in Early Childhood Programs.” This presentation will be in the track for Leadership, Management, and Program Administration.
Studies have shown that individuals who lack effective interpersonal communication skills demonstrate lower workplace productivity because they do not have the tools needed to influence, persuade and negotiate – all critical elements of workplace success.
Because most early childhood education (ECE) settings regularly require people to rely on one another to get things done, it is particularly crucial that all key stakeholders possess the skills needed to communicate effectively. This includes teachers, parents, administrators, board members, concern community members, and other stakeholders.
Coleman emphatically states that “This highly interactive workshop will (1) help participants recognize and overcome the common barriers to effective communications in ECE programs, (2) demonstrate effective verbal communication techniques, (3) provide participants with an opportunity to apply the principles of active listening to their daily communication tasks, and (4) demonstrate the essential principles of assertive workplace communications.”
Workshop participants will learn how to identify the common barriers to workplace communication; understand their own communication styles and how to make improvements where needed; listen actively in order to hear what others are really saying; and communicate assertively in order to get their point across without misunderstanding. Coleman states participants will receive the tools and resources necessary to develop an individualized action plan for communication success within their local programs, which is one of the hallmarks of high-performing organizations.
Edna Ranck, Senior Research Associate, Military Child and Family Services Division, will moderate the annual History Seminar for the fifth time. Sixteen presenters from around the United States will report on early education research in the History track during more than six hours of presentations. In addition, early childhood historians and other colleagues will pay Tribute to Professor Dorothy W. Hewes, San Diego State University, to celebrate the History Seminar founded by Professor Hewes at a NAEYC conference 25 years ago. Ranck will moderate a panel within the seminar titled “Heroes on the Horizon,” the fourth of panels composed of well-known national early educators, authors and researchers reflecting on their years of experience in early childhood education. Ranck observes, “The horizon is where you are standing, able to look backward and forward. Older early educators are the next generation’s heroes, able to share their past with those who are facing their own future in the field of early education.”
Ranck will also co-chair the Fourth International Film Literacy Festival co-sponsored by NAEYC & OMEP-USNC, the World Organization of Early Childhood Education. The six-hour festival titled “Seeing What Others Imagine” will help attendees recognize the essential importance of understanding the value and meaning of screen images – film, TV, videos & DVDs – just as parents and teachers recognize the value of reading to children. The goal of the festival is to establish film literacy equal to print literacy.
Films and film clips shown during the festival will emphasize global events that include United Nations stories about children around the world and that focus on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Other films and public service announcements will emphasize the components of quality early care and education through curriculum development and classroom activities. A third category focuses on commercial films that address key aspects of children’s development around the world, including “Whale Rider” (New Zealand), “The Story of the Weeping Camel” (Mongolia), and “Finding Nemo” (United States).