Supporting and Engaging the 21st Century Learner Summer Institue 2010

Supporting and Engaging the 21st Century Learner Summer Institute 2010 was a unique opportunity for High School Teaches of Early Childhood Education in the state of Colorado. This Summer Institute was organized by Clayton Early Learning Center and was held June 24-26th, 2010. This workshop included professors from the Colorado Community Colleges through the state and high school teachers were invited to participate in the workshops. Many of the professors taught ECE 101 and ECE 102. This gave me an opportunity to network with other professionals and to gain many valuable resources.

Some of the some the workshops that were offered included: Denver Museum of Nature and Science, STEM activity information, E-Portfolio, Research Resources, and Social Emotional competences and inclusive Practices. These workshops were presents by professionals that were considered and expert in these areas. Many resources and materials were available at each session. Networking was very important during this institute.

The STEM workshops were set up with several activities that teachers could have preschool students could do for science, technology, engineering and math. I felt that these workshops were very well organized and beneficial to the high school programs. These workshops were very hands on and active. Some of the activities included building cars, working with shapes, building music items, and building with blocks. The instructors integrated several reading and math academics into the lesson they demonstrated.

The next workshop that I felt that was very beneficial was the E-Portfolio. We were able to log on and build a sample to show our students. This is a Community College push for their instructors and it is free to Colorado students. The high school students need to use this as well. Students will be able to load contact information, valuable research they have completed and their valuable work. This work will be used though out their college career.

I would highly recommend this institute to all ECE high school teachers in the state in the future.