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Past PITC Webinar Events

About the Webinar Series

The California Department of Social Services, Child Care and Development Division, in partnership with WestEd, hosted a webinar series that focuses on a process for educators to fine tune their understanding of behavior in order to support the social-emotional well-being of each child and the group.

The series explored the importance of understanding the meaning of communication that is often expressed through behavior for young children and offers tools and resources to support infant/toddler care educators to make meaning of children’s verbal and non-verbal cues. Presenters demonstrate the use of tools and identify resources through exploration of case studies from family child care and center-based programs.

Part 1: Regulate, Relate, and Reason

Presenters: Miriam Silverman and Cheryl Williams-Jackson 
May 8, 2024

This archived webinar focuses on the connection between behavior, which is communication, and the nervous system, to understand both the child’s message and current emotional state, as well as the state of the adult to support co-regulation. The caregiver’s emotional state influences both how the child’s message is understood and the interaction between the child and their caregiver.

Session Resources 

PART 2: Resources and Solutions

Presenters: Miriam Silverman and Cheryl Williams-Jackson 
May 15, 2024

The archived webinar will use a case study to develop solutions using the Child-Caregiver Success Plan and the Child-Caregiver Success Plan Follow-Up to support behaviors that work for the child and others. Implementation of the Success Plans ensure that the caregiver and the family are partnering and documenting the ongoing development of strategies to support the child to move into an emotional “safe zone” to practice skills and behaviors that benefit the child and others in care.

Resources for caregivers will be discussed that provide advice and mental health consultation when additional support is needed to meet the child’s needs and to support the family and the caregiver.   

Session Resources 

About the Webinar Series

The California Department of Social Services, Child Care and Development Division, in partnership with WestEd, hosted a webinar series that focuses on updates from the book, Infant/Toddler Caregiving: A Guide to Social-Emotional Growth and Socialization, now in its third edition.

The series highlighted the significant work of infant/toddler care providers and teachers in developing relationships with individual children and their families, an important first step in supporting the children’s social-emotional growth and socialization. An understanding of the family, culture, and lived experience is essential for care providers and teachers in providing responsive interactions as a partner and guide for each child as they learn to regulate themselves, develop feelings of belonging, and relate to others with empathy, wonder, and connection.

Part 1: Resisting the Margins: Advancing an Imperative To Attend To Race and Culture and the Social-Emotional Growth and Learning of Infants and Toddlers

Moderator: Elizabeth Crocker
Presenter: Eva Marie Shivers 
May 18, 2023

Culturally responsive care, with teachers attuned to each child’s culture and applying anti-bias approaches, supports social-emotional development for very young children. But how do we get there?

This archived webinar explores how the journey begins by centering our work in self-knowledge and meaningful partnerships with families. We introduce one of the new chapters from the Infant/Toddler Caregiving book, “Resisting the Margins: Advancing an Imperative to Attend to Race and Culture and the Social-Emotional Growth and Learning of Infants and Toddlers.” Considerations are given on poverty and racism, and how these impact the well-being of children, families, and early-childhood educators. The presenter explores the developmental processes for cultural and racial socialization for the very young.

Session Resources

Part 2: From Early Empathy to Acts of Kindness

Moderator: Elizabeth Crocker
Presenters: Jennifer Marcella-Burdett and Tatiana Hill-Maini
May 25, 2023

What might a more compassionate world look like? A world where people consider their own and others’ emotions? A world where people act out of care and concern for others?

This archived webinar explores the earliest foundations of empathy formed during the infant and toddler years and introduces one of the new chapters from the Infant/Toddler Caregiving book, “From Early Empathy to Acts of Kindness.” Presenters discuss why empathy is important for infant and toddler caregivers and young children. The webinar focused on the set of skills that make up empathy and how young children’s empathy develops over time. Presenters will describe practical ways caregivers can support empathy development of infants and toddlers in their programs.

Session Resources

About the Webinar Series

The California Department of Social Services, Child Care and Development Division, in partnership with WestEd, hosted a webinar series that focused on the 2021 California Department of Education (CDE) publication, Best Practices for Planning Curriculum for Young Children: The Powerful Role of Play in Early Education. 

The series explored the importance of play as a right of childhood and the roles of teachers, providers, and administrators to support authentic play as the foundation for learning in early care and education programs. In addition to highlighting research and policy, practical examples for providers and teachers are shared to emphasize the importance of play in supporting optimal learning and development.

Faculty joining PITC for this series include: Mary Jane Maguire-Fong, Professor Emeritus and Author, Denisha Jones of Sarah Lawrence College, Marie Jones of American River College, and Elizabeth Crocker of WestEd's PITC. The panelists bring the perspectives of work with young children, mentoring and teaching of early childhood professionals, and research on play and early learning creating strong connections between research, policy, and practice. Their voices both challenge and support us to embrace play as the center of learning and curriculum.

Part 1: Play Matters

Moderator: Mary Jane Maguire-Fong
Panelists: Denisha Jones and Elizabeth Crocker
June 8, 2022

All children are born hardwired to play. Through play, children notice what goes on around them and experiment with, and joyfully investigate, objects and people. Play is essential for young children’s learning; yet despite this, play is disappearing from childhood and early learning settings.

This archived webinar introduces, The Powerful Role of Play in Early Education, an exciting new publication published by the California Department of Education, that invites us to reflect on what is needed to reverse this alarming trend.

Panelists discuss why play is important to children’s learning and what each of us can do to re-center play as the primary context for early learning.

Session Resources

Part 2: Play at the Center of the Curriculum

Moderator: Mary Jane Maguire-Fong
Panelists: Marie Jones and Elizabeth Crocker
June 15, 2022

Within everyday experiences in play, young children build concepts that are foundational in providing a strong base for all future learning.

This archived webinar explores how teachers and providers place play at the center of early childhood curriculum. The panelists explore how to design play spaces as environments for learning, invite children’s playful participation during the daily routines, and support children’s play with others, especially when conflicts arise.

Teaching and learning through play require time for reflection, collaboration, and thoughtful planning. Panelists invite you to explore the time, resources, and support teachers and providers need to thoughtfully observe, document, and interpret children’s play.

Session Resources

About the Webinar Series

The California Department of Social Services, Child Care and Development Division, in partnership with WestEd, hosted a webinar series that focused on the 2021 California Department of Education (CDE) publication, Inclusion Works! Creating Child Care Programs That Promote Belonging for Children with Disabilities, Second Edition.

This series explored recent policies and position papers pertaining to inclusive programs and new professional development videos that accompany the CDE publication, Inclusion Works! Creating Child Care Programs That Promote Belonging for Children with Disabilities, Second Edition, released in summer 2021. In addition to highlighting recent updates to policies, position papers, and resources from the document, the presenter incorporates video from the companion series available on California Early Learning Videos to explore practical suggestions for integrating these resources into professional development activities and program practices to support inclusive practices.

Part 1: Promoting Inclusion Through Universal Design and Belonging

Presenter: Linda Brault
June 10, 2021

This archived webinar introduces a tool that can be used to assess the current use of inclusive practices along with Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning. It also touches on the rationale for inclusion and sharing concerns with families.

Session Resources

Part 2: Promoting Inclusion Through Collaboration and Adaptations

Presenter: Linda Brault
June 17, 2021

This archived webinar focuses on collaboration with specialists and common modifications that can be used to support inclusion. The webinar provides examples and ideas for using these resources to support professional development activities.

Session Resources

About the Webinar Series

The California Department of Education (CDE), Early Learning and Care Division, in partnership with WestEd, hosted a webinar series that introduced new professional development videos, available on California Early Learning Videos, that accompany the CDE publication, Guidelines for Early Learning in Child Care Home Settings  (English; Español).

The series discussed suggestions for integrating these resources into professional development activities with both new and seasoned family child care providers.

Part 1: Promoting Quality in Home-Based Child Care: Teacher, Caregiver, Family Partner, and Business Owner

Presenters: Crystal McClendon-Gourdine and Diane Harkins
April 10, 2019

This archived webinar focuses on how the guidelines and companion videos, available on California Early Learning Videos, can be used together to support the development of the four primary roles of family child care providers: caregiver, teacher, family partner, and business owner. The videos highlight key aspects of home-based child care through the voices of providers and other professionals in the field. Examples of video clips that emphasize key messages will be shown and discussed.

Session Resource

Part 2: Promoting Quality in Home-Based Child Care: The Curriculum and the Environment

Presenters: Crystal McClendon-Gourdine and Diane Harkins
April 17, 2019

This archived webinar focuses on how the guidelines and companion videos, available on California Early Learning Videos, explain and visually illustrate the components of a home-based curriculum, as well as considerations for creating a high-quality, nurturing environment for mixed-age groups. Presenters will provide examples and ideas for using these resources to support professional development activities.

Session Resource

Part 1: Why Do They Do That? Infants, Toddlers and Intentionality

Presenter: Linda Brault
March 7, 2017

This archived webinar explores how young children communicate through their behavior and how this communication usually works well when adults interpret the child’s behavior from the child’s perspective and intention. The webinar provides an opportunity to engage in reflection about what happens when the adults assign deeper or even “adult” intention to the child’s behavior, or interpret developmental exploration as intentional “testing” of the adult. It also explores and generates new ideas for answering the questions: “Why do they do that?” How do we get into the mind of the child? What can we do to change our mindset?

Session Resources

Part 2: Understanding Traumatic Stress in Infants and Toddlers

Presenters: Linda Perez and Julie Nicholson
March 16, 2017

This archived webinar increases participants’ understanding of trauma and the impact of traumatic stress in infants and toddlers, including the impact of traumatic experiences on infants and toddlers’ physiology and early brain development. Balanced with a discussion of trauma will be information on the importance of protecting environmental factors that help to reduce traumatic stress and improve healing and healthy development in the early years. Emphasis will be placed on the role of caring adults who are attuned to infants' and toddlers’ needs and foster feelings of safety to buffer them from high stress, promote physical health, and facilitate secure attachment and emotional development.

Session Resource

About the Webinar Series

The California Department of Education, Early Education and Support Division, in partnership with WestEd, hosted a webinar series that highlighted the California Early Childhood Educator Competencies, which describe the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that early childhood educators need in order to provide high-quality care and education to young children and their families.

Part 1: Relationships and Interactions

Presenter: Elita Amini Virmani
May 20, 2015

This archived webinar provides early childhood professionals with the opportunity to think deeply about the nature of relationships within their early childhood programs and the ways in which relationships at all levels of an organization influence children’s learning and development. The presenter focuses on implementing strategies and putting into place organizational structures that support intentional, responsive relationships between supervisors, care teachers, and young children in efforts to support children’s social and emotional development.

Session Resource

Part 2: Guidance

Presenter: Deborah Greenwald
May 27, 2015

This archived webinar provides early childhood educators an opportunity to explore the topics of socialization and guidance. The presenter highlights the connection between the early childhood educator competencies for relationships, interactions, and guidance. It provides examples, ideas, and resources for how to provide effective guidance for social behavior in the infant/toddler group care setting. In addition, it addresses the important roles of family members, teachers, and program leadership, in helping infants and toddlers learn about and develop strategies for social interactions, relationships, and managing conflict.

Session Resource

 

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