AISWA 2017 Early Childhood Conference

Lisa Burman sees herself firstly as a teacher, which means she is as a constant learner, fascinated with childhood and the power and joy of learning.  She is the Director and Principal Consultant for Lisa Burman Consultants, based in Adelaide, South Australia.  Lisa is the author of “Are You Listening? Fostering Conversations that Help Young Children Learn” and is presently writing her second book about building a culture of agency, which will be published in 2023. Her pedagogical consultancy specialises in early childhood education and literacy learning, and she is particularly passionate about pedagogies that are playful and build children’s identities as readers and writers.

Jill McLachlan is an educational consultant in Sydney, Australia. Since beginning teaching as an early childhood educator Jill has pursued educational approaches that give children agency and voice in the learning process and prioritise ways of teaching and learning founded within a social constructivist perspective. Jill’s work challenges traditional approaches that position the teacher as the expert or hero in the room. Instead Jill invites educators to reimagine their role as co-researchers, facilitators, questioners, and companions of children in a search for meaning and connections. Many thinkers and educators have influenced Jill’s practice and thinking over many years. She is notably inspired by the work of the educational project in Reggio Emilia, Italy and by inquiry based approaches to curriculum that invite students to think critically, deeply and with others. Since her earliest days teaching, Jill has been exploring the role of Pedagogical Documentation as a research and advocacy tool within schools. Of particular interest, has been the way in which the act of research and documenting enables teachers to learn alongside children, listen to them, celebrate their voices, and leave a trace of their thinking and theories. Through her teaching and consultancy work, Jill encourages educators to consider how listening to children has potential to challenge, influence and inform teaching and learning, opening up possibilities for new ways of 'doing' and 'being' in the classroom. In 2015, her co-authored book, ‘Unearthing Why: Stories of thinking and learning with children’ (Britt & McLachlan), was published through Pademelon Press. The book is a collection of stories offering a distinct and hopeful outlook of the future of education. Each chapter invites the reader to consider and celebrate the complexity and beauty of children’s capacity to learn, think and be together.