Thanks to funding from the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development, the Unit is pleased to announce a new series of Learning Circles which is taking place between September, 2010 and April 2011.

Since 2006, the Learning Circles have provided more than 100 BC educators the opportunity to interact and critically reflect on their own practices, leading to enriching and creating innovative spaces for the children they work with. The 2010-2011 Learning Circles include two face-to-face groups and one online group.

The Vancouver group involves educators from Coquitlam, Richmond, New Westminster, Burnaby, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Surrey and Delta. The Victoria group includes educators from Greater Victoria, Nanaimo, Courtenay, Comox and Lantzville. The online group is composed of educators from various localities in the province: Port Alberni, Lantzville, Powell River, Duncan, Victoria, Vancouver, Salmo, South Slocan, Kelowna, Vernon, Castlegar, Grand Forks and Kitimat.

The groups are facilitated by Dr. Enid Elliot (adjunct professor, University of Victoria), Dr. Laurie Kocher (instructor, Douglas College), and Alejandra Sanchez (instructor, Douglas College). Teleconferencing is made possible via Northern Lights College.

In January, 2011, over 60 educators from across British Columbia attended a two-day Sharing Circle in Victoria to critically reflect on practices that reflect the BC Early Learning Framework, and explore ways to enhance their own engagement with the Framework. Guest speaker Malin Kjellander shared her own explorations with pedagogical documentation within the Swedish preschool context. Ms. Kjellander’s participation in the 2011 Sharing Circle continues our long-standing relationship with Sweden through the visits from Dr. Hillevi Lenz Taguchi, Karin and Per Alnervik, and Dr. Gunilla Dahlberg.