October 30, 2020, 10am to 11:45am and 1:00pm to 3:00pm
The Power of Simple Interactions: Appreciate and Strengthen Everyday Human Interactions with Young Children and Between Grown-ups
In the morning keynote portion, we will have a discussion about children’s helpers and understand the relationships they built with children and families. So much of what we have come to understand about human development, we have learned from the helpers who support children and families. Many of these helpers – professionals and families alike – face enormous challenges, including limited access to material and professional resources, institutional or systemic barriers to supporting quality practices, and pervasive stigma and social inequity that impact both children and adults. Yet, with resourcefulness, persistence, and the joy of community, they overcome these challenges to meet children’s and families’ needs. Their stories, captured and told through video footage of their daily work, exemplify the simple power of human interactions, the under-appreciated potential of human capacity, and the resilient hope of the human spirit.
In the afternoon workshop, we will be using the “Simple Interactions” approach to closely examine adult-child interactions in early learning contexts. By noticing and appreciating the dynamics within even the simplest human interactions, we will discuss together how these interactions weave together four powerful building blocks of the human relationship – connection, reciprocity, inclusion, and opportunity to grow. We will also extend these principles to reflect on the “parallel processes” of adult-adult partnerships that support professionals and families.
Our Speakers
Junlei Li, Ph.D. is the Saul Zaentz senior lecturer in early childhood education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research and practice focuses on understanding and supporting the work of helpers–those who serve children and families on the frontlines of education and social services. Li studied and learned from a wide range of developmental settings with low resources but high-quality practices, including orphanages, childcare, classrooms, and community youth programs. He developed the "Simple Interactions" approach to help identify what ordinary people do extraordinarily well with children in everyday moments and made that the basis for promoting positive system change. Li frequently delivers keynote presentations and workshops for national, state, and international conferences focused on improving practices, programs, and policies for children, families, and professionals, with a particular emphasis on early childhood development. He teaches about improving human interactions and supporting adult helpers at HGSE and the Zaentz Professional Learning Academy. Li's work is significantly influenced and inspired by the pioneering work of Fred Rogers (creator of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood). He previously served as the Co-Director and Rita M. McGinley Professor for Early Learning and Children's Media at the Fred Rogers Center at Saint Vincent College.
Dana Winters, Ph.D. As the Director of Simple Interactions and Academic Programs for the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media, Dana Winters seeks to apply and advance the legacy of Fred Rogers in serving children and their helpers. Through projects involving children’s helpers across many diverse settings, including child care, school systems, community programs, residential care, and children’s hospitals, she communicates and reflects what is simple and deep about work in service of children and their families. Dana supervises the Center’s research lab, Incubator 143, which partners with educators, trainers, advocates, and researchers to focus on identifying and amplifying the simple active ingredient that universally helps serve children—the power of human connection. She joined the Center after serving as the Senior Evaluator for the Collaborative for Evaluation and Assessment Capacity at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Education, and as an Education Counselor with the Educational Opportunity Centers of Penn State University. Dana holds a Ph.D. in administrative and policy studies from the University of Pittsburgh, a M.A. in education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. in sociology from Saint Vincent College.
This event is co-sponsored by INCCRRA, National Louis University, and The Ounce of Prevention Fund.
