REACH webinars and workshops 2020

In 2020, EtonHouse and REACH (Reggio Emilia in Asia for Children) have collaborated on a number successful webinars and workshops to provide professional learning opportunities and facilitate dialogues and information sharing on the Reggio Emilia approach among educators in Asia.

Reggio Emilia is a town in Northern Italy and is also the name of a world-renowned pedagogy that was founded by pedagogist Loris Malaguzzi after World War II. Supported by the entire community in Reggio Emilia, this approach is based on constructivist principles and stems from respect, responsibility, and community where learning happens through exploration, discovery, and play. Inspired by this pedagogy for the last 2 decades, EtonHouse also collaborated with Reggio Children to start REACH, which is a part of the Reggio Children international network and responsible for dissemination of information on Reggio Emilia in Asia. 

Here's a summary of what has been discussed at these webinars and workshops.

Curiosity and Questioning, facilitated by Tania Lattanzio is a series of virtual workshops that benefits experienced educators and focus on everyday learning experiences, learning environments and contexts leading to further intentional explorations. It discusses teachers’ behaviours on how to respond to children’s learning that will challenge them further in their practices. There were more than 500 attendees from different countries who participated in this series of workshops.

• Provoking Curiosity and Inquiry: Setting the Scene discussed how we can organise our environment to provoke in children the natural wonder they have. This 3-hour session that engages with participants looks at the ways in which children ask questions and develops theories. 
• Questioning and Theorising: Making Sense of the World is a 4-hour session that explained how educators and parents can organise learning around children’s questions and theories. It examined how the role of listening is key to responding to children to ensure that they are able to make sense of the world. 
• Questioning to Understand is a 2-hour workshop curated exclusively for educators, that explains the role of a teacher’s questioning. It examines different types of questions to promote deeper thinking in children. It also helps connect the importance of listening and observing when enhancing a child’s curiosity.

• Encountering Reggio Emilia by Claudia Giudici, President of Reggio Children, was an exclusive free webinar by REACH to thank educators for all that they have done for the children during the pandemic. Available in English and Mandarin, this webinar discussed the possibilities for early education during a pandemic. The session examined the Prove di Futuro Project, Tests for the Future, where the educators of Reggio Emilia explored schooling with the constraints while providing children with their right to a high-quality education.

Furthermore, Reggio Children has launched an exclusive Digital Educational Toolkit explaining the theory of 'The Hundred Languages' with the words of Loris Malaguzzi. This learning toolkit for adults is the fruit of their reflection on how to offer teachers and educators working with the Reggio Emilia Approach a variety of situations, a flexible “container” of ideas and concepts that can be re-combined and innovated in relation to the focus of each learning journey. It also contains an e-book titled 'Fragments' that provides insight into Loris Malaguzzi's ideas and concepts behind 'The Hundred Languages'. For educators and parents, this book explains knowledge using the physical body, providing a deep understanding of a child's thinking and learning journey. 

By Vea Vecchi, this course of 4 videos and 2 eBooks is now on sale: https://bit.ly/2IMMUGA