KAEE 2024 Conference

The Narrative 4 story exchange is a strategy for using reciprocal storytelling, deep listening, and perspective taking to foster curiosity, empathy, and meaningful connections. Storytellers share their stories with a partner and actively listen while their partner shares their story. The group gathers together and each participant retells their partner’s story in the first person. This session informs educators through experience how they can use narrative storytelling to advance the cause of environmental education by helping students see themselves in the story of their place and time.

Narrative 4 teacher-facilitators around the world use this method to provoke curiosity and drive inquiry-based learning in their classrooms in any subject or interdisciplinary effort. N4 also connects partner schools and facilitators with each other in our global network, so interested educators can build intentional collaboration across all distances and divides to bring diverse learning opportunities to their students, through the human face of story. Participants can expect to leave with a strong feeling of community and connection to their fellow educators, as well as a humanities-flavored way to bring science education to all learners.

Logistics:

• Pre-registration is required during conference registration at kaee.org/conference.

You put a lot of work into your newsletters, social media posts, PowerPoints and website -- but are they accessible to people with disabilities? Roberta Burnes will show you how a few simple steps can improve accessibility of your socials, email announcements, PowerPoints and more, to ensure that EVERYONE gets your message. Topics covered will include writing appropriate alt text for images, effective use of color and contrast, and using Microsoft's built-in accessibility checker. Bring your smartphone or laptop for some hands-on practice.

Join us for an interactive presentation that showcases fun and inspiring ways to encourage children to step outside and engage with the natural world. This session will feature a variety of hands-on activities designed to spark curiosity and foster a love for nature. Attendees will learn effective strategies to motivate kids to explore their surroundings, from fun nature scavenger hunts to exciting wildlife observation games. Additionally, the presentation will delve into the wonders of gardening, offering practical tips on how to involve children in growing their own plants and understanding the life cycle of a garden. Whether you’re a teacher, parent, or community leader, this presentation will equip you with creative tools to help kids discover the joys of outdoor adventures and the satisfaction of nurturing a garden.

Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) "explores sustainability and its educational responses in Early Childhood Education (ECE [Davis, 2022]). Through Environmental Education and incorporating nature in classroom learning, teachers enable children to have positive experiences in nature and encourage respect for our planet. Sustainability is an abstract concept for young children. How do we implement classroom practices that are meaningful to children and encourage them to engage in sustainability practices? This prospect becomes complex as Early Childhood Educators work with with children from increasingly diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and linguistic backgrounds. Participants in this session will engage in dialogue about what ECEfS looks like in practice for teachers of young children and in teacher preparation programs. We will engage in activities that can be easily replicated in classrooms with young children.

Description coming soon.