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Make Learning Fun
April 14, 2010
I always felt awkward and shy and on the outside of the momentum of my friends' lives.
-Steven Spielberg, Director, Producer, Screenwriter

It is incredibly important that early childhood professionals in centers and homes be well trained. This is a serious challenge for our profession.  But that does not mean that all training has to be serious.  In fact, from time to time, training can be effective when it is fun. 

I invite you to share your stories of fun and successful training activities by scrolling down and posting a comment below.  You may want to check back in coming weeks to view all the contributions.  Just go to the ExchangeEveryDay section at www.ChildCareExchange.com and click on "View previous issues."

To prime the pump, I will share a quick idea offered by a participant in a workshop I led several years ago for California AEYC.  A director related how she was having a difficult time motivating staff to learn the state licensing requirements that impacted their work.  So she turned it into a contest using the Trivial Pursuit format, and the staff got on board in no time.


What keeps adults learning is the combination of ongoing reading, dialogue, trial and error, skill development, and continual self-reflection. There are always old and new ideas to visit, mentors and models to re-examine, and adjustments to make in one's approach.  The Exchange CD Book Developing Capable, Creative Teachers offers an exhaustive collection of 53 articles in PDF format offering a host of practical ideas and strategies in the following categories:

  • Staff Development Basics
  • Staff Development Strategies and Solutions
  • Team Building Strategies and Solutions

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Comments (24)

Displaying 5 of 24 Comments   [ View all ]
Laura Gates · April 19, 2010
YWCA
Binghamton, NY, United States


My center has monthly staff meetings, and I feel opportunities to learn AND have fun are extremely important. Games and team building exercises give my staff a chance to brush up on their skills and knowledge of regulations and policies. I have created a policy Jeopardy, Family Feud, Speed games, even a Newlywed game where instead of a suitor looking for dates, a parent poses questions to three potential teachers to find the right place to bring her child. These have been so much fun! Nothing thrills me more than seeing a reserved staff member whip out their competitive nature...and a little smack talk! :-)

Laura Vidal-Prudholme · April 16, 2010
Saddleback College
Mission Viejo, CA, United States


An opening activity breaks the ice socially as well as creating a fun. warm environment for learning to take place. Participants are more willing to take risks and stretch their thinking in an emotionally warm, stress free environment. I have done people searches ( find someone who.....), treasure hunts, think-pair-shares (think about a provocative question and answer it for yourself, then pair up with another person and share your answers to the question). A fun one is to have small groups blow up balloons and then label each balloon with a responsibility they believe teachers have (as many as they can think of) then we have one volunteer stand up in the front of the class and as we talk about each one the "volunteer" is given the balloon. Needless to say they have a difficult time trying to manage all those balloons and then we talk about how we can share the burden of so many responsibilities or might discover that we think we have responsibilities that aren't ours to carry! It makes for a great interactive workshop/training!

Shahidullah Sharif · April 16, 2010
ECDRC, IED, BRAC University
Dhaka, Bangladesh, Bangladesh


In my Classes or training I uses twist initially into learning content which is used as fus as well as example of latter discussion.Some time Games are used as instant. It seems to me Ok. fun for fun I always don't like.

Shahidullah Sharif · April 16, 2010
ECDRC, IED, BRAC University
Dhaka, Bangladesh, Bangladesh


It's indeed that training should almost always be fun. Specially, in ECD sector, it is true for effectiveness. But, FUN shoud be matched with training need and more with content. I have almost posive experience of use of fun effectively in training. Howeve I have also some (few) negative use of fun in training or academic course. For example, some trainer usees fun for fun and getting clap and instant praise. Though s/he missed the content due to lost valuable time. Generally s/he intension to fun not to content. Without matching the content and missing valuable learning things s/he spent time for fun which is sinful tendency toward participants.

Shahidullah Sharif · April 16, 2010
ECDRC, IED, BRAC University
Dhaka, Bangladesh, Bangladesh


It's indeed that training should almost always be fun. Specially, in ECD sector, it is true for effectiveness. But, FUN shoud be matched with training need and more with content. I have almost posive experience of use of fun effectively in training. Howeve I have also some (few) negative use of fun in training or academic course. For example, some trainer usees fun for fun and getting clap and instant praise. Though s/he missed the content due to lost valuable time. Generally s/he intension to fun not to content. Without matching the content and missing valuable learning things s/he spent time for fun which is sinful tendency toward participants.



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