Join WestEd’s Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Annual Conference, November 15–20, 2022, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
Each year NAEYC convenes early childhood educators from around the world to connect, collaborate, and learn together. The Annual Conference is designed for all early childhood professionals, including classroom teachers, center directors, administrators, and leaders who prepare, mentor, and support early childhood professionals.
WestEd’s PITC is a comprehensive training system that promotes responsive, caring relationships for infants and toddlers and employs evidence-based training materials and strategies for the early education field. View our sessions below and be sure to visit us in the exhibition hall to chat with our staff and learn about emerging research and practice.
We also hope you’ll join the live conversation by following @WestEd on Twitter. Be sure to tag your insights from the conference with #NAEYC2022 and #WestEdChat!
Sessions
Wednesday, November 16
Session: Opening Our Hearts and Minds to the Infants’ Curriculum: Stories About Implementing the PITC’s Relationship-Based Curriculum
Time & Location: 8:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. / Room 152AB
Presenters: Arlene Paxton (WestEd) and Amber Morabito (WestEd)
In this session, PITC will discuss its relationship-based approach to planning learning experiences for infants (children ages birth to three). Participants will:
- Discover a responsive approach to curriculum that begins with an emotionally secure foundation for children’s self-initiated, self-directed play, exploration, and learning
- Examine and deepen understanding of infants’ and toddlers’ self-directed and initiated learning
- Learn how to implement a curriculum that aligns with each child’s curriculum in diverse infant/toddler programs
Session: The Art of Observation: Insights from Pikler and the Program for Infant and Toddler Care
Time & Location: 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. / Room 146A
Presenters: Elsa Chahin (Pikler Lóczy USA) and Peter Mangione (WestEd)
This sessions explores the value and purpose of observation from the Pikler and PITC perspectives of infant care. Observation is essential for knowing and understanding babies, and only through observation can early child care professionals provide infants with the kind of care that will help them thrive. The participants will examine concepts and watch videos that depict safe environments where infants can act and communicate, and their caregivers can observe and respond to their play and exploration.
Meet-and-Greet
Visit the PITC booth to meet and talk with the developers of the new PITC Curriculum.
- Wednesday, November 16: 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Thursday, November 17: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Friday, November 18: 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
General NAEYC Exhibit Hours
Wednesday, November 16: 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, November 17: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Friday, November 18: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Learn more about PITC and the PITC Curriculum at pitc.org.