Through a Child’s Eyes: How Classroom Design Inspires Children’s Learning and Wonder

Presented by Dr. Sandra Duncan, Early Childhood Expert, Author on Young Children’s Environments, Adjunct Faculty at Nova Southeastern University, FL
Sponsored by Gryphon House

Watch the Recording

Young children view the world from a different perspective than adults. Children’s unique perspectives and the way they view the world are greatly regulated by their height. Young children live close to the ground—so they are always discovering close up: the tiny acorn peeking out from under a fallen leaf, the glistening droplets on the dandelion, or the dust bunny in the corner of the classroom. Adults, on the other hand, have a completely different perspective of the world. Their viewpoint is more of a bird’s-eye or all-inclusive view compared to young children who have more of a restricted view.

Understanding the difference between adult’s viewpoints and children’s perspectives is important when designing classrooms for young children. Learn how designing classrooms from children’s perspectives helps improve their behaviors and inspires learning and wonder. In this edWebinar with early childhood expert Dr. Sandra Duncan, viewers will learn to:

• Describe the difference between the adult’s perspective and the child’s viewpoint of an early childhood classroom
• Give at least three reasons why designing a classroom from a child’s perspective is important
• List at least three strategies for improving children’s viewpoints in an early childhood classroom

PreK teachers as well as directors, assistant directors, training coordinators, and professional development personnel will benefit from watching this recorded session.

About the Presenter

Dr. Sandra Duncan is an early childhood educator specializing in classroom design and its impact on children’s interaction with the classroom environment. With almost 50 years of experience in the early care and education field, Dr. Duncan has extensive experiences in publishing curricula and teacher resources, playing with young children, training early childhood professionals, teaching at the university level, designing professional development programs, working with parents and CDA candidates, and authoring several books. She is the author of Inspiring Spaces for Young Children; Rating Observation Scale for Inspiring Spaces (ROSIE); Rethinking the Classroom Landscape: Creating Environments that Connect Young Children, Families, and Communities; and Bringing the Outside In: Ideas for Creating Nature-Based Classroom Experiences for Young Children as well as numerous articles on early childhood environments and connecting children with nature.

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 Gryphon House, Inc. is an award-winning publisher of early childhood resources for teachers and parents.