Workshops

Inspiring New Perspectives offers dynamic workshops, keynote presentations, and professional development experiences designed to empower school leaders and educators to create positive change in their professional skills and practices.
Susan seamlessly weaves current research with inspirational strategies, bridging the gap between our understanding of the early childhood years and what we can do to support the holistic development of children, teachers, and families.
Her presentations are customized to meet the specific needs of your learning community—leadership groups as well as early childhood, school-age, and family childcare educators. Each topic can be delivered as a keynote, workshop, retreat, or series.

Whether a live or virtual session, Susan shares her insights, strategies, latest tools, and research through the following workshop presentation topics:

A culture of appreciation happens when everyone feels valued, respected, and seen for their unique strengths. This presentation will inspire you to incorporate easy-to-implement strategies for building positive relationships and bringing a renewed sense of joy to your school community!

This engaging session will explore positive communication techniques, the Appreciative Inquiry model, impactful frameworks, reflective exercises, and a team assessment form.

You will leave with a clear path to creating resilient relationships and a positive, supportive, respectful environment for children and adults. Participants will also receive a reflection guide with actionable tips, strategies, and resources to help you create a culture of appreciation!

This presentation is available as a single session or a three-part series.

Are you ready to rethink how you are designing and delivering professional learning experiences? Are you excited to embrace new techniques and strategies for actively engaging participants in their growth and development? This workshop fuels fresh ideas for building learning experiences where adults are engaged, inspired, and motivated to be lifelong learners. You will be guided through a process for creating professional development sessions that keep staff motivated and energized about their ongoing professional growth.

Participants will be provided with a wide variety of activities and resources from Susan’s book Supercharge Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators: 101 Ideas for Designing and Facilitating Professional Learning Experiences.

This presentation is available as a workshop, a four-part online course, or a full-day live presentation.

We all want early childhood programs that are buzzing with positivity, but how can you create that kind of atmosphere when energy and engagement areis low? Discovering the lasting benefits that vibrant, joyful and engaging learning environments have on the well-being of teachers and children will be our starting point. Participants will then engage in a series of reflective exercises to refresh their outlook and create a vision to re-energize daily work.

You will leave this workshop with an abundance of resources and actionable strategies that will rekindle your spark and reignite your passion for early childhood education!

When we shine a light on each child’s unique strengths, we cultivate resilience and confidence, empowering them to reach their full potential. We will explore the transformative power and lasting impact of recognizing and celebrating the best in every child. You will learn how to draw inspiration from the Reggio Emilia Approach and the Appreciative Inquiry principles to illuminate each child’s strengths, talents, magic, and wonder. The comprehensive resource guide will provide you with new tools and strategies to create a positive learning environment where all children can thrive!

Children thrive when teachers, parents, and caregivers form strong, trusting partnerships. While building these collaborative relationships can be challenging, this inspiring workshop will provide you with impactful strategies to deepen your connection with families. You will be inspired to find new ways to illuminate and share everyday moments that foster positivity, reduce stress, and prevent misunderstandings.

This presentation will empower you to:

Implement simple yet powerful strategies for nurturing positive relationships
Move past the often limiting TTWWADI (That’s The Way We’ve Always Done It) habits and practices, and embrace new ideas and techniques
Broaden your understanding of the latest research on how strengths-based connections with parents enhance children’s learning experiences

Participants will also receive a comprehensive reflection guide packed with valuable resources, including insights from Susan’s new book, Supercharge Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators: 101 Ideas for Designing and Facilitating Professional Learning Experiences.

Effective communication is at the heart of successful leadership. Without it, inspiring and motivating educators becomes an ongoing challenge. In this transformative workshop, you will learn how to engage educators in meaningful dialogues that will impact program quality. You will also develop crucial skills for effective communication aligned with individual and program goals to foster a culture of growth and collaboration. Key strategies covered include:

Appreciative Inquiry (AI): A strengths-based framework for inspiring positive change
Reflective Practices: Techniques and powerful questions that deepen professional conversations
Observation Protocols: Tools to enhance feedback and support continuous improvement

By the end of this workshop, you will gain a fresh perspective on your communication and leadership practices and be empowered to lead with increased clarity and confidence.

This presentation is available as a keynote, a workshop, or a multi-session leadership series.

When adults build relationships rooted in trust and respect, they create a learning community where everyone, including children, can grow and succeed. This workshop provides practical strategies to reduce gossip and enhance your professional communication skills with colleagues and administrators. We will explore the principles of Appreciative Inquiry and the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, focusing on how to apply these frameworks to foster a positive and collaborative work culture.

Throughout the session, you will participate in hands-on activities that bring these communication strategies to life. The workshop also includes reflective exercises, empowering questions, and a team assessment form—all designed to help you cultivate the skills needed to build resilient relationships and a respectful learning community.

You will leave with fresh, actionable ideas for creating an environment where educators and children can truly thrive!

Managing your most valuable resource—time—can feel overwhelming in the fast-paced world of early childhood programs. But what if you could turn this challenge into an opportunity? This energizing workshop is designed to empower you with innovative strategies and research-backed tools that will shift your approach to time management.
Discover how to weave new habits, rituals, and daily practices into your routine to boost your well-being and reignite your passion for the work you love. You will leave inspired and fully equipped with a treasure trove of resources, tools, and templates to help you become more intentional, focused, and effective in your daily work.

When professional growth is not a priority, stagnation can take hold, leading to frustration, high turnover, and a tense, unproductive atmosphere. Negativity can easily seep into your program’s culture, affecting everyone. But imagine a program where teachers are inspired, motivated, and engaged in continuous growth—an environment where educators and students truly flourish. This workshop will guide you on the path to positive transformation.

You will learn how to cultivate a growth-oriented culture by leveraging strengths-based approaches for ongoing professional development. Discover strategies to foster collaboration among teams, set impactful goals, and create a culture of accountability that drives sustainable change. Packed with actionable insights, this workshop empowers you to guide positive change and develop programs that foster success for both teachers and children.

Are you ready to regain your focus, confidence, and purpose?

Supporting early childhood programs while facing societal and professional challenges has resulted in leaders feeling stressed and overwhelmed. This retreat is designed to inspire leaders to reconnect with their core values and professional aspirations.
Through the presentation of insightful Appreciative Inquiry strategies and well-researched tools, participants will learn new skills, habits, and daily practices to incorporate into their professional lives. In addition, leaders will engage in vibrant discussions, individual reflections, and small-group activities to develop an empowering plan for the next phase of their leadership work.

You will be guided through a process to create a leadership plan that will include:

A clear vision statement to guide you and inspire you to bring your professional aspirations to life
A time-management action plan that integrates intentional and effective strategies
A cultivated list of relevant resources to guide you as you bring your vision to life and incorporate new strategies into your work
A yearlong professional learning plan to keep you committed to the next level of your professional growth

This retreat will draw from the research in Susan’s books Inspiring Early Childhood Leadership and Inspiring Professional Growth as well as a wide variety of current resources.

This presentation is available as one-day event or a multi-session retreat.

A growth culture is vital to keeping teachers engaged and positive while creating a thriving environment for children. This workshop outlines the key strategies early childhood education leaders require to create a culture that prioritizes continuous growth and development for teachers.

We focus on answering fundamental questions today’s leaders face, including:

How do I motivate and inspire teachers to grow and develop?
How can I develop a leadership style that encourages educators to remain current regarding knowledge and best practices?
How can I infuse positive energy into my professional development work?
What tools and strategies can I use to help develop the capabilities of early childhood educators within my organization?

To answer these and other questions, we will examine how a Deliberately Developmental Organization (DDO) supports each individual’s unique desire to reach their full potential. Susan will also help you develop the skills and master the tools and strategies required to support teachers as they focus on professional accountability and positivity in their work with children.

Note: This workshop is also available as a multi-session online leadership series based on Susan’s book Inspiring Professional Growth. For information about the online course, visit: https://www.earlychildhoodprofessionaldevelopmentinstitute.com/

This motivating presentation will help you rediscover and reignite your passion for the important work you do. Together we will explore how raising your own personal energy levels can have a tremendous impact on the joy you experience in your professional roles, as well as on the children and families with whom you engage. Get back in touch with your core values and beliefs in this interactive presentation, which will inspire you to create a clear vision and identify concrete action steps to guide you toward increased enjoyment and positive engagement in your daily work.

Workshops

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