Integrating Theory and Practice in Learning
June 25–27, 2025 | Boulder, Colorado
WIFI | eTown Guest | 1535Boulder
Integrating Theory and Practice in Learning
June 25–27, 2025 | Boulder, Colorado
Program Overview
Wednesday, June 25
eTown Hall
8:15
Check In
9:00
Welcome
The Right to a Future of Peace
Loris Malaguzzi and the Values of the Reggio Emilia Approach®
Mid-Morning Stretch
1:00
Announcements and Lunch
2:00
The Image of Child and the Idea of Learning
5:00
End of Day
Thursday, June 26
eTown Hall
8:15
Morning Coffee
9:00
Welcome
The Hundred Languages of Children and Adults in Daily Learning Contexts
Mid-Morning Stretch
1:00
Announcements and Lunch
1:40
Load Buses
2:00
School Tour and Exhibition + Atelier Encounters
4:00
Load First Return Buses / End of Day
2:30
Load Buses
3:00
School Tour and Exhibition + Atelier Encounters
5:00
Load Last Return Buses / End of Day
Friday, June 27
eTown Hall
8:30
Morning Coffee
9:00
Welcome
Thinking and Doing by Design: Infant-Toddler Centers and Preschools as Places of Research
Mid-Morning Stretch
12:30
Announcements and Lunch
1:10
Load Buses
1:30
Ateliers A–G
3:15
Self-Organized Open Time to Visit A–G Atelier Sessions
4:00
Load First Return Buses / End of Conference
2:00
Load Buses
2:30
Ateliers H–O
4:15
Self-Organized Open Time to Visit H–O Atelier Sessions
5:00
Load Last Return Buses / End of Conference
General Locations
eTown Parking
Venue Map
Featured Speakers
Teacher
Marina is a former teacher at Diana municipal preschool, where she worked with the historical team of Loris Malaguzzi and Vea Vecchi. Later she worked with the Documentation and Educational Research Center of the Preschools and Infant-toddler Centers – Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. Today, through Reggio Children, she meets with educators around the world who are interested in understanding more about the Reggio Emilia Approach.
Pedagogista
Maddalena is a pedagogista responsible for the Complex Organisation Unit of the Preschools and Infant-toddler Centres – Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. She also coordinates the Diana municipal preschool. For Reggio Children, she collaborates on realizing projects involving publishing, exhibitions, and professional learning in Italy and abroad. She is also a member of the research group on the use of digital technology in didactics, in collaboration with Reggio Children and the Milano Bicocca University. From 1981 to 1991, she was an educator at the Gianni Rodari municipal infant-toddler center. In 1991, she became a pedagogista in the Pedagogical Coordination of the Reggio Emilia municipality. She has a degree in pedagogy from Bologna University. Themes of her special investigation include educational environments as the design of spaces and new architectures, dietary education in early childhood, projects of educational continuity, and relations between preschool and primary school.
Interpreter
Jane has worked as a freelance interpreter and translator for Reggio Children for over 20 years. She has interpreted for Reggio educators at international study groups in Reggio Emilia, Italy, as well as at conferences with Reggio speakers in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, South Africa, and China. In addition, Jane translated Loris Malaguzzi’s writings and speeches in Loris Malaguzzi and the Schools of Reggio Emilia. She also translated Vea Vecchi’s writings in Art and Creativity in Reggio Emilia.
Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material
Visit the Exhibition + Atelier
Thursday Only
Overview
At the core of the Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material exhibition and atelier is the desire to open experiences lived by children as they encounter and navigate communication and mark-making prior to the symbol system of standardized writing and reading.
Drawing and telling stories mean imagining, comparing, analyzing, and exploring spaces, forms, colors, words, metaphors, emotions, rhythms, and pauses, entering into a narrative dimension that is both internal and external to the self, playing on reality, fiction, and interpretation.
For young children, words and stories, silent or spoken, almost always intertwine with drawing, creating an intelligent and often poetic mosaic. The investigations of children and adults that are the subject of this exhibition give us better understanding of the interweaving between mark-making and narration with the aim to restore to drawing, materials, words, and the children all the cognitive and expressive richness they generate.
View the Journey
Atelier Sessions
Friday Only
Sessions A–C
Choreography of Marks
Play with a choreography that emerges between gestures and marks. Echoes of gesture become visible here as mark-making becomes a trace of gesture, a record of presence, a dance captured in sand, ink, or pigment. Notice what happens when you shift your focus to exploring how your body moves and how those gestures can guide your graphic expression.
Session A | Conducted By: Charlotte Hunt | Room 2
Session B | Conducted By: Fara Cortez | Room 4
Session C | Conducted By: Jen Selbitschka | Room 5
Sessions D–G
After-Image: A Momentary Emergence
When thoughts become visible, they can be shared, revisited, and explored with new perspectives. What happens when the marks stop being visible? Explore the beauty of temporariness and impermanence through marks that change, fade, and disappear completely.
Session D | Conducted By: Anna Vertun | Room 6
Session E | Conducted By: Becky Dearing | Room 7
Session F | Conducted By: Brianna Albergotti | Room 9
Session G | Conducted By: Laura Freund | Room 10
Sessions H–J
An Alchemy of Metallics and Sheen: Where Ore Meets Form
What if a line could shine? Draw with metallic pens, lay gold leaf like light. Let textures speak—shiny, cold, hard, shimmery—and shape poems from what you see and feel. Weave metal in space. What if a sculpture became a sketch? What if a drawing could hold weight? Move between surface and form, where material and mark become one.
Session H | Conducted By: Faith Hanning | Room 11
Session I | Conducted By: Vicki Oleson | Room 12
Session J | Conducted By: Erin Smarr | Room 13
Sessions K–M
Amplifying the Natural-Digital Through Marks
Unearth the possibilities when nature, digital languages and marks work together in harmony. Nature inspires and informs; technology interprets and transforms; mark-making captures the dialogue—revealing how these realms can converge in poetic, expressive, and unexpected ways.
Session K | Conducted By: Jacie Engel | Room 14
Session L | Conducted By: Alex Morgan | Room 15
Session M | Conducted By: Nicole Gold | Room 16
Sessions N–O
Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material Exhibition + Atelier
Experience an exhibition + atelier that documents children’s mark-making from Reggio Emilia, inspiring participants to explore material interactions and narratives. The atelier space invites participants to experiment with their own mark-making using various materials and surfaces.
Session N | Conducted By: Marisa Wheeler | Studio
Session O | Conducted By: Maureen Condon | Theater
Meet the Atelier Conductors
Sessions A–C
Charlotte is the Rooms 2/3 pod director and pedagogical coordinator at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 27th year at the school. She is passionate about cultivating inclusive, intellectually rich environments where children, teachers, and families engage in meaningful dialogue, inquiry, and growth.
Fara is the Rooms 4/5 pod director and pedagogical coordinator at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 27th year at the school. She is passionate about curating experiences with materials that spark wonder, inspire questions, and explore what materials can become in the hands of children.
Jen is the director of the Teacher Education Program at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 26th year at the school. She is passionate about how observation, documentation, and assessment inform daily work and life inside and outside the classroom.
Sessions D–G
Anna is a mentor teacher at Boulder Journey School, and this is her second year at the school. She is passionate about honoring children’s rights and curiosities by creating opportunities for them to research their interests through play and inquiry.
Becky is the Rooms 9/10 pod director and pedagogical coordinator at Boulder Journey School, and this is her first year at the school. She is committed to fostering authentic relationships with children and families as the foundation for collaborative, meaningful learning.
Brianna is a mentor teacher at Boulder Journey School, and this is her first year at the school. She is inspired by the marks children make—on materials, in relationships, and through dialogue—as we co-construct knowledge and honor every voice in our shared journey.
Laura is the Rooms 6/7 pod director and pedagogical coordinator at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 16th year at the school. She is passionate about how the design of materials and environments enriches the learning experience and invites exploration.
Sessions H–J
Faith is a mentor teacher at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 6th year at the school. She is passionate about creating environments where dialogue between children, families, teachers, and materials flows freely and supports deep learning.
Vicki is the Rooms 11, 12, and 15 pod director and pedagogical coordinator at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 34th year at the school. She is passionate about teaching as a collaborative journey where children, families, and educators co-construct meaningful curriculum.
Erin is the Rooms 13, 14, and 16 pod director and pedagogical coordinator at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 24th year at the school. She is passionate about curriculum that grows from children’s ideas and theories in partnership with families, educators, and the environment.
Sessions K–M
Jacie is a mentor teacher at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 13th year at the school. She is passionate about journeying alongside children in their research—the questions, wonderings, and mysteries that lead us into the depths of discovery.
Alex is the community outreach specialist at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 18th year at the school. She is currently exploring the roles of love, joy, and curiosity as central forces in a society that honors the rights and voices of all.
Nicole is a mentor teacher and course instructor at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 13th year at the school. She is drawn to designing spaces and materials that invite exploration, dialogue, and creativity while honoring the many ways children express themselves.
Sessions N–O
Marisa is the assistant director at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 18th year at the school. She values creating a supportive, inspiring environment where children and adults wonder and learn together through rich materials and shared experiences.
Maureen is the partner school director of the Teacher Education Program at Boulder Journey School, and this is her 12th year at the school. She is passionate about children’s innate ability to connect with the world, and she remains inspired by the beauty of possibility, interdependence, and love.
Download Materials
Prefer to Print Your Materials?
Download and print PDFs here
In an effort to reduce waste, NAREA will provide a printed program onsite, but all other materials will be available digitally. If you’d like to print and bring your own copies, you’re welcome to do so using the links below.
Welcome Letter
Download PDF
Program
Download PDF
Ateliers
Download PDF
Publications & Resources
Upcoming NAREA Initiatives
Fundamentals of the Reggio Emilia Approach
Webinar Series | Fall 2025
3 recorded + 1 live session
Registration Opening Soon
NAREA Study Group
Reggio Emilia, Italy | May 25–29, 2026
Save the date!
The 6th NAREA Fall Conference
Livestream | October 9, 10, & 17, 2025
Research from the Daily Life
Registration Open
Together, we are empowering exceptional education.