Unpacking the Floorbook Approach invites educators to slow the planning cycle down long enough to see it differently. Rather than treating planning as a sequence of tasks, this session explores it as a living inquiry shaped by questions, dialogue and collective authorship. Drawing on Dr Claire Warden’s explanation of the key features and strategies of the approach, participants consider what it means to plan with rather than for, and how inquiry thinking repositions both the educator and the child within the cycle of learning. Through shared exploration, teams experience the power of making thinking visible, noticing how each step of the cycle can be held with more curiosity, professionalism and ease.  

What you will gain from this session

• A clearer understanding of how the key features of the Floorbook Approach reframe the planning cycle as a question-led inquiry rather than a compliance task.

• Insight into the pedagogical thinking that informs inquiry processes, and how this supports continuity of learning and decision making. 

• Experience in mapping their own planning pathways in ways that reflect the spirality of learning rather than a linear sequence.

This session may contribute to:

• National Quality Standard (NQS): QA1 Program and Practice, QA5 Relationships with Children
• Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF): Practices – Assessment and evaluation for learning, development and wellbeing & Holistic, Integrated and Interconnecting Approaches
• The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST): All