Priyanka Kandpal

Early years Facilitator and Parent-Toddler Program Curator at Kai Early Years, Bangalore, India

Cambridge PDQ Programme Leader – Early Years Good Practice (Accredited, 2025)

Workshop Information:

In this hands-on, interactive workshop, educators will explore the transformative potential of loose parts as powerful tools for thinking, expressing, and learning across multiple domains.

Participants will engage in playful provocations, co-create classroom activities using loose parts and reflect on how open-ended materials can support communication, creativity, and inquiry. 

Through collaborative station work, teachers will design real-world learning opportunities that connect loose parts to concrete learning objectives.

The session also highlights practical strategies for safe implementation, intentional material curation, and scaffolding strategies for diverse learning needs. 

Session Outcomes:

• An evidence-based inquiry into the role of loose parts in supporting the development of symbolic language and higher-order thinking
  
  

• Classroom-ready provocations to adapt across age groups and subject areas
  
  

• A curated Loose Parts Buffet Menu and ideas for rotation
  
  

• Peer-tested scaffolding strategies for inquiry and communication
  
  

• Renewed inspiration to nurture agency and voice through materials that speak

Biography:

Priyanka is a multilingual educator fluent in Hindi, French and English, with rich classroom experience in France, Monaco, and India. She also worked as an interpreter for L'Office français de l'immigration et de l'intégration (OFII), gaining unique insights into language, culture, and communication. Recently accredited by Cambridge as a PDQ Programme Leader for Early Years Good Practice, she combines research-based expertise with hands-on classroom strategies. A passionate advocate for child-led inquiry and creative expression, she has authored three children’s books and continues to explore how language, identity, and play intersect in young children’s worlds. Her sessions are known for being practical, reflective, and always rooted in classroom realities and a love for learning through open-ended materials.