DB3: Behavior

Chapter 6: Observation and Assessment of Children

Chapter Introduction

© Cengage Learning ®

Learning Objectives

· LO1Define the key elements and purposes of child observation.

· LO2Explain the various contexts of what is observed.

· LO3Identify common types of observation systems.

· LO4Examine the goals and tools of child assessment.

Competency Areas

 Standards for Professional Development

The following NAEYC Standards for early childhood professional development are addressed in this chapter:

· Standard 1 Promoting Child Development and Learning

· Standard 3 Observing, Documenting, and Assessing to Support Young Children and Families

· Standard 4 Using Developmentally Effective Approaches to Connect with Children and Families

· Standard 5 Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum

· Standard 6 Becoming a Professional

 Code of Ethical Conduct

These are the sections of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct that apply to the topics of this chapter:

Core Values: Helping children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust, respect, and positive regard.

Section I:

· P-1.5

We shall use appropriate assessment systems, which include multiple sources of information, to provide information on children’s learning and development.

· P-1.6

We shall strive to ensure that decisions such as those related to enrollment, retention, or assignment to special education services will be based on multiple sources of information and will never be based on a single assessment, such as a test score or a single observation.

Section II:

· P-2.7

We shall inform families about the nature and purpose of the program’s child assessments and how data about their child will be used.

· P-2.8

We shall treat child assessment information confidentially and share this information only when there is a legitimate need for it.

6-1Key Elements and Purposes of Observation

Children are fascinating. They are charming, needful, busy, creative, unpredictable, and emotional. At school, at home, in the grocery store, and in the park, children demonstrate a variety of behaviors. There is the happy child who toddles toward the swing. The angry, defiant child grabs a book or toy and runs away. The studious child works seriously on a puzzle.

These pictures of children working, playing, and living together flash through the mind, caught for an instant as if by a camera. Good observational skills can help teachers capture both typical and exceptional moments in a child’s life. Memory leaves just an impression. Documentation with visual samples and the written word are opportunities to check impressions and opinions against the facts. In this chapter, you learn about observing and recording the behavior of young children and how to apply these skills to assess children, to collect their work in a way that reflects each of them, and to evaluate their growth.

6-1aWhat Is Observation?

Teachers learn to make mental notes of the important details in each interaction:

· That’s the first time I’ve seen Karen playing with Bryce. They are laughing together as they build with blocks in the preschool room.

· For five minutes now, Teddy has been standing on the fringes of the sand area, where the toddler group is playing. He has ignored the children’s smiles and refused the teacher’s invitations to join in the play.

· Antonio stops climbing each time he reaches the top of the school-age climbing frame. He looks quickly around, and if he catches a teacher’s eye, he scrambles down and runs away.

Through their behavior, these three children reveal much about their personalities. The teacher’s responsibility is to notice all the clues and put them together in meaningful ways. The teacher sees the obvious clues, as well as the more subtle ones. The way that observations are put together with other pertinent information becomes critical:

· Karen has been looking for a special friend. Now that she has learned some ways to approach other children that don’t frighten and overwhelm them, children want to play with her.

· Teddy’s parents divorced two weeks ago. It appears he is just beginning to feel some of that pain and has become withdrawn at school.

· At home, Antonio is expected to do things right the first time. Because climbing over the top of the frame might be tricky, he does not attempt it at all. At school, he generally attempts only what he knows he can do without making a mistake.

These simple observations, made in the midst of a busy day, give vital information about each child’s abilities, needs, and concerns. It is a more developed picture. Children are complex human beings who respond in many ways. Teachers can observe these responses and use their skills to help each child grow and learn. The ability to observe—to “read” the child, understand a group, “see” a situation—is one of the most important and satisfying skills a teacher can have. As Curtis (2008) states:

Learning to see children takes time and practice, both when I am with them and when I take time to reflect on my work. The extra effort is worthwhile, as it is much better to share in children’s insatiable curiosity, deep feelings, and pure delight than it is to be the toddler police, focusing only on fixing behaviors, teaching to outcomes, or checking boxes on official forms.

Moreover, consistent practice of observation helps teachers develop a special sense that gives a picture of how both individuals and groups of children are feeling and functioning and can assist in measuring how standards for programs and teachers are being met and how early learning goals and benchmarks are being achieved.

Observation plays an especially important role in  assessment , either by replacing (in the case of young children) or by supplementing standardized  evaluation  tools (for elementary-aged children). In fact, authentic assessment can be done only on the basis of good observations. Finally, teachers are engaged as researchers, in both  co-inquiry and through reflection. Teachers observe how children learn, behave, react and feel; at the same time, they also observe themselves and their own values.

Observation of the following is the basis of so much of a teacher’s work:

· The environment —how to set it up and when to change it

· The schedule—what to put in the daily sequence and time periods for activities

· The atmosphere—how to sense and respond to interactions and relationships.

· The curriculum —which activities to set up for learning and development, and what to adjust, delete, or enhance to meet program and child goals

· The children—how to guide them, where intervention is needed

· The families—what feedback to give, the assessments of child progress

· The team and administration—what resources are needed to promote effective teaching approaches and positive teamwork

Watch how children use their bodies. Whether they can use pedals or their feet with the wheeled toys gives you clues about their motor skills.

© Cengage Learning ®

Observation is more than ordinary looking. It takes energy and concentration to become an accurate observer. Teachers must train themselves to record what they see on a regular basis. They need to discipline themselves to distinguish between detail and trivia and learn to spot biases that might invalidate observation. Once acquired, objective observation techniques help give a scientific and professional character to the role of early childhood educator.

Observation in Daily Practice. Play is the work of childhood. It is the way children express themselves and how they show what they are really like. By observing play, teachers can see children as they are and as they see themselves. Behavior reflects inner thought and brain functioning. The stage is set; the action begins as soon as the first child enters the room. Here, teachers can see children in action and watch for important behavior. All that is needed is to be alert to the clues and make note of them:

· Teddy, a toddler, walks up to Brooke. He grabs Brooke’s toy, a shape sorter, away from her. Then he begins to place shapes into the sorter. He has difficulty placing the shapes into the container. He then throws the shapes, his face turns red, and he kicks the container away.

· Karen, at nearly 4, kneels on the chair placed at the puzzle table, selecting a 10-piece puzzle. She turns the puzzle upside down, allowing the pieces to fall on the table. She selects one piece at a time with her left hand and successfully puts every piece in the frame the first time. She raises both hands in the air and yells to Bryce, “I did it!”

· Antonio is a first-grader in the K–3 after-school program. New to the school, he has been quiet in the academic program. Spanish is his home language, and his teacher doesn’t speak it. He is cautious around all the staff as well. However, Antonio seems to relax a bit when the clubs begin, as student teacher Herenia arrives with a hearty “Buenas tardes, todos!” and a new soccer ball for the Los Deportes/Sports Club to use.

What are children telling us about themselves? Which actions are most important to note? Understanding children is difficult because so many factors influence their behavior. A child’s stage of development, culture, health, fatigue, and hunger can all make a difference in how a child behaves. Additionally, environmental factors such as the noise level, congestion, or time of day can add to the complex character of children’s actions. Therefore, the teacher must make it a point to observe children at critical moments.

First,  notice the way a child begins each day. Teddy always clings to his blanket after his dad leaves him at school. Karen bounces in each day, ready to play the moment she walks in the door. Antonio walks over from his classroom and then circles the room, watching each adult before settling into an activity. These children are showing something about their needs via these actions. A good observer continues to watch, taking note of these early morning scenes. One can interpret these behaviors later, seeing how they apply to each child and how behavior changes over time.

Second,  watch how children use their bodies. The basic routines of eating, napping, toileting, and dressing show how they take care of themselves. Whether or not Karen knows how to put her jacket on by herself may indicate her skills in other areas that require initiative and self-sufficiency. It may also indicate how she is developing an awareness of herself as a separate, independent being.

Third,  focus on how children relate to other people. Teachers see Teddy choose Brooke as a playmate even when he fights with her, but he seems to avoid the other toddlers. The observant teacher makes note of the adults in each child’s life. Who does Teddy seek for comfort? For answering questions? Who takes care of the child outside of school? Who picks the child up from school each day?

Finally, check for  what children like to do, how well they use the environment, and  what they avoid. Specific observations about the various areas of skill development—physical–motor, intellectual, affective—can be mirrors of growth. Teachers observe whether a child picks materials that are challenging or exhibits the tendency toward the novel or the familiar. Antonio starts each afternoon cruising the room before landing near the pet table. He is livelier outdoors, and does not participate in Circle Time—yet. Observing children at play and at work can tell us how they learn and what methods they use to gain information.

6-1bWhy Observe?

Classrooms are busy places, especially for teachers who plan many activities and share in hundreds of interactions every day. There is so much that demands attention and response; at the same time, by building in systematic observation, teachers can improve their teaching, construct theory, assess children, assist families, and solve problems.

Improve Your Teaching

It is difficult to monitor our behavior while we are in the midst of working with children and time-consuming to reflect on that behavior afterward. Yet the most effective teachers are those who are thorough in their preparation and systematic in evaluating their own work. Teacher research, sometimes called inquiry, is a fundamental part of the work. Dewey (1933/1985) asserted that education is best practiced as inquiry; Paley (1981) regarded it as a natural part of the everyday work in the classroom.

“Teachers who research their classrooms are systematic and deliberate in their use of observation and reflection to make sense of what they see and experience” (Henderson et al., 2012). It takes a certain level of awareness—of self, of the children, and of the environment—to monitor our own progress. This includes carefully checking what is happening, looking for feedback, and then acting on it. Professionals can do this by asking others to observe them through videotaping, by observing each other at work with the children, and by self-observation.

Bias and Objectivity. Observing children helps teachers become more objective about the children in their care. When making observational notes, teachers look first at what the child is doing. This is different from looking at how a child  ought to be doing something. The teacher becomes like a camera, recording what is seen without immediately judging it. This  objectivity  can balance the intense, personal side of teaching.

Bias  is inherent in all our perceptions. We must acknowledge this truth without falling prey to the notion that because our efforts are flawed, they are worthless. Observing is not a precise or wholly objective act (see  Figure 6-1 ). No two people see something in identical ways. For instance, reread the segments about Teddy and Karen. One teacher sees in Teddy a child demonstrating an age-appropriate response to frustration; another sees someone who is too aggressive; a third focuses on Brooke as a victim, rushing to comfort her and ignoring Teddy altogether.

Figure 6-1

Observers watching the same scene, seeing the same behavior, think of it in very different terms. Seeing through a different pair of cultural eyes, each of us is thus affected in our reactions and assessments.

Check Your Lenses!

What we see is in the eye of the beholder. What do you behold?

A 2-year-old screams “Mine!” and fends off a boy trying to grab the blanket she’s holding.

© Cengage Learning

You see: “She’s obviously protecting her security blanket; she is standing up for herself.”

· Believing in private property

Or: “Look at that selfish child; she disturbs the group and is unkind.”

· Believing in group harmony

Kindergartners are sifting and sorting rice at a sensory table.

© Cengage Learning

You see: “They are learning pre-math concepts through their senses.”

· Believing children learn best by doing, by using their hands

Or: “They are playing with food, and rice is sacred.”

· Believing people must take care of food and treat it with respect

A 4-year-old shouts at another, “No; don’t knock it down; we just built it ourselves!”

© Cengage Learning

You see: “He’s protecting his space; he takes pride in what he creates.”

· Believing in self-expression and low frustration tolerance

Or: “He is rude; he hurts others’ feelings and is unfriendly.”

· Believing in group affiliation and building community

Infants sleeping in cribs in a child care center.

© Cengage Learning

You see: “It is wonderful how the room is set up for quiet napping.

· Believing in children sleeping independently, on their own

Or: “How sad that the babies are left alone like that.”

· Believing in children being held, cared for always

(Excerpted from Gonzalez-Mena (2000). © 2000. Reprinted with permission of Delmar Learning, a division of Thomson Learning:  www.thomsonrights.com. Fax: 800-730-2215.)

Observing can never be totally objective or independent of the observer. Whatever you see passes through your filters of your past experiences, assumptions, biases, understanding, and knowledge. Your beliefs and ideas dictate what you see, coloring your perception and interpretation to the observation. Teachers, like all adults, are influenced in their work by their own early childhood experiences. They have notions about how children learn, play, grow, or behave because of the way they were raised and trained. The same behaviors might be labeled “assertive and independent” by one teacher and “bossy and uncooperative” by another (see the “ Diversity ” box).

Pulling back, taking some notes, and making observations give the teacher a chance to see the bigger picture. Team teaching can help. One teacher can step in and manage a situation so that another can get out of the thick of the activity and observe from a distance. Teammates can help each other gain perspective by comparing notes on the class, an individual, or a time of the day. Observations can be a means of validating one teacher’s point of view or changing it by checking out an opinion or idea through systematic observation.

Guidelines. Three guidelines come to mind as one begins to observe:

· Practice intensive waiting. Cultivate an ability to wait and see what is really happening instead of rushing to conclusions about what it means, where such behavior comes from, or what should be done. These hurried impressions hinder a teacher’s work toward understanding. Try to suspend expectations and be open to what is really happening, whether this concerns behaviors, feelings, or patterns.

· Become part scientist. A good observer makes a clear distinction between fact and inference, between real behavior and an impression or conclusion drawn from it. Awareness of the difference between what actually happens and one’s opinion and conclusions about those events is critical to good teaching.

· Engage in slowing down. Ask yourself while you are observing:

· What is happening for this child in this play?

· What is her agenda?

· Does she have the skills and materials she needs to accomplish her intent?

No one can be free from bias, nor is that the point. The impressions and influences made can provide valuable insights into children. Self-awareness, coupled with observation and recording skills, prepares teachers to focus on actual behaviors. By separating what happens from what you  think about it or how you  feel about it, you are able to distinguish between fact and inference (see  Figure 6-2 ). This does not mean that teachers have to become aloof; your body language can reflect both warmth and a measure of objectivity at the same time. Professional preparation standards indicate that observing, documenting, and assessing is a major task of teaching;  Chapter 5  describes further assessment of teachers.

Figure 6-2

Two Observations

The first example contains numerous biases, which are numbered and explained beneath it. The second example has clear descriptions and is relatively free of biases.

Can You Spot the Bias?

Poor Observation

Julio walked over to the coat rack and dropped his sweater on the floor. He is shy (1) of teachers, so he didn’t ask anyone to help him pick it up. He walked over to Cynthia because she’s his best friend (2). He wasn’t nice (3) to the other children when he started being pushy and bossy (4). He wanted their attention (5), so he nagged (6) them into leaving the table and going to the blocks like 4-year-old boys do (7).

Analysis and Comments

1. Inference of a general characteristic.

2. Inference of a child’s emotion.

3. Observer’s opinion.

4. Inference with no physical evidence stated.

5. Opinion of child’s motivation.

6. Observer’s inference.

7. Overgeneralization; stereotyping.

Good Observation

Emilio pulled out a puzzle from the rack with his right hand, and then carried it with both hands to the table nearby. Using both hands, he methodically took each piece out of the frame and set it to his left. Sara, who had been seated across from Emilio with some table toys in front of her, reached out and pushed all the puzzle pieces onto the floor. Emilio’s face reddened as he stared directly at Sara with his mouth in a taut line. His hands turned into fists, his brow furrowed, and he yelled at Sara in a forceful tone, “Stop it! I hate you!”

Analysis and Comments

Emilio was clearly angry as demonstrated in his facial expressions, hand gestures, and body movements. The way a child speaks is as revealing as what a child says when one wants to determine what a child is feeling. Muscular tension is another clue to the child’s emotions. But the physical attitude of the child is not enough; one must also consider the context. Just seeing a child sitting in a chair with a red face, one doesn’t know if he is embarrassed, angry, feverish, or overstimulated. We need to know the events that led to this appearance. Then we can correctly assess the entire situation. By being open to what is happening without judging it first, we begin to see children more clearly.

Construct Theory

Observations are a link between theory and practice. All teachers gain from making this connection. New teachers can see the pages of a textbook as they match what they see with what they read. By putting together psychology and medical research with in-class experiences, professionals gain a deeper understanding of the nature of children.

Early childhood education is the one level of education that systematically bases its teaching on child development. Observation of children has a long history in early childhood teaching:

· Friedrich Froebel wanted kindergarten teachers to be observers of children so that they could learn how children think and learn.

· G. Stanley Hall of the Child Study movement asked teachers to observe and interview children to understand their developmental stages.

· John Dewey encouraged educators to see the seeds of democratic social relationships in the classroom play of young children.

· The McMillan sisters used frequent descriptions of children’s activities to reflect teachers’ use of observation (Reifel, 2011).

Diversity

How Do We Assess Young English-Language Learners?

Observation and assessment of children may be a regular part of teaching, but it is challenging. In the early years, children show us more of who they are and what they know by their actions and expressions, not by a paper-and-pencil exam or even what they say. At the same time, the current focus on accountability in the United States is leading to an increased use of standardized formal assessments, which will include documentation of language development and of the use of pre-academic and elementary-level reading/communication skills.

Guideline	Observe and Ask
· 1. Use screening and assessments for appropriate purposes.	Look carefully at your current tools. Are they used to understand children in all developmental domains? Do they depend on English fluency to demonstrate skill level?
· 2. Check that assessments are culturally and linguistically appropriate.	Align tools and procedures to the specific culture and linguistic characteristics of the children. Do you know their family background and home language? Are instruments translated appropriately or administered by a bilingual teacher?
· 3. Significant assessment decisions involve two or more professionals.	Include two or more people when evaluating so that assessments are a legitimate source of guidance to inform instruction.
	Do you use multiple measures to develop curriculum and teaching strategies?
· 4. Use standardized formal assessment with caution.	These are used to identify special needs and for program evaluation, but should be scrutinized carefully. Does the formal assessment norm fairly those with language other than English?
· 5. Consider those conducting assessments.	It is primarily teachers who should conduct assessments. Are they bilingual/bicultural, and do they know the children as well as knowing about language acquisition and appropriate assessment?
· 6. Families have a role in the assessment process.	Teachers should seek insight and information from families.
	Do the teachers talk with families about their children, the assessment methods, and the results?
· 7. The field needs knowledge and excellent tools for assessment.	Better assessment tools and more bilingual/bicultural professionals will improve the process.
	Do you have a diverse staff and opportunities for professional development?

As mentioned in  Chapter 1 , demographics in the United States show a growing population of children with a home language other than English. Already in Canada and many African, Asian, and European nations, most children are at least bilingual by age 12 (Berger, 2014). NAEYC (2009) offers seven specific guidelines on assessing young English-language learners to which we have added key issues and questions to ask of every ECE program.

If we are to develop programs that work for young children—what they can do, how they think and communicate, and what they feel—we need to be able to apply sound child development knowledge to the classroom. “Each one of you has inside yourself an image of the child that directs you as you begin to relate to a child. This theory within you pushes you to behave in certain ways; it orients you as you talk to the child …. We must move beyond just looking at the child to become better observers, able to penetrate into the child to understand each child’s resources and potential and present state of mind. We need to compare theirs with our own in order to work well together” (Malaguzzi, 1994).

Use as an Assessment Tool

Recording observations often takes the form of written or visual documentation that serves as an informal way to assess children’s skills and capabilities. Assessment is a critical part of a teacher’s job, and evaluating children includes observing and assessing their behavior and their development.  Authentic assessment , done when children are in their natural setting and performing real tasks, fits best with the overall goal of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). Portfolio use and other kinds of work-sampling systems are discussed later in this chapter.

Observation can be used as a tool for teachers to assess the accuracy of their own impressions. Comparing notes with others refines a teacher’s objective observation skills. The results lead directly into environmental design, daily scheduling, and curriculum planning as demonstrated in the following situations:

· Does the traffic flow easily, or are the toddlers stuck and unable to move around?

· When and where does the trouble start at preschool cleanup? Who participates or avoids it?

· What are the school-age [K–3] students doing to show what sorting and classifying skills they know and what math concepts they have yet to master?

By using observation to assess children and the program, teachers are accountable to their clients: the children, the parents, and the public. Assessment issues and early learning standards are described later in this chapter.

Assist Families

Families benefit from teacher observations. Detailed records collected over time reveal growth in many areas and can be used in family–teacher conferences. The teacher shares fresh, meaningful examples that demonstrate the child’s growth and abilities. Families then know more about the child as a school-person and are reassured that the teachers value and understand their child. The families share their personal stories and ideas about the child as a home-person, and the teachers gain perspective. Problems become clearer, and plans can be made to work together. Results can be further tested through continuing observation.

Chapter 8  discusses family–teacher relationships in detail.

Wonder why and Solve a Problem

In the spirit of being part scientist, teachers can become researchers in their own classrooms. A scientist, like a child, sees something and wonders why. This curiosity leads to thinking about the various components of a problem and looking at the parts as well as the whole. Next comes the “head-scratching” part—a time of reflection, developing hunches or intuitions about the problem, and generating alternatives. The teacher is then ready to try an alternative, known in scientific terms as “testing the hypothesis.” Finally, the teacher gets results, which feeds back into rethinking the problem or celebrating the solution.  Figure 6-3  illustrates the cycle of inquiry.

Figure 6-3

Teacher research involves an inquiry process that includes teachers and children, which is a systematic application of observing and recording to analyze and make public educational experiences.

(Source: Henderson, B., Meier, D.R., Perry G, & Stremmel, A.F. (2012). “The nature of teacher research.” In  Our inquiry, our practice: Undertaking, supporting, and learning from early childhood teacher research(ers), eds. G. Perry, B. Henderson, & D.R. Meier, 3–10. Washington, DC: NAEYC.)

Using observation to research a problem can turn frustration into a more productive approach. For instance, without extensive training, the parent co-op group noticed that the children avoided cleanup. They realized that the parent-helpers were doing most of the work, and the children kept playing until the teacher called them to the circle. They wondered what would happen if all the adults stopped putting things away and then tried it out. The children were surprised and upset to see the room such a mess, with no place to sit for circle time. This action research motivated everyone—adults and children—to find another system for restoring the environment after play time.

Finally, the co-inquiry process helps teachers delve deeply into children’s learning and can improve teaching and curricula. Originally introduced by Dewey ([1938] 1985) and used extensively in the Reggio Emilia approach (see  Chapter 10 ), it applies the scientific method (see  Chapter 4 ) to daily teaching. Teachers define a problem/issue, raise questions and hypothesize possibilities, then use observation to gather data/documentation that can be analyzed and interpreted. Carried out by a team or group instead of just one person, the “co-” aspect includes collaboration and communication. “A three-stage structure of the co-inquiry process—documentation, communication, and action—helps the group move toward tentative hypothesis and planning” (Abramson, 2012).  Figure 6-17  shows a sample documentation board.

6-2Contexts for Understanding Observations

The goal of observing children is to understand them better. Teachers, students, and parents collect a great deal of information by watching children. Observational data help adults know children in several significant ways. The  contexts  of observations—the various aspects of settings and situations—helps us understand the child or group better.

6-2aChildren as Individuals

How do children spend their time at school? What activities are difficult? Who is the child’s best friend? Observing is watching a child with the purpose of trying to understand that child from the inside out—to see the world from that child’s viewpoint and how it is experienced. By watching individual children, teachers help them learn at their own pace, at their own rate of development, in their own time. When teachers know who each child is, they can choose activities and materials to match interests and skills. This is called  individualized curriculum : tailoring what is taught to what a child is ready and willing to learn.

This kind of curriculum gives children educational experiences that offer  connected knowledge : a curriculum that is real and relevant to the individual child and is part of DAP (see  Chapters 1 ,  2 ,  9 , and  10 ). Every good program for a group of children should include a focus on what each child brings developmentally and cultural-linguistically.

Any child is likely to have a developmental profile with 2–3-year age/stage span. Therefore, a group is likely to need regard for each individual in curriculum planning, interaction strategies, and teacher attention. Consideration of the individual is also key to including and working with children with special needs (see  Chapters 3  and  4 ). To ascertain if a child has special needs, assessments must be made. Teachers are not diagnosticians, but they should be aware of the variety of disorders. Definitions and diagnostic criteria for the 17 major categories are in the  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the major reference book used by psychologists/psychiatrists (see  Chapters 3  and  4 ). In these cases, an individualized education plan/individualized family service plan (IEP/IFSP) is developed jointly by teachers, education specialists, and parents to better serve the child.

Observing helps a teacher spot a child’s strengths and areas of difficulty. Once these are known, teachers plan  intervention  measures, helping to make the school experience successful for the child. The  accommodations  made on behalf of individual needs are important for all developmentally appropriate programs and crucial for children with special needs.

Dowley (n.d.) suggests that an observation of a child can be made on three levels. First, a teacher tries to report exactly what the child  does: Note exactly what actions the child takes. Second, express how the child seems to  feel about what happened: Note facial expressions, body language, and quality of the behavior. Third, include your own  interpretation: This last and separate step brings in your personal responses and impressions (see  Figure 6-4 ).

Figure 6-4

Making an observation involves three levels: reporting exactly what the child does, how the child seems to feel, and your own interpretations.

Observation and Analysis

Gabriel (2.4 Years): Observations of Psychosocial Development–Temperament

I have seen patterns of quiet and timid behavior all throughout the course of my observation. I suppose that Gabriel belongs to the “slow to warm up” temperament cluster. From what I’ve observed, Gabriel usually withdraws from the crowd. He prefers to play alone, preferably in quiet spaces. He also likes to play with toys as if they are his own. In one situation, a fellow toddler approaches while Gabriel is playing with an abacus. The fellow toddler tries to participate and play with the quiet Gabriel, but as soon as this other kid starts playing with the beads, Gabriel quickly grabs the abacus, knocks it down, picks it up, walks away, and plays it alone for himself.

Gabriel also appears “slow to adapt.” When introduced in playtime situations with others, he does not respond promptly to what the others are asking him to do. His usual response would be a stare, or sometimes no response at all. For example, two children were playing a game of filling up buckets with sand. When they saw Gabriel, one of them gave him a bucket; he held it without movement for a minute, then dropped it and wandered away. In another scenario, one of the caregivers pushed a child in a cart; Gabriel watched closely and seemed to wait for her to play with him. The caregiver, however, suggests Gabriel push the cart and play with the kid. In response, he just looks blankly, and afterward, complies but reluctantly begins to push the cart and only while the caregiver watches.

(Notes courtesy of M. Duraliza, 2007.)

6-2bChildren in General

When recording behavior, teachers see growth patterns emerge. These trends reflect the nature of human development. Both Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson used this technique to learn how children think and develop socially and emotionally. Arnold Gesell studied large numbers of children to get a developmental  norm  of physical growth. Parten (1932) and Dawes (1934) watched hundreds of preschoolers and arrived at the definitive description of children’s play patterns and quarreling behavior. For today’s early childhood educator, observing children can provide the answer to these questions:

· What might you expect when a 2-year-old pours juice?

· How will the second grade class respond to a field trip?

· What kind of social play is typical for the 4-year-old?

· How does an infant move from crawling to walking upright?

Observation gives a feeling for group behavior, as well as a developmental yardstick to compare individuals within the group. Teachers determine age-appropriate expectations from this. It is important, for example, to know that most children cannot tie their own shoes at age 4 but can be expected to pull them on by themselves. A general understanding aids in planning a thoughtful and challenging curriculum. Teachers of young preschoolers, for instance, know that many children are ready for 6- to 10-piece puzzles but that the 20-piece jigsaw will most likely be dumped on the table and quickly abandoned (see the  DAP  box).

DAP

Early Intervention Spells Hope

Early intervention (EI) is a support and educational system for very young children (0–2+), to provide identification and intervention designed to improve outcomes for children with disabilities or abuse/neglect by providing early, appropriate, and intensive interventions. These may be in one or more of the developmental domains: physical, cognitive, adaptive, communicative, or social and emotional development. The process typically involves three steps:

1. Parents, often with suggestions from teachers or physicians, request an assessment from the designated regional agency.

2. Screening and assessment is provided, with a few exceptions, at no cost to the family.

3. An individualized family service plan (IFSP) is established, and ”a network of professionals may get involved in the interventions, which can include family training, counseling, home visits, speech therapy, occupational therapy, psychological services, audiology services, social work services, and transportation” ( www.firstsigns.org)

EI should be provided in the child’s natural settings, which can be centers (such as Early Head Start), at home (such as Portage in Britain), or a mixed model (such as Lifestart in Australia). The most effective model will be family-oriented with a team approach. The IFSP evolves from a meeting with parents, teachers, and specialists and is reviewed, revised, and celebrated regularly.

Meet Hope, who at 24 months smiles and follows people with her eyes but is not playing games or initiating language with her family. She responds to her parents’ and siblings’ talk with cooing and looking, and shows her needs with pointing and gestures. Grandma takes her out for walks and in the stroller around the neighborhood, and she follows her mom during meal preparation and her dad and older brothers in the backyard for running and ball games. She has just started in a toddler class, and her teacher is concerned. The local clinic doctor is consulted, and the EI process begins.

A full assessment is conducted in the following weeks. The audiologist discovers a major hearing loss; the speech and language therapist diagnoses a serious delay in communication; the social worker suggests family support and counseling; an early interventionist is called into the toddler classroom to assist the teaching staff in identifying accommodations in terms of strategies and materials and adaptations to the environment. Over the next several months, Hope and her family meet “big friends,” as her brothers call the visitors. By the end of the year, she is scheduled for a cochlear implant. EI spells hope!

6-2cDevelopmental Relationships

Observing brings about an understanding of the various developmental areas and how they are related. Development is at once specific and integrated. Children’s behavior is a mix of several distinct developmental domains (see  Chapters 3  and  4 ) and, at the same time, an integrated whole with parts that influence each other. When we say the  whole child, we mean a consideration of how development works in unison.

There are three parts to this understanding:

· Developmental domains. When observing children, one must focus on the major domains of physical–motor, cognitive–language, and affective development. Thus, preschool teachers look to ascertain the language abilities of 3- to 5-year-olds and also the social skills that preschool children acquire. They need to know which self-help skills children can learn before age 6 and the expectations and experiences the children have at home. They must observe how fine motor development may interact with intellectual growth, or if gross motor skill affects successful cognitive learning. Overarching for all, teachers observe how self-concept relates to all of the other areas.

· Developmental expectations. From observing many children comes an awareness of each child’s progression along the developmental scale:

· Experienced teachers of toddlers do not put out watercolor sets, but the second grade teacher does so routinely.

· Teachers learn that it is typical of 4- and 5-year-olds to exclude others from their play because they have seen it happen countless times.

· The 3-year-old who is sure she is “too little” to use the toilet does not concern the knowledgeable teacher, who knows that this is developmentally appropriate behavior.

Decisions about an individual child come from watching and knowing many children.

· Developmental interaction. Observing helps teachers see how the pieces fit together. For instance, when given a set of blocks in various sizes, colors, and shapes, a 4-year-old has no difficulty finding the red ones or square ones, but may be puzzled when asked to find those that are both red and square. No wonder that same child has difficulty understanding that someone can simultaneously be their best friend and someone else’s. Moreover, practiced observation shows that a child’s skills are multiple and varied and have only limited connection to exact chronological age. Karen has the physical coordination of a 5-year-old, the language skills of a 6-year-old, and the social skills of a 3-year-old—all bound up in a body that just turned 4. Sharing the picture of this whole child among parents and teachers can be helpful to everyone.

6-2dInfluences on Behavior

Careful observation gives us insight into the influences and dynamics of behavior:

· Boaz has a hard time when he enters his child care each morning, yet he is competent and says he likes school. Close observation reveals that his favorite areas are climbing outdoor games and the sandbox. Boaz feels least successful in the construction and creative arts areas, the primary choices indoors, where his school day begins.

· Mari, on the other hand, starts the day happily but cries frequently throughout the day. Is there a pattern to her outbursts? Watch what happens to Mari when free play is over and group time begins. She falls apart readily when it is time to move outdoors to play, time to have snacks, time to nap, and so on.

The  environment influences both these children. The classroom arrangement and daily schedule affect children’s behavior because children are directly affected by the restraints imposed by their activities and their time.

Boaz feels unsure of himself in those activities that are offered as he starts his day. Seeing only these choices as he enters the room causes him discomfort, which he shows by crying and clinging to his dad. By adding something he enjoys, such as a sand table indoors, the teacher changes the physical environment to be more appealing and positive. Boaz’s difficulties in saying good-bye disappear as he finds that he can be successful and comfortable at the beginning of his day. The physical environment was the primary cause of this change.

The source of Mari’s problem, on the other hand, is more difficult to detect. The physical environment seems to interest and appeal to her. On closer observation, her crying and her disruptive behavior appear to happen just at the point of change, regardless of the activities before or afterward. The teacher makes a special effort to signal upcoming transitions and to involve her in bringing them about. Telling Mari, “Five more minutes until naptime” or “After you wash your hands, go to the snack table” gives her the clues she needs to anticipate the process of change. Asking her to announce cleanup time to the class lets her be in control of that transition. It was the temporal environment, the  time aspect of the environment, that caused difficulty for her.

Adult behavior affects and influences children. Kindergartner Annika has days of intense activity and involvement with materials; on other days, she appears sluggish and uninterested. After a week of observation, teachers find a direct correlation with the presence of Chip, the student teacher. On his participation days, Annika calls out to him to see her artwork and watch her various accomplishments; when Chip is absent, Annika’s activity level falls. Once a pattern is noticed, the teacher acts on these observations. Chip offers Annika ideas for activities she could work on to show him when he returns to class. When he is absent, the teacher lets her write him a note or draw him a picture and then reminds Annika of the plan and gets her started.

Peer behavior is a powerful influence. Anyone who has worked with toddlers knows how attractive a toy becomes to a child once another has it. The first grader who suddenly dislikes school may be feeling left out of a friendship group. Teachers need to carefully observe the social dynamics of the class as they seek to understand and figure out how to handle problem situations.

6-2eUnderstanding of Self

Observing children can be a key to understanding ourselves. People who develop observational skills notice human behavior more accurately. They become skilled at seeing small but important facets of human personality. They learn to differentiate between what is fact and what is inference. This increases an awareness of self as a teacher and how one’s biases affect perceptions about children. Teachers who become keen observers of children apply these skills to themselves. As Feeney and colleagues (2013) note:

In a less structured but no less important way, you also observe yourself, your values, your relationships, and your own feelings and reactions. When you apply what you know about observation to yourself, you gain greater self-awareness. It is difficult to be objective about yourself, but as you watch your own behavior and interactions you can learn more about how you feel and respond in various situations and realize the impact of your behavior on others.

Learning to observe and record effectively takes time and practice. Knowing how to stay unobtrusive yet available allows children to continue their natural behavior without distraction and the teacher to ascertain noteworthy behavior.

© Cengage Learning

The values and benefits of observation are long-lasting. By practicing observations—what it takes to look, to see, to become more sensitive—teachers can record children’s behavior fully and vividly, capturing the unique qualities, culture, and personality of each child.

6-3Common Types of Observation Systems

Once teachers and students understand why observing is important, they must then learn how to record what they see. Although children are constantly under the teacher’s eyes, so much happens so fast that critical events are lost in the daily routine of the classroom. Systematic observations help teachers record events and make sense of them.

Although it is true that teachers rarely have the luxury of observing uninterrupted for long periods of time, they can often plan shorter segments. Practice by paying attention to the content of children’s play during free periods—theirs and yours.

Next, try your hand at jotting some notes about that play. It is easy to get discouraged, especially if you are unaccustomed to writing. The language of recording gets easier as you practice finding synonyms for common words. For instance, children are active creatures—how many ways do they run? They may gallop, dart, whirl, saunter, skip, or hop. Or think of the various ways children talk to you: they shriek, whisper, whine, shout, demand, whimper, lisp, or roar. Once you have a certain mastery of the language (and be sure to record what you see in the language that comes easiest to you), describing the important nuances of children’s behavior becomes easier.

6-3aKey Elements of Observation

The key ingredients in all types of observations used in recording children’s behavior are

· (1)

defining and describing the behaviors and

· (2)

repeating the observation in terms of several factors such as time, number of children, or activities.

All observational systems have certain elements in common:

Focus

· What do you want to know? (motor skills or play choices)

· Whom or what do you want to observe? (child or group)

· What aspects of behavior do you want to know about? (pincer grasp or social problem solving)

· What is your purpose? (use of environment or snags in the daily schedule)

System

· What do you do?

· How do you define the terms?

· How do you record the information you need? How detailed is your record? Do you need units of measure? What kind?

· For how long do you record?

Tools

· What do you need for your observations?

· How do you record what you want to know?

· Where do you watch? When is the best time?

· What restraints are inherent in the setting?

In particular, the tools for observation and documentation are crucial because you miss everything that is happening if you have to scramble to find something to use to record what is right in front of you. Keep handy (but not in reach of children) these items:

· Pencil and paper on a clipboard or a spiral notebook

· Phone/camera, with plenty of memory

· Video/flip camera, with extra batteries

· Computer or laptop, regularly charged

6-3bTypes of Observation

There are several types of observation you can conduct, depending on the situation or purpose you are trying to achieve. Four major methods of observing and two additional information-gathering techniques are discussed. They are:

1. Narratives

2. Samplings

3. Ratings

4. Modified child study techniques

Narratives

At once the most valuable and most difficult of records,  narratives  are attempts to record nearly everything that happens. In the case of a young child, this means all that the child does, says, gestures, appears to think about, and seems to feel. Narratives maintain a  running record  of the excitement and tension of the interaction while remaining an accurate, objective account of the events and behavior. Narratives are an attempt to actually recreate the scene by recording it in thorough and vivid language. Observers put into words what they see, hear, and know about an event or a person. The result is a full and dynamic report. (See  Figure 6-5  for an example.)

Figure 6-5

The narrative form of observation gives a rich sample of children’s behavior; even though it risks teacher bias, it still records valuable information.

Narrative: The Child Alone

Unoccupied Behavior. SH slowly walks from the classroom to the outside play area, looking up each time one of the children swishes by. SH stops when reaching the table and benches and begins pulling the string on the sweatshirt. Still standing, SH looks around the yard for a minute, and then wanders slowly over to the seesaw. Leaning against it, SH touches the seesaw gingerly, and then trails both hands over it while looking out into the yard. (Interpretive comments: This unoccupied behavior is probably due to two reasons: SH is overweight and has limited language skills compared with the other children. Pulling at the sweatshirt string is something to do to pass the time since the overweight body is awkward and not especially skillful.)

Onlooker Behavior. J is standing next to the slide watching her classmates using this piece of equipment. She looks up and says, “Hi.” Her eyes open wider as she watches the children go down the slide. P calls to J to join them, but J shakes her head “no.” (Interpretive comments: J is interested in the slide but is reluctant to use it. She has a concerned look on her face when the others slide down; it seems too much of a challenge for her.)

Solitary Play. L comes running into the yard holding two paintbrushes and a bucket filled with water. He stops about three feet away from a group of children playing with cars, trucks, and buses in the sandbox and sits down. He drops the brushes into the bucket and laughs when the water splashes his face. He begins swishing the water around with the brushes and then starts wiggling his fingers in it. (Interpretive comments: L is very energetic and seems to thoroughly enjoy his outside playtime with water. He adds creative touches to his pleasurable experience.)

Running records and narratives are the oldest and often most informative kind of report. Historically, as Gesell reported (see  Chapter 1 ), they were used to set basic developmental norms. They are a standard technique in anthropology and the biologic sciences and were used by Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (18th century) and Charles Darwin (19th century). Piaget watched and recorded in minute detail his own children’s growth, which became a lifelong study of thought processes. Baby biographies, narratives written by parents, were some of the first methods used in child study and reached their peak of popularity in the early 20th century.

Diary descriptions  are another form of narrative. Just as the term implies, it is a consecutive record, in diary form, of everything children do and say and how they do it. The process is a natural one. In the classroom, this means describing every action observed within a given time period. It might be a five-minute period during free play to watch and record what one child does. The child who is a loner, the child who is a wanderer, and the child who is aggressive are prime candidates for a diary description. Another way to use this type of running record is to watch an area of the yard or room, and then record who is there and how they are using the materials.

Specimen description , a modified version of a running record (as it is often called in research), is a more common form of narrative. The procedure is to take on-the-spot notes about a specific child each day. This task lends itself easily to most early childhood settings. The teachers carry with them a small notebook and pencil, tucked in a pocket, and jot down whatever seems important or noteworthy during the day. These anecdotal notes are the most familiar form of recording observations (see  Figure 6-4 ). They often focus on one item at a time:

· A part of the environment—how is the science area used?

· A particular time of day—what happens right after nap?

· A specific child—why is a child hitting others?

This system may be even less structured, with all the teachers taking “on-the-go” notes as daily incidents occur. These notes then become a rich source of information for report writing and parent conferences.

Logs  or  journals  are the final forms of narrative. Teachers write in detail about each child or a critical incident. Because this is time-consuming and needs to be done without interruption, it helps to write immediately after the program is over. Sometimes teaching teams organize themselves to enable one member of the staff to observe and record in the journal during class time. The important point is that children’s behavior is recorded either while it is happening or soon afterward.

The challenging part of the narrative recording technique is to have enough detail for the reader to be able to picture whole situations later. Using language as a descriptive tool requires a skillful recorder with a large vocabulary. Whatever notes the teachers use, however brief, need to be both clear and accurate.

There are many advantages to this type of observation. Narratives are rich in information, provide detailed behavioral accounts, and are relatively easy to record. With a minimum of equipment and training, teachers can learn to take notes on what children do and say. To write down everything is impossible, so some selection is necessary. These judgment calls can warp the narrative. The main disadvantages of narratives are the time they can take, the elaborate language and detailed vocabulary that must be used, and the biases the recorder may have. Even though the narrative remains one of the most widely used and effective methods of observing young children today, many teachers prefer more structured procedures. These more definite, more precise techniques still involve some personal interpretation, but the area of individual judgment is diminished. The observational techniques discussed in the following sections also tend to be less time-consuming than the narrative.

Samplings

Sampling methods examine specific types of behavior and divide the observation into measurable units. Two types of this observational method are time sampling and event sampling.

A  time sampling  is an observation of what happens within a given period of time. Time sampling appears to have originated with research in child development. It has been used to record autonomy, dependency, task persistence, aggression, and social involvement. Developed as an observational strategy in laboratory schools in the 1920s, time sampling was used to collect data on large numbers of children and to get a sense of normative behaviors for particular age groups or sexes. It has been used to study play patterns and to record the nervous habits of schoolchildren, such as nail biting and hair twisting.

The definitive study using time sampling is Mildred Parten’s observation of children’s play in the 1930s. The codes developed in this study have become classic play patterns: solitary, parallel, associative, and cooperative play (see the developmental topic of “ Play ” in  Chapter 4 ). These codes are used throughout this text (see  Chapters 10  and  14 ), as well as in the professional field. In a time sample, behavior is recorded at regular intervals. To use this method, one needs to sample what occurs fairly frequently. It makes sense to choose those behaviors that might occur, say, at least once every 15 minutes (see  Figure 6-6 ).

Figure 6-6

Time sampling of play with others involves defining the behavior and making a coding sheet to tally observations.

Sampling: Time to Play

Time sampling has its own advantages and disadvantages. The process itself helps teachers define exactly what it is they want to observe. It helps focus on specific behaviors and how often they occur. Time sampling is ideal for collecting information about the group as a whole. Finally, defining behaviors clearly and developing a category and coding system reduce the problem of observer bias.

Yet, by diminishing this bias, one also eliminates some of the richness and quality of information. It is difficult to get the whole picture when one divides it into artificial time units and use only a few categories. The key is to decide what teachers want to know and then choose the observational method that best suits those needs. When narratives or time samplings will not suffice, perhaps an event sampling will.

Event sampling  is another sampling method. With this method, the observer defines an event, devises a system for describing and coding it, and then waits for it to happen. As soon as it does, the recorder moves into action. Thus, the behavior is recorded as it occurs naturally.

The events that are chosen can be quite interesting and diverse. Consider Helen C. Dawes’s classic analysis of preschool children’s quarrels. Whenever a quarrel began, the observer recorded it. She recorded how long the quarrel lasted, what was happening when it started, what behaviors happened during the quarrel (including what was done and said), what the outcome was, and what happened afterward. Her format for recording included the duration ( x number of seconds); a narrative for the situation; verbal or motor activity; and checklists for the quarrel behavior, outcome, and aftereffects (see  Figure 6-7 ).

Figure 6-7

Event sampling can be helpful in determining how frequently a specific event takes place. For instance, sampling the number and types of accidents for a given child or time frame helps teachers see what is happening in class.

Sampling: Events in the Classroom

1. Behavior to be observed: children’s accidents [spills, knockovers, falls].

2. Information you want to know: [who, where, when, causes, results].

3. Recording sheet. [use M–F morning for 2 weeks]

© Cengage Learning

Time	Children	Place/Activity	Cause	Outcome
8:50	Shelley, Mike	play dough table	M steps on S toes	S cries, runs to Tchr
9:33	Tasauna, Yuki	block area	T runs through, knocks over Y’s tower	Y hits T, both cry
9:56	Spencer	yard	S turns trike too sharply, falls off	S cries, wants mom
10:28	Lorena, Shelley	doll corner	L bumps table, spills pitcher that S has just set there	S cries, runs to Tchr
Totals and Analysis: 4 problems	Shelley-2 Mike, Yuki, Tasauna, Spencer, Lorena-1	Inside: Pd, Bk, Dolls Outside: trike	Property: 1 Territory: 2 Power: 1?	Crying: 4 Seeking Tchr: 2 Seeking Parent: 1

Other researchers have studied dominance and emotions. Teachers can use event sampling to look at these and other behaviors such as bossiness, avoidance of teacher requests, or withdrawal. Like time sampling, event sampling looks at a particular behavior or occurrence. But the unit is the event rather than a prescribed time interval. Here again, the behavior must be clearly defined and the recording sheet easy to use. Unlike with time sampling, the event to be recorded may occur a number of times during the observation.

For these reasons, event sampling is a favorite of classroom teachers. They can go about the business of teaching children until the event occurs. Then they can record the event quickly and efficiently. Prescribing the context within which the event occurs restores some of the quality often lost in time sampling. The only disadvantage is that the richness of detail of the narrative description is missing.

Ratings

Rating methods record either the presence or absence of a behavior or the degree to which a behavior is exhibited. The two most common forms are checklists and rating scales.

Checklists  contain a great deal of information that can be recorded rapidly. A carefully planned checklist can tell a lot about one child or the entire class. The data are collected in a short period of time, usually about a week. With data collected for a week, teachers have a broad picture of how these children spend their time and what activities interest them. At other times, yes/no lists are preferable (see  Figure 6-8 ).

Figure 6-8

A yes/no checklist gives specific information about an individual child’s skills.

Rating: A Yes/No Checklist

Motor Skills Observation (ages 2–4) Child DateObserverAge
Eating:	Yes	No
1.	Holds glass with one hand
2.	Pours from pitcher
3.	Spills little from spoon
4.	Selects food with pincer grasp
Dressing:
1.	Unbuttons
2.	Puts shoes on
3.	Uses both hands together (such as holding jacket with one hand while zipping with the other)
Fine Motor:
1.	Uses pincer grasp with pencil, brushes
2.	Draws straight line
3.	Copies circles
4.	Cuts at least  in line
5.	Makes designs and crude letters
6.	Builds tower of 6–9 blocks
7.	Turns pages singly
Gross Motor:
1.	Descends and climbs steps with alternate feet
2.	Stands on one foot, unsupported
3.	Hops on two feet
4.	Catches ball, arms straight, elbows in front of body
5.	Operates tricycle

Checklists can vary in length and complexity depending on their functions. To develop one, teachers first determine the purpose of the observation. Next, they define what the children will do to demonstrate the behavior being observed. Finally, they design the actual checklist, one that is easy to use and simple to set aside when other duties must take precedence.

Although they are easy to record, checklists lack the richness of the more descriptive narrative. The advantages of checklists are that they can tally broad areas of information, and teachers can create one with relative ease. Checklists are often used in child evaluation, but they should be used sparingly and with caution.

Rating scales  are like checklists, planned in advance to record something specific. They extend checklists by adding some quality to what is observed. The advantage is that more information is gathered. However, a potential problem is added because the observers’ opinions are now required, which could hamper objectivity.

Rating scales differ from checklists because they can identify the frequency or degree to which a behavior is exhibited.  Frequency counts  tally how often a behavior occurs or what children do. Teachers use such tallies to document how often a child or group is engaged in particular activity. (See  Figure 6-9  for an example.)

Figure 6-9

With data collected over the course of a week, teachers can get a broad picture of how children spend their time at school and what activities interest them.

Rating: A Frequency Count

Observer  Date  Time

Learning Center	Anna	Charlie	Leticia	Hiroko	Max	Josie	Totals
Indoors Science/Pets	1		1		1	1	4
Dramatic Play	1	1	1			1	4
Art	1		1				2
Blocks		1					1
Table Toys			1	1	1		3
Easels and Self-help				1			1
Music			1		1		2
Outdoors Sand/Water		1	1			1	3
Blocks				1	1		2
Wheel Toys		1			1		2
Climbers	1		1			1	3
Woodworking					1		1
Games	1						1
Total	5	4	7	3	6	4

Rating scales are also used to record the level or degree of a behavior. Using numbers to rate the occurrence or strength of a characteristic (such as using a scale of 1–5), the rating becomes a kind of  continuum  (see  Figure 6-10 ). The result is a detailed description of

· (1)

each child’s behavior as each teacher sees it,

· (2)

the group’s overall attention level, and

· (3)

an interesting cross-teacher comparison.

Many child assessment tools, such as California’s Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP; see  Figure 6-15 ), use rating systems to capture a broader range of skills, and often add narrative for detail. They can also be used to aggregate individual data to form a group chart (see  Figure 6-17 ).

Figure 6-10

A rating scale measuring attention at group times requires data in terms of frequency, adding depth to the observation.

Rating: Circle Time Continuum

Rating: Circle time Child: Dates:

NEVER ATTENDS (wiggles, distracts others, wanders away)

SELDOM ATTENDS (eyes wander, never follows finger plays or songs, occasionally watches leader)

SOMETIMES ATTENDS (can be seen imitating hand gestures, appears to be watching leader about half the time, watches others imitating leader)

USUALLY ATTENDS (often follows leader, rarely leaves group, rarely needs redirection, occasionally volunteers, usually follows leader’s gestures and imitations)

ALWAYS ATTENDS (regularly volunteers, enthusiastically enters into each activity, eagerly imitates leader, almost always tries new songs)

Modified Child Study Techniques

Because observation is the key method of studying young children in their natural settings, it makes good sense to develop many kinds of observational skills. Each can be tailored to fit the individual child, the particular group, the kind of staff, and the specific problem. Teachers who work in complex, creative classrooms see questions arise that need fast answers. Modified child study techniques can define the scope of the problem fairly quickly. Some of the techniques are shadow studies, experimental procedures, and the  methode clinique.

The  shadow study  is a type of modified technique. It is similar to the diary description and focuses on one child at a time. An in-depth approach, the shadow study gives a detailed picture. Each teacher attempts to observe and record regularly the behavior of one particular child. The notes are then compared. Before starting a shadow study, give some form and organization to the notes (see  Figure 6-11 ).

Figure 6-11

A shadow study profiles an individual child in a class and can be very helpful when communicating with families.

Modified Technique: Shadow Study

© Cengage Learning

Child’s Name  Jeff

Time	Setting (where)	Behavior/Response (what and how)
9:00	Arrives—cubby, removes wraps, etc.	“I can put on my own name tag” (enthusiastically). Uses thumb to push sharp end of pin, grins widely. Goes to teacher, “Did you see what I did?”
9:15	Blocks	Precise, elaborate work with small cubes on top of block structure, which he built with James. “Those are the dead ones,” pointing to the purple cubes outside the structure.
		Cries and hits Kate when her elbow accidentally knocks tower off.
9:30	Wandering around room	Semidistant, slow pace. Stops at table where children are preparing snack. Does not make eye contact with teacher when invited to sit; Ali grabs J’s shirt and tugs at it. “The teacher is talking to you!” J blinks, then sits and asks to help make snack. Stays 10 minutes.

The data in a shadow study are descriptive. In this, the technique shares the advantages of narratives. Its disadvantages, though, are that teachers may let other matters go while focusing on one child, and a shadow study can be quite time-consuming. Still, one interesting side effect often noted is how the behavior of the child being studied improves while the child is being observed. Disruptive behavior seems to diminish or appear less intense. It would appear that in the act of focusing on the child, teacher attention has somehow helped to alter the behavior. Somehow the child feels the impact of all this positive, caring attention and responds to it.

Two additional strategies are used to obtain information about a child. Because they involve some adult intervention, they do not consist strictly of observing and recording naturally occurring behavior. Still, they are very helpful techniques for teachers to understand and use.

Experimental procedures  are those in which adult researchers closely control a situation and its variables. Researchers create a situation in which they can:

· Observe a particular behavior

· Make a hypothesis, or guess, about that behavior

· Test the hypothesis by conducting the experiment

For instance, an experimenter might wish to observe fine motor behavior in 7-year-olds to test the hypothesis that these children can significantly improve their fine motor skills in sewing if given specific instructions. Two groups of children are tested. One group is given an embroidery hoop, thread, and needle and asked to make 10 stitches. The other receives a demonstration of how to stitch and is then given the identical task. The embroidery created by both groups is then compared. Some previously agreed-on criteria are used to quantify the fine motor skill demonstrated by the two groups’ work.

The major criteria for a scientific experiment may be applied to this procedure as follows:

· The experimenters can control all relevant aspects of the behavior. (In this case, the materials can be controlled, although previous experience with embroidering cannot.)

· Usually, only one variable at a time should be measured. (Only fine motor skills as it relates to embroidery are observed, not other skills such as language or information processing, or even fine motor proficiency in printing or drawing.)

· Children are assigned to the two groups in a random manner. (In other words, the groups are not divided by sex, age, or any other predetermined characteristic.)

Few teachers working directly with children use the stringent criteria needed to undertake a true scientific experiment. However, it is useful to understand this process because much basic research conducted to investigate how children think, perceive, and behave utilizes these techniques. Moreover, “action research” described earlier attempts to follow the scientific method described here.

The  methode clinique is the final information-gathering technique that involves the adult directly with the child. This method is used in psychotherapy and in counseling settings, as the therapist asks probing questions. The master of this  clinical method  with children was Piaget, who would observe and question a child about a situation (see  Chapter 4 ). Note how the adults wonder “what or why” and then insert their own actions to find out what they want to know in these examples:

· Three-month-old Jenna is lying in a crib looking at a mobile. Her hands are waving in the air. Her dad wonders whether Jenna will reach out and grasp the mobile if it is moved close to her hands. Or will she bat at the toy? Move her hands away? He tries it to see what happens.

· A group of preschoolers are gathered around a water table. Their teacher notices two cups, one deep and narrow and the other broad and shallow, and asks, “I wonder which one holds more, or if they are the same?” The children say what they think and why. Then, one of the children takes the two cups and pours the liquid from one into the other.

In both examples, the adult does more than simply observe and record what happens. With the infant, her father wonders what Jenna’s responses might be and then watches for the answer. For the preschoolers, the teacher intervenes in the children’s natural play to explore a question systematically and then listens and observes their answers. The clinical method is not strictly an observational method; rather, it is an informative technique that, when used carefully, can reveal much about children’s abilities and knowledge.

Observation and its various methods are used extensively in early childhood programs and will be used increasingly in K–12 education with the advent of  Common Core State Standards . It is safe to say that whenever a teacher encounters a problem—be it a child’s behavior, a period of the day, a set of materials, or a puzzling series of events—the first step toward a solution is systematic observation (see  Figure 6-12 ).

Figure 6-12

Summary chart of the major observational techniques that the early childhood professional can use to record children’s behavior.

Observational Techniques

Method	Observational Interval	Recording Techniques	Advantages	Disadvantages
1.	Narratives
	Running record	Continuous sequences	Use notebook and pencil, clipboard; can itemize activity or other ongoing behavior; can see growth patterns	Rich in detail; maintains sequence of events; describes behavior as it occurs
	Diary description	Day to day	Same as running record	Rich in detail; describes behavior after it occurs	Open to observer bias; time-consuming
	Specimen descriptions	Continuous sequences	Same	Usually documents behavior within a time frame (such as 1 hour)	Sometimes need follow-up
	Log/journal	Regular, preferred daily or weekly	Usually has space for each child; often a summary of behavior	Less structured than other narratives
	“On-the-go” anecdotes	Sporadic	Ongoing during class time; using notepad and paper in hand	Quick and easy to take; short-capture pertinent events/ details	Lack detail; need to be filled in at later time; can detract from teaching responsibilities
2.	Samplings
	Time sampling	Short and uniform time intervals	On-the-spot as time passes; prearranged recording sheets	Easy to record; easy to analyze; relatively bias free	Limited behaviors; loss of detail; loss of sequence and ecology of event
	Event sampling	For the duration of the event	Same as for time sampling	Easy to record; easy to analyze; can maintain flow of class activity easily	Limited behaviors; loss of detail; must wait for behavior to occur
3.	Ratings
	Checklists	Regular or intermittent	Using prepared recording sheets; can be during or after class	Easy to develop and use	Lack of detail; tell little of the cause of behaviors
	Rating scales	Continuous behavior	Same as for checklists	Easy to develop and use; can use for wide range of behaviors	Ambiguity of terms; high observer bias
			Same as for checklists	Easy to develop and use	Cannot determine cause
			Same as for checklists	Can use with narratives for assessment	Requires observer conclusions
4.	Modified techniques
	Shadow study	Continuous behavior	Narrative-type recording; uses prepared recording sheets	Rich in detail; focuses in-depth on individual	Bias problem; can take away too much of a teacher’s time and attention
	Experimental procedures	Short and uniform	May be checklists, prearranged recording sheets, audiotape or videotape	Simple, clear, pure study, relatively bias-free	Difficult, hard to isolate in the classroom
	Methode clinique/clinical method	Any time	Usually notebook or tape recorder	Relevant data; can be spontaneous, easy to use	Adult has changed naturally occurring behavior

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6-3cHow to Observe and Record Effectively

Learning how to observe and record is a serious activity that requires a great deal of concentration. Some preparations can be made beforehand so that full attention is focused on the observation. Thinking through some of the possible problems helps the teacher get the most out of the experience.

6-3dObserving while Teaching

There are  many effective ways to observe. Some teachers find certain times of the day easier than others. Many prefer to watch during free play, whereas others find it easier to watch individual children during directed teaching times. Most teachers record observations throughout the day; others choose to document what they have observed after school is over for the day. Contemporary teachers keep a camera handy to assist them in doing this. The professional team that is committed to observation finds ways to support its implementation.

Creating opportunities for regular observations can be difficult. Centers are rarely staffed so well that one teacher can be free from classroom responsibilities for long periods of time. Some ask for parent volunteers to take over an activity while a teacher conducts an assessment. In one center, the snack was set up ahead of time to free one teacher to observe during group time. The environment can be arranged with activities that require little supervision when a teacher is interested in making some observations.

When children know they are being observed, they may feel self-conscious initially, asking pointed questions of the observer and changing their behavior as if they were on stage. When a teacher begins to write, some of the children pay immediate attention. “What are you writing about?” is a common question children ask. “I’m writing about children playing,” is an accurate and brief response. Young children are often pleased; older children may move away. In both cases, teachers make themselves less noticeable by looking away or concentrating elsewhere for a moment. When effective observation strategies are used and familiar adults do regular observations, children soon ignore the observer and resume normal activity.

Observation skills are honed when teachers have opportunities to work with a few children at a time.

© Cengage Learning

Brain Research Says …

Observation: Capture the Brain at Work or Overload

Early childhood education is built on the belief that the whole child, in all developmental domains, provides a greater understanding than only a narrow or single-domain view. Information about the brain has provided new insights into the biological basis of behavior and development.  Stress  and its impact on children’s behavior are of special interest, along with the role that caregivers can take to respond to stress.

The human stress system has two branches: the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system (HPA) axis. Each one gives clues to what is happening to a child and how to apply this knowledge. A first application involves the autonomic nervous system, which gives physical cues to the observant teacher about a child’s stress level. Specifically changes can be seen with heightened stress. “Fluctuations in skin color, breathing patterns, sweating, yawning, or the need to go to the bathroom can be cues to the burden a current demand places on a particular child. Similarly, observation of the quality of motor behavior and attention offers insight into how the child experiences the complexity of the task and what support he needs” (Gilkerson, 2001).

The second application is the HPA axis, which stimulates the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Chronic overproduction of cortisol is damaging to the endocrine system. However, it can be influenced by “the Big Three,” which are controllability, predictability/familiarity, and social support (Davis & Gunnar, 2000).

So, when a child is wiggly, uncooperative, or inattentive, consider the child’s behavior to be important clues to that child’s experience. Knowledgeable teachers can use this information to work with families to be mindful of physical cues and provide a balance of the Big Three. Observing closely can reveal brain activity and help understand and respond well to a child’s individual sensory profile.

Questions

1. What might it feel like to be that child in those moments?

2. How can observation assist the teacher in ascertaining a child’s capacity to engage?

3. Do you remember being overloaded in school? And what did that feel and look like?

Teachers can improve their observation and recording skills outside the classroom as well. Taking an “Observation and Assessment” course is helpful; so is visiting other classes in pairs and comparing notes afterward. Staff meetings take on an added dimension when teachers role-play what they think they have seen and others ask for details.

The teacher who makes notes during class time has other considerations. Be ready to set aside your recording when necessary. Wear clothing with at least one good pocket. This ensures that the paper and pencil or camera is available when needed and the children’s privacy is protected. Take care not to leave notes out on tables, shelves, or in cupboards for others to see. They should be kept confidential until they are added to the children’s records. Some teachers find the “low-tech” materials of pen and notebook or 3 × 5 cards easiest to find, carry, use, and set aside. Others find a phone or flip video camera helpful, although the expense, storage, and distracting nature of such equipment need to be considered. Regardless of what teachers use, they must organize themselves for success as follows:

· Gather and prepare the materials ahead of time: This may mean getting everyone aprons with large pockets, having a spiral notebook, or keeping the camera in a central location.

· Consider where you observe: Set up observation places (chairs, stations); in a well-equipped yard and room, you can plan strategically.

· Plan when you observe: In a DAP day, teachers can have the freedom to practice observing regularly during playtime.

· Prepare every adult to be an observer: Give everyone some regular opportunities to observe and reflect on children’s play.

Beginning to Observe

In some schools, observers are a normal part of the school routine. In colleges with laboratory facilities on campus, visitors and student observers are familiar figures. They have only to follow established guidelines for making an observation (see  Figure 6-13 ).

Figure 6-13

Establishing guidelines for observers and visitors helps remind us of the importance of teaching as watching, not just telling.

Guidelines for Observing

1. Please sign in with the front office and obtain a visitor’s badge.  Your badge must be worn and visible at all times while at the center.

2. Inform the front office when you have completed your visit.

3. Be unobtrusive. Please find a spot that doesn’t infringe on the children’s space.

4. If you are with a small group or another person,  do not observe together; consciously separate and space yourselves. Do not talk to other visitors during observation, please.

5. Respond to the children, but please do not initiate conversations with them.

6. If a child seems upset that you are near him/her, please remove yourself from the area. If you receive direct requests from a child to leave, please respond that you realize that he said you are in his space and will move.

7. Please do not interfere with the teaching/learning process during your observation. Either ask when you check out in the front office or leave a note in the teacher’s mailbox requesting a time to meet. Please understand that we welcome questions but cannot interrupt the program to answer them immediately.

8. Walk around the periphery of the outdoor area or classrooms rather than through them.

9. When possible, do not stand. Please do not hover over children. Sit, squat, or bend down at the knees so you are at the children’s level.

10. Taking photographs is not permitted. In special classes, permission for photographs may be given by the Dean of Child Development and Education.

Thank you for your help and consideration in making your visit to the center a pleasant one for everyone involved.

(Source: Courtesy of De Anza College Child Development & Education Department.)

Many times, students are responsible for finding their own places to observe children. If so, the student calls ahead and schedules a time to observe that is convenient. Be specific about observation needs, the assignment, the ages of children desired, the amount of time needed, and the purpose of the observation.

If you are planning to observe in your own class, several steps are necessary for a professional observation and a believable recording:

1. Plan the observation. Have a specific  goal in mind, and even put it at the top of your recording sheet. (For example, “Observe conflicts in the sand area.”)

2. Be unobtrusive. The success of the observation depends on how inconspicuous the observer can be. Children are more natural if the observer blends into the scenery. By staying back, one can observe the whole scene and record what is seen and heard, undisturbed and uninfluenced.

3. Observe and record. To be objective, be as specific and detailed as possible. Write only the behavior—the “raw data”—and save the analysis and your interpretation for later. (For instance, make a two-column chart: Title the left side “Observations” and the right one “Interpretation.”)

4. Interpret your data. Reread your notes and draw some conclusions. Your observation was  what happened; the interpretation is the place for your opinions and ideas of  why it happened. (Be sure to transcribe them into something legible in case anyone else needs to read them.)

5. Act on what you observed. To implement your solutions, plan what you will do next, and then follow through with your ideas.

Wherever an observation is planned, it is critical to maintain  professional confidentiality . If observing at another site, call ahead for an appointment. Talk about the purpose and format of your observation with both director and teacher. Respect the privacy of the children and their families at all times. Any information gathered as part of an observation must be treated with strict confidentiality. Teachers and students need to be careful not to use children’s names in casual conversation. They do not talk about children in front of other children or among themselves. It is the role of the adults to see that children’s privacy is maintained. Carrying tales out of school is tempting but unprofessional; change the names of the children and school to protect those involved.

A major purpose of early childhood assessment is to evaluate and monitor programs.

© Cengage Learning

6-4Goals and Tools of Child Assessment

How do we evaluate children? What do we look for? How do we document growth and difficulties? How do we communicate our findings to families and agencies?

An increased emphasis on child and program assessment is a result of the trend toward increasing  accountability . In the United States, both the federal Race to the Top/Quality Rating Improvement Systems and Common Core Standards initiatives and NAEYC accreditation criteria have raised the bar on assessment. How can early childhood educators make sure that they are on the right track? These questions focus our attention on children’s issues, assessment tools, and the evaluation process.

6-4aWhy Evaluate?

There are four purposes of early childhood assessment:

· To support children’s learning

· To identify special needs

· To evaluate and monitor programs

· To provide data for accountability

The outcomes of these assessments have major consequences for the child, teachers, and programs.

Children are evaluated because teachers and parents want to know what the children are learning. Evaluations set the tone for a child’s overall educational experience. Highlighting children’s strengths builds a foundation from which to address their limitations or needs. The process of evaluating children attempts to answer several questions: Are children gaining appropriate skills and behaviors? In what activities does learning take place? What part of the program supports specific learning? Is the school philosophy being met? Are educational goals being met?

Dial down to child assessment, and three goals stand out:

1. To better understand their overall development

2. To monitor children’s progress through the curriculum

3. To identify children who are at risk for failure or who may need special education services (Gullo, 2006)

In other words, evaluation processes can help teachers discover who children are, what they can (and cannot) do, and how to help them grow and learn.

First, teachers decide  what it is they want to know about each child and why. With an understanding of children in general, teachers then concentrate on individual children and their unique development. These observations establish a baseline and document children’s learning.

Second,  goals for children stem from program objectives and drive the curriculum and children’s progress. For instance, if the school philosophy is, “Our program is designed to help children grow toward increasing physical, social, and intellectual competencies,” an evaluation measures children’s progress in those three areas. One that claims to teach specific language skills wants to assess how speaking and listening are being accomplished. Planning curriculum and monitoring program quality should occur via this process.

Third,  evaluations provide teachers with an opportunity look at children in a more professional way and share their observations with others. Teachers can use the results to share their opinions and concerns about children with each other, with the families, and with important agencies or specialists. For instance, an infant and toddler center schedules parent conferences around a sequence of child evaluations: the first, a few weeks after the child begins; the second, 6 months after the child’s admission into the program; and the third, just before the move up to an older age group (such as moving from the infant to the toddler class).

As with observations, evaluations contain varying degrees of subjectivity and opinion. For an evaluation to be reliable and valid, multiple sources of information should be used. Observing young children in action is the key to authentic assessment; note that most of the child evaluation instruments described in this chapter are based on what children do spontaneously or in their familiar, natural settings. A proper evaluation of a child documents the child’s growth over time (e.g., keeping a portfolio of the child’s creations, dictations, and anecdotes of behavior, emergent play activities, and photos of children engaged in activities that demonstrate skills). In general, evaluations are made to:

· Establish a child’s baseline

· Document a child’s learning

· Determine guidance and intervention

· Plan the curriculum

· Communicate with families

· Monitor program accountability and quality

Establish a Baseline

One purpose of evaluating children is to establish a starting point of their skills and behavior. This is the beginning of a collection over a period of time of important information on each child. Through this cumulative record, teachers learn a great deal about the children: whom they play with, how they spend their time, how they handle problems, and what fears and stress they show. In other words, they learn a lot about how children live their lives.

A  baseline  is a picture of the status of each child—an overview of individual development. It shows where the child is in relation to the school’s objectives because the child is being measured according to program expectations. Baseline data give a realistic picture of a child at that moment in time, but there is a presumption that the picture will change.

A Baseline Tool. The beginning of the school term is an obvious time to start collecting information. Records of a child are established in the context of the child’s history and family background. Parents frequently submit this information along with their application to the school. Teachers can gather the data by visiting the child at home or holding a family conference.

An  entry-level  assessment made during the first few weeks of school can be informative, particularly when added to the child’s family history. The evaluation itself should be done informally, with teachers collecting information as children engage naturally with materials and each other (see  Figure 6-14 ). Many agencies ask for an initial assessment; for example, Head Start requires administration of the Ages & Stages Questionnaire within 45 days of each child’s enrollment.

Figure 6-14

Entry-level assessments collect baseline information. Once teachers and children have had some time together, these first impressions can be documented.

Entry-Level Assessment

1. Child’s name Teacher  Mariko Meade Teacher  Kristin Franklin

Age 30 Sex F

Primary language Japanese Fluency in English? Emerging: 1–3-word phrases 

Any previous school experiences? none

Siblings/others in household sister Hiromi, 6 months

Family situation (one/two parents, other adults, etc.) Mother at home, father full-time outside home,  maternal grandmother, baby sister.

2. Separation from parent:

Smooth  Some anxiety  Mild difficulty  Unable to separate 

Did parent have trouble separating?  mother/no; grandmother/yes; father/no

Comments:  grandmother stays and has trouble leaving if M. protests

3. How does child come to and leave from school?

Parent grandma 2x/wk Car pool  Babysitter  Bus 

4. Physical appearance (general health, expression, clothing, body posture):  M. is carefully dressed, excellent health, cautious expression, opens up over morning and through week.

5. Self-care (dressing, toileting, eating, toothbrushing, sleeping):  M. dresses and toilets without assistance; little appetite, resists toothbrushing; still lays quietly but no sleeping yet.

Allergies/other health-related problems:  none reported or observed

6. Child’s interests:  Indoors—books, easel, art Outdoors—swings, animals, sandbox

Group times (level of participation):  M. comes to circle, sits on my lap, watchful without any participation yet.

7. Social–emotional development:  M. plays alone, seems happy, but has to be invited to any activity with other children; seems tense unless near me.

1. Plays mostly with children of:  No play with other children yet.

2. Moves into environment:  Hesitantly, but is getting around a little; tends to follow me.

3. Special friends:  none yet.

4. Does the child follow teachers?  Yes Anyone in particular? 

Prefers her small-group teacher, Charlene 

8. Cognitive development:  follows directions, does not speak yet, points & nods.

9. Physical development:  prefers R-hand; uses scissors & brushes well; have not yet observed climbing or running.

10. Goals/points to remember:  Does she have a security object to bring? What does she love to do at home that we could have here? What Japanese terms should we learn & use? Schedule a home visit this month.

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Application. Teachers then use this information to understand children and their development. They can see children’s strengths and weaknesses and where future growth is likely to occur. When the information is shared with families, they feel more relaxed about their child and even laugh when they recall those first few days of school. One must remember, however, that the entry assessment is only a first impression. Care must be taken to avoid creating a self-fulfilling prophecy by labeling children so that they become shaped into those beginning patterns. Still, a great deal can happen in that short period of time; the rich information gained from documenting this growth is invaluable.

Goals and Plans. Teachers use baseline data to set realistic goals for individual children. They tailor the curriculum to the needs and interests they have observed. An entry-level assessment starts the process for documenting a child’s growth over time. For instance, after setting a baseline of Mariko’s language ability in English, teachers plan activities to increase her understanding and use of language. Then, they make periodic checks on her increased vocabulary as the school year progresses.

Document Children’s Learning

Teachers use evaluations to document children’s growth. Data collected provide evidence of children’s growth or lack of progress. A careful evaluation of each child furnishes the teaching staff with the necessary foundation from which they can plan the next steps:

· Hita has mastered the brushes at the childcare indoor easel. Now we can encourage her to try the smaller brushes in table painting.

· Enrico has been asking how to spell simple words. Let’s see that he gets extended time to work at the kindergarten writing center.

· All the 2-year-olds seem able to separate from their families and say good-bye comfortably now. How can we celebrate this progress with the group?

Ann Miles Gordon

A Progress Tool. A  midyear evaluation includes criteria for each area of development to build a profile of the whole child. Teachers note the intervention and guidance steps they plan, where appropriate. Many states, national programs such as Head Start, school districts, and individual programs are developing and using assessment tools to establish and monitor progress. Called  essential learning, developmental guidelines, or  learning goals, they serve to articulate expected standards. One such tool, the California DRDP, describes a continuum of development and skills ( www.desiredresults.us). There is one that runs from early infancy to kindergarten, and another for kindergarten through age 12. The DRDP (2015) describes six desired results:

· Children are personally and socially competent.

· Children are effective learners.

· Children show physical and motor competence.

· Children are safe and healthy.

· Families support their child’s learning and development.

· Families achieve their goals.

Assessments that include photos of children in action offer a snapshot of a child at a particular moment, which can serve as a baseline or as a mid-year evaluation.

Ann Miles Gordon

For each age group, the tool outlines several indicators and describes growth along a continuum so that the phases that children experience as they move toward accomplishing the desired result can be documented.

Application, Information about a child is used to assess growth and change. How often this happens varies. Although many changes occur in rapid succession in these early years, it takes time for a child to integrate life experiences and for teachers to see them expressed as a permanent part of behavior. Evaluating too frequently does not reveal sufficient change to make it worthwhile and places an added burden on the teaching staff as well (see  Figure 6-15 ).

Figure 6-15

An assessment tool can monitor children’s progress by giving behavioral examples for each developmental level.

A Tool for Monitoring Children’s Progress

Mark the developmental level the child has mastered.

Preschool
	Exploring ◯	Developing ◯	Building ◯	Integrating ◯
Makes basic movements with confidence and ease	Uses movement skills to go smoothly up, down, and through a variety of spaces	Uses complex movement skills in active play	Participates in extended or integrated physical activities
· Moves body in response to music. · Runs smoothly. · Walks backwards smoothly. · Jumps forward on two feet. · Walks up steps one step at a time, putting both feet on each step.	· Follows movement prompts in a song. · Attempts to throw a ball to another child. · Climbs stairs, alternating feet.	· Dances using steps in a simple routine. · Runs and changes direction quickly. · Climbs on a jungle gym.	· Creates own dance steps to music. · Participates in active play sequences that combine running, jumping, throwing, catching, kicking, etc. · Throws a ball to another child with some accuracy or while doing something else. · Throws a toy plastic disc.

· 2.

Record evidence for this rating here. •

· 3.

Mark here if child is emerging to the next level. ◯

· 4.

If you are unable to rate this measure, explain here. •

(Copyright © 2007–2013 by California Department of Education (CDE) Child Development Division (CDD) with the WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies.)

Goals and Plans. Goals are established for children as a result of an assessment. These goals are changed as growth takes place. A good assessment tool monitors progress in each developmental area so that plans can be made to challenge the child physically, socially, emotionally, creatively, and intellectually.

At the same time, theory reminds us that the child develops as a whole, with each area of growth influencing and being influenced by what changes take place in other areas. Evaluations that document growth include information so that all teachers see the interrelationships among areas of development. By assessing growth in individual areas, teachers relate that development to the child’s collective abilities. An example follows.

Dylan’s report shows that he lacks dexterity in running and climbing and is quite strong in verbal and listening skills. This influences his development in the following areas:

· Emotionally. He appears to lack self-confidence, and his self-esteem deteriorates the longer he feels inept at physical skills. He may even be afraid to master the art of climbing and running for fear he will fail.

· Socially. Children tease Dylan because he often cannot keep up with them while playing outside. He often ends up playing alone or watching the other children in more active pursuits.

· Intellectually. There is a lack of risk-taking in Dylan’s whole approach to play. Because of his slow physical development he seems unlikely to challenge himself in other ways.

Goals: Focus on physical/motor skills. Help him talk about what he likes and dislikes about the outdoors and bring in picture books that depict characters persisting until they master difficulties (such as  The Little Engine That Could), using his language strength as a springboard for growth.

Some programs conclude the year with a summary report. This evaluation serves as an overview of what a child has accomplished, what areas of strength are present, and what future growth might occur. These records are useful to families as a summary of their child’s learning experiences. Teachers may use them as references should they ever be consulted by another school about the child (see the section entitled “ Authentic Assessment: the Portfolio ”). Again, it is critical to assess a child in a sensitive and accepting manner, to keep the time period as brief as possible, and to communicate the results in the same tone. If this is not done, the child’s self-esteem may be damaged and the family trust may be lost. The disadvantages of using these tools inappropriately parallel those of standardized tests (see the section entitled “ Testing and Screening ”).

Determine Guidance and Intervention

A third purpose for evaluation is to help teachers determine guidance and intervention procedures. These are based on insights and perceptions brought into focus through the evaluation (see the “ Teaching with Intention ” and “ DAP ” boxes). When teachers see a problem behavior or are concerned about a child, they first try various strategies and connect with the family. They may need to plan for further assessment (see  Chapter 7 ). If a developmental  screening  is done to assess if a child has a learning problem or needs special services, teachers refer the family to a proper specialist or agency and then work with the family and specialist to make the appropriate modifications. (see the section “ Testing and Screening ”).

A Guidance Tool. Evaluations help in behavior management. Once a need has been pinpointed, the teaching staff decides how to proceed. Individual problems are highlighted when teachers make a point of concentrating on the child’s behavior. Such tools are used at a team meeting to outline steps to be taken in addressing the concern directly. It also helps teachers clarify how to talk to parents in a concerned and supportive manner (see the “ Teaching with Intention ” box).

An Intervention Tool. Children at risk of a developmental delay or disorder may be referred for early intervention (EI) by their physician. More often, children in group care are noticed first by teachers, who discuss their observations and strategies with families. Many countries worldwide have few resources for children, either within the classroom or in the system as a whole. In the United States, each state is provided grants from the federal government to provide comprehensive services to infants and toddlers with disabilities. When the child becomes preschool age, the school district has a primary role in assessment and assisting in accessing services. Once a child enters public school, the K–12 system has its own assessment and services (such as speech and language, psychological services, or occupational therapy; see the “ DAP ” box).

In addition, the newest educational strategy in the United States, called  response to intervention ( RTI; Shapiro, Zigmond, Wallace, & Marston, 2011), is used broadly with groups of children, and then the results are analyzed. With RTI, all children in the early grades (usually 1–3) who are below average in achievement are given some special intervention. Many respond and improve; those who do not, receive more intervention. A child who does not improve with repeated intervention is then referred for testing.

Application. Using evaluations for guidance need not be elaborate. For instance, Trevor’s parents report that he says he has no friends at kindergarten. At their staff meeting, the teacher and aide share their observation notes, noticing that Ryan and Brooke have shown interest. Teachers have seen both children approach him, but he did not seem to know how to respond. They suggest that Trevor’s parents invite the children to play with Trevor at home. At school, the teachers give Trevor verbal cues when children make attempts to play with him, scaffolding the invitations so that he can make small steps toward responding.

Goals and Plans. An evaluation tool helps teachers set goals for children (see  Figure 6-16 ). Narrowing the focus to include only those behaviors that concern the staff enables the staff to quickly review the needs of many children.

Figure 6-16

One purpose of evaluating children is to plan for behavior management. A good evaluation form includes follow through plans for intervention.

Child Guidance Form

Problem (present in behavioral terms; limit to three)

Elizabeth has increased toilet accidents in the last 2 weeks.

Family History (ask family, include home, medical, changes)

Dad reports that she is wetting the bed at home, refuses to use toilet at night before bed.

Center History (child’s relations to adults, children, materials, activities)

Higher incidence during midmorning snack, often at table or right afterwards.

Intervention (what has been tried, with details; what has/has not worked; child’s strengths)

Teachers started to remind her to use toilet before washing hands for snack; she is resistant to suggestion.

Plans

1. In center:  Check her comfort level—does she want privacy? Teacher will walk her to bathroom, or she can take a friend.

2. With family:  Parents will take her to toilet before bath, offer bedtime stories after she tries, will ask if she wants company/privacy, or wants to take her teddy bear along.

3. Date for reviewing results:  check-in 2 weeks.

(Source: Adapted from McLaughlin & Sugarman, 1982.)

Plan Curriculum

Teachers plan the curriculum on the basis of children’s evaluations. Translating the assessment to actual classroom practice is an important part of the teacher’s role. A thorough evaluation helps teachers plan appropriate activities to meet children’s needs. More important, observation itself drives curriculum development, and a summary of developmental assessments indicate how teachers can respond to children’s skill levels (see  Figure 6-17 ).  Documentation  of children’s work and activity shows both classroom curriculum ( Figure 6-18 ) and individual growth ( Figure 6-20 ), and is used extensively in the Reggio Emilia, Project Approach, and emergent curriculum approaches (see  Chapter 10 ).

Figure 6-17

Teachers use individual assessment tools to plan for the entire group and for each child in the class.

Group Chart

Summary of Development/Fall Progress Reports (see forms for details)

Developmental Area: 1 5 fine; 2 5 needs work; ? 5 don’t know

Child	Physical	Language	Cognitive	Social	Emotional	Creative
Greg	2	1	1	1	2	?
Anwar	?	2	1	2	2	1
San-Joo	1	?	?	2	1	1
Reva	1	1	1	1	1	1
Katy	2	1	?	?	?	2

Group Goals for Winter:

Emphasize social and emotional areas of curriculum.

Plan physical games (indoor games because of weather).

Individual Goals for Winter:

Greg: Encourage some creative arts, games. Observe creativity in intellectual activities.

Anwar: Needs to be helped to feel confident and express himself; don’t push too hard on physical risks yet.

San-Joo: Need assessment of language and cognitive skills; observe use of table toys, receptive language at group time.

Reva: What is the next step? Is she ready for helping the others? Involve her with 100-piece puzzles and the computer.

Katy: Need to focus on her overall development; too many unknowns—is she getting enough individual attention?

Planning Tools. Both previous evaluation tools can be used to plan curricula. The entry-level assessment and midyear developmental profile can be summarized in a group chart (see  Figure 6-17 ). One such chart, made at the end of the first semester of a prekindergarten class, revealed the following pattern.

Much of the class was having trouble listening at circle time, as evidenced by a staff-created group chart that identified “Language and Listening Skills” as areas for growth for nearly half the children. The staff centered their attention on the circle time content. It was concluded that a story made the gathering too long; the children were restless throughout most of the reading. It was agreed to move story time to just before nap and shorten the circle time temporarily.

Evaluation also applies to daily events, such as individual projects and the program as a whole. Documentation is a regular part of programs inspired by Reggio Emilia or with a Project Approach or other emergent curriculum focus (see  Figure 6-18 ).  Chapter 10  discusses curriculum planning in further detail.

Figure 6-18

Thanks to the observational skills of teachers, a group of children were able to develop their interest and knowledge about building construction through curriculum development. Documentation panel by Margaret Lam and Kären Wiggins-Dowler (2006). Reprinted with permission from Mary Meta Lazarus Child Development Center, College of San Mateo.

Documentation Board

Application. Evaluation results assist teachers in seeing more clearly the strengths and abilities of each child in the class. Curriculum activities are then planned that enhance growth. Also, areas of difficulty are identified, as follows:

· Jolene has trouble mastering even the simplest puzzle.  Provide her with common shapes found in attribute blocks (small plastic shapes of varying color, thickness, size), and do some matching exercises with her.

· The younger children in the class are reluctant to try the climbing structures designed by the older ones.  Build an obstacle course with the youngest children, beginning with very simple challenges and involving the children in the actual planning and building as well as rehearsing climbing techniques with them.

These are practical connections made in learning to “read” children and connecting these to actual curriculum planning.

Goals and Plans. Each of the previous case studies demonstrates how evaluation tools can be used to plan curricula. By analyzing both group and individual skills through periodic assessment, teachers maintain a secure environment and challenging program.

Communicate with Families

Plans for evaluating children should include the means by which families are to be informed of the results. Once the teachers have identified a child’s needs and capabilities, parents are entitled to hear the conclusions. The teaching staff has an obligation to provide a realistic overview of the child’s progress and alert the family to any possible concerns. Teachers define the problem behavior and work closely with the family to reach a solution, as in the following case study:

Yum-Tong refuses to let his mother leave him at school. The teachers agree that there are two issues:

· (1)

Y.-T.’s screaming and crying as his mother leaves and

· (2)

his inability to focus on an activity while she attempts to go (though she stays as soon as he starts screaming).

The family has told them that their other two children had separation problems as preschoolers. The previous school asked the parents to stay until the children stopped protesting, although the parents report that this took nearly 6 months, so it was a hardship for them in their workplaces.

The teachers choose to intervene by asking Y.-T.’s mother to plan ahead with him, deciding before school how they spend five minutes together each morning. After playing and helping him to settle in, she then says goodbye and leaves Y.-T. with Pete, his favorite teacher. Pete is prepared to be with him at the departure and stay with him until he calms down. They also plan to have a conference date after two weeks of this intervention plan to follow through and review how it is working for everyone.

A Tool with Parents. Teachers and parents need to talk together, especially when problems are revealed by the evaluation. As parents and teachers share knowledge and insights, a more complete picture of the child emerges for both. For example, using the child guidance form (see  Figure 6-16 ), both families and teachers work jointly on the problem and its resolution The role of the teacher is defined in the context of the parents’ role, and the family is guided by the teacher’s attitudes and actions (see  Chapter 8 ).

Application. Aside from identifying normal behavior problems, evaluations may raise questions concerning a child’s physical development, hearing and visual acuity, and language/cognitive problems. Recall that one purpose of assessment is to identify children who may need EI/special education services (see the “ DAP ” box), who may demonstrate issues of school readiness (prekindergartners), or who are at risk for academic failure (elementary-aged children). Potentially serious problems may emerge from the evaluation, and families are then encouraged to seek further professional assessment or intervention. Evaluation tools can help parents target areas in which their child may need special help.

Goals and Plans. Because evaluation is an ongoing process, reevaluation and goal setting are done regularly. Communicating both progress and new goals is critical for the feedback loop of an evaluation form to be effective, as shown in  Chapter 5  on teacher evaluation.

Monitor Program Accountability and Quality

Evaluation results can help a program determine its quality and be accountable to others for its effectiveness. They can lead to changes in the overall program or in the school’s philosophy. For example, a child care component might be added to the half-day program after learning that most children are enrolled in another child care situation after nursery school. Or an evaluation might conclude that there is too little emphasis on developing gross motor skills, so the program might decide to remodel the play yard and purchase new equipment.

Child assessments, therefore, can be one measure of program quality. Other measures include evaluating the environment and schedule (see  Chapter 9 ), the teaching staff ( Chapter 5 ), and the curriculum ( Chapter 10 ). Program evaluation and accountability is becoming an important issue in the United States; the accreditation process developed by NAEYC, which is based on the application of developmentally appropriate practices in programs, is a comprehensive program evaluation tool. The environmental rating scale is also used extensively for program assessment (see  Chapters 2 ,  9 , and  15 ).

With regard to the assessment of children, early educators are reminded that, although evaluation is a central part of quality programs, the assessments must be ethical, appropriate, and valid. NAEYC and NAECS/SDE (2009) made specific, evidence-based recommendations concerning early childhood assessment. No matter what is used, the primary goal is to benefit children (see  Figure 6-19 ).

Figure 6-19

Principles of appropriate assessment in early childhood education.

Indicators of Effective Assessment Practices

· Ethical principles guide assessment practices.

· Assessment instruments are used for their intended purposes.

· Assessments are appropriate for the ages and other characteristics of children being assessed.

· Assessment instruments are in compliance with professional criteria for quality.

· What is assessed is developmentally and educationally significant.

· Assessment evidence is used to understand and improve learning.

· Assessment evidence is gathered from realistic settings and situations that reflect children’s actual performance.

· Assessments use multiple sources of evidence gathered over time.

· Screening is always linked to follow-up.

· Use of individually administered, norm-referenced tests is limited.

· Staff and families are knowledgeable about assessment.

(Source: NAEYC & NAECS/SDE [2003, pp. 2–3].)

6-4bTypes of Assessments

With increased pressure for accountability, assessment issues have arisen in both public schooling and early care programs. Regardless of agency or funding source, all early childhood programs must be knowledgeable about assessment and its purposes, tools, and complications. Whether you intend to improve children’s learning, identify children with special needs, or defend your program, you likely need to engage in some kind of child assessment.

Two Types of Assessments

Generally there are two types of assessments: formal assessments (sometimes referred to as  standardized or  norm-referenced) and informal assessments (sometimes referred to as  authentic).

Formal assessments  include standardized,  norm-referenced tests  and various “screening” instruments. The yearly tests taken in elementary and secondary school, using a No. 2 pencil, are an example of such procedures. “Standardized, norm-referenced assessments follow a standard set of administration rules so that each child theoretically experiences the assessment similarly (for example, each person administering the test gives the same instructions). Norm-referenced assessments permit a child’s performance to be compared to those of other children his age” (Maxwell & Clifford, 2004). These are often used to identify special needs or to evaluate programs.

Informal assessments  include observations, note taking, self-assessments, parent interviews and surveys, samples of children’s work, and teacher-designed forms (checklists, etc.). Teachers note what children do, say, try, and show.  Naturalistic assessments  do not disrupt children, and a child has multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery.

As with the various observation methods, there are advantages and disadvantages to each type of assessment. Standardized types do allow for comparisons and diminish some of the bias among many observers. Yet, they may not accurately reflect a child’s skills due to administration outside the child’s usual experience or setting. (For more on this topic, see the section “ Testing and Screening ”.) Informal assessments usually are more relaxed; they do not allow easy comparison between children or in a group, and bias can affect the results.

It is important to choose assessment tools and techniques that are appropriate for the group or the child under consideration. Informal observations can be made more systematic or comprehensive to gain information about a specific problem. Formal, commercially developed instruments need to be used more carefully. There are several instruments that are widely used in the United States:

· The High/Scope Child Observation Record (COR) (High/Scope, 2003) uses six categories of broad developmental domains for children 6 weeks to 6 years old; the teacher takes notes and then rates the child’s behavior with a questionnaire that is interpreted by a COR test administrator.

· The Work Sampling System (Meisels, 2010) is a performance-based assessment for children 3–11; the teacher uses checklists for seven domains and enters work samples online to create a profile. The Ounce (Meisels et al., 2003) is the infant-toddler version of this system.

· Teaching Strategies Gold accompanies the Creative Curriculum texts (Dodge, Colker, & Heroman, 2010; Dodge, Rudick, & Berke, 2006); with this, the teacher uses a rating scale and records the results on a web-based platform that plots the results on a developmental continuum.

This variety of assessments offers many choices; at the same time, many are not easily adaptable to individual programs or purposes, and many take considerable preparation and training. “In choosing an appropriate assessment system, it is important to understand what a developmentally appropriate, valid, relative, and ethical assessment looks like. Some background research can provide this information” (Shillady, 2004).

Before choosing any assessment tool or procedure, know the age group and the purpose for which it was intended, as well as the children’s cultures, languages, abilities, and disabilities. (For more information, see the list of  websites  and  references .)

Authentic Assessment: The Portfolio

The dictionary defines the word  authentic as meaning “of undisputed origin, genuine … made or done in a way that faithfully resembles an original” ( New Oxford American Dictionary, 2015). For a child assessment to be authentic, it must try to capture who the child is and what that child knows (or does not) and can (or cannot) do. Teachers must assess a child to know him or her better in order to improve learning.

Many early childhood educators have embraced the idea that having children’s work samples in a  portfolio  form is an excellent way to document children’s learning and faithfully capture the child’s development. In light of the concerns that you have read in this chapter about the misassessment of young children and the “test mania” that standardized tests in the primary grades have fomented, many professionals have looked for alternative assessment measures.

“Portfolios are an excellent visual aid for showing the dispositions, strengths, and interests of a child as well as what universal skills and knowledge they have acquired under your care” (Wiggins-Dowler, 2011). Although they take considerable planning, they help you collect children’s work in a systematic way. You can evaluate children on their work and play as they are spontaneously, rather than with standardized tests or unnecessary screening (see  Figure 6-20 ).

Figure 6-20

Having a set of guidelines for developing and using portfolios keeps the process clear for all involved.

Child Portfolio

· Identify the purpose of the portfolio (improving communication with families, connecting with other teachers or programs).

· Identify the types of items to be collected (artwork, photos of block or dramatic play, etc.).

· Specify who will collaborate to create the portfolio (teacher, other caregivers, the child, family).

· Set a timetable (for instance, first set by November 15, second set by April 30).

· Establish any standards or tool you will use (for example, desired results or child outcomes).

· Have in writing when any portfolio conferences will take place and who will be there (teacher, family, child?).

· Identify procedure for maintaining confidentiality and for release of items.

© Cengage Learning

There are several types of portfolios:

· Display portfolios—scrapbooks that collect items without teacher comments.

· Showcase portfolios—the best pieces of the child’s work.

· Working portfolios—include selections of typical work, along with teacher documentation to show the child’s progress.

Gronlund (2008) recommends a  working portfolio  that combines work samples with teacher commentary. Wiggins-Dowler (2011) describes this type of portfolio as follows:

· Make a portfolio plan. This includes a brief set of guidelines for collecting and sharing items. Mere collection of work is not enough; look for samples that demonstrate goals and the child’s progress. Do not try to collect everything.

· Be organized when storing work samples. Pocket folders, or even pizza boxes, can keep the material intact; consider creating a folding document with sections for each developmental domain or desired result/goal.

· Collect children’s work with purpose. Look for work in all developmental domains ( Chapters 3  and  4 ), each interest area ( Chapter 9 ), or other categories, such as those whom you are accountable for teaching. Many suggest you collect a piece of each child’s work two or three times a year. Each child’s individual portfolio may have completely different work samples from others in the program, but every portfolio still shows growth over time in every developmental area.

· Add written comments to the work samples. Commentary enhances the documentation by giving the information necessary to assess the process of learning that is going on. Remember to keep your writing legible; a sticky note can attach conveniently to a lesson plan or work sample, but a scribble cannot be recalled later. Be sure to include the names of those involved and the time and date. A picture may be worth a thousand words; but for assessment purposes, the words are essential, not just the photo.

6-4cEarly Learning Standards

Standards, standards everywhere! Child outcome standards define what young children should be learning. “What are the reasonable expectations that guide early educators in planning curriculum for preschool children and in assessing their progress in achieving these expectations?” (Gronlund, 2008)

The standards movement that began in the 1980s has become the Core Standards for K–12 and has arrived at the early childhood doorstep. Every state now has standards that describe results, outcomes, or learning expectations for children younger than kindergarten age. Head Start has a framework for Child Outcomes for children 0–5, and over half the states have completed infant–toddler standards. More states have provided guidance about how to use the standards with children who have disabilities or with culturally and linguistically diverse children (NAEYC, 2009). Standards are used to improve the odds that a program increases school readiness as well as serves as a guide for building skills for later achievement. Yet the results are not always positive: often children are denied entrance to a school system, put in extra-year or pull-out programs, or repeat kindergarten.

Using standards to clarify what children ought to learn and know how to do and to hold programs (and teachers) accountable is here to stay.  Early learning standards  are statements that describe expectations for the learning and development of young children across all developmental domains. This includes health and physical–motor skills and social and emotional well-being; approaches to learning; language and cognitive development; and general knowledge about the world around them.

Tools for Standards

One of the outcomes of the standards movement in education as a whole (see the material in  Chapter 15  on educational reform) has been to develop and use tools to better describe learning so that it can be assessed and scored more easily. Three tools used in higher education that can be useful in early education are

· (1)

learning domains, as described by Bloom’s taxonomy,

· (2)

rubrics, as scoring guides, and

· (3)

technology, as recording tools.

These are described next.

Learning Domains: Bloom’s Taxonomy. Benjamin Bloom, an American psychologist, worked with a committee of colleges in the mid-1950s to identify the broad domains of educational activities (Bloom, 1956). Then, to flesh out these categories, descriptions of knowledge, skills, and attitudes were developed to name the many learning behaviors that could then be observed and assessed. Finally, in a kind of stair-step hierarchy, the behaviors were defined from simplest to most complex thinking.

In other words, what do we see in learners to show what they know and are able to do, or how they feel? The three domains of activities are:

· Cognitive: Mental skills ( knowledge)

· Psychomotor: Manual or physical skills ( skill)

· Affective: Growth in feelings or emotional areas ( attitude)

Many of the actions that demonstrate these learning categories are more detailed than most early educators need. The domains are used extensively in higher education to establish learning outcomes for coursework, so that students have a clear idea of what they are to learn in a particular course and what they can expect to be assessed to determine if they have mastered the concepts.  Bloom’s taxonomy  is easily understood and is probably the most widely applied one in use today.  Figure 6-21  adapts cognitive assessment taxonomy to the Early Childhood Education (ECE) level.

Figure 6-21

Bloom’s taxonomy describes in active verb form what a person may show or do to demonstrate various levels of learning domains.

Bloom’s Taxonomy for Cognitive Assessment

Outcome Category	Definition	Example in ECE
Knowledge recall	To remember previously learned material	Child begins singing once teacher starts the song
Comprehension	To grasp the meaning of the knowledge and be able to explain it	Child can say what “eensy-weensy” means when teacher asks
Application	To use the learned material and information	When asked at lunchtime for serving size of broccoli, child responds “eensy-weensy”
Analysis	To break down the information into parts and understand its organization	Child can put the four stanzas of song in the proper order and describe why
Synthesis	To combine this information with new material to form a new structure	Child can use the song-story to describe a weather cycle
Evaluate	To rate or compare the material with current knowledge	Child can solve a problem, such as what insects should do when it rains

Rubrics: Scoring Guides. The term  rubric comes from a heading that was printed in the color red ( rouge in French). In educational circles, a  rubric  is a scoring guide that is used in assessment. It describes in detail what the learner does to demonstrate various levels of a task or assignment. In this way, the teacher communicates expectations so that the learner can understand, self-assess, and see the criteria for grading the quality of a task. It also provides objective feedback for a goal of more accurate and fair assessment. An effective teacher assessment rubric defines a specific skill and describes various levels, as the one here for “Group-time skills” for student teaching.

Child assessment instruments that have levels within categories and program or environmental evaluations that have rating scales can be made into rubrics by using the indicators to create models of each level of work. Rubrics are often used to score writing samples in elementary school and later, and they are useful, efficient ways to give feedback.

Beginning	Developing	Proficient
Materials not ready before group begins	Materials organized ahead of time	Materials organized and connected to curriculum goals/themes.
Pace and timing awkward and not responsive to children.	Pace and timing somewhat effective	Pace and timing in synch with children’s attention and interest.
Handling of off-task behavior harsh or overreactive	Handling of off-task behavior hesitant	Off-task behavior is addressed by asking for assistance, redirection, and concise problem solving.
Little enjoyment of experience	Some mid-level enjoyment	Enthusiastic and high level of enjoyment

Technology: Recording Tools. As mentioned earlier in the chapter, recording effectively is a complex task that takes practice and persistence. In a busy program, teachers have many roles to play. Teams organize their work and the daily schedule to provide time for careful observation and for accurate recording. Written notes are essential to capture the teacher’s expertise and educational judgment. At the same time, it is difficult to write quickly and elaborately.

Technology can help capture the moment and the flavor of a situation. Large video cameras has given way to smaller, handheld cameras and cell phones that can record both still photographs and video recordings. In addition, keeping regular records of children’s behavior and development can become more efficient through web-based software and cloud storage. The assessment systems described earlier in this chapter all have a web component, as does the California DRDP. Uploading information allows it to be more accessible so that aggregate data can be collected to see how the group is doing, for individual data to note growth over time, for communication with families, and for reporting and collaborating with other agencies as appropriate. Technology can play a strong role in assessment.

Challenges and Benefits

The challenges are substantial is determining standards for young children. The ways that children learn, the wide variations in when they reach various milestones, and what they are to learn is different in early education from that described in later elementary school. “In early childhood, the development of foundational skills (skills that lay the foundation for later learning) is just as important as mastery of content matter” (Bodrova, Leong, & Shore, 2004). As the ECE/Elementary gap begins to be addressed, the challenges intensify. Early learning is coming into its own as a legitimate area of public education in the United States: transitional kindergarten and pre-primary programs are becoming more prevalent. While western Europe has offered early care and education for decades, the United States and many Asian and Latin American countries have not supported public education for children under 5 or 6 until recently. It is essential that effective early learning standards do all of the following (NAEYC & NAESC/SDE, 2009):

· Emphasize significant and developmentally appropriate content and outcomes

· Are developed and reviewed through informed, inclusive processes

· Gain their effectiveness through implementation and assessment practices that support all children’s development in an ethical, appropriate way

· Require a foundation of support for early childhood programs, professionals, and families

There are benefits to early learning standards, as well as potential problems. On the positive side, early learning standards “reinforce the fact that there is an incredible potential for learning and growth in the infant, toddler, and preschool years and that there is value and importance in providing quality early childhood programs for children’s long-term success in school and in life” (Gronlund, 2008). They can articulate both the sequence of typical development and set reasonable expectations for children at different ages. Learning standards are intended to set the bar for student achievement, and in the primary years, they can be crafted to apply brain and developmental research in their implementation (Schiller & Willis, 2008).

At the same time, standards can result in standardization, the notion that “one size fits all” applies to a vulnerable and tender population. They can lead to curricula that are rote and set only to teach the specific subskill, often in a direct instruction, whole-group manner that can be stultifying and inappropriate. The challenge is to implement standards that are developmentally appropriate and good for all children and that allow teachers to be creative and enthusiastic as they take care of children (see  Figure 6-22 ).

Figure 6-22

There are both benefits and problems with early learning standards, so teachers should use standards intentionally to inform their planning.

Early Learning Standards

Pros

Cons

· They can provide richness to our conversation about children’s growth and learning. · We can match standards to what we are already doing. · They can be linked to primary standards so that we are indeed contributing to children’s school readiness. · They help us identity next steps and transitions. · They are a strategy for professionalizing our field. · They help us communicate across the grades, among ourselves, and with our public. · They help us to have higher expectations for children.

· They lead to teaching to the standards only, in a cookie-cutter curriculum. · They bring a pressure of accountability with the risk of a push-down in the curriculum and inappropriate expectations for younger children. · Direct instruction is assumed to be the only way that standards are addressed. · Learning in self-directed, exploratory ways is not trusted. · They contribute to a “we/they” mentality between preschool and elementary teachers. · They take time for early educators to learn and work through them to figure out how to integrate into good practices. · They result in testing and other inappropriate assessment methods being used. · There is little money to support education and training of early educators in the standards and how best to use them.

(Source: Adapted from Gronlund (2006), pp. 4–5. Copyright © 2006 by Gaye Gronlund. Reprinted with permission from Redleaf Press, St. Paul, MN;  www.redleafpress.org.)

6-4dCommon Core

The Common Core Standards (CCS) comprise an initiative by the federal government to identify what children need to know and be able to do at each grade level of the K–12 system in the United States. (National Governors Association for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) States are working together to set the standards that must include clear goals and consistent benchmarks in language arts and mathematics. Think of the educational system as a staircase, with each grade a step. The standards are the measuring sticks that will help schools create a curriculum for each step, and assessments will serve as yearly landings on this staircase. The standards are written with a focus on skills and process and emphasize how children think. This is a challenge to ordinary teaching of facts and testing for the “right” answers. In addition, the emphasis on data-driven decision making is strong, so technology places a priority on assessment.

The CCS initiative has gained widespread support. A total of 43 states have voluntarily adopted and are working to implement the standards ( www.corestandards.org). At the same time, there are considerable challenges. It requires a sea change in K–12 teaching strategies, materials and their delivery, and existing state testing systems. Moreover, kindergarten readiness assessments will expand (25 states mandate one now). Computer-based testing is not appropriate at the early primary/preschool level; kindergarten teachers already are resisting this idea (Strauss, 2014).

6-4eTesting and Screening

The practice of testing and screening for readiness, retention, and special needs has increased dramatically in the last decade. With the passage of Public Law 94-142 (known as the “Education for All Handicapped Children Act”) and the early childhood amendment to this law (Public Law 99-457), U.S. states now have the responsibility to establish specific procedures and policies to identify, evaluate, and provide services to all children with learning problems. Moreover, testing for admittance to kindergarten is mandated for half the states in the country. Common Core now require annual tests that will determine promotion to the next grade.

Ethical and appropriate principles state that early childhood educators shall not participate in practices that are “emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children” (NAEYC & NAECS/SDE, 2003). As mentioned previously (see  Figure 6-18 ), decisions about children must be based on multiple sources of information, not based on a single test score or single observation. One assessment could never tell everything that is needed to know about a child or a group.

Testing

Ironically, standardized tests fail to reflect adequately what children learn even as more are being developed and used. Standardized testing captures only a part of what children know and understand. What is tested may not be what they have learned or what is important to them or their families. Howard Gardner, whose work on multiple intelligences is described in  Chapters 4 ,  10 , and  12 , affirms:

Over the past several decades, the assumptions underlying the current testing edifice have been challenged by developmental, cognitive, and educational studies. There’s a considerable body of scientific findings telling us that if we want to understand people’s competence or knowledge about something, we should not examine them in an artificial way in an artificial setting (Gardner, 1988).

Most formal testing engages only two (linguistic and logical mathematical) of the nine intelligences Gardner has identified. Such practices raise some practical and serious philosophical issues:

· Young children do not function well in common test situations, nor do the test results necessarily reflect children’s true knowledge or skills.

· These practices (often based on inappropriate uses of readiness or screening tests) disregard the potential, documented, long-term negative effects of retention on children’s self-esteem and the fact that such practices disproportionately affect low-income and minority children (National Center for Fair and Open Testing, 2006).

· Although the most needed and appropriate tests (teacher-made) are the hardest to create, standardized ones are frequently misused and misunderstood by teachers and parents.

· Teachers are pressured into running programs that overemphasize the testing situation and test items.

· Most tests focus on cognitive and language skills; such a narrow focus ignores other areas of development.

· Special training to administer tests is imperative yet often overlooked, and standardized tests require specific protocols.

The practice of  standardized testing  has caused early childhood curricula to become increasingly academic. Early childhood educators and parents are alarmed that (NAEYC, 2003):

Many kindergartens are now structured, “watered-down” first grades, emphasizing workbooks and other paper-and-pencil activities that are inappropriate for 5-year-olds. The trend further trickles down to preschool and child care programs that feel that their mission is to get children “ready” for kindergarten. Too many school systems, expecting children to conform to an inappropriate curriculum and finding large numbers of “unready” children, react to the problem by raising the entrance age for kindergarten and/or labeling the children as failures.

The implications of such testing further erode curricula when teachers, wanting their classes to do well on the test, alter activities to conform to what is tested. They then begin teaching children to learn the “right” answers rather than to engage in active, critical thinking. Rather than making teachers more accountable, “the overuse (and misuse) of standardized testing has led to the adoption of inappropriate teaching practices as well as admission and retention policies that are not in the best interests of individual children or the nation as a whole” (NAEYC & NAECS/SDE, 2003).

Screening

Kindergartens and many nursery schools use various kinds of screening tests before children can enter the program. The usual purpose of these evaluations is to determine readiness: that is, to verify that the child is able to cope with school and succeed. These tools are best devised with the individual child in mind. Their purpose is to highlight the skills the child has and to identify the areas in which the child may need help in the next class.

Using valid screening tests to identify children who, because of the risk of possible learning problems or a handicapping condition, should proceed to a more intensive level of diagnostic assessment is an appropriate and necessary procedure. Note that screening tests are  not diagnostic tools; a properly developed screening only indicates if more investigative work is needed. Such instruments are not achievement tests and are not meant to describe child learning outcomes (Meisels & Atkins-Burnett, 2005):

Developmental screening tests identify at an early point which children may have learning problems or disabilities that could keep them from realizing their potential …. By triggering in-depth assessment, screening instruments help teachers and other professionals decide who needs additional support for learning, rather than potentially being used to judge whether classrooms are meeting standards set from the outside.

Head Start programs use the “Ages & Stages Questionnaire” (Squires & Bricker, 2009), for instance, so parents and other adult family members can inform teachers about children’s behaviors, which allows more accurate child monitoring. This instrument assists in screening children from 1 month to 5-1/2 years for developmental delays and to describe children’s development and skills from the family reporting side. Results can assist a program in recommending further assessment or ongoing monitoring.

Perhaps most important is the reminder to all teachers that tests have no special magic. Assessment is about more than testing. A standardized test, a homemade tool, or a screening instrument should be only one of several measures used to determine a child’s skills, abilities, or readiness. Any test result should be part of a multitude of information, such as direct observation, parental reports, and children’s actual work. “There are many ways that children can demonstrate learning, creativity, social skills, and emotional intelligence, but these strategies are more time consuming to assess, and open to biased interpretation. Despite these thorny challenges, authentic expressions of knowing that grow naturally out of children’s engagement with the curriculum can produce satisfaction for learners, parents, and teachers alike” (Rushton, Juola-Rushton, & Larkin, 2009).

Teachers and administrators use the material in a child’s portfolio to communicate with families about their child’s progress.

© Cengage Learning

6-4fConcerns about Assessment

Assessment is challenging. Of all the functions performed by teachers, probably none calls for more energy, time, and skill than evaluation. Insufficient data and overemphasis on the results are two areas that need close monitoring. Moreover, anyone involved in evaluation should avoid the following:

· Unfair comparisons. Evaluations should be used to identify and understand the child involved, not to compare one with another in a competitive manner.

· Bias. Evaluations can label unfairly or prematurely the very people they are intended to help. Typecasting does not produce a useful assessment. Evaluation tools should be free of language bias or other cultural bias. For instance, an evaluation of children should not include experiences unfamiliar to the cultural group being assessed.

· Overemphasis on norms. Most evaluation tools imply some level of normal behavior or performance, acceptable levels of interaction, or quantities of materials and space. People involved in an evaluation must remember to individualize the process rather than try to fit a child into the mold created by the assessment tool.

· Interpretation. There is sometimes a tendency to overinterpret or misinterpret results. It must be clear what is being evaluated and how the information will be used. It is particularly important to be sensitive to the feelings of those being evaluated when communicating the results of the assessment. Parents and teachers need to interpret evaluations clearly and carefully if they are to understand the findings and feel comfortable with them.

· Too narrow of a perspective. An evaluation tool may focus too much on one area and not enough on others. Moreover, no single occasion or instrument tells teachers all they need to know about a child’s abilities, a teacher’s performance, or a program’s effectiveness. It is essential that information be gathered in many ways and on several occasions. Sampling only children’s skills as the single measure would lead to conclusions that were neither reliable nor valid. An imbalanced assessment gives an incomplete picture.

· Too wide of a range. An evaluation should be designed for a single level or age group and not cover too wide of a range. It is appropriate to measure a child’s ability to print at age 6, but not at age 2. What is expected of the person or task should be taken into account and the evaluation method modified accordingly.

· Too little or too much time. The amount of time necessary to complete an evaluation must be weighed. An assessment that takes too little time is likely to be incomplete, while an evaluation that is too lengthy loses its audience in the details, and thus is less effective. In addition, time for interpretation and reflection must be included in the overall process.

Teaching with Intention

From Observation to Intention and Action

Meet Jody, age 5.

Observations:

· He uses scissors in a thumbs-down, “hedge-clippers” fashion.

· He has an awkward grip when using a pencil.

· He finds it difficult to fit puzzle pieces together.

· He does not choose the woodworking table, manipulative table, or cooking project during free choice.

Questions:

1. What would you do? Does he need intervention? How would you address this situation?

Intention and Action:  The caregivers in his kindergarten after-school class were concerned about his fine motor skill development. They need to investigate the possible causes of their observations and then make deliberate steps to adjust their teaching, with the intention of helping him increase his skills.

1. A check with his parents revealed two important facts: Jody had trouble handling table utensils and could not button his sweater. They said there was no provision at home for him to pursue any fine motor activities. Jody’s parents supplied him with a special art box at home, full of crayons, scissors, pens, watercolors, and stencils at the teachers’ suggestion.

2. Knowing Jody’s interest in airplanes, the teachers used that to draw him into areas of the curriculum that he did not ordinarily pursue. Small airplanes were added to the block corner, and airplane stencils were placed near the art table. A large mural of an airport was hung on the fence, and children were invited to paint on it. One day, children cut airplane pictures out of magazines and used them on a collage. Simple airplane puzzles were placed on the puzzle table. Felt shapes and small plastic airplanes in the water table helped draw Jody toward activities requiring fine motor skills.

As his fine motor skills increased and refined, Jody became a more confident and happier child. By the end of 3 months, he was a regular participant in all areas of the school and seemed to be enjoying his newfound interest in art materials. Teaching with intention matters.

© Cengage Learning

Think about This

1. Do you think that intervening after observing was the proper course of action? Why or why not?

2. How do you determine when to talk with a family about what you have observed about their child? What goes into making such a decision?

Goals for children encompass all areas of development, and one measurement will not describe every area. Using a single yardstick to measure a child ignores the fact that young children do not always demonstrate what they know in a “testing” or single situation. The tail should not wag the dog; that is, the test should not drive the curriculum.

6-4gUsing Observation and Assessment Information

Applying our observations to work in the classroom and with families and other professionals is a time-consuming, yet essential, aspect of teaching young children. Information gathered through direct observation and appropriate assessment reveals who children are, where their strengths and interests lie, and what challenges they have that need addressing in the program. Teachers use their observations to plan relevant space, materials, and curricula for children. In addition, they adjust the environment and schedule based on what they have seen of the group in action. Finally, teachers adjust their interactions with children because of what they see.

Helping special populations and individuals is another way to use information gleaned from observation and assessment. Children with identified special needs require an individualized plan for their educational experience, based on formal assessment and adjusted with accurate direct observation. Many children in early education and care may not have identified special needs but require special handling. For instance, a child with a sensitive temperament may be repelled by ordinary cuddling; one adjusting to a new baby may need more teacher interaction for awhile; the children whose soccer team just won a game might be rambunctious that day. Teachers collaborate with families so the child succeeds (see the “ Teaching with Intention ” box). Observant teachers use what they see to good advantage.

There are four principles that guide our assessment practices in order for them to benefit young children, their families, and us as teaching professionals:

· Standards should identify the important and developmentally appropriate outcomes that we want for the children in our care.

· Processes should be in place to develop and review the standards and our techniques for assessing children with them.

· Assessment strategies must be ethical and appropriate for young children as they work and play in our settings.

· Communication about both the standards and the observations and assessments that we use must be in place and include teachers, families, and relevant professionals.

Observation and assessment of children can be done appropriately and can tell us so much about children; we owe it to ourselves and the children we teach to use both to benefit all.

Chapter 7: Guiding Children’s Behavior

Chapter Introduction

© Cengage Learning

Learning Outcomes

· LO1Demonstrate an understanding of the factors that influence children’s behavior.

· LO2Compare and contrast guidance, discipline, and punishment and their appropriate use.

· LO3Identify practices that promote a caring classroom through developmentally and culturally appropriate guidance methods.

· LO4Examine effective guidance strategies that promote positive interactions, social learning, and problem-solving skills.

· LO5Become familiar with strategies for helping children who have challenging behaviors.

Competency Areas

 Standards for Professional Development

These are the NAEYC Standards for Initial and Advanced Early Childhood Professional Preparation that are addressed in this chapter:

· Standard 1 Promoting Child Development and Learning

· Standard 2 Building Family and Community Relations

· Standard 3 Observing, Documenting, and Assessing to Support Young Children and Families

· Standard 4 Using Developmentally Effective Approaches to Connect with Children and Families

· Standard 5 Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum

 Code of Ethical Conduct

These are the sections of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct that apply to the topics in this chapter:

Core Values: We have committed ourselves to helping children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust, respect, and positive regard.

Section I:

· I.1-4

To appreciate the vulnerability of children and their dependence on adults.

· P-1.1

Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children.

· I-2.6

To acknowledge families’ childrearing values and their right to make decisions for their children.

· 1-3A.2

To share resources with coworkers, collaborating to ensure that the best possible early childhood care and education program is provided.

7-1Understanding Children’s Behavior

In the toddler class, 2-year-olds Shawnsey and Kim are playing in the dress-up area. Kim grabs at one of the many necklaces Shawnsey has draped around her neck. Startled, Shawnsey lets out a cry, grabs Kim’s arm, and bites her.

Malcolm, a 5-year-old, rushes through the room, heading for the block area. For just a moment, he stands and watches Lorraine balancing blocks on top of one another in a tall column. With a swift wave of his arm, Malcolm topples the structure.

Mac, a -year-old, is busy with a puzzle. When a teacher stops at the table to tell the children that it is nearly time to clean up for snacks, Mac replies, “My daddy says that cleaning up is a girl’s job and I don’t have to do it.” He throws the puzzle on the floor and dashes away from the teacher.

First grader Lucas likes to play board games and wants to win. His classmates now refuse to play with him because they say, “He cheats! And he changes the rules so he can win.” Lucas doesn’t think the rules apply to him.

These are typical scenes in any early childhood setting. No matter how plentiful the materials, how many or well trained the adults, or how good the program, conflicts are sure to occur. Teaching children to respect themselves and each other is a complex and difficult task. It takes experience, skill, and practice. Look at these examples again. What do they say about Shawnsey, Malcolm, Mac, and Lucas? How should teachers respond to these children? How did these situations happen?

7-1aThe Guidance Triangle

Guidance  is the ongoing process of helping children learn to control their basic impulses, express their feelings, channel their frustrations, and solve their problems. There are no quick fixes or strategies that apply to all circumstances. Positive guidance methods are created to fit a child, an adult (parent, teacher), and a situation. These three elements, considered together, suggest the most appropriate guidance strategies.  Figure 7-1  shows these three factors in relation to one another. Throughout this chapter, the relationship between the child, the adult, and the situation is reflected in guidance theory and practices.

Figure 7-1

Each of the three components of the Guidance Triangle influences the choice of guidance practice.

The Guidance Triangle

In establishing effective guidance practices, adults take into consideration three important elements: the child, the adult, and the situation. For instance, a 2-year-old needing assistance is more likely to respond to the intervention of a familiar teacher than one who is substituting for the day.

(Source: From Ann Gordon & Kathryn Williams Browne,  Guiding Young Children in a Diverse Society. Published by Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA. 1996 by Pearson Education.)

For guidance to be successful, a teacher must first understand children’s behavior.

Mika/Crave/Corbis

7-1bTheories

There are several ways of explaining what people do and why. One idea is that people’s behavior is mainly a result of heredity (nature). Another is that experience and environment shape behavior (nurture). A third theory suggests that children go through “stages” at certain times of their lives, regardless of their genes or home background.

All sides have valid arguments in the nature/nurture debate, and both heredity and experience affect behavior. Age and stage theory is also familiar. People speak of the “terrible 2s” or say that all 4-year-old girls are silly. There may be some truth to those generalities, but that does not excuse the inappropriate behavior at the various developmental stages. Teachers and parents cannot ignore misbehavior (unless it is a specific guidance strategy) just because children are the “right” age or because of their home situations. That attitude implies that adults are powerless to help children form new behavior patterns. Not true! Adults can do something about children’s behavior if they understand what is happening to the child.

7-1cFactors that Affect Behavior

Knowing what affects children’s behavior and feelings helps adults understand and manage the child who is misbehaving. The following factors combine aspects of both nature and nurture theories, as well as the theories of ages and stages of development. The four vignettes at the beginning of the chapter provide examples of all five factors:

· (1)

developmental,

· (2)

environmental,

· (3)

individual,

· (4)

emotional and social, and

· (5)

cultural.

1. Developmental factors. Adults should be aware of developmental theory to know what type of behavior to expect of children at various ages. Developmental theory helps teachers anticipate what children will do so that they can maintain reasonable expectations. To see behavior as predictable and developmentally appropriate is to understand it more completely and guide it more effectively.

The facts are that Shawnsey, Kim, Malcolm, Mac, and Lucas have been in a group setting for more than three hours and it is nearly snack time. We know that preschoolers cannot be expected to be in control of themselves over extended periods of time. Conflicts and disagreements happen in any group of children. Hungry children are often ineffective problem solvers; Mac might be more manageable after snack. It is also clear to the teacher that the toddlers do not have the language or social development skills to talk problems out with other children, as do Malcolm and Mac.

· 2.

Environmental factors. Through the intentional use of the environment, the teacher indirectly influences behavior in the classroom. The goals for positive behavior should be reflected in the classroom setting. The physical environment should tell children clearly how to act in that space. Child-size furniture that fits the preschool body encourages sitting and working. Room arrangements avoid spaces that encourage children to walk from place to place. Low, open shelves create an expectation that children take materials out and put them away after use.

Materials and equipment should be adequate and interesting to the age group. When children are occupied with stimulating, age-appropriate materials, there are fewer opportunities for misbehavior. Materials can challenge children, overwhelm them, or bore them. If materials and equipment are suitable, children feel more at ease with themselves and more willing to accept adults’ limits and controls. Adding materials and equipment can help prevent arguments over a favorite toy, create new and interesting challenges, and extend children’s play ideas.

Shawnsey and Kim’s teacher will want to add more necklaces to the dress-up area if there are not enough to outfit several children. Perhaps the block area needs to be moved to a more protected section of the room.

Changing the environment when needed can help avert behavior problems. Removing attractive but breakable items reduces tears and conflicts. Some materials may prove to be too stimulating and may need to be removed for a while. Some activities may need to be limited to specific locations to control the level of activity and behavior. Look at  Figure 7-2  to evaluate how the environment is related to your guidance philosophy and children’s behavior.  Chapter 9  contains a detailed discussion of many factors that should be considered when designing spaces for young children. Many of these environmental considerations directly influence children’s behavior.

Figure 7-2

By anticipating children’s needs and growth patterns, teachers set up classrooms that foster constructive and purposeful behavior.

Classroom Checklist to Enhance Positive Behaviors

Time

 Does the daily schedule provide enough time for unhurried play?

 Are those periods that create tension— transitions from one activity to another—given enough time?

 Is cleanup a leisurely process built into the end of each activity, with children participating?

Program Planning and Curriculum

 Is there enough to do so that children have choices and alternatives for play?

 Is the curriculum challenging enough to prevent boredom and restlessness?

 Are there activities to help children release tension? Do the activities allow body movement, exploration, and manipulation of materials?

 Are children included in developing the rules and setting guidelines? How is their inclusion demonstrated?

Organization and Order

 If children are expected to put things away after use, are the cabinets low, open, and marked in some way?

 Are the materials within easy reach of the children, promoting self-selection and independence?

 Are there enough materials so that sharing does not become a problem?

 Are the areas in which activities take place clearly defined so that children know what happens there?

 Does the room arrangement avoid runways and areas with no exits?

 Do children have their own private space?

 Are children able to use all visible and accessible materials? Are there materials about which children are told “Don’t touch”?

Personnel

 Are there enough teachers to give adequate attention to the number of children in the class?

 Are the group size and makeup balanced so that children have a variety of playmates?

 Are the teachers experienced, and do they seem comfortable in setting limits and guiding children’s behavior?

 Do teachers use their attention to encourage behavior they want, and do they ignore what they want to discourage?

 Do all adults consistently enforce the same rules?

Professional Resource Download

The daily schedule and timing of events indirectly influence classroom behavior. When there are blocks of time to choose activities, children can proceed at their own pace without feeling hurried.

Mac, for instance, had just settled in at the puzzle table when the teacher told him that it was time to clean up. Uncooperative behavior is sometimes related to time pressures.

The physical needs of eating, sleeping, and toileting are met by careful scheduling so that children are able to play without concern for the necessities of life. Schedules that do not allow enough time for cleanup and transitions produce a frantic climate.

· 3.

Individual factors. Teachers of young children soon learn the temperamental characteristics of each child in the class. The consistent patterns of temperament that emerge help define each child’s individual style ( Figure 7-3 ). The teacher wants to support and comfort Kim at the same time that she lets Shawnsey know that biting is not tolerated. It is important to maintain a level of trust with Shawnsey so that she can help learn better ways to communicate her needs.

Figure 7-3

According to Thomas’s and Chess’s research, each child, beginning at birth, has temperamental characteristics that seem to remain constant as the child grows older.

Children’s Temperament

Classic research by Thomas and Chess (1977) identifies three types of temperament in babies: the easy child, the difficult child, and the slow-to-warm-up child. The children were classified according to activity level, regulatory and rhythm of bodily routines, adaptability, physical sensitivity, intensity of reaction, ease of distraction, mood, and attention span. These differences were observed in very young infants and seem to remain consistent as the child grows.

An easy child is effortless to respond to; a slow-to-warm-up child may be harder to interact with; difficult children may be blamed for things they did not do. If parents and teachers come to know the nature of a child’s temperament they can accept that as part of the child’s developmental make-up. Guidance measures can be tailored to meet the unique needs of a slow-to-warm-up child, for instance, or for a difficult child. Those strategies will be different from techniques used to discipline the easy child.

Developmentally appropriate practices ensure that we take into account a child’s individuality, including temperament, and build guidance techniques by matching developmental theories to our work with young children.

Malcolm is enthusiastic and plunges into activities spontaneously, sometimes without looking ahead or surveying the wreckage he leaves behind. His teacher is aware that he can be personable and cooperative if he is given options and a chance to make decisions. As they talk together about Lorraine’s blocks, the teacher offers Malcolm a choice: to talk with Lorraine to see if she would like to have him help rebuild the same structure or start a new one. Both Malcolm and the teacher find satisfaction in working together in ways that acknowledge and respect Malcolm’s personal style.

· 4.

Emotional and social factors. Some behavior problems stem from the child’s attempt to express social and emotional needs. Lucas is the youngest of three boys. At home, he is referred to as “the baby,” so at school, he likes to “win” and “be first” when playing games.. Lucas’s teachers are finding ways to support his need to be recognized as capable by more legitimate means. They encourage him to assist younger, less skilled children in his reading group and to help organize the relay races.

Shawnsey is an only child of older parents and has little opportunity outside of school to interact with others her age. Malcolm comes from a big, boisterous family in which taking care of one’s desires and needs is instilled early on. Mac’s parents are divorced, and he is now living with his grandmother while his mother looks for work in another town. Lucas wants to feel smart and capable. Their teachers understand their bids for attention and weigh each child’s social and emotional history as they guide them toward positive behavior.

Teachers are called on to deal with a variety of emotional needs.

GreenPimp/  iStockphoto.com

In  Chapter 14 , the young child’s social and emotional growth is further explored.

· 5.

Cultural factors. Today’s children are growing up in a country of unparalleled diversity. Many different cultures are converging and creating a nation of peoples, cultures, languages, and attitudes. We are living in a world of continual cross-cultural interactions, so the ability to communicate across cultures is a critical skill to have when guiding children’s behavior. (See also discussions on this subject in  Chapters 2 ,  5 ,  8 , and  15 .) A review of Erik Erikson’s and Lev Vygotsky’s theories in  Chapter 4  and Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theory in  Chapter 15  underscores the connection between culture and behavior.

Discipline is deeply embedded within the values and beliefs of the family. The family’s culture shapes how they raise their children, and each family is unique in the way it interprets its cultural values. Child-rearing practices, such as physical punishment, and the timing of toilet training are culturally influenced. The messages that children receive about their behavior should be consistent between school and home. Yet, conflict may be inevitable because the culturally influenced child-rearing practices of the family may be at odds with a teacher’s ideas and expectations.

In some cultures, children are encouraged to challenge adult opinions, whereas this would be considered disrespectful in other cultures. Each child must be valued as part of a family system, no matter the origin or structure, and the teacher’s role is to support the child’s sense of security and identity within the family. Children bring their unique individuality to the classroom, but they are also bearers of the context in which they are being raised: their family, culture, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, and neighborhood. When we are aware of these influences, we are better able to match who the child is with the most effective guidance approach.

In some families, a sense of community is valued over individualism, a concept that can create difficulty in the early childhood classroom unless it is understood and appreciated. Early childhood educators, for the most part, do not force children to share personal possessions before they seem ready to, and they encourage children to become autonomous at an early age. This is at odds with families in which cooperation and sharing are valued concepts, as is dependency on other family members. We need to become culturally sensitive to some of the long-held assumptions of teaching young children. The sections entitled “Self-Awareness” and “Attitudes and Biases” in  Chapter 5  suggest ways in which teachers can address stereotypes and prejudices that may interfere with their effectiveness in guiding children’s behavior.

Schools must be inviting and safe places in which families from all cultures can express their perceptions, concerns, and expectations about their children. Teachers need to be flexible and nonjudgmental as they work with the cultural implications of children’s behavior.  Figure 7-4  shows how different family cultural patterns relate to a child’s behavior and an appropriate guidance strategy. Kim (who was playing with Shawnsey) has a family culture that views the teacher as a respected authority figure and one who must be obeyed. This places Kim in an uncomfortable position if her teacher does not understand why Kim does not make activity choices easily and prefers to have the teacher tell her where to play and work each day. As teachers become familiar with the customs and beliefs of the families in the program, they gain insights into children’s behavior and understand the reasons for the way a child responds.

Figure 7-4

Sample of culturally diverse family patterns that affect guidance and discipline. Knowledge of culturally diverse family patterns and guidance strategies to parallel these child-rearing styles can allow you to begin a dialogue with the children you teach.

Family Patterns and Children’s Behavior

Family Culture	Child’s Experience and Behavior	Guidance Strategy
Power Structure
Democratic family—members share in decision making.	Child is encouraged to negotiate and compromise.	Offer real choices; use problem-solving techniques.
One family member makes all the decisions.	Child is expected to obey, follow commands, and respect adult authority. Child may be unable to choose activities, look adults in the eye, or call them by name.	Don’t insist on eye contact. Child may need help in selecting an activity. Work with the family members who make the decisions.
Values
Strong, close-knit family.	Child learns that the family comes first; the individual sacrifices for the family.	Recognize that family matters may take precedence over school.
Honor, dignity, and pride.	Child’s behavior reflects family honor; child is disciplined for rudeness or poor manners.	Share achievements with parents; help child learn manners; be sensitive when discussing child’s behavior problems.
Expressing feelings is accepted.	Child is allowed to cry, scream, or throw temper tantrums.	Accept child’s crying as you give comfort; stay with child until he or she is calm.
Issue of Discipline
Clear, direct discipline	Child learns to respect authority and does what he is told to do; child may not take positive guidance strategies seriously or ignore them.	Use a sense of humor; make firm statements.
Discipline motivated toward inherent goodness	Child has freedom to explore consequences and is warned of possible embarrassment due to behavior.	Child may be passive if disciplined harshly. Use natural consequences; ask rather than demand.
Discipline motivated from inherent self-interest.	Child is scolded, threatened, and controlled by promises.	Model desired behavior; use “if/then” statements: “If you finish eating, then you can play.” Praise good manners and good behavior.

(Source: From  Roots and Wings, Rev. Ed., by Stacey York, pp. 66, 68–70. Copyright © 2003 by Stacey York. Adapted with permission from Redleaf Press, St. Paul, MN;  www.redleafpress.org.

Strategies for Guiding Dual-Language Learners

Retaining their home language and learning a new one can be stressful for young children. Behavioral issues may compound or create those anxieties. As programs prepare to serve DLL students and their families, the following suggestions will help to ensure that children’s social–emotional needs are being met with appropriate language and meaning:

· Pre- and in-service training for all staff that includes developmentally and age- appropriate techniques to support effective policies within the school for maintaining home languages and scaffolding learning English

· Ensure that every classroom has a teacher who speaks the language of each DLL child, provide volunteer bilingual aides, or both

· Encourage teachers to learn the language of one of the DLL children through the use of storybooks and CDs in that child’s language

· Enlist the families of DLL children to help the staff learn basic words and phrases in the child’s language

Children’s home languages are part of their identity and self-esteem (Nemeth, 2012). Respecting and supporting the needs of DLL children has a positive influence on their behavior and social development when their family culture and language is valued.

7-2Guidance, Discipline, and Punishment: What Works

The overall process of guidance includes the use of guidance strategies, discipline methods, and appropriate punishment. What is the difference among them?

7-2bWhat Is Discipline?

Discipline is a part of the guidance strategies adults use to help children become responsible for their actions, learn self-control, and behave appropriately.  Discipline  stems from the word  disciple; that is, a pupil, a follower, and a learner. This suggests two important concepts: that of following an example versus following rules, and that of positive discipline. Discipline and guidance are similar in that effective discipline has the same foundation of thoughtful, nonpunitive methods that promote children’s empathy and moral reasoning (Browne & Gordon, 2013).

7-2cWhat Is Punishment?

Punishment  is a consequence of inappropriate behavior and a power-assertive technique that relies on children’s fears rather than the use of reason and understanding. Punishment is too often a knee-jerk reaction by an adult and may be based on negative strategies such as threats, shaming, and spanking, which are damaging to children’s self-esteem. To be effective, punishment should be related to the behavior and help children learn from the situation. For instance, when Georgia grabs a book from Ruthie, the teacher wants to help Georgia learn to negotiate for a turn rather than punish her with a time out. In this way, Georgia learns new strategies for controlling her impulses. To maintain a positive approach to guidance, always avoid:

· Methods that shame, frighten, or humiliate children.

· Physical punishment, especially abuse.

· Comparisons among children, which foster competitiveness and affect self-esteem.

· Carryovers from the incident. Once it is over, leave it behind; do not keep reminding children about it.

· Consequences that are too long, too punitive, or postponed. Children benefit most from immediate, short, age-appropriate consequences.

· Making promises you cannot keep.

· Being overly helpful. Let children do as much as they can by themselves, including solving their own conflicts.

· Threatening children with the loss of your affection.

To some, the words  discipline and  punishment are synonymous. They are not, and  Figure 7-5  shows that these terms mean very different things.

Figure 7-5

Positive guidance encourages children’s interaction and involvement; punishment is usually something that is done to a child.

Differences between Positive Guidance and Punishment

Positive Guidance	Punishment
Emphasizes what the child should do	Emphasizes what the child should  not do
Is an ongoing process	Is a one-time occurrence
Sets an example to follow	Insists on obedience
Leads to self-control	Undermines independence
Helps children change	Is an adult release
Is positive	Is negative
Accepts the child’s need to assert self	Makes children behave
Fosters the child’s ability to think	Thinks for the child
Bolsters self-esteem	Defeats self-esteem
Shapes behavior	Condemns misbehavior

Professional Resource Download

7-2dToward Self-Discipline

One of the major goals of a good guidance process is to help children achieve self-discipline. This happens only if adults lead in ways that support children developing the ability to control themselves. By gradually handing over to children the opportunity to govern their actions, adults communicate trust. For young children with emerging initiative, this is an important step to take. With added responsibility and trust comes an added dimension of self-respect and self-confidence so that children feel capable and worthwhile.

Children do not learn to handle freedom by being told what to do all the time. Only when they have an opportunity to test themselves and make some decisions on their own will they know their capabilities. Young children must learn this in safe places with adults who allow them as much freedom as they can responsibly handle.

An effective guidance approach is interactive. Adults and children both learn to change as they interact with one another toward a common goal.  Figure 7-6  summarizes some of the ways that children and adults can learn from guidance and a positive discipline philosophy.

Figure 7-6

Guidance is an interactive process in which both children and adults may learn. Everyone benefits from disciplinary practices that foster changes in attitudes and behaviors.

Guidance: An Interactive Approach

We Teach	Adults Learn to	Children Learn to
Values	Express	Internalize
Self-control	Maintain own	Practice
Respect	Give to the child	Accord to others
Appropriate behavior	Model	Observe and imitate
Limits	Be clear and consistent	Accept consequences
Feelings	Accept own and the child’s	Identify and label
Problem solving	Offer meaningful choices	Make decisions
Self-esteem	Protect and enhance	Respect and appreciate self
Rule setting	Share power	Participate in creating behavior controls
Taking another’s viewpoint	Be sympathetic and understanding	Show empathy
Collaboration	Involve the child in solutions	Problem-solve cooperatively

(From Gordon & Browne, 1996. Copyright © 1996 by Pearson Education. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.)

7-2eThe Language of Guidance and Discipline

Guidance has a language all its own. As teachers gain experience in handling problem behaviors, they learn to use that language. The result, in most cases, is  interdependence : The more practiced teachers become in the language of guidance, the more comfortable they become in developing their own approach to guidance situations. The more comfortable they are in that approach, the more effectively they use language to solve behavior problems.

The language and communication techniques in guidance are both spoken and unspoken. Teachers discover how potent the voice can be—what words work best and when. They become aware of facial expressions and what a touch or a look conveys to children. How they use their body reflects a distinct attitude and approach to discipline. Through experience, new teachers learn how to use these tools in ways that work best for them and the children.

Voice

Some adults think that when they are speaking to children, they must assume a different voice from the one they normally use. Talk to children in the same way you talk to other people. Learn to control the volume and use good speech patterns for children to imitate. Get close enough to speak in a normal tone; get down to the child’s level. Often, lowering volume and pitch is effective.

Words

The fewer the words, the better. Simple, clear statements, spoken once, have more impact. The child is able to focus on the real issues involved. A brief description of what happened, a word or two about what behavior is acceptable and what is not, and a suggestion for possible solutions are all that is necessary.

Choose words carefully. They should convey to the child exactly what is expected. “Richy, move the block closer to the truck so that Sarah will not bump into it again” tells him in a positive, concrete way what he can do to protect his block building. If he had been told, “Richy, watch where you are building,” he would not know what is wrong and what action to take to solve the problem.

Body Language

When working with young children, the teacher must be aware of body height and position. Sit, squat, or kneel—but one way or another, get down to their level. It is difficult to communicate warmth, caring, and concern from two or three feet above a child’s head or by shouting from across the room.

Guidance is founded on a loving, caring relationship between child and adult. To help children gain control over their impulses and monitor their behavior, teachers must establish a sense of trust and well-being with children. The way that teachers use their body invites or rejects close relationship and familiarity. A child finds teachers more approachable if they are seated low, with arms available, rather than standing, with arms folded.

Making full use of the senses can soften the impact of words. A firm grip on the hand of a child who is hitting out or a gentle touch on the shoulder tells children that the adult is there to protect them from themselves and others. Eye contact is essential. Teachers learn to communicate the seriousness of a situation through eye and facial expressions. They also show reassurance, concern, sadness, and affection this way. Physical presence should convey to the child a message that the teacher is there, available, and interested.

Body height and position are important. Getting down to the child’s eye level allows greater impact and involvement.

© Cengage Learning

Attitude

Attitudes are derived from experience and are part of the unspoken language of guidance. You should examine the way that you were disciplined and acknowledge your experiences and feelings about it, particularly assumptions you may have on how children behave depending on their race, gender, or culture.

7-3Promoting a Caring Classroom Community through Guidance

Teaching practices that promote a caring classroom community are grounded in developmental theory and expressed in both direct and indirect guidance and discipline techniques.

7-3aDevelopmentally Appropriate Guidance

Each developmental stage has shared characteristics, modified by a child’s individual rate of growth. It is as typical for 4-year-olds to test limits as it is for toddlers to have a strong sense of ownership about their possessions. Identifying the behaviors that are typical to a specific age group provides a context in which to understand the child and behavior that can be seen as normal and predictable. Guidance based on a developmental approach tells us that first and second graders have an ability to consider others’ points of view, so we help them problem-solve by asking them to think of how their behavior affects others.

DAP

Developmentally Appropriate Guidance for Children with Special Needs

Challenging behaviors are found in any and every early childhood setting. Guiding and changing behaviors are a normal part of every teaching day, regardless of children’s abilities or disabilities. The goals are the same for all children: to understand why and when the behavior takes place and to find appropriate strategies that help children gain independence and self-determination. According to Allen and Cowdery (2015), the focus of these strategies

is on the intentional teaching of skills that put a child’s physical, cognitive, or social development back on track. For these strategies to be DAP compatible, teachers must use them in the context of ongoing assessment of a child’s developmental status, interests, and learning styles.

A functional behavior assessment (FBA) is often used by the individualized education program (IEP) team (as described in  Chapter 3 ) to focus on why the problem behavior occurs and outline the steps to help a child learn more appropriate ways to express their emotions, needs, and feelings. Allen and Cowdery (2015) outline the eight steps used in an FBA:

1. Identify and describe the problem specifically: “Pavel hits at least one child every day.”

2. Assess the child and the environment: When does the hitting take place? What seems to lead up to it? Who else is involved? Who reacts to the hitting, and what are the consequences? Are there areas within the environment that may affect Pavel’s behavior? (See  Chapter 9  for a discussion of the influence of the environment on behavior.) Answers to these questions begin to form a pattern of behavior that can be assessed.

3. Specify an objective for the intervention: Decide on an appropriate goal for Pavel to meet (for instance, yell instead of hit for one day).

4. Assess the function of the behavior: Pavel’s hitting takes place during transition times between activities. He seems to be calling for attention.

5. Identify a replacement behavior: Ask Pavel to assist a teacher in setting up the next activity. This offers him an opportunity to gain a teacher’s attention in a positive way. See the “ Redirection & Distraction ” rung of the Guidance Ladder ( Figure 7-7 ).

Figure 7-7

Climb the Guidance Ladder to use the strategy that is the least intrusive necessary, moving from the “hands-off” approach to those that require more adult intervention.

The Guidance Ladder

©  Cengage Learning

Professional Resource Download

6. Plan the intervention: The focus is on prevention and making changes that encourage appropriate behaviors, such as helping Pavel make good choices, guiding him toward his favorite activities, and praising him when he is acting appropriately. If or when these strategies fail to work, the teaching staff will need to plan a more serious intervention.

7. Implement the plan and ensure that it is carried out: The entire education team must understand the plan, implement it consistently, and be patient. Remember that the problem behavior may accelerate before it gets better.

8. Monitor the child’s progress and continue to monitor implementation: Decide on a date to make sure the plan is working and to see if the strategies are effective. Continue to be consistent with consequences.

In all DAP environments, school becomes a setting where caring adults are consistent and react sensitively to challenging behaviors. Supportive adults who intervene with positive attitudes and positive guidance strategies exemplify the best of DAP.

A developmentally appropriate approach also means that the teacher considers what is known about the individual child, as well as what is typical for the age group. This ensures that the guidance techniques match the capabilities of the child and that adult expectations remain reasonable.

7-3cBehavior Models

The teacher as a  behavior model  is an important element in guidance. Children pattern their responses after adult behaviors. They are aware of how teachers respond to anger, frustration, and aggression and how they solve problems and conflicts. Adults must be sure to model the desired behavior around the children they teach. To be successful models, teachers should be aware of their emotions and feelings; they do not want to compound a problem by their reaction. Adults who express negative feelings to children must proceed carefully, stating their position clearly, honestly, and objectively in a low, calm voice, as in the following examples:

· It bothers me when you call Roberto a dummy.

· You do not need to yell. I can hear you from right here. Tell me again in a quieter voice.

· I am serious about this—no biting.

· Sometimes I get angry when children try to hurt each other.

· It makes me sad to see all that food going to waste. Please put just enough on your plate so that you will eat it all.

Remember that children are frightened by strong feelings; do not overwhelm them with your behavior.

7-3dConsistency

Being  consistent is one of the key elements in good guidance practices. If adults want to develop mutual trust with children, the rules they set must be clear, fair, and enforced consistently and regularly. It is important that all members of the teaching team reinforce the same rules and not undermine another teacher’s problem solving. At the same time, children need to know what happens if rules are not followed. Consequences, too, should be consistent.

7-3eRealistic Expectations

Teachers should have  realistic expectations for children—neither too high nor too low. Sometimes they presume that children have abilities and skills they do not yet possess, and this may cause children to respond in inappropriate ways. It can be helpful to rehearse with children how they are expected to act. Practice sessions are especially useful when introducing a new topic or plan.

One teacher rehearsed the children for their first bus ride to go on a field trip. They practiced singing, looking out the windows, having snacks, and talking with friends. A large outline of a bus was drawn with chalk on the patio floor. The children pretended to board the bus, walk down the narrow aisle, and find a seat, and practiced taking big steps getting up and down the steps. When the field trip day arrived, children knew several appropriate ways to behave while on the long bus trip.

Many times, children are asked to do jobs that are too complicated for them. The young child who is just learning to put on a jacket is a good example. Children may not be able to accomplish the entire job at first; it is helpful to them if the task is broken down into smaller steps. Start small: Let Gordie learn to zip up his jacket. Little by little, teach him how to get his arms in the sleeves. Soon he will be doing the task by himself.

7-3fActively Observe

As  active observers in their classroom, teachers can learn a great deal about the effects of their guidance efforts. When teachers observe, they can time interventions or move into a situation before it becomes problematic. Observations can also be used to help children see how their actions affect others.  Chapter 6  contains many good observation forms for teachers to use.

Effective guidance practice involves children as active participants. How would you help this child solve the problem of being excluded from play?

© Cengage Learning

7-3gPreventing Misbehavior

Preventing  misbehavior  is another part of the teacher’s role. Effective guidance practices call for teachers to be alert to potential problems and situations before they result in children’s inappropriate behavior. Even then, unpredictable situations occur: A child becomes tired in the middle of snack time; one of the teachers is called out of the room; rain forces an activity to move indoors; or a scheduled event gets postponed. At these trying and typical times, a teacher’s full range of abilities is called into play. Ways to help children maintain positive behavior patterns in these situations include:

· Recognize and label the problem or situation. Acknowledge the difficulties it presents to the children. Example: “You seem tired, Gus, and I know you had to wait a long time for your snack. When you have finished your juice and cracker, put your head down on the table and rest for a minute.”

· Ask children for their help. Get them involved in working out the solutions. Example: “Mr. Gallo had to leave for a while. How can we continue with this math project when I need to help out in the writing area too? Who has an idea? What do you think would work?”

· Assign a job or a task to the children who are most likely to react to the crisis. Example: “Lorraine and Paul, will you carry the special drums inside, please, while I help the others put the wagons away?”

· Always be prepared with alternatives: a story to tell, songs to sing, guessing games to play, or exercises to do. Help children pass the time in an appropriate way modeled by the teacher. Give a new focus. Example: “The fire truck hasn’t arrived at school yet; we’ll have to wait another five minutes. While we are waiting to go and see it, show me how firefighters climb ladders and slide down poles.”

· Say what you would like to see happen. Admit what you wish you could do to correct the situation. Example: “Oh, little Riko, I wish I could bring your mommy back right now, but I can’t. She has to go to work, but I will hold you until your crying stops.”

These guidance practices apply equally to infants and toddlers, but there are some  special considerations that teachers should remember. Infants cry—sometimes a great deal. It is their only means of communication. When they cry, they should not be ignored or chastised, but comforted instead. It is helpful to talk to a baby, no matter how young, and begin to identify the steps you will take to ease his or her distress: “Fernando, you are crying and I don’t know what’s wrong. Let’s take a look at your diaper; maybe a change will make you more comfortable. Perhaps you are teething; I know that can hurt. Maybe you are hungry; is it time for your bottle yet?” Those soothing words as a teacher changes diapers, rubs the baby’s back, or cuddles and rocks ease this time of stress.

Toddlers, too, need adults to use words to express problem situations, and the preceding examples readily apply to working with this active and lively age group. One word of caution, however: Removing infants and toddlers from the group or confining them to a playpen or crib is not appropriate. Very young children do not understand that kind of isolation. To be effective, guidance should be helpful, not punitive.

7-3hIndirect Guidance

Children’s behavior is influenced by the people and places where they live, work, and play. Each setting sends indirect messages of where to sit, work, eat, rest, and play. Desks lined up in a row or a circle say “Sit here and work.” A room with a long, open corridor invites children to run through the space. Rigid time schedules cause anxiety and tension during cleanup times. The presence of too few teachers leaves children unsupervised or ignored. All of these are recipes for inappropriate behavior.

An environment that supports positive behavior does not just happen. It is the teacher’s responsibility to anticipate children’s response to the environment and create a place that fosters positive behaviors.  Indirect guidance  is the teacher’s way of establishing control and setting the stage for what they want to happen in the classroom. Direct guidance strategies are those that involve the teacher interacting with the children. Through indirect methods, teachers help ensure that learning is maximized and disruptions are minimized.  Chapter 9  has more suggestions on using indirect guidance to set up early childhood environments.

7-4The Guidance Ladder: Ten Effective Strategies

How do you decide which guidance strategy is most appropriate for a situation?  Direct guidance  methods involve a decision to interact with children by applying one or more of the following strategies. These techniques are along a continuum that starts with the least intrusive, hands-off approach and moves to those that require greater intervention. They are valuable tools to help children become increasingly self-directed and self-reliant and to help teachers choose the most appropriate methods for the situation.  Figure 7-7  illustrates how guidance techniques may be used to their best advantage.

7-4aIgnoring Behavior

When misbehavior is of a less serious nature—for instance, when a child whines constantly—it may be best to ignore it. This kind of behavior, although mildly annoying, is not harmful. To use the technique successfully, the adult chooses not to respond to the child in any way and may even become occupied elsewhere while the behavior persists. This method is based on the learning theory that negative reinforcement (i.e., the adult ignoring the child) eventually causes the child to stop the undesirable behavior. At first, there might be an increase in the misbehavior as the child tests to see whether the adult truly is ignoring the action. Once the child sees that there is nothing to gain, the behavior disappears.

7-4bActive Listening and “I” Messages

Parents and teachers can learn the art of  active listening  to respond to a child’s feelings as well as words. The adults listen carefully, trying to understand what the child is saying beyond the words being used. Then they reflect back in their own words what it is they think the child said. The child has an opportunity to correct any misinterpretations. Further dialogue helps to clarify what the child meant. For example:

Rita:

I hate school!

Teacher:

Sounds as if you are really disappointed you didn’t get a turn cooking today.

Rita:

I really wanted to help make pancakes.

“I” messages are an adult’s way of reflecting back to children how their actions have affected others.

Parent:

When you scream indoors, it really hurts my ears.

Parent:

I feel sad when you tell me you don’t like me.

“I” messages are honest, nonjudgmental statements that place no blame on the child but that state an observation of the behavior and its results.

7-4cReinforcement

In  Chapters 1  and  4 , you met Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, Edward Thorndike, B. F. Skinner, and Albert Bandura, who formulated behaviorist theory. Behavior modification is based on the premise that behavior is learned through experiences and can be changed by reinforcement.  Reinforcement  is the process in which a behavior is followed by a consequence that is likely to make the behavior repeated. If Jonah gets a smile from the teacher for saying, “Thank you,” he is likely to say it again. A pleasant consequence is often called a  reward, and unpleasant consequences are often called  punishment, but the impact is in the consequences. If Angie is given an unpleasant consequence (such as being sent to her room for hitting her little brother), she may actually enjoy being isolated so that she can read books or watch videos in her room. In her case, the punishment is actually a reward.

Positive reinforcement  is used to teach new and different behaviors to a child and to help the child maintain the change. Initially, the reinforcement or reward must be swift and consistently applied, as often as the behavior occurs. If the desired behavior is for Janie to always hang her coat on the hook, acknowledge the effort each time Janie hangs up her clothes. Once this is a well-established routine, the reinforcement (praise, in this case) becomes less intense.

Brain Research Says …

Do Rewards Work?

When a child achieves a goal, he or she feels good when someone says, “Well done!” or “Here’s a smiley-face sticker.” As teachers, we constantly encourage children’s behavior through such positive—or negative—reinforcement. But does it work?

The brain makes its own rewards through the “pleasure pathway” and emits good feelings every day (Jensen, 2005). The brain may have different types of reward systems (Fiorillo, Tobler, & Schultz, 2003), one of which predicts pleasurable outcomes, activates the pleasure network (Tremblay & Schultz, 2000), and produces dopamine, the neurotransmitter that produces pleasure. The brain stores these experiences of prediction and pleasure, and learning improves after the first experience. However, performance drops as students are rewarded time and again because the dopamine is activated as much by the anticipation of pleasure as by the pleasure itself (Berridge & Robinson, 2002). The brain is in a constant state of change, and what worked as a reward once or twice may not work in the long term (Koob & LeMoal, 1997). In other words, a piece of candy escalates into a cheeseburger with French fries.

Most brain-related research on rewards has been for simple tasks, and the findings suggest that rewards can be used successfully for short-term tasks. The best use of rewards (Jensen, 2005) is for short lengths of time and for a specific reason; using tokens or boxes of raisins is concrete and inexpensive. Consider using more abstract rewards, such as certificates, notes, verbal compliments, and privileges, to reinforce behaviors.

Questions

1. Describe how you feel when someone rewards you.

2. How does this research alter your thinking about giving out rewards and the concept of reinforcement?

Reinforcers, or rewards, must be individualized to meet the needs of the child and the situation. Social reinforcers, such as smiling, interest and attention, hugging, touching, and talking, are powerful tools with young children. Food, tokens, and money are sometimes used as reinforcers in home and school settings. The goal, however, is that inner satisfaction becomes its own reward, regardless of the type of reinforcer that one might use initially. If that does not occur, then other positive guidance measures should be explored.

Parents and teachers often take for granted the positive, desirable behavior in children and may forget to acknowledge these behaviors frequently. Behavior modification helps to correct that oversight. Whenever adults focus on a negative aspect of a child’s behavior and make an attempt to change it, they also look at the positive qualities the child possesses and reinforce them. This keeps a balanced perspective while working on a problem.

Behavior modification enables adults to invite children to be part of the process, giving them an active part in monitoring their own behavior. Children are capable of keeping a chart of how many times they finished their plate, made the bed, or fed the dog. This chart serves as a natural reinforcer.

7-4dRedirection and Distraction

Sometimes the adult wants to change the activity in which the child is engaged to one that is more acceptable. If Pia and Elena are throwing books off the reading loft, the teacher wants to redirect them and may suggest throwing soft foam balls into a makeshift basket. This technique calls for the adult to make an accurate assessment of what the children really want to do. In this case, it appears that they enjoy throwing from a height. Now the teacher can consider alternatives that permit the desired activity while changing the expression or form it takes: “It looks as if you two are enjoying dropping things from up there. Let’s figure out a way you can do that so that books will not be damaged.”

The substitute activity must be a valid one, both acceptable to the adults and fulfilling to the children. In most cases, children are not being deliberately malicious or destructive. More than likely, they are expressing curiosity, imagination, and the need to explore. Positive redirection satisfies these needs in a way that enhances children’s self-concept and self-control.

Distraction is similar to redirection; it is used when the adult wants to focus the child’s attention on an activity that may or may not relate to the previous behavior. Very young children, especially infants and toddlers, can easily be distracted from undesirable actions. Consider the example at the beginning of the chapter in which Kim grabs at one of the necklaces Shawnsey has. A quick-thinking teacher could present Kim with another attractive one. This method calls for well-timed intervention.

“I know you want to stay and play, but it is time to go home now. Do you want to get your jacket by yourself or do you want your daddy to help?” Choices allow children to gain some control over a stressful situation.

© Cengage Learning

7-4eGiving Children Choices

Giving choices is a time-honored and popular method for helping children who are being resistant. Choices help children practice self-reliance, self-direction, and self-discipline. “Seth, the cooking area is too crowded. It looks like there is plenty of room at the clay table or the writing table. Which one would you like to go to while you wait for a turn?”

You must give a choice only when you mean for children to make the choice and be prepared to accept the answer. “Some of the children are going in for music now. Would you like to join them?” This is a reasonable choice if there is another adult to supervise outside.

Suggest two choices when there is the possibility of resistance. This lets children know that you expect them to comply with the request but allows some decision making on their part: “It’s time to go home now. Would you like to get your artwork before or after you put on your jacket?” The choices must be valid and acknowledge children’s growing ability to deal with responsibility and help them practice making reasonable choices: “It’s rest time for everyone now. Do you want to pick out some books before or after you brush your teeth?”

Children should be aware of the consequences of the choices they are making: “If you choose the computer now, you won’t have time to finish your rain forest project.” Helping children make reasonable choices gives them a foundation for decision making throughout their life.

7-4fSetting Limits

Limits  are the boundaries we set to help children know what behavior is appropriate. Teachers generally have two reasons for setting limits:

· (1)

to prevent children from injuring themselves or others; and

· (2)

to prevent the destruction of property, materials, or equipment.

Limits are like fences; they are protective structures that help children feel secure. If children know where the fences are, they are free—and safe—to try out many behaviors.

Children may not like fences and may resist attempts to limit their behavior. A natural part of growing up is to stretch those limits and push those fences aside. Limits are self-protective when behavior goes out of bounds. Children are just beginning to exert that inner pressure (i.e., self-control) that helps them monitor their own actions. Until then, they need adults to help them learn when and how to apply self-restraint. Limits keep them from going too far.

Children can frighten themselves and others with anger, frustration, and fear. They need adults to stop them from doing physical or emotional harm to themselves or others. Well-considered limits give the child freedom to try, test, and explore avenues of self-expression in ways that promote growth and protect budding autonomy.

Teachers must learn to set and maintain limits with confidence and authority. To be successful, do the following:

· Set a limit appropriate to the situation. Example: “Andrew, get down from the table. You may finish your work either sitting in your chair or standing next to me. You may not stand on the table.”

· Match the limit to the child’s age, history, and emotional development. Example: “Sheila, you have interrupted the story too many times today. Find a place at the puzzle table until we are finished. Remember, I told you earlier that you would not be able to hear the end of the story if you yelled again.”

· See that all adults apply limits consistently. Example: “I know you want to bat the ball again, but both teachers have said it is Jordan’s turn now.”

· Reinforce the rules consistently. Example: “Judy, remember everyone walks inside. You can run later, when you are outside.”

· Follow through and support your words with actions. Example: “I cannot let you tear the books. Since this is the second page this morning, you will need to leave the book nook. I will walk with you while you look for another place to play.”

· State limits simply, clearly, and directly. Example: “Roger, use your quiet voice indoors. When you are too loud, other people cannot hear one another.”

· Respect and acknowledge the child’s feelings. Example: “I know you want your dad to stay, Megan. He has to go to work now, but I will stay with you while you feel sad.”

· Act with authority, purpose, and confidence. Example: “Put the block down, Nick. I cannot let you hurt other people, and I will not let them hurt you.”

· Maintain limits and help the child accept the consequences. Example: “I am sorry, Sarah. You will not be able to play here any longer because you keep calling Geneva ‘fatty’ and it hurts her feelings.”

· Do not give in if the child threatens to fall apart or create a scene. Example: “I am sorry that makes you cry, Sarah, but I cannot let you make fun of one of your classmates. When you finish crying, we can talk about it some more.”

· Involve children in creating the limits. Example: “We will be visiting our first grade reading buddies today. What are some of the rules we should follow when we are in their classroom?”

7-4gActive Problem Solving

Active problem solving engages children in confronting their differences and working together to solve their problems. The adult guides children toward solutions but does not solve problems for them. Posing open-ended questions, the adult helps keep the child focused so that they can suggest alternate solutions. For example:

· “What could you do … ?”

· “How might she feel when … ?”

· “What might happen if … ?”

· “How can you … ?”

All the children’s suggestions must be acknowledged seriously, even if they seem unreasonable. Young children may start the discussion by suggesting extreme solutions. In the case of Malcolm, for instance (see the second example at the beginning of this chapter), his classmates might initially suggest: “Do not let Malcolm come to this school anymore.” These suggestions are tempered as other children respond; fair and reasonable solutions eventually emerge: “Anyone who knocks over somebody else’s blocks has to help build them back up again.”

Rather than assessing blame, teachers help children think through a number of alternatives, including the consequences of their suggestions: “If we close the block area, what will happen when you want to play with your favorite trucks this afternoon?” By assisting them in anticipating the results of what they suggest, teachers can help children understand how their behavior influences and affects others. This is an early lesson in a lifelong quest to become responsible for one’s own behavior.

Conflict resolution should become part of the child’s daily life. Teachers can help children solve disagreements nonviolently and explore alternative ways to reach their goals.  Figure 7-8  outlines a process for active problem solving and conflict resolution (see also  Figure 7-7 ) to choose the least invasive strategy. It is useful for resolving differences through group discussion, as noted earlier, or when one or more children become embroiled in conflict. By following such a process, children learn to respect others’ opinions, to express their own feelings in appropriate ways, and to learn tolerance for doing things in a different way.

Figure 7-8

Using these guidelines to help children solve problems, teachers listen more than talk, allow children the time to make mistakes and figure out solutions, and point out that diversity of viewpoints is natural, normal, and workable.

The Six-Step Approach to Problem Solving

Scenario: Two children run outdoors to get the available wagon. They reach it simultaneously and start pulling on the handle, yelling, “Mine!” One child starts shoving the other child out of the way.

1. Step 1:

Approach (Initiate Mediation)

· Approach the conflict, signaling your awareness and availability.

· Get close enough to intervene if necessary; stop aggressive behavior or neutralize the object of conflict by holding it yourself.

2. Step 2:

Make a Statement

· Describe the scene. “It looks like you both want the wagon.”

· Reflect what the children have said. “You both say you had it first.”

· Offer no judgments, values, or solutions.

3. Step 3:

Ask Questions (Gather Data, Define the Problem)

· Do not try to pinpoint blame.

· Draw out details; define problems: “What is happening here?” “What seems to be the problem?”

· Help children communicate: “How did this happen?” “What do you want to tell her?” “How did that make you feel?”

4. Step 4:

Generate Alternative Solutions

· Help children think of ways to work this out: “Who has an idea of how we could solve this?”

· Let children offer suggestions: “We could take turns.” “We could use it together.” “We could tell her she can’t play here.”

· Ask questions: “How do you think that would work?” “What would happen if you told her she can’t play?”

· Avoid the common mistake of rushing this stage; give it the time it deserves.

5. Step 5:

Agree on a Solution

· When both children accept a solution, rephrase it: “So you both say that you will work on it together.”

· If any solution seems unsafe or unacceptable, you must tell the children: “It is not safe for you both to stand up and ride downhill together. What is another way you can agree?” “We can’t close the block corner because other children want to play there.”

6. Step 6:

Follow Through

· Monitor the activity to make sure agreement is going according to plan. If the decision involves turn taking, you may need to be the clock-watcher: “Okay, Maggie. Your three minutes are up, and it’s Cleo’s turn now.”

· Make a positive statement to the children who were in conflict and others who may have seen it: “Looks as if you solved your problem. Good for you.”

· Use the power of language to reinforce the idea that solutions can be found to problems and that children are capable of solving them. “What do you think you could do to help us come to an agreement ?”

The process also suggests an important guidance principle: The adult role is to intervene as little as possible, allowing children the opportunity to come up with an acceptable solution.

When children help create a solution, they come away with a sense of commitment to it. This process also gives children a sense of power and control, a sense of independence, and a feeling of self-worth.

7-4hNatural and Logical Consequences

Natural consequences enhance children’s ability to take responsibility for themselves. As implied, this approach lets children experience the natural consequences of their actions. Designed by Rudolf Dreikurs, it emphasizes the opportunity children have to learn from the way their environment functions:

· “If you do not eat your dinner, you might be hungry later.”

· “If you do not study your words, you might fail your spelling test.”

· “If you grab the book away from Ben, he may retaliate.”

This method allows adults to define the situation for children without making judgments, and lets children know what to expect. The consequences are a natural result of the child’s own actions.

Logical consequences, on the other hand, are a function of what adults impose. For the adult, this means a commitment to follow through; consequences, once stated, must be enforced. It is important to give children an opportunity to choose their own course of action once they have some understanding of what is likely to happen. Nelsen (2006) suggests three criteria for using logical consequences: It must be related to the child’s behavior; it must be respectful; and it must be reasonable. For example:

· “If you bother Sally again, you will have to leave group time.”

· “If you take your favorite book to school, it might get lost.”

· “If you want dessert, you will have to eat your dinner.”

· 7-4iTime Out

· Removing a child from the play area is particularly appropriate when, owing to anger, hurt, or frustration, the child is out of control. Taking children away from the scene of intensity and emotion to allow them time to cool off and settle down is sometimes the only way to help them. The teacher is firm and consistent as the child is quietly removed from play. It is important that, if used, this technique is accompanied by a positive attitude and approach, not employed as punishment.

· Used appropriately, the time-out period is very much like that used in athletic events: a brief respite and a chance to stop all activity and regroup. There is no time-out chair. The teacher’s role is to help the child talk about the incident—the feelings involved and the need for self-control—and to give the child an opportunity to gain self-control before resuming play. Children can monitor themselves and choose when they are ready to return to classroom activity. Noah, who persists in knocking down other children’s block structures, might be told, “You may come back to the block area when you think you are ready to play without knocking over other children’s work.” Noah can then assume some responsibility for how he behaves and when he is ready to return to play.

· Too often, time out is punitive. Children are pulled from an activity, pushed into a chair, and told to “Watch how the other children are playing nicely,” or “Sit there until you can behave.” There is no link made between the behavior and the consequences, so the child does not learn the strategy or skills he needs to change his behavior.

· Time out is an invasive strategy and should be used judiciously. Adults can misuse it, leaving the child with a sense of rejection.

· 7-4jPhysical Intervention

· There are times that a teacher must physically intervene to prevent children from injuring themselves, others, or property. Jude often gets out of control, and his playing becomes too rough. Today, Ramon pushed him away after telling him to stop. Jude retaliated by punching Ramon. The teacher intervened immediately, pulling Jude off Ramon and saying, “Stop! Stop hitting Ramon!” Jude raises his arms toward Ramon again, and the teacher puts her arms around him to hold his arms at his side. “I cannot let you hurt other children. Let’s go over here and talk about this.” The teacher gives Jude time to calm down before she talks with him.

· Almost simultaneously, the teacher has assessed Ramon to see if he is hurt. If so, she calls another teacher over to provide comfort and assistance to him. There may be times when it is appropriate to talk with both boys together or deal with each of them separately. Once the sequence of events has been sorted out, the teacher can begin the conflict resolution process. Ideally, both boys would be able to participate in this discussion as they learn to solve problems without hitting and fighting.

· For children who have a history of aggression, a more long-term approach is required that would include regular observations and assessments of the child. Outside professional advice may be necessary if the aggression persists.

· The guidance continuum provides a number of choices from which to select the most effective method.  Figure 7-9  indicates how some of these guidance strategies can be used.

· Figure 7-9

· The astute teacher selects from the options available and individualizes the responses.

· A Variety of Strategies

If This Is the Behavior	Try This	Example
Whining	Ignore	Do and say nothing while whining persists. Pay attention to the child when whining stops.
Playing cooperatively	Positive reinforcement	“You two are sure working hard on this garden! What a good team you make.”
Refusing to cooperate	Provide a choice	“Reva, do you want to pick up the LEGOs or help Charlie empty the water table?”
Restlessness, inattentiveness	Change the activity	“This story seems long today; we’ll finish it later. Let’s play some music and dance now.”
Daydreaming	Indirect suggestion	“As soon as you get your coat, Winona, we’ll all be ready to go inside.”
Arguing over the use of a toy	Active listening	“You really wanted to be the first one to play with the blue truck today, didn’t you, Lief?”
Dawdling, late for snack	Natural consequences	“Sorry, Nate, the snacks have been put away. Maybe tomorrow you’ll remember to come inside when the other children leave the yard.”
Pushing, crowding, running inside	Change room arrangement	Create larger, more open spaces so children have greater freedom of movement and do not feel crowded.
Unable to take turns, to wait	Review daily schedule, equipment	Buy duplicates of popular equipment. Allow enough time for free play so children won’t feel anxious about getting a turn.
Boisterous play	Positive redirection	“You and Sergio seem to want to wrestle. Let’s go set the mats out in the other room. If you wrestle here, you’ll disturb the children who are playing quietly.”

7-5Behavior that Is Challenging

Every teacher has experienced the child who disrupts the class, throws tantrums, hurts other children, and provides wear and tear on equipment, materials, and the adult’s patience. Children with a high degree of energy and stress and a short attention span and who are distractible and demanding challenge our skills in guiding their behavior. These children often do not respond to the usual guidance strategies. It takes a skillful teacher to work with children whose behaviors are often challenging, and it takes extra effort, patience, and perseverance.

The reasons for such behavior vary, as indicated earlier in the chapter when five factors that influence behavior were discussed. It is important to take these influences into consideration and understand the impact of children’s development, environment, individuality, emotional and social growth, and culture on their ability to behave appropriately. Children who tend to act out frequently need extra support reassurance as they learn to live in a group and become responsible for their actions. That support and guidance comes in many forms

1. See and hear the uniqueness in each child. Look at the five factors noted earlier, and assess their influence on the child who is causing disruption or behaving aggressively. What do you know about each of those influences on the child that challenges you? Be sure to note areas of strengths, as well as problems. Jake, for instance, tests every limit, disrupts class meetings and circle time, kicks the furniture, and yells at his classmates. However, Jake is a fast runner, climber, and jumper. He works puzzles that are difficult for most of his classmates and has a keen mind. So far, his teachers have been unable to create a trusting relationship with him.

2. Build caring relationships with children and their families. Respect for the individual child and family is where a relationship begins. Jake’s teachers start with that premise and build a nurturing and responsive relationship from there. There may be a teacher on the team who is especially sensitive to children with more extreme behavior and offers to work with Jake and his family. She finds attributes in Jake that she likes and uses them to develop his trust and to be a supportive presence to him and his family. Collaboration between home and school fosters Jake’s self-confidence and improves his ability to change his behavior.

3. Make observations. Collect information about the individual child. When does Jake lose control? What leads up to his outburst? How long does it last? What cues does he give that he is becoming overwhelmed? Who usually intervenes and for how long? When is Jake’s behavior appropriate? How is it acknowledged, and by whom? Is Jake’s behavior predictable?

4. Modify the classroom and schedule. Create legitimate opportunities for Jake to move about and use large muscles when inside. Are the materials and curriculum challenging and age-appropriate? Do children select their own activities and make choices where they work and play for at least part of the day? Is there advance warning when activities will conclude?

Challenging behaviors often occur during structured activities, such as group times or class meetings. What fits a teacher’s agenda does not always fit a child’s abilities. Children lose interest and become restless, creating a recipe for frustration and outbursts. Does the schedule call for too many or too lengthy group meetings? How could meetings be modified to be flexible in length and content? What behaviors or activities could be included that help children participate longer? What appropriate alternatives can children suggest if they need to leave the group?

· 5.

Teacher attention and language.Take care of any injured party first; then use short, direct sentences, without judgment and without lecturing the aggressor:

· “Jake, that’s not acceptable here.”

· “I cannot hear you when you are screaming.”

Look at and speak to the child at eye level. Do not shame, ridicule, or use physical punishment. Give children the support they need to change rather than punishing them. Talk with the child about alternatives to their inappropriate behavior:

· “Next time, Jake, tell someone you are angry instead of hitting.”

· “What could you say to Corey instead of hitting him?”

Pay attention to disruptive, nonattentive, aggressive children when they are behaving appropriately:

· “You look like you are trying to figure out where that puzzle piece goes. I know you are good at working puzzles, and I am sure you will find it. There! You did it.”

Follow through to help the child return to play, giving choices when possible. Find activities that require energy (clay, woodworking) or those that are more calming (water play, reading, painting), depending on what the child seems to need at the time.

Support the child’s choice of activity with involvement and relevant comments, interests, and challenges:

· “You can decide where you want to play now, Jake. There’s room for you at the clay table. I’ll help you get started if you like.”

· Later: “You look like you are having a good time with that clay, Jake. I bet you can squeeze it so hard it oozes out your fingers. Next time when you feel like hitting something, ask me to get the clay out.”

With patience, positive interactions, and appropriate guidance practices, teachers find creative and individual ways to help each child grow in social competence and self-assurance.

KSU: Responsive Discipline

KSU: Responsive Discipline

 http://www.k-state.edu/wwparent/courses/rd/

Zero to Three: Challenging Behavior

Zero to Three: Challenging Behavior

http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/challenging-behavior/

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Play Outside NC: Dancing with the Wind

Duration: 4:56 User: n/a -  Added: 5/18/17

This video is part of the UNC-TV Science series that emphasizes the importance of getting children outside...and learning!