Module 2
Presentation 2
a. A Caring Community of Learners: The Teaching Pyramid Model
A caring community of learners is a group or classroom in which children and
adults engage in warm, positive relationships; treat each other with respect; and learn
from and with each other. The late Jim Greenman (2005a), one of the foremost
experts on children’s environments, described early childhood programs as “caring
spaces, learning places.” This phrase is apt because it emphasizes a fundamental
principle of early childhood education: children’s care and education are interrelated.
Wherever children are served, they are always learning and being cared for. In other
words, both/and thinking is required. Effective early childhood programs provide both
nurturing, responsive relationships and stimulating, interesting educational
experiences. If children’s needs for either care or learning are neglected, the program
will be ineffective.
Children learn and develop best in the context of a caring community of
learners. Research provides strong evidence that this is the case. One tool for
evaluating the quality and effectiveness of early childhood programs is the Classroom
Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), which assesses the social-emotional climate
and the instructional climate of preschool or primary-grade classrooms through
detailed observations of teachers’ behaviors. Research using the CLASS has found
that high-quality emotional and instructional classroom climates uniquely predict
children’s academic achievement and improve social and emotional outcomes.
Teachers who provide high-quality emotional support are aware of and respond to
children’s individual needs, rarely display intense negative emotion, and engage in
positive, respectful interactions with children.
Equally important, if not more so, is that the emotional climate not be negative
—that there is little or no aggression or hostility among children and teachers (Hamre,
2014). Most of us have observed classrooms or been students in them in which it is
obvious which children are the “bad kids.” They may be sitting at a desk by
themselves or their names may be the ones you hear over and over. They may be
waving their hands in the air while the teacher continues to ignore them. Young
children are very perceptive. They know whether teachers like them and which kids
are the favorites (Janson & King, 2010). Imagine figuring out within a few days after
school starts that your teacher doesn’t like you very much and facing 9 months of
being in that person’s control with no choice to stay home or switch to another
teacher. Children soon begin to act the way they are perceived and live up to low or
negative expectations. Building a caring community of learners requires effort on the
part of teachers and children, but the effort pays off in short- and long-term benefits.
In the present, the classroom will be a more harmonious, pleasant environment in
which children are more likely to learn successfully.
Children’s ability to regulate their emotional responses is associated with
successful learning and social relationships (Zins, Bloodworth, Weissberg & Walberg,
2007). Children who regulate their emotions can work collaboratively, play with
others, seek help, and offer help to others. Children who have difficulty regulating
their emotions exhibit more frustration in school and often have trouble focusing their
attention, completing tasks and working with other children (Raver, Garner, & Smith-
Donald, 2007). Because learning to regulate one’s emotions involves acquiring a
complex set of skills, children need support from adults in order to be successful.
Other important goals of the early years are the development of self-concept and self-
esteem. Self-concept, which forms rapidly during the preschool years, refers to
children’s stable perceptions about themselves despite variations in their behavior.
Children’s self-esteem, or perception of their own worth, is also in its formative stages
during these years and can be fragile. Similarly, children gradually acquire a sense of
efficacy, a belief in their own ability to accomplish what they set out to do. Positive
self-concept, selfesteem, and feelings of efficacy don’t develop by people telling
children how special and talented they are, but rather as children take initiative and
master challenges with a lot of adult encouragement.
Teachers today report a larger percentage of children who exhibit extremely
challenging behaviors, such as excessive aggression, anger, and hostility (Kaiser &
Rasminsky, 2017). These children take up most of the teacher’s attention, yet fail to
improve. In worst case scenarios, some children may be expelled from child care or
preschool, experiencing failure before their educational experiences have even begun
(Gilliam, 2008). During the last few decades, since federal laws began requiring child
care programs and schools to fully include children with disabilities and special
needs, the number of children with challenging behaviors may have increased. Some
disabilities such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism may
adversely affect children’s social behavior (Lieber, 2009). To successfully teach in
these increasingly complex classrooms, teachers must have knowledge of effective,
research-based early intervention strategies before they encounter these difficult
situations. Children who exhibit persistent challenging behaviors are those most in
need of good teaching.
Building positive social skills and healthy emotional relationships during the
early years is more effective than trying to remedy problems later. Research
demonstrates that preschool children who lack self-regulation and/or fail to develop
positive relationships with peers are likely to encounter significant difficulties in
school and in life (Diamond, 2012; Moffitt et al., 2011). Children who don’t acquire
minimal social competence and thus are unable to make friends are at significant risk
of dropping out of school, becoming delinquent, or experiencing mental health
problems in adolescence or adulthood (Ladd, Herald, & Andrews, 2006; Moffitt et al.,
2011). Even when children are 3 or 4 years old, it is possible to observe which
children are socially isolated and do not make friends easily. Even adults sometimes
find these children difficult to interact with, and may want to avoid them. Yet teachers
must recognize that socially isolated children need their help the most. With
systematic support and intentional teaching, teachers can promote children’s
development of social competence.
Social-emotional competence is clearly linked to academic success throughout
all the years of school (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011).
Children in preschool and the primary grades perform better on measures of academic
achievement, language, and social-emotional development when they have positive,
sensitive, trusting relationships with their teachers (Hamre, 2014). Relationships with
teachers predict children’s later relationships with their peers, behavior problems,
school satisfaction, and learning (Diamond, 2012; Howes & Ritchie, 2002).
Vygotsky’s theory of learning as a social construction of knowledge emphasizes that
much of our understanding occurs as we talk with and listen to other people’s ideas.
This give and take of conversation and debate with other people plays a major role in
learning. Promoting social construction of knowledge requires that children learn not
just as individuals but also in the context of small and large groups—as part of a
community of learners. We now have a large body of research to guide teachers in this
important work.
The Teaching Pyramid is composed of four parts: (1) positive relationships
with children, (2) high-quality supportive environments, (3) social and emotional
teaching strategies, and (4) intensive individualized interventions. The base of the
pyramid is the largest portion because it represents the foundation of positive
relationships on which everything else depends. Each subsequent topic on the
pyramid builds on the ones below, and represents a proportionately smaller amount of
teachers’ time and effort. This model indicates that if teachers effectively provide
these supports, children will learn social competence, their positive behaviors will
increase and challenging behaviors will diminish. When teachers encounter children
who exhibit negative behaviors such as aggression or hostility, their first inclination is
to try to “fix” that child. As teachers, we naturally assume that if we could just quickly
change that child’s behavior, everything would be well and our job would be so much
easier. The truth is that there are no quick fixes; in fact, the more effective strategy is
not to try to fix the child at first. It is always more difficult to change another person’s
behavior, even if that person is only 3 years old, than to change our own behavior.
b. Positive Relationships with Children
From the earliest moments of life, children’s development—who they become
—is influenced by the nurturance and care that they receive from adults—first their
parents, then members of the extended family and other caregivers. In the next
sections, we describe the importance of relationships in the family, and then with
teachers and other children.
Decades of research on motherchild interactions support the concept that
children’s ability to learn depends on their developing trusting relationships with
caregivers—what is called attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969/2000). Much of the
research was conducted by Mary Ainsworth and her colleagues (1978). They observed
how young children interacted with their mothers when they were brought into a
novel or strange situation (such as being presented with new or unusual materials to
explore). They identified kinds of attachments between mothers and children that
have varying effects on children’s development. It is important to note, however, that
attachment is influenced by cultural contexts and will look and mean different things
to diverse cultural groups.
All children develop attachments to their primary caregivers. They rely on
their caregivers’ protection and nurturing and base their understanding of relationships
on their early experiences. Based on the quality of care infants receive from
caregivers, they develop secure or insecure attachments. According to attachment
theory, when children’s caregivers are responsive and sensitive to their needs, children
develop secure attachment relationships. Securely attached children rely on their
caregivers for support, yet comfortably explore their surroundings. Children who are
securely attached to their caregivers have a strong foundation not only for building
relationships with other people, but also for learning (Watson, 2003). They see their
caregivers as trustworthy and, in turn, see themselves as competent and worthy of
attention. What does secure attachment look like? Consider Matthew, a 2½-year-old
who enjoys a warm, loving relationship with his mother. When his mother enrolls him
in a child care center, she stays with him for almost an hour while he becomes
acclimated. At first he clings to her leg and eyes the toys and other children.
Gradually, however, he ventures a few steps toward an enticing ramp that the
other kids are sliding down, but quickly runs back to his mother. After a few more
attempts, he hesitantly joins in the fun by rolling a ball down the incline, all the while
seeking regular eye contact with his mother. After a while, he begins to explore the
classroom, occasionally returning to her side for reassurance. Matthew relies on his
mother as a secure base from which to explore his new environment. During the next
few days, his mother stays with him for shorter periods of time, until one day he
joyfully waves goodbye to her at the door. He no longer needs her actual presence as a
physical base from which to explore because he has internalized the sense of trust and
confidence that she provides. Teachers can help children make such transitions from
the secure attachments of home to child care settings. Read the Becoming an
Intentional Teacher: Easing Separation Woes feature for a classroom example.
Various patterns of insecure attachment exist, depending on children’s
experiences, which are related to different patterns of behavior. Children who have
experienced rejection and insensitivity from adult caregivers may demonstrate
insecure-avoidant attachment. These children tend to turn away from or avoid adults
and do not seek their comfort; in fact, they may become hostile in order to avoid
rejection before it occurs. Other insecurely attached children who have experienced
confusing and inconsistent nurturing from adults are said to be experiencing insecure-
ambivalent/resistant attachment. Because they are unsure whether adults will be there
for them, these children may appear to seek comfort but then reject it when it is
offered. They may be irritable and fussy, easily frustrated, and difficult to manage in a
group. In more extreme circumstances, when children have experienced neglect,
abuse, or violence in the home, they may exhibit disorganized/disoriented attachment
(Main & Solomon, 1990). Because their past experiences with adults have left them
without secure attachments, they have not developed useful strategies for seeking
comfort or attention or for handling difficulties. Their behavior can be very
unpredictable and confusing to teachers and negatively affect the children’s ability to
learn.
Although earlier attachment studies focused on mother–child attachment,
current research also applies the theory to teacher–child relationships. This research
demonstrates that across the full age span of infancy through the primary grades, a
caring, sensitive relationship with a teacher is related to positive social and academic
development. For example, in one study, first graders who were at high risk for school
failure but who had emotionally supportive teachers had achievement scores and
relationships with teachers comparable to those of children who were not at risk
(Hamre & Pianta, 2005). By contrast, children whose teachers were not emotionally
supportive had lower achievement and more conflict with their teachers and peers.
Other studies demonstrate that when teachers have positive relationships with children
and are sensitive to their needs, children develop better self-regulation and social
skills.
Building relationships with babies and toddlers takes time, sensitive touch,
talking, and playful learning experiences (Raikes & Edwards, 2009). Teachers create a
climate of respect by listening and responding to babies’ verbal and nonverbal cues,
such as their cries or coos, their facial expressions, and body movements. These
behaviors send signals about the baby’s wants and needs, such as “I’m hungry” or
“I’m bored and want to do something else.” When adults respond appropriately to
their cues, babies begin to develop a sense of trust and efficacy. Teachers also model
the kind of warmth and caring that they want children to develop. Even very young
infants and toddlers demonstrate empathic behaviors toward their peers (Raikes &
Edwards, 2009). Teachers can promote empathy by labeling children’s feelings and
helping them comfort one another—for instance, “Claudia is crying because she
dropped her binky. Let’s help her.” Finally, teachers can engage in conversations with
infants and toddlers that focus on discussions of their peers. They can point out to
Felix that Anna chose the same color for her painting, and that Amir is waiting for
them to finish painting for his turn. To Amir, the teacher can say, “Look, Felix and
Anna are painting with green, I wonder what color you will choose when it is your
turn.”
Children need to share space and activities with all of the children in their
group; however, only a few of the children may actually be chosen as friends. Friends
are a type of relationship that is special and intimate—and chosen by the child. There
is a current trend in early childhood to refer to all children in a group as “friends” and
to call and refer to children as “friends” (as when a teacher says, “Your friend is
waiting for her turn.” However, teachers should be mindful of the use of the word
“friend.” While all children can play, only children can choose with whom to be
friends. Teachers play an important role in children’s relationship development at all
ages, and they can play an essential role in making sure that children develop
friendships. Friendships are a specific and complex type of relationship and are
important for lifelong health and well-being. When children are mutual friends, they
share interests and affection for each other. When teachers learn how important
friendships are for children’s well-being, they can use the Teaching Pyramid to
organize classroom environments, routines, and experiences to support children’s
friendship development (Gallagher, 2013). A teacher can pair preschoolers with
similar interests. She can teach them how to enter group activities by observing and
commenting on the play. Elementary-school teachers can use board games (with some
adult guidance) and playing games that require teamwork. American classrooms often
emphasize the importance of independence, but children fare much better, socially
and academically, when we shift our attention to relationships and interdependence in
the classroom.
A sage piece of advice comes from Kaiser and Rasminsky (2017): “Start fresh
every day.” This seems simple, but sometimes teachers find themselves storing up
grievances against children for past transgressions, creating resentment in both
parties. One proven effective strategy is called “banking time” (Driscoll & Pianta,
2010). Just as saving money for unexpected expenses helps in an emergency, taking 5
to 15 minutes a week to focus individually on each child—playing with them or
talking about something interesting unrelated to academics or the child’s behavior—
can pay dividends in building a relationship. An important but often overlooked
aspect of creating a caring community of learners is the health and well-being of the
leaders of the classroom—the teachers. Just as healthy parents raise healthy children,
well teachers create and support a high-quality socialemotional climate. Teachers who
experience more work stress have more conflict in their relationships with children
(Whitaker et al., 2014). In order to calmly and effectively respond to the demands and
stresses of working daily and intensively with young children and their families,
effective early childhood teachers find it necessary to practice selfcare. Teachers can
do this by taking care of their physical health (eating well, sleeping, and exercising) as
well as making sure to stay socially connected. Friendships are important for teachers,
too. Some teachers find that practicing mindfulness, or noticing present moments
without judgment, helps them to regulate their emotions and respond to stressful
situations more effectively.
Each of us has her own views about the acceptability of specific behaviors in
children based on personal, family, and cultural experiences (Kaiser & Rasminsky,
2017). For example, some adults welcome children’s exuberance, whereas others see
rambunctious play as misbehavior. Some children are hypersensitive to touch. With 3-
year-old Shisuko, pats or hugs would not be welcome, but sitting nearby and talking
quietly would. Relationship building, like all other aspects of teaching, requires
individualizing. Because what is considered acceptable behavior in one family,
community, or cultural group may be frowned on or prohibited in another (Kaiser &
Rasminsky, 2017), teachers should help children learn the kinds of behaviors that
predict success in school. In doing so, they can help young children learn that there
are different rules of behavior for different environments. Children make these
distinctions all the time. Early on, they learn that what is accepted and safe behavior
in their own home is not acceptable behavior in the neighborhood. Read the Culture
Lens: Helping Children Adapt to School feature for an example of what teachers can
do to help children feel comfortable at school.
All behavior is a form of communication; it serves a function. Teachers need
to understand that even challenging behaviors—those behaviors that are potentially
harmful in the short or long term—are conveying some type of message. Experts who
study children’s behavior have found that most challenging behavior serves one of
three functions: It helps children get something, avoid something, or change the level
of stimulation. For example, Brian wants Tonia’s truck, so he pushes her down. Tray
doesn’t want to clean up, so he throws the toys at Emma. Lala is bored waiting in line
for the bathroom, so she pinches Mona. As undesirable as these behaviors may be, to
effectively handle the children’s frustration, the teacher must determine what each
behavior is conveying and provide the appropriate support and guidance. If teachers
think about children’s challenging behavior as either a mistake on the path to learning
or a message they are trying to send, it is likely that their attitudes toward challenging
behaviors will change. Instead of blaming children or rejecting them, teachers are
more likely to embrace these challenges as problems to solve. Of course, the most
effective strategy is to prevent problems in the first place, which is the second step on
the Teaching Pyramid.
c. High-Quality Supportive Environments
The quality of the learning environment is also very important in creating a
caring community of learners and enabling children to do their best. Teachers’ work
begins before they meet the children in their group. The physical environment, the
schedule including use of routines and transitions, and curriculum plan are all
important factors in promoting children’s positive outcomes, preventing negative
behaviors, and creating a caring community arrangement of the physical space and
materials provides the framework to support children’s positive behavior. When the
classroom is well organized and predictable, children’s behavior reflects that. In
addition, the classroom literally communicates to children what is acceptable. In a
wide open space, children may become boisterous or unruly as compared to a quiet,
cozy nook where they are more likely to calmly peruse a book. To ensure the best
possible outcomes, teachers need to plan engaging daily routines with smooth
transitions. Teachers can establish clear expectations for classroom behavior and make
sure supports are in place so that children can develop warm relationships,
demonstrate their best behavior, and engage productively in learning.
Young children’s care and education involves numerous changes in activity
and relocation of their physical space. They move from group time to learning centers,
eat regularly, wash their hands, use the bathroom, take naps, and go outdoors and
return. Primary-grade children move between special classes such as music, art, or
physical education in addition to lunch and recess, or switch subject matter teachers.
Each of these situations involves transitions. Transitions are the changes from one
activity or place to another. Although inevitable, transitions can be difficult for young
children who are not particularly good at waiting or who do not adapt well to change.
Just as children thrive in predictable physical and temporal environments, they
also thrive when the expectations for behavior are clear and predictable. Therefore, it
is essential that teachers involve children early on in establishing clear rules, limits,
and consequences for behavior. It is equally important that teachers consistently and
fairly enforce these rules in order for children to feel safe and secure. In establishing
classroom rules or guidelines for behavior, as Gartrell (2011) calls them, teachers
need to engage children in discussing and enforcing a manageable number (three to
six) of positively stated classroom rules. These discussions should take place during
times of calm and quiet reflection. Some teachers may be tempted to focus children’s
attention on what not to do—don’t hit, or don’t throw toys.
Earlier, we identified several reasons why children behave as they do: to get
something, to avoid something, or to change the level of stimulation. When it comes
to “getting something,” the object of desire is usually the teacher’s attention. Children
are willing to do almost anything to attract adults’ attention, and they tend not to
discriminate between positive and negative attention. To guide children toward using
positive strategies to attract attention, teachers must keep in mind that because they
have the power to control only their own behavior, they can determine which
behaviors of children they give attention to and when. Teachers can ignore mistaken
behavior, redirect behavior, and give positive feedback and encouragement.
Behaviors that are not reinforced will be extinguished or eliminated. If the
reinforcement that children are seeking is the teacher’s attention— and they are
behaving inappropriately to receive that attention—then ignoring the inappropriate
behavior can be an effective way of extinguishing it. When teachers react to these
behaviors, they continue. Consider, for example, 3½-year-old Curt, who has daily
temper tantrums and lies on the floor kicking and screaming. His teacher, Janine,
knows that he is too old for this behavior and believes that it is a cry for her attention.
She decides to ignore the tantrums by physically removing herself to the other side of
the room, but as soon as Curt tires from his explosion and quiets, she returns and
invites him to sit by her and read a story. It takes several days during which she has to
remind the other children not to pay attention to Curt during these episodes, but
gradually Curt’s tantrums disappear. To be effective, teachers must be careful to give
more attention to children’s positive behaviors than to their negative ones. Teachers
can identify a select few negative behaviors to ignore and also identify prosocial or
positive behaviors to acknowledge that are the opposite of the ones they are trying to
ignore. It may also be necessary to teach the other children to ignore a peer’s
undesirable behavior since the child may desire the attention of his or her peers as
well as the teacher’s.
Another strategy for supporting children to do their best is redirection, which
is the drawing of a child’s attention or behavior toward a more desirable alternative.
Redirection is especially effective with very young children whose attention is easily
distracted. For instance, 18-month-old Jamie appears ready to bite Erika because she
has the toy train he covets. His teacher has anticipated this situation and heads it off
by offering him an identical engine and turning his attention toward her and away
from where Erika is playing. Redirecting children toward more productive activities is
a useful strategy for toddlers who have yet to learn language or other problem-solving
strategies and for children who are wandering or withdrawn. As children get older and
become more competent problem solvers, adults should rely less on redirection and
more on intentionally teaching children to get along with others. Because adults won’t
always be available to redirect behavior, it is important to use this strategy sparingly.
One of the most powerful ways teachers have for supporting children’s
prosocial behavior is to give positive attention when children behave in desirable
ways. When teachers use positive feedback and encouragement related to children’s
appropriate behavior, children feel supported and are more likely to continue to
behave acceptably. If a teacher wants a behavior to continue, it is necessary to provide
positive feedback or encouragement. It is important for teachers not to give empty
praise such as “Good girl” or “Nice job,” but rather to enthusiastically encourage and
describe the desired behavior or acknowledge the effort. “Heath, thank you for telling
me why you were angry,” says his teacher, Jane. “Next time, I’ll make sure you get a
turn on the balance beam.” At times, encouragement will be nonverbal, offering a
child a smile, a nod, or a thumbs-up for an achievement.
do their best when confronted with a challenging situation. Andy picks his
nose and it definitely irritates his teacher. She finds this behavior disgusting, but
realizes after reflection that she overreacts every time he does it, and the frequency of
the behavior is actually increasing, especially during snack times. She decides to
encourage more appropriate behavior by giving him his own box of tissues and
reminding him in advance how to use them. At first, Andy’s nose picking increases,
but his teacher decides to ignore it. Instead, when he does anything with the tissue
box, even if he simply picks it up, she gives him attention and encouragement. She
also gives him positive attention unrelated to the negative behavior: “Andy, thanks for
helping me bring the tricycles inside.” Over time, his teacher finds much to enjoy in
Andy and the nose picking becomes a rare event. As we have seen, there are many
effective strategies teachers can use to support children to do their best and prevent
problem behaviors. In addition to preventing negative behaviors, however, adults have
key roles to play in teaching children appropriate behavior, which we examine next.
d. Teaching Social-Emotional Competence and Guiding Behavior
Children aren’t born with the ability to get along well with other people and
regulate their own strong emotions. These social and emotional skills are learned
gradually over the first years of life, and they are among the most important
accomplishments of children’s lives. Guiding children to function well in a caring
community of learners, however, depends on three key aspects of teaching practice:
fostering emotional literacy, teaching social skills, and teaching conflict negotiation.
Before addressing each of these dimensions of teaching practice, it is important to
clarify the distinction between guidance and punishment.
When children display unacceptable or inappropriate behavior, which is a
natural part of growing up, adults’ automatic response is often to discipline them.
Consider that the word disciple means “to learn.” Often when teachers and adults
discipline, however, they do so not to teach, but rather to punish. However, children
do not learn positive behaviors from punishment. Although punishment may stop a
negative behavior temporarily, it does not teach the child what to do instead.
Consequently, teachers may find that using the same punishment repeatedly with a
child (which they often do) doesn’t deter the negative behavior. One discipline
strategy teachers and parents too often use is time-out. Time-out is removing a child
to a specified chair or area of the room for a period of time following an unacceptable
behavior. Many adults think that time-out is a good way to get children to stop their
unacceptable behavior. Removing a child from a situation for a period of time,
however, can be a form of punishment and, if so, it is unlikely that the child is
reflecting on righteousness in this situation. Time-out does not teach the child what to
do instead of the negative behavior and, in fact, may achieve the child’s purpose by
removing him from the situation he sought to avoid, such as helping to clean up. On
the other hand, occasionally giving children a brief time away to calm down before
negative behavior escalates may be helpful, if the child feels supported by the teacher
in this situation and if the child’s culture does not consider isolation from the group as
humiliation.
Sometimes teachers adopt shortcut techniques that seem to simplify child
guidance in the classroom, such as the often used “Traffic Light” technique. In this
method, each child has three cards, a green (for positive behavior), yellow (for a
“warning”) and red (for challenging behavior). The teacher assigns colors to
individual children, based on their behavior, often publicly displaying children’s
traffic light status. For children who struggle, and whose cards are often yellow or
red, this technique can bring shame and frustration. Sadly for those children, there’s
no card for trying hard. The Traffic Light behavior control method is frequently used
school- or district-wide, which is surprising given that it is not an effective strategy
for teaching children positive behavior. The same children receive a red card
repeatedly and, as is true of punishment in general, their behavior often worsens. In
the next sections, you’ll learn strategies for supporting children’s positive behavior
and responding to their challenging behavior in respectful ways.
When children grapple over a toy, hit, or bite, teachers often suggest, “Use
your words.” This is an effective strategy if, and only if, children have the vocabulary
to describe their emotions and the language proficiency to articulate their wants and
needs. Emotional literacy is “the ability to identify, understand, and respond to
emotions in oneself and others in a healthy manner”. Children who have a strong
foundation in emotional literacy are more likely to tolerate frustration and to fight
less, and are less lonely and impulsive. They also are more focused and have greater
academic achievement. Developing a vocabulary for expressing feelings is an
essential aspect of emotional literacy because the larger a child’s emotional
vocabulary, the finer the distinctions she can make when expressing her feelings to
other people. Think about the number of words you know related to feeling bad:
angry, mad, furious, upset, anxious, unhappy, distraught, disturbed, disappointed,
depressed, disgusted, dismayed, frustrated—we could empty a thesaurus. The same
could be said for other emotional states. Being frustrated, however, is not the same as
being furious. Children’s behavior may be communicating frustration or fury and,
without knowing which, we may be more or less effective in helping them.
An important aspect of emotional literacy is being able to reflect on one’s own
emotions. Read the What Works: Teaching Emotional Literacy feature for examples
of effective strategies to promote emotional literacy in young children. Just as
children need adults to teach them how to regulate and express emotions
constructively, children need adults to explicitly teach them social skills such as
cooperation, social problem solving, and interacting with peers. In addition, children
with disabilities may need particular help from adults in forming friendships with
typically developing peers. One important decision facing teachers is when to teach
social skills. Some moments in time are more effective than others to teach social
skills. Teachers often try to teach problem solving in the middle of a crisis situation,
when intervention is least effective. Read the Including All Children: When to Teach
Social and Emotional Skills feature to learn timely ways to teach social skills.
Organizing the environment and routines, and establishing classroom
expectations and structure around respect will prevent much classroom conflict.
However, conflict is an inevitable part of social interaction, especially with young
children who are just developing their ability to get along with other people. In fact,
episodes of conflict should be considered learning opportunities. Teaching children
specific steps in conflict resolution before problems occur and trusting them to solve
their own problems are important steps in children’s social-emotional development.
During conflicts between students, when teachers remain calm and in control of their
own emotions, children feel assured and safe. It is important to acknowledge
children’s strong feelings and help them learn to describe their feelings and
perceptions of the conflict to each other. Rather than asking a question that children
will not be able to answer such as “How do you think that made him feel?” ask the
child, “What happened? How do you feel?” Like adults, children experiencing strong
negative emotions are less able to “use their words” or use perspective-taking to think
about how other children feel. Think about the last time you were very angry, and how
effectively you were able to describe your feelings or consider the other person’s
perspective. By giving each child the opportunity to offer solutions to the conflict and
by offering their own only if needed, teachers help children become better negotiators
and communicators.
e. Teaching: Both a Science and an Art
Research is used to answer two sets of questions: (1) What skills and abilities
predict children’s later outcomes in important areas like reading, writing, and
mathematics? and (2) What teaching behaviors, curriculum, and other educational
interventions contribute to or inhibit gains in children’s skills and abilities in these
areas? Reviews of research by experts, such as the National Reading Panel (National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD], 2000), the National
Early Literacy Panel (2008), and the National Committee on Early Childhood
Mathematics (National Research Council [NRC], 2009) have been particularly
influential.
The study also examined how children spend their time in prekindergarten.
Almost 30% of children’s time is spent in free choice and about 37% engaged with a
teacherassigned activity (Early et al., 2010). However, observers found that no
specific learning activity occurred during 19% of free choice time, 23% of teacher-
assigned time, and 87% of meal and routine time (Early et al., 2010). Therefore,
almost half of preschool children’s day did not involve experiences to promote their
social or academic learning. The researchers concluded that most of these classrooms
were pleasant places in which there were many missed opportunities for learning.
Moreover, classrooms with higher percentages of Latino and African American
children were less educationally stimulating.
In recent years, Head Start has used the CLASS to improve the quality of
teaching and evaluate the effectiveness of its programs. In 2013, the national average
scores were: 5.99 for Emotional Climate, 5.63 for Classroom Organization, and 2.72
for Instructional Climate. Despite the fact that Instructional Climate scores continue to
trail the other dimensions of quality, Head Start’s scores are higher than most typical
early childhood programs. These studies provide a window through which we can
assess the quality of teaching practices occurring in early childhood classrooms today.
Similar results were found for primary-grade classrooms as well (Hamre & Pianta,
2010).
Early childhood education has a large and growing research base to guide
practice. Where research evidence is strong, teachers have a professional
responsibility to adhere to its guidance. However, research on effective teaching is an
evolving science. Although a great deal of work has been done, we still need answers
to questions about which practices work best with which learners. With classrooms
increasingly serving children with diverse language and cultural backgrounds,
teachers need to adapt for individual variation of all kinds. Consequently, valid
research is not always available to guide practice. In these instances, teachers need to
supplement the evidence base with practical wisdom and information obtained from
families (Buysse & Wesley, 2006). Even when research is available, applying
evidencebased practice in unique classroom situations with diverse groups of children
requires considerable skill. Teachers need to respond to situations as they happen,
which often requires creativity—more art than science.
Although effective teaching is informed and guided by research, teaching is
also an art in that it requires vision, creativity, and decision making. What makes good
science is controlling as many variables as possible to be able to determine cause and
effect. But in classrooms, there are simply too many variables to control. Effective
teaching requires creatively adapting to individual children and to the situations that
arise. Consider the following analogy, comparing the work of a painter to the work of
a teacher: Skilled painters are knowledgeable about theories of art, composition,
color, and perspective. But each artist, like each teacher, applies her or his knowledge
in creative ways. One of the painter’s most powerful tools is the use of color, and
knowledge of how the myriad colors in nature can be created by mixing a few basic
colors.
For example, given the three primary colors—red, yellow, and blue—a skilled
painter can create virtually every color of the spectrum. Think of those basic colors as
the basic strategies from which teachers create innumerable variations in interactions
with individual children and groups. If we add to the color wheel the many gradations
of gray—ranging between white and black—and mix these with our primary colors,
we have an almost infinite variety of options from which to “color” the world of
experiences for children. We begin our exploration of the science and art of teaching
by examining researchbased teaching strategies.
This discussion will demonstrate how art and science can coexist
harmoniously to create an enriching and dynamic classroom environment. Such an
environment is not only filled with color and creativity but also brimming with a
variety of engaging and educational options for both teachers and children. We will
explore the numerous ways in which these two seemingly disparate disciplines can
complement each other, leading to a more holistic and stimulating educational
experience.
Art, with its emphasis on creativity, expression, and aesthetics, brings a
vibrant and dynamic energy to the classroom. It encourages children to explore their
imaginations, express their thoughts and feelings, and develop their artistic skills.
Through activities such as drawing, painting, sculpting, and crafting, children learn to
appreciate beauty, develop fine motor skills, and enhance their visual-spatial
awareness. Art also provides a therapeutic outlet for emotions, helping children to
process their experiences and develop emotional intelligence.
Science, on the other hand, introduces children to the wonders of the natural
world, fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and a methodical approach to problem-
solving. Through hands-on experiments, observations, and explorations, children
learn about scientific principles, develop their analytical skills, and gain a deeper
understanding of the world around them. Science education encourages children to
ask questions, seek evidence, and draw conclusions based on their findings,
promoting a sense of inquiry and discovery.
By integrating art and science in the classroom, teachers can create
interdisciplinary learning experiences that enrich children's understanding and
appreciation of both subjects. For example, a lesson on the colors of the rainbow can
combine scientific explanations of light refraction with artistic activities that involve
mixing paints to create different hues. A unit on plant biology can include scientific
experiments on plant growth alongside botanical illustration projects, allowing
children to study plants in both a scientific and an artistic context.
Moreover, the integration of art and science fosters a more inclusive learning
environment that caters to diverse learning styles and interests. Some children may be
more inclined towards artistic expression, while others may have a natural affinity for
scientific inquiry. By providing a range of activities that blend art and science,
teachers can engage all students, encouraging them to explore new areas of interest
and develop a broad range of skills.
Teachers, too, benefit from this integrated approach. It allows them to tap into
their own creativity and passion for both art and science, making teaching a more
enjoyable and fulfilling experience. They can develop innovative lesson plans that
capture the imagination of their students, utilize a variety of teaching methods to cater
to different learning preferences, and create a classroom atmosphere that is both lively
and intellectually stimulating.
In conclusion, the coexistence of art and science in the classroom creates a
rich tapestry of learning opportunities that benefits both teachers and children. This
integrated approach nurtures creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking, laying a strong
foundation for lifelong learning. It demonstrates that art and science are not mutually
exclusive but are, in fact, complementary disciplines that together can create a more
vibrant, engaging, and effective educational environment.
f. A Repertoire of Effective Teaching Strategies
The most effective teachers have a large repertoire of teaching strategies that
they use as situations present themselves. Teachers must first become familiar with
the many options. In practice, there is no one teaching strategy that will address all
situations. Children’s development and learning are complex processes. Therefore, the
more strategies teachers know how to use, the more ways they will be able to meet the
needs of diverse learners. Throughout your career as a teacher, you will continue to
add to and refine your repertoire of effective teaching tools.
A teaching strategy is a behavior or activity that a teacher deliberately selects
and flexibly applies to help students construct meaning (Mehigan, 2005, p. 557).
Applying teaching strategies demands conscious thought and flexible decision
making, which are the essence of intentional teaching. Earlier, for example, we saw
how Sally Hanson encouraged some of the children to practice their writing but also
demonstrated how to write a letter for those who needed more help. Because the
processes of teaching and learning are linked, the most effective teaching strategies
parallel learning strategies. A learning strategy refers to how children construct
meaning in every context or situation. As later examples illustrate, some of the most
effective teaching strategies are designed to develop students’ own learning strategies.
Education is often plagued by either/or debates that pit one practice against
another, or that dichotomize complex decisions into either/or choices, such as “Which
is better, direct instruction or active learning?” As teaching becomes more scientific,
we realize that these are the wrong questions. Asking which teaching technique is best
is like asking whether a hammer is better than pliers. The answer, of course, depends
on what the carpenter needs to do. In teaching, as in carpentry, the selection of tools
depends on what the teacher is trying to accomplish and with which child; there is no
one best teaching practice (NRC, 2000).
Early childhood practices are often described as either teacher-initiated or
child-initiated experiences. However, both contexts are effective for learning and
should be used concurrently depending on the teachers’ goals. During teacher-initiated
experiences, teachers take the lead by providing explicit information and modeling or
demonstrating skills. Teacher-initiated learning experiences are determined by the
teacher’s goals and direction, but children should be actively engaged (Epstein, 2014).
Under these conditions, focused, teacherguided instruction can contribute
significantly to children’s learning. By contrast, during child-initiated experiences,
children acquire knowledge and skills through their own exploration and interactions
with objects and other children (Epstein, 2014). Child-initiated experiences grow out
of children’s interests. However, teachers organize the environment and materials and
provide the learning opportunities from which children make choices (Epstein, 2014).
Teachers observe children during child-initiated activities and interact with them to
support their continued learning and development. During child-initiated experiences,
teachers as well as children should be actively involved.
Many different strategies are effective in supporting children’s learning and
development. Understanding when and how to apply each strategy gives teachers the
tools necessary to be thoughtful, purposeful, and intentional. Note, however, that in
practice, strategies are used in combination. Observe a skilled teacher at work and you
will find it almost impossible to isolate an example of a teaching strategy, even
explicit instruction, that doesn’t also include some other strategy such as
encouragement, modeling, or questioning. For example, a preschool teacher may
acknowledge a child’s accomplishment by saying, “Luca, you found the two shapes
that match.” Then she immediately provides specific information, “They have eight
sides and they are called octagons,” while quickly adding challenge to the task, “Can
you find another octagon in our room?” One particularly effective strategy, which is
called scaffolding, draws on many different strategies at once; therefore, we discuss it
following our description of the individual strategies.
Acknowledging is the positive attention a teacher gives to a child that tells the
child that the teacher noticed what the child did. Teachers often use this strategy
without conscious awareness. Acknowledging is particularly effective in keeping
children engaged in desirable behaviors. For example, after observing 3-year-old
Keily while she serves as the snack helper, her teacher says, “I see you gave each
person a napkin, Keily. Now we’re ready for our snack.” Noting 2-year-old Bailey’s
empathic behavior, her teacher says, “Thank you, Bailey, for sitting with Kayla. She
was sad that her mommy left.” By understanding the power of their acknowledgment
of children’s competence and performance, teachers are able to influence children to
demonstrate desired behaviors. Encouragement can be conveyed through verbal
comments or nonverbal signs such as pats or high fives that promote the child’s
persistence and effort. Although encouragement doesn’t directly enhance a child’s
understanding or skill, it is most valuable in helping children realize that effort is
necessary for mastering skills, completing tasks, and solving complex problems. For
example, second-grader Jushawn struggles with writing a funny story about his dog.
His teacher encourages him to persist by making comments such as “I really laughed
when you told me how he spilled his food.” When Jushawn finishes, she points out,
“You worked hard writing your story and I enjoyed reading it, and I laughed again at
your dog’s antics.”
An effective strategy for teaching skills that require performing particular
steps in a certain order is demonstrating. When teachers show the correct way to
perform a skill or procedure, children are able to observe the outcome. Similar to
modeling, demonstrating is more formal and directive, with the adult drawing
children’s attention to the correct steps necessary to complete a task, as in the
following examples: Irene demonstrates for her 3-year-olds how to wash their hands
thoroughly to prevent the spread of infection. As she washes her own hands, she says,
“See? Now I’m drying my hands with the paper towel. Before I throw the towel away,
I use it to turn off the faucet. That way, my hands stay really clean. Now you try it.” In
the art area, kindergarten teacher Max introduces potter’s clay to the group. As he
demonstrates, he says, “Watch how I pinch off a little piece of clay and use a small
amount of water to make the little piece stick to the bigger piece.”
Giving cues or hints are ways of reminding children what they already know
and helping them use that knowledge to build new skills. For example, when a child is
reading and is stuck on a word, the teacher may say, “That word has ‘ch’ at the
beginning like another one you know.” In this case, the teacher is cueing the
beginning reader to compare the new word to one she already knows. Other common
teaching strategies fall in the general category of facilitating or supporting learning.
When teachers facilitate, they provide short-term, temporary assistance to help a child
achieve the next level of functioning, such as when the teacher gently holds a
preschooler’s hand as he walks across the balance beam. When teachers support
learning, they provide a more fixed-form of assistance such as providing a word wall
(displaying frequently used words) for kindergartners to refer to as they work in their
journals. In both facilitating and supporting learning, the teacher provides assistance
that helps the child to accomplish a difficult task by making it easier.
Although cues, hints, and other assistance make children’s learning tasks
easier, effective teachers also intentionally make learning situations harder at times by
creating challenge, generating a problem, or adding difficulty to a task so that it is a
bit beyond what children have already mastered. For example, Hiroki is especially
adept at doing puzzles and quickly completes all that are available in his preschool
classroom. His teacher, Keith, brings in an alphabet puzzle with 26 pieces, one for
every letter, challenging Hiroki’s skill with puzzles to help him learn the alphabet. In
her second-grade classroom, Catarina determines that although most of the children
are reading at or below grade level, two of them are much more advanced. She
provides fourth- and fifth-grade-level reading materials to ensure that they are
challenged to continue their reading growth. In addition, she adapts her writing
assignments to add challenge. For example, if the other children’s assignment is to
describe their own experiences over the weekend, to add challenge for the more
advanced children, Catarina asks them to write a different ending for a story they’ve
read, requiring higher-level comprehension and analysis.
g. Connecting Teaching Strategies and Learning Goals
During the course of your schooling and from your work experiences, you
have probably identified subjects that you are more interested in than others and that
you are likely to pursue as a major or minor. Whenever you take an additional course
in your major or in an area you have studied thoroughly before, it becomes easier for
you to understand and learn the material because you already know a great deal about
the subject. In short, you begin by activating your prior knowledge by connecting new
learning to what you already know. An additional advantage to you as a learner is that
in your preferred subject area, you are gradually building conceptual frameworks, or
mental models, to which you can integrate new information, thereby deepening your
understanding. These types of conceptual frameworks serve as memory aids when
you need to recall something you’ve learned or apply knowledge to a new situation.
In fact, the more you know about a topic, the more necessary these mental models
become in helping you organize, retrieve, and use your knowledge. Finally, when you
have that level of understanding, you can begin to analyze your thinking, engaging in
metacognitive strategies such as reflecting on what you know and don’t know, and
apply your knowledge to solve new problems.
By contrast, consider some of the general electives you were required to take.
You might have very little prior knowledge about those subjects—and perhaps even
less interest. If you are like many other students, you may resort to memorizing the
facts for a test without developing a deep understanding. Without a mental framework
of concepts to which you can connect and, therefore, retain new information, you
soon forget everything you have “learned.” In addition, you cannot engage
metacognitively in this subject area because you don’t know enough about what you
know to reflect on it, analyze it, make predictions about it, or evaluate your own
thinking in regard to it. Now that we have introduced teaching strategies and
discussed the importance of accommodating each child’s needs, we will show how
teachers can use these strategies to make learning meaningful for children, to help
them develop conceptual understanding, and to build higher-level thinking and
problem-solving skills.
Another way teachers help children build on their background knowledge to
engage new learning is to use advance organizers. Advance organizers are used before
introducing new information and serve as a bridge between what the student already
knows and the new learning. A widely used advance organizer strategy is known as
K-W-L. In using K-W-L, teachers first ask children what they already know (K) about
the topic of study. Then they ask children what they want (W) to know or what
questions they have about the topic. One early childhood educator uses the “W” to
stand for “What I wonder about . . .” (McDermott, 2012). After the study is complete,
these responses are compared to the answers children provide to the third question,
“What did you learn (L)”? Sometimes teachers use a K-W-H-L chart, with H standing
for “How will I find information?” In other words, which resources, web pages,
books, observations, or people will I consult?
Teachers can help children build concepts by engaging them in forming
classification systems that identify similarities and differences or compare and
contrast objects and ideas (Dean et al., 2012). These cognitive activities begin early
for young children. When interacting with babies, adults continually use comparative
language: “Look how big you are! You’re bigger than the teddy bear now, but Scruffy
is the biggest.” Likewise, children learn many mathematical concepts through
building classification systems. With her group of 2- and 3-year-olds, Jeanne helps the
children learn the concept of the number 2 by matching pairs of shoes and socks.
They soon apply this new concept to their body parts, singing a song while pointing
out their two feet, two hands, two legs, two ears, and on and on.
“A picture is worth a thousand words” may be a hackneyed cliché, but when it
comes to developing children’s conceptual understanding, the phrase is true. In fact, it
is also true for college students. You’ve probably experienced seemingly endless
pages of text or hours of lecture that become clear to you only after you’ve seen a
chart, graph, or Venn diagram. This teaching strategy, called graphic representation, is
the process of depicting thoughts and ideas through drawing, modeling, or using other
media. Teachers can use representation is many ways. For instance, when learning
about “quantity,” first graders create a graph showing their preference: basketball or
soccer. The higher bar, soccer, is the one with “more” votes, providing a visual
representation of the concept for the children. They then create a graph comparing the
votes of boys and girls. Teachers’ use of graphic representations is an effective way to
teach concepts and to engage children. Another powerful use of representation is to
engage children in creating their own representations. This activity is a defining
characteristic of the Reggio Emilia approach and one of their many contributions to
the knowledge base of early childhood.
Loris Malaguzzi (1998) described the purpose of representation as clarifying
children’s understanding. George Forman, one of the earliest disseminators of the
Reggio approach in America, described children’s use of graphic representation in
Reggio as “not learning to draw, but drawing to learn” (Forman, 1994). Reggio
educators (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 2012) view graphic representation as a
communication tool that is simpler and clearer than words and, therefore, an
invaluable way to help children clarify and extend their thinking—that is, deepen their
conceptual understanding. Because children are trying to communicate with others
through their drawings, clay models, or other representations, they often pause to
clarify their ideas before putting them down on paper and making them visible to
other people. Important thinking is going on at such moments. One example of how
representation reveals and challenges a child’s thinking is related to a study of rain
(from the Hundred Languages of Children exhibit, Commune of Reggio Emilia, Italy,
cited in Landry & Forman, 1999). After many days of rain, teachers asked children,
“Where do you think rain comes from?” Children expressed various theories, such as
“the Lord makes the rain.” But Simone, age 5½, explained, “The sun heats the rain
that has fallen and that’s how it goes away afterwards. It goes back into the clouds and
then it starts to rain again.” From her explanation, it seems that Simone has a good
understanding of the rain cycle.
h. Grouping as an Instructional Approach
Appropriate learning environments for children will vary depending on the age
of the children, the time of the year, and the topic of study. Child-centered
environments are organized so that many materials are accessible to children. In
preschools, children have access to blocks, dramatic play props, puzzles and other
manipulative toys, art materials, and books. In primary-grade classrooms, children
might have books to read, science tools to explore and investigate, math games,
computer centers, and other learning materials.
Whole group, which is also called circle time or class meeting time, provides a
valuable context for class discussions, music and movement, planning for the day or
for special experiences such as visitors or field trips, and for children to share their
experiences and ideas. Whole group is a time to build a sense of community and
shared purpose. Children benefit most from whole group time when a teacher uses it
to orient them to upcoming activity that will occur during center time or projects. One
research study found that, although rarely done, when preschool teachers model or
demonstrate an activity in advance and explain the rationale for it, children’s general
knowledge, mathematics, literacy, vocabulary, and self-regulation significantly
improved.
In general, the younger the child, the shorter the length of time she or he
should spend in whole-group experience. Young children are easily distracted, and the
context is less effective if overused. Nevertheless, if children are actively engaged in a
large group, mentally and/or physically, this setting can be an effective learning
context where children have the opportunity to express themselves, to hear the
opinions of others, and to feel part of the larger learning community. The important
caveat is that teachers need to take their cue from the children. If interest wanes
during whole group, it is best to bring the group time to a close and move on to
another activity setting or actively engage all the children in singing or movement.
Effective early childhood classrooms provide an extended period of time, from
45 to 90 minutes, for children to engage in child-initiated experiences in learning
centers. These defined areas of the classroom have particular purposes. The library
area promotes book reading and listening. A block area provides for building,
pretending, and learning mathematics concepts. Art and writing centers promote
creative expression, symbolic representation, and development of fine-motor skills.
Manipulative toys such as peg boards, beads, and Legos offer opportunities to practice
fine-motor skills and solve problems. The dramatic play area promotes symbolic
pretend play, self-regulation, and language interaction. During learning center time,
children have opportunities to plan, initiate, and make choices and to practice their
developing skills, which is essential for mastery. Learning centers provide natural
laboratories for children to work out social problems with other children and to
practice their language. Center time also promotes decision-making skills because
children make choices about how they will spend their time, what they will do, and
with whom they will play.
All of the grouping approaches described previously—including the
arrangement of the learning environment and materials, learning centers, large group
activities, small group activities, and individual interactions—provide excellent
opportunities for teachers to support dual language learners. Each of these approaches
offers unique advantages and can be strategically used to enhance the learning
experience for children who are acquiring proficiency in two languages.
The arrangement of the learning environment and materials is critical for
creating an inclusive space that caters to the needs of dual language learners. By
thoughtfully organizing the classroom with labeled materials in both languages,
teachers can help children make connections between their home language and the
language of instruction. Visual aids, bilingual signage, and culturally relevant
decorations can create a welcoming atmosphere that reflects and respects the diverse
linguistic backgrounds of the students.
Learning centers offer focused areas where children can engage in specific
types of activities, such as reading, writing, math, science, and art. In these centers,
teachers can provide bilingual resources and materials that encourage dual language
learners to practice both languages. For instance, a reading corner might feature books
in multiple languages, while an art station might include bilingual instructions and
labels for supplies. These centers allow children to explore and learn at their own
pace, using both languages in meaningful contexts.
Large group activities, such as circle time and class discussions, provide
opportunities for dual language learners to hear and practice the language of
instruction in a supportive setting. During these activities, teachers can use a variety
of strategies to facilitate understanding and participation, such as using gestures,
visual aids, and clear, simple language. Incorporating songs, stories, and games that
reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity of the students can also help engage dual
language learners and build their confidence in using both languages.
Small group activities allow for more personalized interaction and targeted
support. In these settings, teachers can group children with similar language
proficiency levels or mix language groups to promote peer learning and collaboration.
Small groups provide a more intimate environment where dual language learners can
practice speaking and listening in both languages, receive immediate feedback, and
build relationships with their peers. Teachers can tailor activities to address specific
language development needs and create opportunities for meaningful dialogue.
Individual activities and one-on-one interactions are essential for supporting
the unique needs of dual language learners. During these moments, teachers can
provide personalized attention and tailored instruction that aligns with each child’s
language proficiency and learning style. This might include working on specific
language skills, offering encouragement and support, and using the child’s home
language to facilitate understanding and comfort. Individual interactions also allow
teachers to build strong, trusting relationships with dual language learners, fostering a
sense of security and belonging.
