Monday & Wednesday 7:55-9:10 North Seattle Community College IB 1409 CCE 135 Foundations of Early Learning

CCE 135: Foundations of Early Learning Candice Hoyt, Faculty (206) (until 9 pm) Office hours by appointment Syllabus: Online – Angel:

Monday 1/11/10 Chapter 2  Education/Curriculum  What infant-toddler education is NOT  What infant-toddler education should be  Curriculum  Role of adult  Assessments  Observations  Learning Stories  Using Assessments  “Teaching” on the fly  Praise  Positive Reinforcement  Feedback  Modeling Readings 1 & 2 Learning Story check-in SQ topics Wrap Up

Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers A Curriculum of Respectful, Responsive Care and Education Janet Gonzalez-Mena and Dianne Widmeyer Eyer CHAPTER 2

Education/Curriculum What infant-toddler education is NOT What infant-toddler education should be Curriculum Role of adult

What infant-toddler education is NOT (pp ) Infant stimulation  Television, toys  AAP recommends no TV for children under 2 (including TV in the environment)  Television and toy “educational” claims are typically unproved  Other stimulation programs unproved to help in typically developing children Baby sitting  Instinct, play & safety focus Preschool  Lessons, expectations/goals, restrictions on material use  Proud of generic output  Toddlers “look incompetent because they don’t conform to the expectations” (p. 27)  Parents, teachers frustrated  Waiting for toddlers to grow  Wanting them to “do it right”  “Tolerate them in the meantime” (p. 27)  Toddlers frustrated  Want to do what’s interesting  Want to please adults and achieve but are set up to fail

What infant-toddler education should be No expected activities or outcomes  Curriculum = “plan for learning and development that is all inclusive and centers on connections and relationships” (p. 28)  Planned and unplanned activities Children learn through genuine experiences & problem-solving  Lessons and restrictions on how to use materials inhibit true experiences and problem-solving opportunities How?  “Babies need to discover that they can influence the people and things around them” – most important for learning at any age! (p. 26)  And “to perceive their own involvement” (p. 26) – pride and intellectual results  Television does not do this  Computer games and toys may  Still not as open-ended as interacting with real materials naturally occurring in the child’s world

Curriculum (p. 30) Framework  Philosophy on how children learn  Teaching methodology/ behavior Teaching  Ideas for activities & environment  Understand ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development -> scaffolding)  Knowledgeable about:  Typical development  Atypical development  Diversity  Strategies to adapt activities/environment for each of these Goals or desired results  Mission statement or… ?  Vision statement  Policies  “How We Teach”  Holistic  Goals in areas:  Cognitive  Physical  Social-Emotional Interpersonal Intrapersonal Cultural/societal  Spiritual  Creative / aesthetic  “Normal” not necessarily a goal

Role of Adult Role of Adult (Figure 2.1, p. 35) 1. Determining optimum stress levels…  [Don’t abandon or force when the child is too frustrated or it is too difficult] 2. Providing attention…. 3. Providing feedback… 4. Modeling

Assessments Observations Learning Stories Using Assessments

Observations Anecdotal records  Objective  Some exact  Some informal narrative— notes immediately or later Running records  Objective, non-judgmental  Exact  Comprehensive Documentation  Objective  Exact visual/audio  Media recording  Points-in-time Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)  Use the knowledge you get from observing  What child can do next with tiny bit of your involvement  “Not to get rid of frustration but to keep the child working on the problem” (p. 36).  What to do to with the child

Learning Stories  Document exactly  Write subjectively  “Analyze” professionally Narrative/description:  What child is doing  What they can do Documentation need:  Time,  Recording media,  Input from …  caregivers,  families &  the child  Best when you have help “analyzing” what you have seen

Using Assessments Inclusion of families  Review/compare to …  What is happening at home  Previous observations at school or home  Deeper understanding of what this means for  The child: Developmentally Socially (pride)  The parents: Their view on how/why this is important Connect with the parents social-emotionally  Daily log (infants especially) Charts (Appendix B)  Assessment: know what to expect for typical child  Dramatic difference from “typical” may need intervention  Family can confirm (sometimes different at school than at home)  Next steps  What’s typically next developmentally  Use ZPD determine what to try –new materials/ environment/experiences  Within reach of typical child

“Teaching” on the fly Praise Positive Reinforcement Feedback Modeling

Praise “Development isn’t about winning and losing” (p. 32) Praise (pp )  Expresses what you value  Communicates need to meet your goals or expectations to please you  “I like the way you…”  “Good job.” Article: Alfie Kohn, “Five Reasons to Stop Saying ‘Good Job!’” Manipulating children  For our convenience 2. Creating praise junkies 3. Stealing a child’s pleasure  Telling them what to feel 4. Losing interest  Without attention 5. Reducing achievement  Less likely to take risks

Positive Reinforcement Say nothing  The child may already have acknowledged internally  They don’t always need our feedback “Rewards”  Intangible are best  Attention, verbalizing  Goal is intrinsic value  “Acknowledging the child’s own inner delight” (p. 39) – make sure you get it right Specify valued behavior:  “You stacked five blocks!”  “You put all your dishes away without being asked.”  When you don’t know what to say: High five/ thumbs up. Questions:  Open-ended  Express genuine interest Once the child “gets it”, stop reinforcing it

Feedback Helping children understand the effects of their actions Stay quiet until necessary Interpersonal  Make sure you interpret correctly before providing feedback  Say, “I think he ran away because you shouted at him.”  Modified from p. 40  “I think” keeps you neutral Achievement  Facilitate using ZPD  Okay to give up on task that is too hard; find appropriate alternative

Modeling Best way to teach children, parents and teachers! Intrapersonal  Expressing genuine emotions  Taking care of yourself (timeout or eating, etc) Interpersonal  Gentleness  Turn-taking  Standing up for yourself  Saying you’re sorry What happens when you make a mistake: apologize for…  Yelling  Taking/ruining something

Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers A Curriculum of Respectful, Responsive Care and Education Janet Gonzalez-Mena and Dianne Widmeyer Eyer READING 1 & 2

Readings 1 & 2 “As we value inner directedness in a child, we prefer gentle validations to instructions, to criticism, and even to praise” (Reading 1, p. 6). Use:  Occasional reflections  Empathy  Smile to “convey our pleasure in his success” (Reading 1, p. 6) Children who are “’refueled’ by such caring experiences” (Reading 1, p. 6) can independently play so parents can too

Readings 1 & 2 Infants in group care:  Many cultures (NZ, e.g.) believe infants need significant time with peers  Childcare is publicly funded—available to all  “Set up to serve the child’s needs” (Reading 1, p. 8)  Child can “explore and interact with other infants” (Reading 1, p. 8) Lesson planning for infants (Reading 2)  Prepare for adaptations based on infant response  Don’t use if it doesn’t fit infants’ needs & interests  Plan and re-plan to match & develop:  Relationship between infant & teacher  Interest of child  Aptitude of child

Learning Stories Questions?

Sequence Presentation Topic Selections SQ 1 topic selection (decide by Monday 1/11)  Team A: Chapter 5 – Attachment: Co-sleeping  Team B: Chapter 6 – Perception: Young Child’s Brain / Windows of Opportunity  Team C: Chapter 7 – Motor Skills: Infant Swimming  Team D: Chapter 8 – Cognition: Sign Language SQ 2 topic selection (decide by Monday 2/1)  Team A: Chapter 9 – Language: Sign Language  Team B: Chapter 10 – Emotions: Long-term affects of attachment  Team C: Chapter 11 – Social Skills: ____________  Team D: Chapter 12 & 13 – Physical & Social Environments: ____________

Wrap Up Wednesday 1/13 Wednesday 1/20 Due…  Read Ch 3; Reading 3  Post DQ 3: Ch 3, R 3  Post DQ 1 replies (2+) In class…  Chapter 3; Reading 3 Monday 1/18 Holiday – no class Due…  A 01a replies (to each person’s Conscious Care)  DQ 04: Ch 4, R 4, R 7  DQ 2 replies (2)  DQ 3 replies (2) In class…  Ch 4, Readings 4 & 7  Conscious Care reflection  Learning Story questions