EarlyEd

 Water and Sunshine

Through the process of research to practice, I have grown in the areas of observation, question, research, reflection, and technology!

I have learned to take time to observe the student’s behaviors while considering the whole outlook on the situation. Something I did not do was write down  word for word on what happened during the observation. What was done to make sure all the information could be recalled later was taking notes. This may not work for everyone, however, I feel that I was able to remember the observation well although the notes were not in detail. Something that will be considered is that there may be certain observations that will need to be written down with detail in order to effectively recall the information.

It was difficult in the beginning to try and word the questions properly in order to get the best research results. What was noticed was, when using the Millersville Library search engine, it was difficult to find what you were looking for. I did prefer to use other search engines as a back up if nothing was found on the Millersville Library website.

What was received from the research was helpful information that may have worked if it was applied in a classroom. A lot of the research chosen, were easy to understand and comprehend.

Reflection is one of the best tools for anyone to use in order to improve themselves. It is a crucial step in this process and it helps you learn. Writing this blog is an reflection in itself and it helps make the person aware of what they have done and what could be changed.

When it comes to blogs, there was no experience at the beginning of this assignment. It was a fun journey learning about how to write to an audience, grab their attention, maintain their attention, and to provide understandable information. From the first blog post to the last, it seems that I have improved on the attractiveness of the blog, the writing style, organization, and engaging readers. At first, the blog was just another written assignment. By the end, it was more of a fun and informative presentation in writing.

A Second Opportunity

If this assignment were to be completed for a second time and I knew the knowledge I know now, I would spend more time on polishing it. Something that may have been helpful would of been to look at other examples of blogs to get ideas of how to put the blog together in a fun and engaging way. Another step that could be taken would be to explore the blog website more to make sure I know how to use it completely. One last thing that could of helped add to the blogs would be to have others proof read it. It might of helped if I knew the perspective of readers and knew their opinions. After all, there may be things that could be improved that I may not see. 

The Take Away

Completing the research to practice was a great opportunity and it will help  me as a future teacher. As a teacher, you are constantly taking notes, observing, making changes, and improving instruction in order to give your students the best learning experience. Without these tools, teachers will not reach every student. Because of this assignment, there is more knowledge on how to observe, question, research, and communicate through technology. Knowing how to blog will be a great tool to use when communicating with parents and others.

Advice Anyone?

For future students, the advice I would give would be to take advantage of these assignments and to give the assignments your full effort because this is something that you will do as a teacher. When in the field, take your time when you are observing. Spend your first day just getting to know the students, don’t feel that you need an observation right away. When you find an observation that you think would be a great question to research, find a strategy for recording that information.Whether its taking notes, voice recording, or drawing pictures, make sure you are able to recall the information. It is important for the information to be accurate and for it to make sense. This will allow you to take the most out of the observations.

When researching, make sure you have a well thought out question and that you are able to find useful information. Once you have that information it is time for you to form it into an engaging read for an audience.

When choosing what to use when communicating your research, practice with each technology and find what works best for you. Just a hint, some may take longer than others, however choose the one that shows your personality and creativity the most.

Lets sum it up:

• Put all your effort and time into the process and blog.
• Get to know the students.
• Find a strategy that helps you keep your observations organized and easy to recall.
• Make sure the research is useful.
• Cite your sources and use hyperlinks.
• Use more than one source if possible.
• Make sure your information is engaging.
• Try out all of the technology choices.
• Use the technology that shows your creativity.

Thank you for reading!

 

Aggression

Take a look at the photo above, how does the child feel? If you answered  angry, frustrated, or annoyed that’s great thinking. It isn’t known why the child above is feeling the way they are, however, the next question is ask yourself what would you do? What would be your answer?

Not sure? This may be an answer considering these times are stressful for those in it. The most important thing to know is to not add to the aggression, but to help understand the child so they can be helped in an appropriate and effective way. 

While in a classroom, a child was observed displaying aggressive behavior. The child would throw toys and scream when things were taken away as a consequence.  These behaviors tend to happen during drop-off and transitions. Transitions are when the students get ready for the next activity. They are signaled with a five minute warning and then they are to clean up their toys for the next scheduled activity. The teachers usually assign one teacher to stay with the child and help them line up. The teacher has to pick the child up and encourage them to do what is expected. When the child screams and throws toys the behaviors are ignored sometimes.

So the question is, What are some strategies for helping students with aggression in a classroom?

Effective Strategies

An article called, “Providing Effective Support to Teachers in Addressing Social, Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties in Mainstream Classrooms in a Bangalore Pre-Primary school” by, Mildred D’Souza and Johnson Jament, provides a study on children in Bangalore who may have social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SEBD). The purpose of the study was to find behavior management strategies for the teachers to implement in the classroom.

Some children may be withdrawn, disruptive, hyperactive, have a lack of concentration, and lack of appropriate social skills. These behaviors can lead to aggression if they are not addressed right away and in the best way.

Some strategies provided from D’Souza and Jament are:

• Treat the child acting out as a call for help. Listen to the child and ask why.
• Teachers attitudes and values matter in these situations. Teachers must believe that the child’s behavior can change, they need to plan to prevent, use positive communication, and provide expectations.
• Set boundaries and challenges for the child to meet achievement needs.
• Make time for the students and build a relationship with them. This will also help to learn about their background.
• Encourage students to express their feelings.
• Collaborate with parents and colleagues to figure out a plan.
• Model the positive behavior and provide clear expectations.

Some specific strategies for children with aggression is to observe the child consistently, motivate them through rewards, reinforce the good behaviors, get to know the child, and always remain positive.

Lets make a change

Its important to work together and to not hesitate to ask for help during these times. Finding the best solution is never easy nor will it work every time. Always be aware that every child has different needs so strategies may need to be modified appropriately.

What every one wants for their children is to guide them and support them so they can grow and become successful adults. This is an important step in that process. As parents, families, specialists, and teachers, we need to be a positive role model for the children because they depend on us to show them the way. After all, seeing a positive change in behavior after hard work is the best reward anyone could ask for.

References

D’Souza, M., & Jament, J. (2015). Providing effective support to teachers in addressing social, emotional and behavioral difficulties in mainstream classrooms in a Bangalore pre-primary school. Support for Learning, 30(3), 239–251. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12093

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you Relate?

If you are a parent or a teacher, did you ever have an experience with a child where the child was not listening to directions? Did you ever have a child in your care that did everything they could to not listen and you just became exhausted and frustrated? Well this happens a lot with children and its normal to feel frustrated or helpless. There are ways to help children understand what is needed of them and to communicate in a more effective way to help your day and the child’s day go smoothly. Before strategies are given, here is an observation that was observed during drop-off at a Pre-k Headstart Classroom.

The Observation

A student was observed at drop-off, the same student that was discussed in the previous post whose name is JJ. It has been observed multiple times that JJ does not want to be dropped off, he wants to stay with his mother. When this occurs, JJ is seen screaming, running away, throwing his backpack, holding on to his mother, and at times crying. Just the other day, on April 2, 2019, JJ came into the center ready and did not seem worried about leaving his mother. JJ was quiet, smiling, and… wearing a pretend mustache while holding a toy car. The parent has been observed giving the child toys and telling the child that they will get ice-cream when they pick up in order to help the child cooperate during drop-off. The teachers do not seem pleased that the parent is offering toys and desserts in order for the child to stay calm. The toys, however, have made drop-off easier for the parent and teachers. Is that is still a reason to continue? What are some strategies to use instead?

The Strategies

From a blog called “Cracking The Cooperation Code” by Claire Lerner, Lerner informs parents of what to keep in mind two factors when getting children to cooperate. Lerner is recognized as an early childhood expert for over 30 years. Lerner believes that its very important for teachers and parents to work together as a team in order to benefit the children. Lerner is also experienced with parent guidance and family support.

Factor 1: Are the children processing the information being delivered by the adult?

 Factor 2: What is your tone and approach for communicating directions?

Lerner then leads into strategies to help children “tune in”. Adults can stretch out their arms and use the word “pause” to direct the children to stop what they are doing and pay attention. After this technique, the adult should then get the child to use their listening feet, hands, ears, eyes, mouth, and brain. This might come with practice so the child can fully understand what it means to have a “listening body”. Next, provide the child with a choice or direction. Lerner mentions that when giving directions, make sure to not use “can you” or end with “okay?”. This type of language can cause confusion for children. As you give a choice or direction be aware of any possible distractions and make sure that the child knows that your there to help if they have a hard time listening.

Its important to use a positive and motivational tone with your children according to Lerner. You can give the child two great choicesto choose from! For children who are sensitive and easily triggered, remember to not use the word “no” and be clear about what you want the child to do. If a child is focused on something they are interested in, acknowledge their desire and assure the child that they can do that activity eventually.

In Conclusion

There are strategies for JJ that may work and it is important to inform parents so they are involved. This could be a great substitute to the parent allowing JJ to take toys to school. The parent and JJ could benefit because it would be less stressful, JJ can become more independent, and there is more understanding between both of them. I like that Lerner mentioned about the child not being able to process the directions because they are not focused. It is something to keep in mind, especially in the classroom. The strategy that stood out the most for JJ was to “direct, not correct”. JJ is a student that seems to get easily triggered. It would be a great strategy to not use the word “no” and to acknowledge his desire to stay home or play with toys.

Important Note: Every child is different and its best to provide the strategy that fits the child’s needs. There is no guarantee…but its worth a try right?

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Citation

Lerner, C. (2018, December 6). Cracking the cooperation code. [Web blog]. Retrieved from https://www.lernerchilddevelopment.com/my-approach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Readers and Welcome!

In the post I will discuss an observation that was made in a Pre-K Headstart classroom. The observation describes a child who is four years old and is going to be named JJ.

While observing the classroom, JJ was playing with magnets and block connectors. The child was seen throwing a block across the room. The child was told to pick up the toy and put it in the bin so no one would get hurt but he responded by saying “no” and continued to play. When the teacher told  JJ to move onto a group activity, he screamed and continued to play. Later, the teacher gave a five minute warning till clean-up. Once the time was up, the child threw toys. During gross motor, as the students were sitting and listening to directions, JJ removed got up and walked away from the group. JJ then screamed and stayed away from the group.

What I noticed about the behavior that was occurring was that it happened when the children would clean up or transition to other activity. Some things I wondered was: Why does JJ scream and refuse to clean up during transitions? What is his background that could be contributing to this behavior? What can teachers do to help JJ with smooth transitions?

I research the question: What are some strategies for transitioning children to supportive positive behavior?

After some searching for the best article to use, I found an article named “Using Daily Transition Strategies to Support All Children” by Peggy Thelen and Tammy Klifman.

Thelen, P., & Klifman, T. (2011). Using Daily Transition Strategies to Support All Children. YC: Young Children, 66(4), 92–98.

Link: Using Daily Transition Strategies to Support All Children

In the article, the authors provide many useful tips and ideas for transitions while assuring the transitions are appropriate for the child’s needs. In the classroom, the teachers were seen giving five minute warnings before transitions. The article encourages teachers to give multiple warnings, for example, a ten minute warning and a five minute warning. Children sometimes just need extra time and help. This could help JJ because it seems that he wants more time to play. Another strategy that may be helpful for JJ would be to give him a transition buddy. A transition buddy is when a child is paired with another child who helps them through the transition. This could help JJ increase focus, reduce fear, and reduce anxiety that he may be experiencing.

I am very happy with the multiple strategies found from research and I believe that they could all be very helpful for JJ. Although there are useful strategies that was found, there is still some things that may be helpful to know in order to support JJ with his behaviors and that is his background or home life. This could possibly be a second step to helping JJ if the strategies were not to work for him.

Thank you!