Positive Guidance: The Key to Effective Classroom Management

1. Slide: Introduction Welcome to Positive Guidance: The keys to effective classroom management. This course will focus on guidance techniques that you can implement in your classroom, based on principles of developmentally appropriate practices. We’ll take a look at the teacher’s role in guiding behavior, how development affects a child’s perspective of others and how they interact, how to help children become more independent and how to set limits in the classroom. We’ll take a look at the difference between guidance – which is generally more proactive, and discipline – which is more reactive.

2. Slide 2: Objectives As a result of this training, you will be able to: 1. Define 4 styles of caregiving and how they affect children’s behavior 2. Explain how cognitive development affects a child’s ability to relate to others 3. Define positive guidance. 4. Explain the difference between direct and indirect guidance.

3. Slide: Throughout the course you’ll occasionally be asked to answer some questions to assure your understanding. If you are unable to answer the questions correctly, you might want to back up and listen again. This will insure that you’re ready for the quiz at the end of the course.

Before we begin, take a moment to print the handouts #1 and 2, found in this section. We’ll be referring to these throughout the course.

4. Slide: How course is organized Guiding children effectively requires three things: 1. Attitude: How you view children and their behavior and your willingness to use appropriate strategies at the right time 2. Knowledge: How you understand development and apply that knowledge to each child 3. Strategies: The practices that support positive guidance

We’ll start by looking at our attitude towards children…

5. Slide: The teachers’ role The teacher’s role in the climate of a classroom is probably the most important thing! Have you ever heard the saying, “If mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy…”? It’s sort of the same with teachers. You really do set the tone for

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your classroom, regardless of the age of the children you teach. Even infants will respond to your state of mind, whether you’re feeling uptight or relaxed as you care for them. Let’s take a look at what research tells us about different styles of caregiving.

6. Slide: Caregiving There are two dimensions of caregiving that affect how we interact with children. They are responsiveness and demandingness.

7. Slide: Responsiveness The first one we’ll look at is responsiveness. This describes the degree of support you give a child. We look at how you’re tuned in to the child’s developmental level and whether the child’s emotional needs are being met. Here are the behaviors that help us determine your responsiveness.

• Warmth – This is the emotional expression of affection. The common thread in warmth is making it clear to a child through your interactions that you genuinely like him – regardless of your personal or cultural differences in expressing affection. We all have personal differences which determine the way we show affection to others – and children can adjust to your style as long as the warmth you exhibit is genuine and authentic. • A working knowledge of child development allows us to have realistic expectations of children of different ages. This includes all categories of development – physical, cognitive, social and emotional. • Partners in interaction – this is the belief that children have an important part in all our interactions with them, but at the same time knowing that adults always have a greater responsibility. We want children to have input and consider their ideas but also not give them so much weight in the decision making process that it creates unrealistic expectations or stress. • Communication style – The best communication style with children is open, validating, direct communication delivered with kindness, in a simple, firm and consistent manner.

8. Slide: Reflection 1 Take Handout #1 and let’s consider your interactions with children. Are you warm, do you understand what to expect from children at different ages? Do you communicate that you’re interested in hearing what children say and do you communicate kindness? Make a circle on the graph, estimating where you fit on the scale from low to high responsiveness.

9. Slide: Reflection 2 Then take a moment to reflect on this question, how do you communicate warmth to a child you have difficulty ‘liking’?

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Remember, the most important thing in this situation is that the child has no idea of your personal feelings! This is a trait of an excellent teacher.

10. Slide: Demandingness Let’s move on to the second dimension of caregiving, Demandingness. This describes your overall views on control and looks at how you view the relationship with a child, based on your expectations of the child’s behavior. Here are some definitions of Demandingness:

• Setting boundaries, limits, and expectations combined with warmth, understanding of child development • Giving explanations that make sense to children • Monitoring and supervising children, in addition to providing an orderly and consistent classroom environment and time schedule. • Implementing guidance and discipline strategies that are age appropriate and suitable for the children being taught and supervised. • The style of confrontation used as you face and cope with behavior that is clearly hurtful or inappropriate, such as name-calling or physical aggression.

11. Slide: Reflection Take a moment to make a circle on the graph, estimating where you fit on the scale from low to high demandingness. What are your expectations of children? Do you expect them to follow directions, without delay? Do you think they should be able to control themselves?

12. Slide: Quiz1 13. Slide: Answer 1

14. Slide: Authoritarian Style – Low in responsiveness and high in demandingness Now we’ll look at the different styles of caregiving. Your caregiving style is influenced by your beliefs, experience and education and it affects interactions you have with children. This will help you understand the parents of your children in your class, as well as your own parenting style, if you have kids of your own!

When a person is low in responsiveness and high in demandingness, this indicates the Authoritarian style of caregiving. In this category, there’s an extreme value on obedience, with respect for authority. Caregivers feel that they are the “boss” and that children should conform to their demands without question. There’s an expectation that rules are there for a reason, that children should follow them without negotiation and if a child breaks a rule, they are punished. High standards of behavior are expected.

Generally, authoritarian caregivers are not very emotional or affectionate and are often critical of children when they fail to meet their expectations.

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15. Slide: Effect on children So how does this style of caregiving effect children? Research tells us that children may have low self-esteem because they aren’t given the opportunity to think on their own. They feel pressure to conform or they’re afraid that they won’t succeed – which understandably would make them feel angry – and this leads to a tendency to act out. As children grow older, this type of caregiving style can lead to resentment of those in authority.

16. Slide: Permissive Caregiving Style: Low demandingness, high responsiveness In contrast to the authoritarian style, permissiveness is when you are low in demandingness and high in responsiveness. It’s an extremely relaxed approach where caregivers are generally warm, nurturing and affectionate. However, they are overly accepting of their children's behavior, good or bad. They feel their children are capable of making their own decisions with little adult guidance. Caregivers place few if any demands, rules or restrictions on children, and attempt to avoid arguments at all cost. They often use bribery as a means of controlling their children. Rewards such as treats; toys or gifts are used as a discipline approach. The adult is overly responsive to the child's demands, seldom enforcing consistent rules and often leading to a spoiled child. Children can easily manipulate and control their caregivers.

17. Slide: Effect on children So how does permissive caregiving affect children? At first thought, many would think that children would LOVE this style of caregiving, but that’s not so. Children need guidance, boundaries and structure – it gives them a sense of security and trust in their world. Research tells us this style leads to a lack of self-discipline. Because they are not asked to do things on their own and most whims are catered to, children often become self-centered and demanding, with a tendency to clash with authority. There is an inclination to be aggressive and act out. During the teen years, the lack of rules and boundaries can lead to difficulties for kids.

18. Slide: Quiz2 19. Slide: Answer2

20. Slide: Authoritative style: high demandingness, high responsiveness The authoritative style of caregiving is when a person is high in demandingness and high in responsiveness. Authoritative caregivers are warm and nurturing, using a communication approach that is simple, kind, firm and consistent. They understand child development and have realistic expectations of children’s behavior, based on their level of development. They are willing to confront misbehavior, and it’s done with kindness and respect for the child. They consistently use persuasion rather than force to guide children’s behavior.

21. Slide: Effect on children

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Authoritative caregiving has a positive and powerful effect on young children’s development. It helps children feel safe and secure because the adult communicates that they’ll protect them both physically and psychologically. Children learn to take responsibility for their own actions through the strategies of I-messages that model self-responsible behavior rather than blaming others for what they do. Children tend to be responsible and independent, demonstrating competence both socially and cognitively. Because teachers model self-control and communicate their expectation that children will show the level they are capable of, children learn to control themselves.

22. Slide: Uninvolved Caregiving: Low demandingness, low responsiveness The last style we’ll look at is Uninvolved caregiving. This is when the caregiver is low in demandingness and responsiveness. Adults who fall into this category have come to the point of giving up trying to discipline their child.

They are not uninvolved because of their philosophical belief, but because their methods of guiding children in the past have been so ineffective. This leads to being totally disengaged and emotionally uninvolved regarding children’s behavior. Routinely they are too busy or self-involved to support their child in school functions, teaching life skills and encouraging socially acceptable behavior. Caregivers often expect the child to fend for his or herself and learn from ‘the school of hard knocks’.

Sadly, sometimes otherwise attentive parents become uninvolved temporarily due to difficult life circumstances, such as severe illness or death, devastating divorce or other life burdens. Our job as professionals is to support children and families through difficulties, providing professional referrals and encouragement.

23. Slide: Effect on children As you can imagine, the results of uninvolved or neglectful caregiving are devastating to children. Children who don’t have an adult to guide them are low in impulse control, not self-reliant and don’t learn self-responsibility – because they are not taught how to be responsible. Children become dependent and incompetent, either socially and/or cognitively.

24. Slide: Quiz3 25. Slide: Answer3

26. Slide: Reflection 3 As you’ve learned about the styles of caregiving, you’ve likely been thinking about the children in your class and interactions you’ve observed between them and their parents. You may have also thought about your own childhood and how you were parented – as well as yourself as a parent and teacher, and where you fit. We move from one style to another depending on our experience and education, as well as our changing belief systems about children.

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Take a moment to think about this and how your own experiences have shaped your teaching style. Pause the video and complete the section of Handout #1 labeled Caregiving Styles.

27. Slide: Authoritative – our goal! Our goal in providing excellent care for young children outside the home is to be authoritative – a warm, nurturing teacher who understands child development, has realistic expectations and provides an environment that supports learning through appropriate interactions. We want to use a communication approach that is simple, kind, firm and consistent. We must be willing to confront behavior with kindness and respect for the child. Let’s take a look at how we can persuade children rather than force them to do what we’d like for them to do.

28. Slide: Adults influence children Have you observed how the children in your class pay attention to every detail about you? If you change your hairstyle, fingernail polish or even bring your lunch in a different container one day, they notice! They are watching you.

All adults influence children, especially their teachers. We influence them directly and indirectly through our interactions, persuading them to behave in certain ways through our influence. We do this through modeling the behavior we want to see, and giving instruction and feedback. We also do this by managing the environment, our expectations and helping children change their understanding and attitudes. The WAY we do this is determined by our caregiving style.

29. Slide: We’ve looked at how our attitude or style affects children. Now we’ll look at how children grow and learn. The way children manage themselves in your classroom is directly related to their stage of development.

30. Slide: Understanding child development Social cognition refers to how children think about the behavior, motives, feelings and intentions of others. This makes a huge impact on the way children interact with people.

For example, preschool children are “preoperational thinkers” – which is the stage of cognitive or intellectual development from 2-7 years, as defined by Piaget. Piaget’s theory is based on the premise that children discover or construct their knowledge through their own activity and that they move through four stages of development. We use our understanding of a child’s cognitive development to understand their social development.

31. Slide: Preoperational thinkers Here are some markers of preoperational thinkers:

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When describing others, children tend to define others based on their physical qualities, like “he’s big” or “she’s got brown hair”. They rarely describe qualities like honesty or trustworthiness – because they’re not able to understand these abstract qualities quite yet.

When it comes to understanding accidents, preoperational thinkers are not able to take another’s perspective, so they don’t understand the concept of intentionality. This affects whether they can tell if their friend intended to hurt them or not or if they accidentally knocked over a block structure when they walked by.

32. Slide: Preoperational thinkers When viewing friendship, preoperational thinkers are egocentric, which means they see things only from the perspective of themselves. So they would describe a friend as someone who plays with them. This egocentricity limits how they see the world in general, and the concept of friendship especially. This certainly doesn’t mean that young children don’t have real friendships – they do. It’s just that their relationships will change as they go through different stages of cognitive development.

33. Slide: Quiz4 34. Slide: Answer4

35. Slide: Self-control We all want our children to be able to control themselves – to not bite other kids, use their words instead of hitting, to wait patiently when you’re passing out snack… but that’s kind of hard for little ones! It’s a developmental process that begins at birth – the first step is to learn that they are separate from other people, followed by learning to start, stop, and change their behavior and emotional responses to others.

Here’s what it looks like when a child demonstrates self-control – they can:

• Control impulses, which means that can wait or postpone their responses • Tolerate frustration • Postpone immediate gratification • Set a plan in motion and carry it out

36. Slide: Self-control Self-control evolves from ‘outside in’. From the beginning, grownups have to help infants with things like touching gently or by redirecting their attention from something they shouldn’t touch or put in their mouth. You’ve probably done this without even thinking, taken a baby’s hand and shown them how to gently touch something that is soft and delicate. As they get older, adults turn more of this over to the child, gradually expecting them to internalize the control that is taught through example.

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Self-control develops slowly. It begins around 2 years of age and will take years before it is fully developed. You may even know some teenagers or adults who are still working on it!!

Self-control develops sporadically, in a ‘sometimes you see it, sometimes you don’t’ kind of way. It’s reasonable to expect to see some self-control in preschool children, but it’s a process in the making – it won’t be perfect! To expect young children to follow classroom rules and play cooperatively with others all day without forgetting or having a breakdown in communication is simply not realistic. We are all a work in the making, especially young children. They need lots of patience and nurturing as they navigate this monumental developmental task.

37. Slide: Quiz5 38. Slide: Answer5

39. Slide: Reflection Let’s think about how this affects your own experience with kids.

Can you think of some times or circumstances during the day when children have less self-control? (for example, when they’re stressed, hungry, tired?) Write some notes to yourself about this so you can think about it later.

40. Slide: Prosocial behaviors- This is Joseph. He is 4 years old. When he was playing with play dough and heard his friend complaining that she didn’t have enough play dough, which is his favorite plaything, he responded by giving her half of his. Joseph was showing altruism, which is the motivation to help others with no expectation of reward. Altruistic acts like Joseph’s often involve cost, self-sacrifice or risk. Altruism is at the heart of prosocial behavior.

Caring, sharing and helping are prosocial behaviors, where children voluntarily assist others out of concern for their well-being.

41. Slide: Prosocial behavior We see these behaviors emerge between 3 and 6 years of age, although we can see the beginnings as young as 12-18 months, when babies give their toy to another person. For infants and toddlers, it begins as a game, for example, “I give you this, you give me that”. Or in showing or handing something interesting to their parent.

A few years later, when children begin intentionally helping and showing concern for others, this tells us they’re growing cognitively, in their understanding of themselves and other people.

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Following rules, adhering to socially acceptable behavior, playing “fair” with others, and being concerned about a friend who is sad or hurt are prosocial behaviors that you’ll see in children.

42. Slide: Prosocial behaviors Some things need to happen before a child is capable of being compassionate. First, and most important, is a warm, secure relationship with their parents. Parents help them notice others’ distress and support helping behaviors by giving children ideas about how to help others. For example, a parent may say, “I think Carter is a little worried about coming in. Can you find something for him to play with?” Children in childcare programs, who have a secure attachment to their teachers are more likely to show helping and caring behaviors with others.

Secondly, there are specific competencies and skills that must be in place before a child can care about, share and help others. These competencies and skills are a part of normal development, so it’s important for teachers to know what they can expect from children in the age group they work with. We are going to focus on preschool children – ages 3-5 years.

The competencies we’ll discuss are in the areas of cognitive and social- emotional development. Let’s start with cognitive development.

43. Slide: Quiz6 44. Slide: Answer6

45. Slide: Cognitive competencies Cognitive development relates to a child’s ability to perceive, reason and think about things. It’s a continual process of development and I’m sure you see children grow in their thinking every day. Let’s look at the cognitive skills that are specific to pro-social behavior.

• Sense of self – They must recognize that they are an individual, separate from others. This begins in infancy. Preschoolers are gaining a more developed sense of who they are, although it’s still pretty concrete. If you ask a 3-year-old, “who are you?”, they might answer, “I have a dog,” “I’m a really fast runner,” or “I have black hair.” Older preschoolers will begin to add psychological descriptions of themselves, like “I am nice to my friends.” These self-descriptions give us insight into their self-esteem – their own internal evaluation of their worth and competence.

• Identify needs - They must be able to recognize what others need. In order to do this, children need to understand that other people have their own thoughts, wants, motives and feelings. This is called theory of mind, and it develops in the first 5 years of life. Children use their ability to understand another’s needs as they help and care for their friends.

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• Make things happen - They must see themselves as someone who can make things happen, for example when a child sees someone who forgot to bring their snack to school they might say, “I can give her some of my snack!”

• Language – To describe how you feel about something or how others might be feeling requires a good command of oral language. Children develop speech through interactions with adults and peers. Those who have the language needed to identify, understand and respond to emotions tolerate frustration and other strong emotions more easily and have more positive relationships with others. Give children the vocabulary they need to express their feelings by naming them – “You are sad.” (Or angry, disappointed or frustrated.)

46. Slide: Video Let’s take a moment to watch a teacher helping a child who’s not happy about giving up his turn on the computer. She acknowledges his feelings, states the rules and helps him problem solve. She gives him the vocabulary to express his feelings by naming what she observes.

Make sure you’ve printed the handout entitled “Video Notes”. Look for the section labeled “Tantrum with Teacher”. After watching this short video, hit pause and then complete the handout. You’ll write down 4 things that you hear the teacher say to the child, describe his reaction to what she said and then identify the cognitive skill that the she is building with the comment.

47. Slide: Video www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLK3ui2m61U

48. Slide: Video follow-up Let’s talk for a moment about what we just observed in this teacher/child interaction. For starters, let’s discuss about what we DIDN’T see…

The teacher didn’t lose patience, disregard his feelings about wanting to continue his turn, get irritated with him for having a tantrum, send him to time-out to cool off on his own, tell him to be a big boy and stop crying or take away a privilege for his behavior. Most importantly, she didn’t lose her cool!

Here are some things the teacher said that you may have written down:

“I know you’re angry” “You may not use your feet to hurt a friend.” “Come here so we can talk about it.” “In our school we have to take turns.” “I’m sorry.”

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“Can we take a deep breath?” “I’d like to work with you today, would you like to work with me?” “Do you want to see me put your name on the list for this afternoon?” “It’s hard to wait.” “What can we work on together?” Then she gave some options for him. “Let’s take a deep breath. Okay!”

Notice that these statements give words to identify his feelings, remind him of classroom rules and express empathy for his frustration. They also provide a solution for his desire to play on the computer again, giving him options for something else to do right now and how to have another turn later. She also teaches him to take a breath to calm himself down.

So in terms of building cognitive skills, she gave him tools to build his sense of self, understand what his needs were, what he could do to help the situation, and then modeled lots of good language for him to use next time he’s in a similar situation.

49. Slide: Attachment I’m sure you can see by now that cognitive development is closely related to social emotional development. Let’s look now at the emotional competencies that we support in young children.

Learning to understand yourself and other people is a life-long journey! I know I’m still working on it, and I bet you are too! So with young children, we’re helping develop life skills that will determine their success in every way.

Brain development interrelates to an infant’s emotional life. It’s a two-way street – emotional experiences are affected by brain development plus they a have a long-lasting effect on the makeup of the growing brain.

A crucial feature of emotional relationship is attachment. Babies become attached to their caregivers – it’s a reciprocal, enduring tie created by both the baby and the caregiver. Attachment forms when babies let their needs be known and we meet those physical and psychological needs. The baby communicates needs as well as contentment in ways that draw the caregiver towards the baby in a relational dance. I’m sure you can relate to the urgency of a baby’s cry and the desire to do whatever you can to help that baby stop crying! It’s an inborn response.

Attachment in the first year of life sets the foundation for emotional relationships for the rest of life – so it’s really important for child care professionals to insure that infants have the opportunity to develop attachments with their caregivers. This is why it’s so important for child care centers to have consistent staff working with infants and toddlers. Staff turnover and changes for this age group are really disruptive because it affects these important relationships!

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50. Slide: Emotional competencies These are the emotional competencies that we’ll see develop in early childhood. We can expect children to begin to: • Decode emotion in another person’s face. This is the ability to make sense of what another is feeling by looking at their face • Respond to the emotions of others • Demonstrate empathy, which is the ability to participate in another person’s feelings

We begin this process in infancy with board books of baby faces… I’m sure you’ve seen them. Each face has a different emotion – sad, happy, excited, etc. Infants love to study faces. They will gaze for long moments, as if they are taking in every detail. Pay attention when you are around babies, especially around those who don’t know you. They will stare you down if you engage them! They are noticing that you are new person, and taking in every detail. We know from research that infants will respond by mirroring others emotions.

51. Video Let’s take a look at a video that demonstrates this. Use the Video Notes handout to answer questions. Watch how this little girl is able decode emotion in another person.

52. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJFIp8-HZ9k

53. Video discussion Don’t you just love children? This two-year old is able to make sense of what the cartoon character is feeling and responds with emotion. Because she’s attached to her own parent, she feels sad that the baby penguin is separated from it’s mother.

At a very young age, she is demonstrating the emotional competencies of decoding emotion in another person’s face, responding to the emotions of others and demonstrating empathy. And as we hear at the end of the video, dad warmly assures her, giving words to her own emotions when he says, “She found her mom! Yes! Oh man.” In these few words, he gives his daughter the words to express how glad his daughter is that the little penguin was reunited with his mother, shares her happiness that it worked out well and with the words, “oh man”, acknowledges that this was a lot to take in and process emotionally. He doesn’t chuckle and tell her how cute she is or disregard her feelings about a “silly cartoon”. He affirms and encourages emotional growth in an everyday occurrence – a car ride.

54. Direct and indirect guidance So we’ve looked at attitudes and knowledge, now we’ll look at strategies that guide children’s behavior. These will be divided into 2 categories – indirect and direct guidance.

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55. Indirect guidance Indirect guidance is the process of influencing behavior through the environment, curriculum, learning activities and materials. Children are influenced by their surroundings and people. In your classroom, behavior is shaped by the way the room in arranged, the curriculum and materials on the shelves, the daily schedule, expectations of behavior and the way teachers respond to children.

56. Classroom arrangement The arrangement of the room provides both cues for appropriate behavior and temptations for inappropriate behavior. Wide-open spaces encourage running and big play. A small space with pillows and interesting toys will encourage 1-2 kids to sit down and play with the toys.

Here are some things to remember about arranging your room:

• Divide the room into learning centers – art, library, writing, science, math, pretend play, blocks and letter knowledge • Use room dividers and shelves to allow for flow of movement between centers and discourage running • Have space for large group, with a designated spot for each child • Arrange centers so children can work independently and have materials readily available – so they don’t have to wait for you • Create a partially enclosed space where a child can go to be alone (that you can see and monitor). Children have a right to limit contact with others, they may need break from the group. Having a quiet space to go to allows them to self-pace interactions with others.

And you know, mix it up every now and again. Switch the placement of centers, change how they’re set up – just enough change to keep in interesting, but not so much that it feels disorienting to children when they come in.

57. Slide: Classroom materials Keeping up with toys and consumable materials like art supplies is a daily task. A classroom with minimal or broken toys will not function well and make your job harder. Here are suggestions on how to equip your room: • Have a variety of materials, rotating them regularly. • Labeling shelves with pictures and using open bins for storage • Insure you’ve got enough materials and toys, to limit the need to share • Use charts to guide children – like center management charts which let them know how many children can play in each center, helper charts which give everyone a job to do, and daily schedules which let them know what’s next • Equipment and learning activities should provide a challenge, but not be too difficult – which can create frustration and cause inappropriate behavior. Activities that are too simple lead to boredom, another cause

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for behavior issues. Find that happy medium by observing play interactions and realize that it changes as children grow and learn.

58. Slide: Quiz7 59. Slide: Answer7

60. Slide: Routines Children with a consistent daily schedule that offers a variety of fun, meaningful activities each day are less likely to misbehave. Consistency is really important because it develops a trusting relationship between teachers and children.

So what are some other ways that you can be consistent?

Use a curriculum that offers a variety of learning activities that appeal to children’s interests and abilities. Early childhood curriculums typically follow a weekly or monthly theme, with books, activities for centers that cover all areas of learning – early literacy, math, art, science, pretend, writing and whole group learning. Learning builds each day with new activities introduced.

Provide plenty of opportunities for children to have choices throughout the day. “Do you want to go to art or science first?” “Our snack today is apples and cheese. Would you like some?” “Which book shall we read first?” Imagine how it would feel for you if someone was telling you exactly what you to do throughout the day! We all need autonomy, and by giving children simple, authentic choices, you help them learn to think for themselves.

Plan and prepare for activities by having materials ready, enough for everyone to prevent wait times, and have additional activities for children who finish early.

61. Classroom rules and expectations Classroom rules set clear and reasonable expectations for acceptable behavior. There should be a minimal number of rules, stated in positive terms that tell children what to do, rather than what not to do. For example, instead of “No running”, say “Walk in the classroom. Run outside”. Explain the reasons for rules and limits. For example, “After you finish playing with blocks, put them back on the shelf so someone doesn’t stumble and fall down.”

Preschool children can be included in developing and posting classroom rules at the beginning of the school year. Involving children creates ownership and encourages children to regulate their own behavior. Post the rules, using words and pictures, as a visual reminder – and refer to them when talking about behavior and expectations. Throughout the year, rules can be adjusted as needed. Let’s say you get a new class pet – a hamster. As a group, you could create rules about caring for it and post them near the hamster cage.

Setting expectations through classroom rules gives children a sense of safety and belonging and encourages self-control and autonomy. It helps put everyone on Positive Guidance: The Key to Effective Classroom Management© 14 www.texaschildcaretraining.com Please do not copy or distribute. For info regarding this course, contact: [email protected]

the same page, creates classroom community and gives you a foundation from which to build and teach.

62. Slide: Quiz8 63. Slide: Answer8

64. Reflection 5 Take a moment to think about your own classroom. Are there problem areas? How about your daily schedule – is there a time when you consistently have difficulties? Do children make a mad dash for the “good” toys or are there plenty to go around? Are there clear expectations for behavior? Pause the video and complete the section of Handout #1 labeled, “Indirect Guidance”

65. Direct guidance We’ve talked about indirect guidance – the structures in your classroom that guide behavior. Now let’s move to direct guidance. This refers to the one-on- one interactions that guide behavior.

66. Responsiveness Children often forget what constitutes appropriate behavior from one day to the next and from one situation to another. They need frequent reminders of the rules; if corrective action is necessary, you should be clear but non-accusing.

Responsive language utilizes positive verbal guidance that’s respectful towards children, labels and validates their feelings and clarifies rules and responsibilities. It gives reasons and explanations to children. Responsive teachers actively listen and respond in a sensitive manner.

When reinforcing rules with individuals, remember the principle of telling children what to do rather than what not to do. Try to eliminate the words “no”, “stop”, and “don’t” from your vocabulary. Clarify rules and give reasons for the limits. “Use whisper voices in the hall so we don’t disturb the babies!” Validate children’s feelings, by saying for example, “I know it’s hard to wait, but the other kids want a turn too.”

The practice of stating and enforcing rules in positive terms can change the climate of your room! By speaking to children with respect, using positive words to make requests and give directions, you’re modeling. Soon you’ll find they begin to speak to each other using your words. Not consistently, for sure –it’s a learning process that takes time!

67. Model behavior We all benefit from being shown rather than told how to do something. Look at how people are giving recipes these days, for example. Videos and pictures of each stage of the recipe help you know if you’re doing it right and if the end product looks the way it’s supposed to. This is really helpful for someone learning how to cook! It’s the same way with children… Positive Guidance: The Key to Effective Classroom Management© 15 www.texaschildcaretraining.com Please do not copy or distribute. For info regarding this course, contact: [email protected]

In addition to modeling positive language, model the behavior you want a child to follow. This is especially helpful for children with developmental or language delays. When you demonstrate the proper procedure while you give a direct explanation, children will know how to do it on their own at a later time. “Put your backpack on the hook like this.” “After you dry your hands, put the paper towel right here.”

Verbal descriptions of desired behaviors are especially needed when you want to model resisting temptation or delaying gratification… “It’s really hard for me to wait to eat that cupcake. I want to eat it now, but I’ll wait until after I’ve eaten my healthy lunch.”

68. Slide: Quiz9 69. Slide: Answer9

70. Video: Sharing Here’s a short video of a teacher helping a little girl share her toys with a friend. Listen to her language – see if you can identify how she models the behavior and words she wants children to use. Write the statements you hear on your Video Notes handout.

71. Sharing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGX6ZNZfR7E

72. Video discussion This teacher does a nice job of modeling sharing as well as how to be respectful to others. Here are some statements you may have noted:

• Do you think Jordon can have those? • That’s a good word, you’re sharing • That’s nice • You did a good job • We share with our friends • Thank you • Good job Jordan. Can you use your manner words? • See how nice it is to share. • See your friend smiling?

73. Effective praise as a guidance The most effective method of managing behavior is through the application of positive reinforcement. When teaching a new behavior, reinforce it every time you see it happen! New behaviors require immediate and continuous reinforcement to be learned and maintained. For more complicated behavior, it’s best to reinforce small steps. For example, to reinforce a child who is cleaning up the block center, which appears to have about 200 spread all over the floor, ask the child to put five blocks on the shelf and then praise her. Don’t wait until the entire job is completed. Positive Guidance: The Key to Effective Classroom Management© 16 www.texaschildcaretraining.com Please do not copy or distribute. For info regarding this course, contact: [email protected]

Behaviors that are followed by positive reinforcement are likely to be strengthened and repeated. You can do this in several ways:

Social reinforcers are smiles, praise, a pat on the back, wink or a thumbs up.

Activity reinforcers are special activities as a reward for desired behaviors.

Tangible reinforcers like stickers, stars or prizes should only be used for short periods of time when other reinforcers don’t work with a particular child. The reason we use this as a last resort is obvious – there won’t always be someone there to reward them – and it can turn children into negotiators in ways that wear grownups out quickly!

Effective praise is selective, specific and positive. It provides encouragement for an individual child or small group of children, contingent on performance of desired behavior. Effective praise fosters healthy self-esteem.

Ineffective praise is given indiscriminately, meaning you say the same thing to everyone regardless of what they’re doing. It tends to be discounted by children. It may actually lower children’s self-confidence, inhibit achievement and make them reliant on external praise for everything in order to feel good about themselves.

Take a moment to look over the Handout #5, entitled, “Comparison of Ineffective and Effective Praise”, for examples of how you can use praise to guide behavior.

74. Slide: Quiz10 75. Slide: Quiz10

76. Reflection 6 Take a moment to think about your own teaching practices. Think about the words you say to children – are you using positive statements? Do you model the behaviors you want to see in children? Do you demonstrate how to do the things you’re asking them to do? Is your praise effective? Pause the video and complete the section labeled, “Direct Guidance”

77. Classroom scenarios As we near the end of this training, let’s take a few minutes to think about ways to apply these principles to common classroom scenarios. Think about whether you would use direct or indirect guidance in each situation.

Here’s the first one…

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It’s large group time. You ask the class to meet you on the carpet by singing a “Meet me on the carpet” transition song. Everyone rushes to the carpet, pushing and shoving each other on the rug. What should you do?

78. Solution 1 The teacher should have a designated spot for each individual child, such as a certain geometric shape, letter or animal printed on the rug. By using a permanent image, you can prevent children from “moving” their spot, sitting too close or changing places with another child. Duct tape on the floor, placemats or carpet squares may also be used to give children a specific place to be. Clear expectations can be established through classroom rules. You might want to review the rules each day during whole group and refer to them often. This is Indirect Guidance.

79. Scenario 2 You’ve just wrapped up whole group time and now it’s time for centers. You’ve described what children can do in each center and they are excited to get going. When you finish talking, the children get up and race to their favorite center, knocking others out of the way to get there first. What should you do?

80. Solution 2 Use a transition to dismiss children individually to go to a specific center or area of the room, while the rest sit on the carpet and wait their turn. There are lots of different transitions you can use – and it’s a great way to reinforce what you’re learning. For example, you can hold a child’s name card when it’s their turn. They will learn to recognize not only their own name but the names of their friends. Once they’ve mastered this, you can have them clap the syllables in their name, create a rhyming word, name something within a category – the possibilities are endless. You can also use transitions to control who goes to centers first, quietly directing center selection since each center only holds a certain number of children. This helps a lot if you have children who only like to play in one center – usually blocks or pretend center. Wait to select these children when their favorite center is already full. Then they’ll get to choose something different to do first. This is an example of Direct Guidance.

81. Scenario 3 During center play time children are playing in the pretend play center. Suddenly two children want the same toy – there is screaming, crying and pulling as they each try to gain control of the toy. What should you do?

82. Solution 3 The immediate response here is to intervene, ask each child to take a breath to quieten themselves and talk about it together. Come up with a solution that is satisfactory for both of them, validating their feelings and encouraging mutual respect. This is Direct Guidance.

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You can avoid situations like this by insuring there are plenty of toys that are similar to one another. For example, in pretend play – have more than one of each prop for play. Then limit the number of children in that center to reflect the materials available. If you have enough for 3 children to play, make sure there aren’t 5 kids there.

We also need to help children share and take turns. Read books about it, model it, act it out during circle time and have rules and procedures in place around sharing and turn taking. This is not an easy thing for young children to learn. Sign-up lists and timers for turn taking are tangible ways to help them with the process. Having these kinds of systems in place would be indirect guidance.

83. Slide: Summary We’ve covered quite a bit in this course, so let’s take a moment to review.

We’ve learned all about the different styles of caregiving and parenting and how they affect children’s behavior.

You now understand how a child’s intellectual development affects their ability to relate to others. This understanding will enable you to respond appropriately to different children at different stages of development.

You can tell others what positive guidance is and how you can implement it through indirect ways, like how you arrange your classroom and the rules and routines you follow each day. You can also describe how to use direct guidance through responsive language, conflict resolution, praise and reinforcement.

Attached to this section you’ll find several handouts that will help as you implement what you’ve learned. Print them now so you can refer to them later.

84. Slide: References 85. Slide: Quiz 86. Slide: Conclusion

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