Module 3How Learning Begins

Module 2 – Follow ups

A-ah’s• I notice that having a

connection with a child is really important! Tonight I put myself in that child’s shoes and I see the difference when you don’t have a connection.

Parking Lot Items• Selective Mutism –http://www.selectivemutismcenter.org

• EEC teacher qualifications:

http://www.mass.gov/Eeoe/docs/EEC/regs_policies/20100122_606_cmr.pdf

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Module One and Two Review

• Sharing the Moving on and Doing More activities

– What did you learn about how you connect with the children you teach?

– What did you learn about how the children you teach connect with you?

– What did you learn about how human connections help young children learn?

Ice Breaker

• Sit with your learning partner and decide who will be Partner A and Partner B.

• Partner A’s job is to make Partner B laugh without using words.

• Partner B’s job is not to laugh.• Switch roles.

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Learning Goals

Participants will understand how learning

begins. They will understand that children

are naturally drawn to others and that

learning begins when children are able to

control their attention, behavior and

emotions enough to focus on other people

and new experiences. Researchers call this

state regulation.

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STATE REGULATION: the ability to managestimulation by shutting out the unimportantand focusing on the important.

State Regulation

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Research shows…

• One of the first things young children learn is to get themselves under control, or, to use the language of science, to regulate themselves

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Research shows…

• Children’s increasing capacity to regulate their attention, behavior and emotional state allows them to focus on learning in many different ways

• Children are active participants in their own learning and are naturally drawn to new and interesting things

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• To help children learn to regulate their attention, behavior and emotional states

• To be aware of what and how children learn through their everyday experiences

Major Tasks of Teaching Young Children

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Outcomes

• Teachers will become better at:– Helping children

learn to regulate their attention, behavior and emotional states

– Observing, understanding and documenting all the ways that children learn

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Outcomes

– Understanding the relationship between a child’s ability to self-regulate and to learn

– Developing learning activities that engage children by building on their interests, giving them choices, extending their skills and offering appropriate challenges.

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Get Ready!

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Did You Know? – Research Video

Dr. T. Berrry Brazelton

Harvard Medical School

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What Do You Think? Part 1

• Consider a child needing to regulate her/his state.– What was the child’s age?– What were they doing?– What do you think the child

was feeling?– What do you think the child

was thinking?– What did the child do to

get back into balance?– What did you do to help

the child get back into balance?

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What Do You Think? Part 2

• Need 12 actors– 2 teachers– 5 parents– 5 children

• Rest of the group are the observers

• It’s pick up time!

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What Do You Think? Part 2

Observers:• How did the teachers help the children regulate

their states?• What could the teachers have done differently?

Participants:• Do you agree with the observers? • What else would you add?

Discussion

With your learning group:• What was going on with the children?• How does this illustrate state regulation, novelty

preference, and connections with people and learning?

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What can you do?

• Think about the group experience and look at chart 3.1, page 3– Discuss with your

learning partner two possible teacher responses

– How does the teacher response impact the child?

– What can you do differently in the future?

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Tips

• Observe children in your group – look for what helps each child regulate herself

• Use the technique that works best with each child

• Provide a variety of learning spaces

• Other ideas?

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Quotes

What surprises me is when I’ve heard in the popular press reports that brain development ends at the age of three. You wonder – have they ever seen a child? Because anyone who’s observed children knows that there are dramatic changes in behavior across the first two decades of life and beyond.

--- Dr. Charles A. Nelson III

Please see additional quotes in your binders.

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Moving On and Doing More

• Observe state regulation and record your observations on Charts 3.2 through 3.4

• Practice helping children regulate their state, and support emerging interests. Share what you discover with your learning partner and/or learning group at your next meeting.