SOC107: Building Social and Emotional Competence

Handout

Welcome to SOC107

This course explores how social and emotional skills develop over time and ways that ECE professionals can use their understanding of this development to create an environment that supports children’s individual needs.

Course Objectives:

By taking notes on the handout and successfully answering assessment questions, participants will meet the following objectives as a result of taking this course:

Identify characteristics of social emotional development in children birth through age 5

Identify elements of a responsive early learning environment

Select strategies that promote self-regulation

Select appropriate strategies that support the development of healthy social emotional development

References:

Morrison, George. Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education, 8th Edition. Pearson (2016). Feeney, Stephanie, et al. Who Am I in the Lives of Young Children, 10th edition. Pearson

(2016). Office of Head Start. Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework, Ages Birth to Five.

Administration of Children and Families (2015). Dangel, J. R., & Durden, T. R. “The Nature of Teacher Talk During Small-Group Activities."

Young Children (2010, January). http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/index.html, Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for

Early Learning, various resources (2017) NAEYC, “12 Principles of Child Development and Learning” http://www.naeyc.org/dap/12-

principles-of-child-development NAEYC Position Statement, “Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood

Programs…” (2009)

American Academy of Pediatrics, “Responding to Children’s Needs During Times of Crisis.” https://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/ aap-health-initiatives/children-and-disasters/Documents/Responding-to-Childrens-Emotional-Needs.pdf

Use the space provided to take notes on important content from the course.

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What Is a Responsive Relationship?

Defining Responsiveness

Define responsiveness and explain the purpose of a responsive relationship:

Background Knowledge for Promoting Social-Emotional Development

Start with the Principles

Before we explore the stages and phases of social-emotional development, take a moment to reflect on NAEYC’s “12 Principles of Child Development and Learning.” All of these principles can be applied to the domain of social-emotional development in one way or another, and if you refer back to this list at the end of the course, you will notice that we touch on nearly all of them.

1. All areas of development and learning are important. 2. Learning and development follow sequences. 3. Development and learning proceed at varying rates. 4. Development and learning result from an interaction of maturation and experience.

5. Early experiences have profound effects on development and learning. 6. Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self-regulation, and symbolic or representational capacities. 7. Children develop best when they have secure relationships. 8. Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural contexts. 9. Children learn in a variety of ways.

10. Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation and promoting language, cognition, and social competence. 11. Development and learning advance when children are challenged. 12. Children’s experiences shape their motivation and approaches to learning.

Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

Erikson laid out nine stages of psychosocial development, spanning birth to old age. The first three stages cover the first five years of life:

1.

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2.

3.

It Starts with Trust

Social Behaviors: What to Expect with Infants and Toddlers

Crying

What is colic and why is it important to understand in the context of early care and education?

Older Children Cry, Too

Other Infant-Toddler Social Behaviors

What is mimicking and why is it important for young children?

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Facial Expressions

Gestures

Vocalizations

Video Reflection:

What did you learn from the Still-Face Experiment?

Remember: You’re a Model

Infants and the Importance of Relationships

Bonding

Attachment

What About Multiple Attachments?

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The Role of Language and the Adult Voice

The Role of the ECE Professional

Here are six basic practices to keep in mind when working with infants and toddlers:

1. Take care of their basic needs such as feeding and diapering in a warm manner. 2. Be attentive to signals and cues. Crying is not the only form of infant communication; they will use gestures and facial expressions, too, but you may need to pay close attention. 3. Meet their needs with consistency and continuity. Let them know they can rely on you each and

every day. 4. Hold infants during feeding; this is one of the most important opportunities to strengthen the essential social attachment.

5. Socialize often by smiling, singing, and talking to infants. It does not matter if they do not understand the meaning of your words; they need to hear the sounds and tones of language and understand the role it plays in a social relationship. 6. Provide comfort when infants are in distress, even if you do not know why they are crying. Stay calm and be the soothing, comforting presence for them.

The Preschool Years: Developing Autonomy and Initiative

Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt

Building Self-Confidence

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Self-Confidence and Emotional Needs: A Direct Relationship

Recommended Practices for Promoting Self-Confidence

Give preschoolers opportunities to explore and experiment in safe indoor and outdoor

environments. Of course, supervision is always necessary, but give children freedom to take safe risks, make mistakes, and solve their own problems before you jump in to help.

Preschoolers are hands-on learners, so provide plenty of opportunities to experiment and

create with a variety of materials.

Variety and new opportunities are always good, but don’t overwhelm them with choices. Preschoolers need an environment where they can focus on planning and completing tasks.

Get involved and provide support. Yes, they need freedom, but they also benefit greatly when adults join in the fun, offering assistance and new ideas. Don’t just help them do something, help them plan, get involved, and follow through on their ideas.

Offer positive feedback (both public and private). Acknowledging accomplishments and

appropriate choices is a great way to reinforce positive behavior. Public praise is important not only because it boosts the child’s confidence but also because it provides a model for other children to follow. But sometimes, a private exchange between child and teacher can be the most powerful of all.

Do NOT…

Never do anything to make a child feel ashamed of failure. Do not tease or make fun of a young child at any time, for any reason. One shame-filled moment can delete weeks or months of progress in

building a child’s self-confidence. Be positive and supportive. “You are so close, do you want to try again?” or “I wonder if it would work better if the piece was turned this way?”

Try This!

Simple Challenges Preschoolers like to plan and gain a sense of accomplishment, but that does not mean that the activities they engage in need to be complicated or require careful procedures. A simple activity, like

filling a bucket with sand or stacking blocks end over end can provide enough of a challenge for a three-year-old to build physical and cognitive skills and confidence in his or her ability to get things done.

Preschoolers love when adults give them little challenges:

Can you fill that bucket all the way up to the brim?

I wonder if you can you pour the water without spilling a single drop?

Show me how you can make a tower using every single block in the box.

You’re really good at climbing up the ladder. Can you climb down, too?

Building Social Confidence

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Adult-Child Interactions Are Critical

Regardless of the age group, it is always important to demonstrate good communication skills:

Promoting Self-Regulation

What is self-regulation?

Give Children Variety and Options

Get to Know Individual Children

Smart Room Arrangement

Set Clear Limits

Reinforce Simple, Basic Social Rules

Encourage Children to Express Themselves Verbally

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Use Children’s Home Languages When Possible

Model Self-Talk and Self-Control

Understanding Temperament and Personality

Temperament:

Personality:

Each children is born with certain temperament, which is determined based on certain characteristics, including:

Motor-activity level

Regularity of functions such as sleeping and eating

Degree of acceptance of new situations or people

Adaptability to change

Sensory sensitivity

Intensity of responses to stimuli

General mood

Attention span and persistence

Distractibility

Back in 1970, researchers Thomas, Chess, and Birch identified three classifications of temperament:

Easy Temperament

Slow-to-Warm-Up

Difficult

Easy

Slow-to-Warm-Up

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Difficult

Learning Outcomes for Social-Emotional Development

Use the link below to see an interactive version of the full learning outcomes framework with indicators. You can refer to this framework when planning curriculum and evaluating individual needs.

https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/interactive-head-start-early-learning-outcomes-framework-ages-birth-five

Relationships with Adults Infant-Toddler Outcomes

Child develops expectations of consistent, positive interactions through secure relationships

with familiar adults.

Child uses expectations learned through repeated experiences in primary relationships to

develop relationships with other adults.

Child learns to use adults as a resource to meet needs.

Preschool Outcomes

Child engages in and maintains positive relationships and interactions with adults.

Child engages in prosocial and cooperative behavior with adults.

Relationships with Other Children Infant and Toddler Outcomes

Child shows interest in, interacts with, and develops personal relationships with other children.

Child imitates and engages in play with other children.

Preschool Outcomes

Child engages in and maintains positive interactions and relationships with other children.

Child engages in cooperative play with other children.

Child uses basic problem-solving skills to resolve conflicts with other children.

Emotional Functioning Infant and Toddler Outcomes

Child learns to express a range of emotions.

Child recognizes and interprets emotions of others with the support of familiar adults.

Child expresses care and concern towards others.

Child manages emotions with the support of familiar adults.

Preschool Outcomes

Child expresses a broad range of emotions and recognizes these emotions in self and others.

Child expresses care and concern toward others.

Child manages emotions with increasing independence.

Sense of Identity and Belonging Infant and Toddler Outcomes

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Child shows awareness about self and how to connect with others.

Child understands some characteristics of self and others.

Child shows confidence in own abilities through relationships with others.

Child develops a sense of belonging through relationships with others.

Preschool Outcomes

Child recognizes self as a unique individual having own abilities, characteristics, emotions, and interests.

Child expresses confidence in own skills and positive feelings about self.

Child has sense of belonging to family, community, and other groups.

Best Practices for Identifying and Responding to Children’s Needs

Remember: Behaviors Are Often Related to Emotional Needs

Identifying and Responding: The Basics

Acknowledge Emotions

Make this your first step when responding to a child or children in your classroom. Take a moment to

pause before reacting or fixing the situation. Use variations of the following statements to acknowledge children’s feelings:

“How did that make you feel?”

“How are you feeling about this right now?”

“Does it make you feel sad when Daddy leaves for work?”

“You are both very excited to have a chance to play with the new toy.”

“It is frustrating when you work hard on a tower and then it falls over.”

“I hear you crying because you want my attention, I will be right over.”

Watch for Areas of Concern

Keep an eye out for children who need extra attention. It means asking yourself questions such as:

How well does this child manage frustration?

Are these two children experienced at solving problems together?

What do I know/need to know about this child’s home experience that might help me better

understand this child?

Does this child have the language to express emotions with mastery?

What areas of my daily routine or classroom cause frustration and what can I change to support the children’s success?

Do these children understand the academic concepts I am teaching? If not, what can I change or modify so that they can better understand this lesson?

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Notice Small Successes

Capitalize on Teachable Moments

Be a Conversational Partner

What is a conversational partner?

Frequency and Quality

Here are the keys to starting a meaningful conversation:

1. Make eye contact 2. Be positive and friendly 3. Say the child’s name

4. Say something nice 5. Ask an open-ended question and give the child a chance to respond 6. Listen and reply to the child or ask a follow-up question

Words Are Important, But…

Making Personal Connections

Slow Down and Take Time to Notice Each Child

Regular “Check-Ins”

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Maintain Close Proximity

Supervision Zones

Additional Best Practices for Responding to Children’s Needs

Respond Quickly and Calmly

Children’s Literature

Give Children a Chance to Make It Right

Find Alternatives

Beyond the Classroom

Plan, Implement, Reflect, Plan Some More

Collaborate with Colleagues

Think Outside the Classroom

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Communicate with Families

Try This!

Family Survey A basic, one-page family survey is a good way to initiate a responsive relationship, showing parents

that you care about and respect their expectations and goals and gathering important information about the child. A family survey should include space for them to describe:

Their goals or expectations for their child during the schoolyear.

Child’s interests and favorite activities.

Activities the child does not enjoy.

Family social routines.

Ages of brothers and sisters.

Home language (Be sure to ask them to share common words and phrases you can learn and include in your interactions with the child.)

Respect Home Culture

Try This!

A Resource for Parents

Attached to this document you will find a one-page handout to share with parents, entitled “Tips for Families: Being Aware of Children’s Needs.” This also comes from the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning. It contains just a few simple, easy tips that will encourage parents to pay closer attention to a child’s emotional needs and accomplishments.

There is plenty of other information you can share with children, such tips about using rich language to help children to build emotional vocabulary. However, it’s usually best not to overwhelm them with resources. Take one step at a time.

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What can I do when...

…I see my child feeling strong emotions? Ask your child how he feels and show that you care. “You are frustrated that you can’t find your shoe? I’m sorry.”

…my child struggles? Let your child know you are there and will help if he needs it. ”Do you want me to help you carry that heavy bag?”

…my child succeeds? Celebrate together!”Wow! You kept trying and you fit all the pieces in the box.”

For more information, contact us at: NCQTL@UW.EDU or 877-731-0764. This document was prepared for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start, by the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning under Grant # 90HC0002 in collaboration with the National Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagement under Grant #90HC0003. SPRING 2013

TIPS FOR FAMILIESBEING AWARE OF CHILDREN’S NEEDS

Look at me!Busy parents have a lot to do, every day. What can you do when your child needs extra attention?

Let your child know that you are paying attention—and that you will help when problems come up. Your child will feel more secure and able to take risks in learning and interacting with the world.

I like when we

celebrate!

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