Strategies for Helping Early ChildhoodStudents Learn Appropriate Teaching Practices

This is thefinal article in our series onteaching strategies to help college anduniversity teachereducators thinkaboutandplan for linkingcourse contentandthe learning process (see the TeachingStrategies columns from the Winter1998/99andtheSummer2001 issues ofChildhood Education). In this ar­ticle, we want to focus on ideas aboutconnecting course content to teachingpractice. We continue to encouragereaders to examine critically their con­ceptual frameworks, teaching methods,strategies, and techniques, and to dia­logue with colleagues to make morethoughtful decisions regarding theirteaching practices. - S.C. & J. W.

The most critical feature in anyhigh-quality program for youngchildren is the teacher (Lay-Dopyera& Lay-Dopyera, 1987; Stronge,2002). We believe that educatorsneed to model the qualitiesand char­acteristics that make their practiceeffective; in tum, students need toobserve these teachers and supervi­sors in action, discuss the strategieswith them, and begin to recognizethe behaviors within their own rep­ertoires. These qualities include, butare not limited to, self-awareness,enthusiasm, compassion, natural­ness, vitality, flexibility, sense ofhumor, physical stamina, self-con­fidence, and the ability to encour­age children's efforts to learn and tosustain teacher-child relationships.Competent teachers are also skilled

in observing children, fosteringchildren's interactions, and using avariety of strategies for teacher-childdialogue and classroom manage­ment (Stronge, 2002). In addition,excellent teachers can identify, plan,and implement space to enhancechildren's learning; they also canplan for children's differences bydeveloping specific goals and ob­jectives (Benham, Miller, & Kontos,1988; Bredekamp & Copple, 1997).

University teacher preparationrequirements generally include botha pre-student teaching practice anda final student teaching experienceor internship. Pre-student teachingexperiences have been recognizedfor decades as a valuable compo­nent of the education process forstudents preparing to teach childrenfrom birth to the middle years. Asstated in the Association for Child­hood Education International(ACEI) position paper on the prepa­ration of early childhood teachers(ACEI, 1997),

Early childhood teachers should havewell-planned laboratory experiencesunder the supervisionofexperienced andqualified teachers of young children ...experiences should include observation,participation, studentteaching, and semi­nar discussion. (p. 165)

The proliferation of field-basedexperiences (Erdman, 1983;Zeichner, 1978) and the discontinu­ity between early childhood course

content and students' practicumexperiences have been described bymany educators (Clawson, 1999;Gilbert, 1999; Horm-Wingerd,Warford, & Penhollow, 1999; Katz,1992). Pre-student teaching experi­ences are not always designed tocomplement academic preparationfor the early childhood student, nordo they always add an importantdimension to the educational pro­cess. While the academic settingemphasizes students' acquisition ofknowledge and cognitive growth,the early childhood setting shouldemphasize the direct application ofstudents' knowledge through su­pervision by competent classroomteachers.

Both of the authors are productsof high-quality undergraduateearlychildhood programs, with manycampus and community field ex­periences as part of our training.We credit these early experienceswith helping us to develop our basicunderstandings about children,make sense of the theoretical con­tent we were learning in the collegeclassroom, and become reflectivepre-professionals. Today, we sharewith our students our enthusiasmaboutlearning and teaching in high­quality environments, and we teachthem strategies that we think willimprove their observation skills andteaching effectiveness.

In previous articles on connectingcourse content and the learning pro­cess, we have discussed professional-

WINTER 2002103 • 103

Figure 1

ism and reflective thinking as majorcomponents of our teaching model.This article will present the thirdand final component, learningto useappropriate teaching practices. Wewant to describe some strategies thatwe believe are important for boththe teacher educator and teachersupervisor. In our university class­rooms, assignments and discussionscenter on the following themes:demonstrating positive personalqualities, attitudes, and behaviors(QABs);reflective practice; and plan­ning, executing, and evaluating de­velopmentally appropriate practices(see Figure 1). We expect teachersupervisors to give descriptive feed­back, reinforce, coach, prompt andgive suggestions, ask questions, andmodel professional behaviors. Aglimpse through the sequence ofpre-professional experiences will tellthe reader that we begin with thoseexperiences in which students aremost likely to be successful beforegoing on to the next level. Havinglearners succeed and having themsee their success almost immediatelyis a powerful incentive for learning.

Briefly, the two courses we dis­cuss in this article are TheDevelopingProfessional, taken by students en­tering the early childhood program,and Implementing the Curriculum inEarly Childhood Education, taken by

students at the intermediate stageof their program. Each course has:

• A co-requisite with another courseand cannot be taken out of se­quence

• A weekly 1-1/2 hour recitationclass, with additional hours ofweekly guided experiences withchildren at the Children's Insti­tute, the campus child care center

• Its own content, although it sharesconcepts and strategies with theother course in a developmentalframework.

In The Developing Professionalcourse, students learn and practicecommunication skills, learn how tointerpret child and adult behaviors,and learn how to build professionalrelationships with children, peers,and teacher supervisors, as well ashow to use appropriate teachingpractices. Implementing theCurricu­lum teaches students how to imple­ment and evaluate curriculum foryoung children; how to plan safeand creative environments; how toeffectively interact with peers, teach­ers, and parents in the Children'sInstitute; and how to continue theirprofessional practices.

Although we have frequent con­tact with the teacher supervisorsvia phone, E-mail, or visits to the

Curr 303:Implementing the

Curriculum in EarlyChildhood Education

Children's Institute, we also meetwith the entire teaching staff at leastonce each semester to discuss thechildren, the college students, theirassignments, and evaluation expec­tations. This meeting gives us achance to share changes that wehave incorporated in our classes,and to interact with students whomight need some additional atten­tion or feedback. The teacher su­pervisors also discuss children'sneeds and provide information thatwe clarify in the university class­room. This two-way contact is im­portant to the students and to thechildren, as well as key to the pro­fessional development of the teach­ing staff and ourselves.

Strategies To HelpStudents Learn To ObserveAs former teachers of young chil­dren, we reflect on our early oppor­tunities to enhance students' use ofobservation methods and tech­niques. We both remember learn­ing through faculty lectures anddiscussions, followed by observa­tion assignments in laboratory andcommunity settings. For example,we realized that as we watched achild assemble a puzzle we couldlearn about her cognitive processes,her approach to a new task, herresponse to mistakes or frustration,her persistence, and her attentionspan. This was in addition to themore obvious information we re­ceived about the child's muscle de­velopment (and perhaps her socialskills). We also learned that ourinterpretations of behavior were inlarge part subjective and must beworded as possibilities, not facts.

While these experiences seemedto bolster a developing skill in sepa­rating fact from interpretation andnoting how a mature teacher handleschallenging child behaviors, we stilldid not develop a profound under­standing of the importance of usingthese observations until we becameteachers. What we did retain wasthe knowledge that the ability to

104 • CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

look carefully at children developsover time and is deepened only withextensive teaching practice. Weshare these early learnings with ourstudents today.

Remembering the developmentalpath we moved along, we try tohelp students find their voices re­garding their own sense of teacher,sharing those perceptions with eachother, and connecting those self­observations or reflections to whatthey see practicing teachers do. Inclass, we discuss teachers they hadin their early school years, thosethey have observed as visitors inclassrooms, and any they may haveworked with as aides or pre-profes­sional interns. Over a semester (15weeks), students become more cir­cumspect as well as more construc­tively critical of the teachers theyobserve, and more sensitive andaware of the difficulty and com­plexity of carrying out the tasks of aclassroom teacher.

At the beginning level ("The De­veloping Professional" class), weintroduce the concept of observa­tion in the university classroomsetting by asking students to lookaround the room for objects andfurnishings that they have neverseen before, look carefully at eachother (each student changes an itemof clothing), and look for somethingon the way back to their living quar­ters that they have neverbefore seen.These simple activities give themthe sense of how to observe withoutthe pressure of writing anythingdown. The next step is to learn torecord child observations whileavoiding value judgments, such as"Sheneka is a sweet thing who al­ways minds the teacher." Whenstudents learn to make this shift inthinking, they are ready for the nextlevel of observation. As one stu­dent commented in her final self­evaluation:

Watching and recording the actions ofchildren is invaluable. There is no bet­ter way to learn about the children

around you than to watch them, care­fully and with an objective eye. Writingdown exact conversations ... helps toportray how children think and wherethey get their ideas from. It's also a goodway to find out what's going on in thechild's life without putting [her] on thespot by asking.

At the intermediate level (the"Implementing the Curriculum"class), students continue to recordobservations, selecting one child intheir practicum classroom and keep­ing written notes while acting as anassistant teacher throughout thesemester. As a written assignmentin the form of a letter to the child'sparents, students must translatetheir notes into language that par­ents can understand and accept. Theparents do not actually receive thisletter, which allows students thefreedom to make mistakes withoutcausing parents distress.

One of the foundations of devel­opmentally appropriate practice isknowledge, gained through obser­vation, of the individual children.Once students have an emergingunderstanding of how to obtain thisknowledge, we move on to a discus­sion of other appropriate teachingpractices in the classroom.

Strategies To ImproveStudents' Teaching PracticesWe use many methods, techniques,and strategies (MTSs) to help stu­dents apply principles of child de­velopmentand appropriate teachingpractices.

Modeling: Teaching practices in­volve teachers' actions as they pre­pare for, go about, and evaluatetheir work in the classroom, andinclude interactions with children,parents, and colleagues. Studentsoften come in with many experi­ences in early childhood settings.We begin to teach them about ap­propriate teaching practices on theirfirst day in our university class­rooms. As we greet them and intro­duce the semester's goals and

objectives, we present ourselves asprofessionals who are interested inand have high expectations for eachstudent. We are warm and friendly,organized and prepared. We clearlyexplain our expectations of themwith regard to their work, as well astheir behavior and dispositions. Wemake our policies explicit so theyknow what to expect of us as in­structors. We hope that they emu­late these practices in theirclassrooms.

ObservingTeachers inAction: Atthe beginning level, students observeteacher behaviors and characteris­tics that reflect best practices. Theyrecord situations in their practicumclassroom exactly as they see andhear them, then highlight the MTSsthey saw and heard teachers use.This process helps them to focus onthe ways in which teachers deal withindividual children, extendchildren's learning, and teach prob­lem solving and conflict resolution,among other practices. At the inter­mediate level, students act as teacherassistants in the classroom and areencouraged to question teachersrespectfully about practices theyobserve. In the university class­room, the instructor might modelthe wording of a question that astudent feels uncomfortable asking.Instead of phrasing a question in away that could sound rude (e.g.,asking "Why did you do that?"), astudent might say, "I noticed thatyou held Tony on your lap at grouptime. I'm curious about why youdid that."

DiscussingSample Scenarios: Wediscuss situations involvingchildrenand have group discussions of ap­propriate teacher responses. Manyexamples come from the students;for example, a child in one of theChildren's Institute classrooms dis­covered that he could get a lot ofattention if he simply took off all ofhis clothes! The student who re­ported this behavior provoked alively discussion about how to dealwith a child's socially unacceptable

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Figure 2

BEGINNING LEVEL:

QUALITIES, AnITUDES,AND BEHAVIORS FOR

CURR 215, THE DEVELOPING PROFESSIONAL

III. Modeling BehaviorsA competent early childhood teacher:

• Models helping and sharing• Models good body and verbal language• Models independent behavior

I. Personal Qualities and AttitudesA competent early childhood teacher:

• Is prompt and conscientious about attendance• Is alert, enthusiastic, and interested• Is responsible for carrying through directions• Shows positive response to guidance from supervisor

Writing Assignments: At the be­ginning level, students write paperson their favorite teachers from theirpast; on their assessment of childbehaviors that reflect their under­standing of cognitive, affective, andphysical-motor development; andon teacher-child guidance situationsthat highlight appropriate teachingpractices. Students begin to learnthe rudiments of planning curricu­lum at the intermediate level. Theymust plan two activities, carry themout with children, and evaluate themin writing. Toward the end of thesemester they are responsible forplanning, directing, and evaluatingan entire three-hour session in theirpracticum classroom. They are ex­cited to be "in charge." The stu­dents often report how challengingit is to plan for each child, have allthe materials ready, manage every­thing that happens during the ses­sion, and take responsibility forcleaning up. They see this session asa useful assignment in preparationfor student teaching.

Supervised Practice: As discussedabove, our students spend a total of72 hours in supervised pre-studentteaching placements in our on-cam­pus child care center. The staff iskey to a successful experience. Thesix lead teachers have master's de­grees, the assistant teachers havebachelor's degrees, and all haveextensive experience working withyoung children. Since the center isunder the auspices of the Univer­sity Health Services, rather than theCollege of Education, we do notpersonally supervise our studentsthere. But our relationship with thestaff is congenial, collegial, andmutually supportive. Our studentsreceive mid-term and final evalua­tions that assess their progress inseveral areas (see Figures 2 and 3).

The Importance ofthe SupervisorThe supervisory framework that wehave developed is a systematic ap­proach to helping students integrate

and discuss information about thedevelopment of the typical youngchild from birth to age 8.

Readings: At both levels, we useMeetingtheChallenge: Effective Strat­egies for Challenging Behaviours inEarly Childhood Environments byKaiser and Rasminsky (1999). Atthe beginning level, students read thistext and discuss the general appli­cability of its information. At theintermediate level, they are asked spe­cificquestions about the content andhow to apply it to the children withwhom they are working. Each classalso has a grammar book, and acoursepack that includes assign­ments, class exercises, and articles.

behavior. Another child thought hecould fly like Superman as he re­peatedly put on a cape and tried tojump off the five-foot-high loft, lead­ing to a discussion about the impor­tance of closely supervising childrento ensure their safety. Many stu­dents work in child care centers toearn money, and so have specificsituations to share.

Providing Direct Instruction: Atboth levels, students are given in­formation about such things as thetypes and possible causes ofchildren's aggression. They aregiven verbal strategies for encour­aging a child to change his or herbehavior. We continuously present

IV. Reactive and Instructive BehaviorsA competent early childhood teacher:

• Encourages children's efforts to use social skills• Encourages children's verbalization• Encourages children's independence• Gives meaningful direction• Asks leading questions to stimulate children's thinking

IL Nurturing and Supporting Behaviors (includes the followingproximity behaviors)A competent early childhood teacher:

• Easily smiles, winks, grins• Gets down to child's level• Is able to embrace, pat, hold hands/arm• Offers statements of affection, praise,and approval

106 • CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Figure 3

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL:QuAUI1~S, A'I 111OOES, AND BEHAVIORS

'Oil CUJ.Ul303, IMPLEMENTING THE CUlUUCULUM

L PascmaI Qualities, Attitudes, and BehavionA competent early childhood teacher:

• Forms close ~tionships with teachers• Is motivated to learnnew techniques art4 strategies• Is able to function as a member of a team• MUes important contributions to pre!post-session e:ti.s<:U&sions

D. Effective..ess With ChildrenA competent early childhood teacher:

• Models joy and interest in learning• Uses appropriate verbal behaviors• States clear behavior expectations• Appropriately channels children's inappropriate behaviors

ilL Curric:ulum: Pluming, Preparation, PresentationA competent early chi1d.hood teacher:

• Plans appropriate activities• Gives meaningful verbal directions tochildreri and staff• Solicits .ideas ani information froJb. children

.... •·lXtends childlen'8 interest inactivities

theory with practice and learn tothink seriously about children andteaching. The developmental per­spectives on supervision espousedby Cahoon and Taylor (1985) andCaruso and Fawcett (l999) haveguided the formulation of severalsupervisory principles, roles, andfoci that have been designed to helpstudents attain competencies at dif­ferent levels of pre-professionaldevelopment. The principles weendorse are that thesupervisorshould:

• Understand how adults, as wellas children, learn

• Teachappropriateprinciples,con­cepts, and information

• Provide clearly articulated goalsfor students so they understandwhat is expected of them

• Model the personal attributes,dispositions, and adult behav­iors expected of early childhoodprofessionals

• Help students plan and organize

their learning and encourage stu­dents to develop the intellectualskills required of an early child­hood teacher.

SummaryIn a world of increasing demand forearly childhood programs, high­quality professional teacher prepa­ration programs are critical.Although training occurs at manylevels, baccalaureate early child­hood teacher education programsremain a major source of ECE per­sonnel. Such programs must helpstudents to develop appropriatequalities, attitudes, and teachingbehaviors for the complex and diffi­cult tasks they will face throughouttheir teaching careers. We musthelp undergraduate students learnto apply child development prin­ciples to children's behavior andenvironments, and to develop theability to explain the theoretical con­structs of their programs to others.

ReferencesAssociation for Childhood Education In­

ternational. (1997). Preparationofearlychildhood teachers: A position paper.Childhood Education, 73, 164-165.

Benham, N., Miller, T.,& Kontos, S. (1988).Pinpointing staff training needs in childcare centers. Young Children, 43(4), 9­16.

Bredekamp,S., & Copple, C. (Eds.). (1997).Developmentally appropriate practice inearly childhood programs (Rev. ed.).Washington, DC: National Associationfor the Education of Young Children.

Cahoon, 0., & Taylor, B. (1985, Novem­ber). Hand in glove: Supervision andadministration. Paper presented at theannual meeting of the National Asso­ciation for the Education of YoungChildren, New Orleans.

Caruso, J., & Fawcett, M. (1999). Supervi­sioninearlychildhood education: A devel­opmental perspective. New York:Teachers College Press.

Clawson, M. A. (1999). Continuity be­tween course content and lab schoolpractice: Outcomes of a self-study ofthe lab school at Syracuse University.Journal ofEarly Childhood Teacher Educa­tion, 20(1), 7-17.

Erdman, J. (1983). Assessing the purposesofearly field experience programs. Jour­nal of Teacher Education, 34(4), 27-31.

Gilbert, J. L. (1999). Campus early child­hood laboratory schools: Partners inteacher education programs. Journal ofEarly Childhood Teacher Education, 20(1),67-74.

Horm-Wingerd, D. M., Warford, S. D. G.,& Penhollow, P. C. (1999). Making theconnection through staffing: Mecha­nisms to increase consistency betweenuniversity early childhood educationcourses and child development labschool practices. Journal of Early Child­hood Teacher Education, 20(1), 29-39.

Kaiser, B.,& Rasminsky.]. (1999). Meetingthechallenge: Effective strategies for chal­lengingbehaviours inearlychildhoodenvi­ronments. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:Canadian Child Care Federation.

Katz, L. G. (1992). Confessions of a teachereducator. Journal of Early ChildhoodTeacher Education, Spring, 14-21.

Lay-Dopyera, M. L., & Lay-Dopyera, J. E.(1987). Strategies for teaching. In C.Seefeldt (Ed.), The early childhood cur­riculum(pp.13-33). New York: Teach­ers College Press.

Stronge, J. (2002). Qualities of effectiveteachers. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Zeichner, K. (1978). The studentteachingexperience. Actionin Teacher Education,1,58-61.

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