Bringing Reflective Guidance to Your

ClassroomChapter 10 from Guiding Children’s Social and Emotional Development:

A Reflective Approach; Katz, Janice Englander; 2014

Eight Themes

• Self-reflection• Individualize experiences• Enhance “goodness-of-fit”• Create a positive classroom atmosphere• Teach life skills in every day activities• Appreciate challenging behavior as an opportunity to help child build

skills• Target specific skills through intentional activities• Build relationships

Figure 10.1

• Note Figure 10.1 in your text on p. 187.• How is “challenging” behavior different from “annoying” behavior?• Annoying behaviors are those behaviors that bother us because of

lack of “goodness of fit”, incompatibility of temperaments, or other characteristics that make one type personality at odds with another.• Challenging behaviors are “actions on the part of a child that are

disruptive, offensive, dangerous, or hurtful; conduct that interferes with a child’s functioning, learning, or relationships”

CSEFEL Pyramid Model

Children with challenging behaviors will need “targeted social emotional supports” and/or “intensive interventions”

Most children will have positive social and emotional development in an environment that provides the first 3 tiers of the csefel pyramid model

ABCs of Behaviors

• The last questions of Figure 10.1 address the ABCs of Behaviors. • Following careful observations of child, a teacher should be able to

analyze the information• A supportive teacher will be able to • Identify triggers (antecedents) of the behavior • Identify the behavior in objective terms• Identify the maintaining consequences – what is happening that keeps this

child doing the challenging behavior rather than the desired behavior?

Self-Reflection

• What “stuff” do you bring into the classroom?• How is it helpful (or hurtful) to your interactions with children,

coworkers, parents, or others?• Are you able to respond intentionally rather than impulsively when

things happen? If it’s one thing teachers are guaranteed, it’s that things happen in a classroom full of children!• Do you have the skills to analyze yourself, classroom, interactions and

relationships, lesson plans, communication, etc., etc. to guide decisions to provide the best atmosphere for helping children develop better social and emotional skills or address challenging behaviors?

Individualize Experiences

• Remember DAP? Do you know the individual strengths and needs of each child in your care? Can you use this information to support the developmental needs of each child?• Provide a variety of activities• Activities must be a balance between familiar and enjoyable and

challenging. • Are the activities respectful of the unique characteristics of the child’s

family?• Even if we don’t agree with a family’s values and culture, can we use any

information we gather to support the child – not judge or air the family’s business?

Enhance Goodness-of-Fit

• Create an environment that supports the temperament and personalities of the people in it.• Have differences? Provide variety that supports everyone while

helping children (and adults) learn to be more flexible in areas in which they are less comfortable. • NAEYC Key Element 1c – “Use developmental knowledge to create

healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning environments.” This speaks to the DAP concepts of knowledge of child development, knowledge of children as individuals, and respect for the cultural context of each child’s family.

Create a Positive Environment

• How does your space, time, and materials support positive social and emotional skill development and interactions?• Provide quiet and active spaces• Be predictable, yet flexible each day• Use teachable moments and provide solid lesson plans• Teach social and emotional skills both directly and indirectly• Provide familiar and novel materials that are interesting, yet

challenging• Support positive development in all developmental domains

Teaching Life Skills

• Teach life skills in everyday instances• Provide meaningful play opportunities that enhance skill building• Games – rule following, waiting turns, solving problems, handling

disappointment• Unstructured playground time – make choices, conflict resolution• Dramatic play – autonomy, empathy, creativity, communication

Building Skills

• Reframe that thinking (Remember the activity we did early in the semester?)! Look at challenging behaviors as opportunities to help children build social and/or emotional skills• This approach allows us to be more objective and less emotional and

reactive when dealing with challenging behaviors. • Take the time to observe, analyze, consult with colleagues and/or

parents, and develop direct and indirect approaches to support the child and help her build those skills.

Planning Activities to Target Specific Skills

• Once you identify problem behaviors and determine specific skills to target, then

• Identify sub-skills that make up the behavior; for example, anger management requires• Self-awareness• Identification of triggers• Calming strategies• Choosing appropriate responses (Katz, 2014)

Planning Activities to Target Specific Skills (cont.)

• Plan specific activities that target desired behaviors in all areas• Use “teachable moments” and other natural opportunities to address

specific skills• Help children work through and practice desired behaviors

• Discussion Board or in class – Exercise 3 on p. 194. Work together! Collaboration provides more support and ideas! Further directions will be posted.

Develop Child and Family Relationships

• Children (and the rest of us) are more likely to cooperate with people they like and that genuinely like them!• Get to know each child as an individual• Develop relationships with each child’s family• Respect each child’s family as partners

• Remember NAEYC Standard 2: Building Family and Community Relationships• 2a: Knowing about and understanding diverse family and community characteristics • 2b: Supporting and engaging families and communities through respectful, reciprocal

relationships • 2c: Involving families and communities in young children’s development and learning