Common Issues

As I have been visiting sites and doing practice Environmental Rating Scale assessments and videos for the CLASS assessment, I am finding some items that are common issues for most sites.  I thought this would be a good forum to let you all know about a few items that many programs are not meeting so you can consider if they are items you may choose to elevate in your program.

Remember, for the assessment, scores are averaged.  It is not necessary to score at the top of the scale on all items.  If something does not fit with your philosophy, is too expensive to change, etc.  no worries!

Here are some of the items that I see could be improved at multiple sites…

Furnishings for relaxation
In the ERS, this element looks for softness in the child's environment.  Soft furnishings are one element:  rugs, pillows, bean bag chairs, sofa, carpeting, a "cozy" area, etc.  Soft toys are another element:  stuffed animals, soft blocks, fuzzy balls, puppets and soft dolls, etc.  This item is included because "children need softness in their physical surroundings It helps them relax and feel comfortable."  Furnishings/items that allow a child to "relax, completely escaping the hardness of the typical early childhood classroom."

                       

As with many elements of the ERS, this becomes a counting exercise.  “Some” and “Many” are defined. 

Room Arrangement
Consider adding labels with words/photos to shelves and containers to assist children in maintaining the environment



Child Related Display and Art
Most of the children's art that is displayed tends to be theme related, and they all look similar (all pumpkins – though each child created his/hers in their own way).  ERS looks for children’s art where the child is able to pick the subject and media themselves.  I see this happening all the time, but those art pieces tend to be sent home instead of posted.  Consider a gallery of art that the children do completely on their own.   Also, ERS looks for art displayed that is 3 dimensional – clay sculptures, woodwork, cardboard constructions… 

Dramatic PlayConsider adding more “Male” dress up clothing.  ERS points out that children are identifying gender roles so having both traditionally male and female dress up items is important.  Include more diversity in your dramatic play.  Cultural fabrics, empty food containers, dishes, etc. are easy to add.  Also consider having at least 2 types of dramatic play.  This could be a housekeeping scenario and also a  post office, for example.  Recycle your junk mail, pick up a couple of light blue shirts at the used clothing store, get some “if it fits it ships” boxes for free at the post office…  One other item in this section is to consider adding dramatic play options to your outdoor area. I often see a plastic kitchen or a playhouse outside, but they have had no props at all.

Science and NatureThis has been surprisingly absent in a lot of programs.  Add collections of natural objects (fall leaves, gourds, rocks, shells),  have some plants or other living things,  add books to your shelf that are factual with real pictures, take advantage of opportunities to talk about nature when outdoors.

Supervision of Outdoor PlayWhile the actual supervision has been great, what gets lost is the quality of the interactions between the adults and children.  Gone are conversations, questions to invite thought, etc.  Most of the interactions outdoors are either between the adults, or are around safety and rules.  Challenge yourself to keep the high quality of interactions both indoors and out.

As I continue doing practice assessments, I'll add more.  Promoting Acceptance of Diversity is one where all improve, and will have a blog post soon.  And, of course, elevating interactions is an on-going work in progress!

    

Make Every Moment Count!

So often I see teachers/providers try to cram a lot of learning into “Circle Time”.  Circle time gets too long, children become disengaged… sound familiar?? Sometimes we forget about the profound learning moments that happen during the other times of the day – free play, outdoor play, etc.

Rather than seeing circle time as the main “time for teaching”, how can you make the other, non-group times into equally important teaching times.

If a few children are sitting in the block area building, what are key, open ended questions that you can ask to learn more about how they think?  What learning can happen for them here?  What can you learn about their emerging skills? How can you integrate what you might have done in a group time into this smaller group?

If you were to sit with a child working with a matching game, how can you begin a conversation that expands on the experience?  That relates the learning of the matching game to other elements in their life?

The CLASS assessment looks to all moments as quality teaching times. 

These opportunities to connect with small groups of children or 1:1 with a child are golden teaching moments.  Perhaps you can shorten your circle time to just the amount that engages the entire group successfully and move some of your teaching times to these more individual opportunities.

Elevate!!

At our reflection meeting last month, we used an exercise that you can use in your program to elevate your practice.

The CLASS assessment is not looking at what activities you do, or what materials you have, but it is looking for you to elevate your practice to a high quality level!  

Take a look at an activity you did today with the children.  It can be a good one, one that turned out badly, or something neutral.  Remember all the details…

Now use this framework to look at how you might have been able to elevate that activity:

Beyond the ABC’s and even D…

E-Every moment counts   Were there missed opportunities?  Times that could have been learning moments that were not taken advantage of? 

F-Frequent   Were your interactions with the children frequent? 

G-Get children to think for themselves   Were there times you told the children what to do when they could have thought for themselves?

H-High Quality   How could you have elevated the quality of your interactions with the children?

I-Intentional     Were your activities and interactions intentional?  Did you know what skills and concepts each child was learning to master and take/make opportunities for them to learn mastery?

Let’s try it out!  Here Is the story we used at the reflection meeting:

A FCC provider was preparing to do a playdough activity with the children.  She had a baby on her hip as she sat the 4 other children, age 2-5, at the table.  She grabbed the playdough and some cookie cutters and rollers.  Before she opened her homemade playdough, she told the children that there needed to be a few rules before they began:  “Let’s keep the playdough on the table so it doesn’t get on the carpet;  Don’t put the playdough in your mouth; and Let’s try not to mix up the colors”.  The children then started in on playing.  From time to time, she tidied up other parts of the room, but kept a close eye on the children.  She asked on child what he was making and he said, “A pizza”.  She said, “A pizza?!  I love pizza!”  She asked them if they knew what the colors of the playdough were.  They correctly answered brown and orange.  She said “Yes!  Brown and orange – the colors of fall!”

Pretty typical activity, right?  Nothing bad at all about this activity.  Could it be elevated?  You bet!

E – every moment counts – how could she have taken advantage of missed opportunities?

F – frequency – what could she have done to make her interactions more frequent?

G – getting children to think for themselves – what would have happened if, instead of telling them the rules, she asked them if they thought they should have some rules before they started playing?  How else could she have encouraged them to think for themselves?

H – high quality – how could she have elevated her interactions?  How about the pizza comment?  The comment about the fall colors?

I – How could she have incorporated the developing skills and interests of each child into this activity?

Now try this with your own scenario.  How could you elevate your own practice?

Keep practicing this elevating reflection.  As you continue to deepen your own skills, you will be able to identify not just where you could have elevated – but where you did!!

Positive vs. Negative Climate

One of the sections in the CLASS assessment looks at Positive Climate vs. Negative Climate.  This is an area where most programs do well.

What makes a climate positive? 

What does a negative climate look/feel like?

The CLASS identifies the following as indicators of a positive climate:

Relationships

·         Physical proximity

·         Matched positive affect

·         Reciprocal interactions

·         Peer connections

Positive Affect

·         Smiling, laughter

·         Enthusiasm

·         Verbal or physical affection

 Respect

·         Warm, calm voice

·         Respectful language and communication

·         Eye contact

·         Body orientation

How would you rate the positivity of your classroom/program?  How could you increase the positive climate?

The CLASS also identifies indicators of a negative climate – for this you hope to have a LOW score!

Negative Affect

·         Irritability

·         Anger

·         Harsh voice

Punitive Control

·         Yelling

·         Threats

·         Physical actions/punishment

Teacher Negativity

·         Sarcastic voice/statement

·         Teasing

·         Humiliation

Child Negativity

·         Peer disputes

·         Escalating frustration

·         Escalation of negativity

I have seen classrooms that would score high in the negative climate.  If you feel that you have times that feel like this, ask yourself, “When and why does this child display negative behavior?”  and “How do I react to specific behaviors or children?”  Are there some children who just push your buttons?  Are there times of the day that everyone just struggles to be pleasant?  Examine those times and feelings and see if some small changes might make a difference. 

Stuff happens...  When do you find the scale tipping toward the negative climate?  What are some ways you can move the scale back to the positive side?  What some coping skills adults can use?  That children can learn?

Reflective Practice

As you move through Level 2 and toward an eventual rating, you will be looking at the ways points are earned in Early Achievers.  To become rated a 3 or higher, you will need to score at least 30 points.

One area to earn 2 points is to participate regularly in a reflective practice group.


This is from the Companion Guide to the Early Achievers Quality Standards, page 16  http://del.wa.gov/publications/elac-qris/docs/EA_facility_companion.pdf

Dedicated time for teaching staff to engage in reflective practice with peer group on a monthly basis
(2 points)

An important part of professionalizing the early care and education field 

is providing the opportunity to participate in peer learning communities. A peer group is a group of providers who have similar needs and interests (i.e., they work with the same age groups or with the same curriculum) who meet regularly to work toward improving practice. This component looks at whether participation in peer groups supports providers to reflect on and improve practice by considering:

•

Do teaching staff participate in peer group reflective practice at least monthly?

For this component,

teaching staff refers to teachers (centers) and FCC primary providers.

A reflect practice group is a supportive, collaborative group where the participants can engage in continuous learning.  It provides a chance to articulate intentions and practices, to examine them and share/learn from each other.

Child Care Resources is starting a reflective practice group for you to participate in.  This will be a great opportunity for your teaching staff/FCC primary providers to engage in deeper thinking about practices and intentions.  A chance to learn and grow together. 

Dates:   September 20, 2012
                October 18, 2012
                November 15, 2012

Location:              Cross of Christ Lutheran Church (site of The Ark Child Care)
                                411 156th Avenue Northeast  Bellevue, WA 98007
                                (Just down the street from Crossroads Mall)

Time:     6:30-7:00 Dinner  (our treat!!)
                7:00-8:30 Discussion

Since the teaching staff will be the ones assessed, and critical in your Early Achiever process, please invite your staff to attend. 

Being able to identify and articulate what we do, why we do it, how we assess the teaching we provide, and how we can learn from the results what we do is a critical part of quality!

Routine Times

The CLASS Assessment videotaping can happen any time during the day (with the exception of outdoor play and naptime).  Routine times could also be observed. 

In sample videos I have observed that are filmed during routine times, there tends to be lots of missed opportunities.  Teachers laying out cots, serving food, chatting with each other, but not providing high quality interactions with the children.

How can you make all times learning times? 

From the CLASS dimension guide:  Slow down and talk with individual children during routine times of the day, such as diapering or mealtimes.  Use this to embed questions and learning opportunities.  Ask children to sequence the diaper-changing routine:  what do we do after we get a wipe?”  Ask questions to compare tastes or sizes during snacks:  “are our apples red on the inside and outside?”  and “Do you have more crackers or grapes?”

It's not always easy to make routine times enriching.  Practice being intentional during routine times.  How can this be a time of learning, too? 

Specific Feedback

How often do you say, "Good job!"  In the CLASS assessment, the assessors will be looking for SPECIFIC feedback instead of such general feedback.  I know this is one that I really need to practice!  Good job comes out of my mouth so easily...

From the Toddler CLASS Dimensions Guide:

When providing feedback, focus on children's accomplishments and recognize their efforts by providing specific statements about their work.  Saying, "I know you could do it!  You matched the two pieces of the puzzle together to make the cat," helps provide the child with individualized recognition and knowledge of the actions that helped the child accomplish the task.

Try it!   Catch yourself when you say "Good Job' and add on to that to make it more specific feedback.

Then make it more frequent.  Make it higher quality.  That's the mantra of Early Achievers!