To prepare
Read Chapter 10: Effective Guidance Interventions (ATTACHED) SOURCE:
Miller, D. F. (2023). Positive child guidance (9th ed.). Cengage Learning U.S.
Read “Stop Doing That!”: Effects of Teacher Reprimands on Student Disruptive Behavior and Engagement https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1098300720935101
Watch Redirecting Behavior https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsapgGJOAwM
PART ONE:
In your initial post
Identify three behaviors that are typically present in an early childhood learning environment.
Explain for each behavior whether it warrants an intervention, a redirection, or if it should be ignored.
Describe if the approach to the behavior is rooted in discipline, punishment, or positive guidance, and why.
PART TWO:
Guided Response
Respond to at least two of your peers’ posts using the connect, extend, question strategy. Include the following in your responses:
Connect: Discuss one connection you made with your peers’ posts.
Extend: Explain one additional idea related to the focus of the discussion.
Question: Ask a question to keep the conversation going.
Again, though two replies is the basic expectation, for deeper engagement and learning you are encouraged to provide responses to any comments or questions others have given to you to further the conversation and provide further opportunities to demonstrate your content expertise, critical thinking, and real-world experiences with the topic of building trust among children and families in early childhood contexts and how it relates to the design of curriculum in your classroom. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful and interactive discourse in this discussion.
FIRST CLASSMATE ASHLEY:
Typical behavior in the early childhood learning environment that I chose was conflict over toys, temper tantrums, and throwing items.
Conflict over toys – Children often get into disputes, leading to grabbing, arguments, and tears.
Response- Teaching some problem-solving skills can benefit from redirection
Approach- Modeling the appropriate ways to share toys. Remind children to take turns and ask for a turn with the toy.
Temper tantrum- Expressing a strong emotion before being able to communicate.
Response- Walk over and show empathy. Validate the feelings by saying, ” I see that you are upset, and that is ok.”
Approach- Give the child choices, and it will help them gain control over their actions. Additionally, trying the distraction method will redirect the child. Try to give them their favorite toy or create a fun activity.
Throwing items that can hurt someone or damage something
Response- Explain that we do not throw toys or anything that can hurt someone or damage something
Approach- Taking the hand in which the toy was thrown. Look at them directly in the eye and let them know that you are serious. Telling them that it is unacceptable behavior and that they should not throw toys.
SECOND CLASSMATE MEERAE:
Three behaviors that are typically present in an early childhood learning environment are aggressiveness, stubbornness, and disruptiveness.
Many children can show acts of aggressiveness; whether through physical altercations with another child or with the adult in the classroom. If a child is expressing their emotions through hitting, biting, or any harmful act towards another individual it will warrant an intervention. As an educator, it can be possible to redirect the behavior before it escalates further. However, when a child is physically harming others in the classroom, it becomes an unsafe environment. Some children who express acts of violence are mimicking what happens at home and, therefore, bring it to school too. However, positive guidance is always the most effective way of approaching this behavior. Explaining why certain behaviors are unacceptable. Furthermore, many children do not know how to process their emotions, as an educator, it is important to build trust with the child and encourage them to use words to describe their feelings instead of being physical.
Stubbornness and lack of sharing are very common with young children. Redirection can easily solve this behavior. Explaining how sharing is nice and other children are their friends. Many children are protective of their toys, and belongings, and want things to go their way. Although it is common, it is important to explain why it’s not acceptable. Encouraging sharing and listening to the teacher is important for a healthy classroom setting.
Disruptiveness may need an intervention before redirection. Many challenging behaviors are shown through children’s actions or words. Disrupting the class can be addressed by reminding a child about the Second Step curriculum, “body calm, voices quiet, ears are listening.” I have practiced this myself with the children I work with and have seen significant improvements in their behavior. Small reminders and acknowledging their presence are important to make a child feel seen. Positive guidance and limiting the attention drawn to the disruptive child can help the class proceed normally.
