Management
Positive Guidance

Promoting Guidance: Administrative Supports

In this lesson you will learn about the impact of a well-designed and organized learning environment on children’s and staff members’ senses of well-being and belonging. You will learn how the use of environmental assessment tools and reflective supervision practices can support staff members in their use of positive guidance practices. Resources for creating professional development activities that focus on positive guidance and environmental strategies are included.

Objectives
  • Describe the connection between the arrangement of the program environment and promoting a sense of positive well-being.
  • Learn about tools that may help you and your staff assess the learning environment.
  • Evaluate a list of evidence-based resources that may be used in professional development activities that focus on positive guidance practices and program improvement.
  • Reflect on staff supervision practices and their alignment to your program’s mission and philosophy.

Learn

Know

“The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences.” – Loris Malaguzzi

Your program’s values, mission, and philosophy are the foundation for how you and staff interact with children, families, and colleagues. A knowledgeable, well-trained professional staff lays the foundation for building a climate that supports positive guidance.

As we think about positive guidance practices, we can refer to the Pyramid Model (http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/ ) to illustrate the components of a high-quality approach to positive behavior supports for children and youth.

Visual pyramid model for foundations of supporting children's positive behavior in child-care and youth programs The Pyramid Model is a graphic representation of how child-development and youth programs can lay the foundations to support children’s positive behavior. This evidence-based model has been found to be an effective tool to guide early care and education professionals in planning environmental strategies, social and emotional instruction, and individualized behavior change programs for children. The Pyramid Model is widely used in many early care and education programs. Watch the following brief video presentation to learn about the Pyramid Model:

https://youtu.be/A_byPfNPkKM

Pyramid Components to Promote Positive Guidance

As a manager and program leader, you can use this model during professional development activities and in reflective supervision meetings with staff. Each segment of the pyramid contributes to a positive program climate for staff, children, and families. A trained staff is critical in order to effectively use positive guidance techniques. For many staff members, positive guidance practices may be a new method of interacting with children. Your support is critical for staff members to become comfortable with new ways of thinking about and interacting with children that focus on building positive relationships even when children engage in challenging behaviors.

Yellow: Effective Workforce (Systems and policies promote and sustain the use of evidence-based practices .)

Your personal and professional support for staff helps them engage in positive guidance practices. Individual goal setting and professional growth plans are critical to creating a program climate that values ongoing, lifelong learning. As a manager, you are an essential resource as you provide staff with the support they need to bring up any concerns or questions about how to address children’s mistaken behaviors. Your use of reflective supervision with staff creates a supportive climate where staff members feel heard and comfortable with sharing ideas and trying new strategies. You contribute to building an effective workforce by:

  • Recognizing staff for outstanding contributions
  • Supporting staff as they learn new strategies for working with children, youth, and families
  • Holding yourself and your staff accountable for articulating and practicing program policies
  • Using data to indicate areas of need or change and planning actions to address those needs

Blue: Nurturing and Responsive Relationships (Supportive, responsive relationships among adults and children is an essential component to promote healthy social emotional development.)

To create nurturing and responsive relationships, you must build individual relationships with children, staff, and families. Being available during pick up and drop off to talk with families or drop in on youth games keeps you involved in daily interactions. Continuity of care and assigning primary care providers promotes warm, ongoing relationships among staff and families. When staff and families feel acknowledged and valued by you, they will in turn be more resilient when interacting with the children. Staff members will view you as an ally in their work with children. The trust they feel from you can support them as they engage in problem solving and teaching children “what to do” instead of focusing on who holds power over the child. You may contribute to nurturing and responsive relationships by:

  • Holding celebrations and acknowledging positive events in the lives of staff, children, and families
  • Speaking positively and with enthusiasm about children, staff, and families
  • Welcoming culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse children and their families; providing materials in the home language in print and on the web site
  • Engaging families in the program by asking about their child’s interests, their caregiving practices, routines, and preferences

Blue: High Quality Supportive Environments (High quality early childhood environments promote positive outcomes for all children.)

The physical environment of classrooms, offices, lounges, and storage and outdoor spaces is a major component of ensuring a high-quality program. The program environment can influence the use of positive guidance practices. When children feel safe and secure, and have meaningful activities that engage them, they are less likely to engaging in challenging behaviors. As the manager, you are trusted to ensure that the program environments are safe and secure for children, staff, and families. You offer information about how to obtain necessary resources, materials, and equipment to ensure high-quality environments in which staff can engage in nurturing relationships with children and families. Environmental quality includes your oversight of all program spaces (e.g., organized family corner, clear and welcoming paths into and out of the center, attractive working outdoor play and recreation equipment, indoor appropriately sized furnishings, teacher technology equipment and current software, clean and organized staff lounge and work rooms).

There are several excellent commercially available assessment tools that can assist you and your staff to objectively rate your program’s environment and help you set goals for improving the quality of your program. Training is offered in different areas across the U.S. You may want to speak with your supervisor about how to obtain training.

Each of the following environmental assessment tools focuses on a particular age range.

If your program has adopted a particular curriculum, there may be a rating scale that addresses program quality in relation to the components of that particular curriculum model (e.g., High Scope or the Creative Curriculum).

Program rating scales and other tools that assess the environment are meant to be conversation starters. They provide objective information that is evidence-based and reliable. That information can then be used to have meaningful conversations with staff, trainers and coaches, and community members about what the program is doing successfully and where there is room for improvement. Program rating scales also help you as a manager learn about resources that staff need to be successful.

Positive Child Guidance: The Environment’s Role

As the manager, you are trusted to make sure that the program environments are safe and secure for children, staff, and families.

Green: Targeted Social Emotional Supports (Systematic approaches to teaching social skills can have a preventive and remedial effect.)

Many young children engage in challenging behavior because they have not been taught appropriate social skills. As the program manager, you will lead staff in intentionally teaching children appropriate social skills. These skills include sharing, turn taking, expressing emotions appropriately, taking another’s perspective, and using words and other communication strategies to resolve conflicts.

There are some excellent social skills training curricula that you should learn about and perhaps adopt as part of your program’s curricula. This is a short list of widely adopted social skills curricula:

You can obtain more information about a variety of evidence-based social-emotional curricula and behavior interventions in Powell and Dunlap’s Evidence-Based Social-Emotional Curricula and Intervention Packages for Children 0-5 Years and Their Families.

As you interact with staff and families, think critically about your own intentional interactions. As the program leader, everyone looks to you for guidance on providing information and feedback to others. Carefully plan what you will say if you have to deliver some difficult information to a staff member or parent. Your modeling of positive interactions will reinforce the relationship-based climate you want to promote within your program.

Red: Intensive and Individualized Intervention (Assessment-based intervention that results in individualized behavior supports)

You will find that some children will need intensive individualized intervention to address their challenging behaviors. Some staff will require a great deal of support to determine the meaning behind children’s challenging behaviors and to choose appropriate responses to that behavior.

Assessing behavior, determining the meaning (or function) behind that behavior, and planning appropriate responses is a team effort. You cannot create an intensive behavior plan for a child without using a team approach by including the child’s family.

As program manager, you will need to create a system for staff to use when they have a concern about a child’s challenging behavior. Staff members need training and guidance about how to observe and record information about challenging behaviors so they can provide objective, data-based descriptions of children’s behavior. You also need to be a keen observer and recorder of behavior as you are an important participant in planning behavior supports. You play a significant role in working with staff to plan meaningful professional development that will empower them to engage in documenting, understanding, and addressing challenging behavior. In this lesson's Supporting Infants and Toddlers with Challenging Behavior Learn activity, you will read about a manager who used the Pyramid Model to support her staff.

Supervise & Support

Importance of Professional Development

To effectively supervise staff to use positive guidance practices, you will need to feel comfortable and adept at them yourself. There are several activities you can do to prepare yourself in order to promote positive guidance practices:

  • Receive training in the components of the Pyramid Model so you can supervise staff and assist them in implementing recommended practices in child guidance.
  • Receive training on one or more of the environmental assessment tools. These tools can then be used to open a discussion with staff and families about how to improve the program environment.
  • Plan and implement reflective supervision so that you are able to listen and respond to staff needs and concerns. Provide staff with written feedback and work with each staff member to develop personal goals that will improve their knowledge about environmental arrangement, teaching intentional social skills, and working as a team member to address intensive, persistent challenging behavior.

The foundation of the Pyramid Model for promoting social emotional competence in young children is the effective workforce. The rest of the model’s components would not exist without the foundation of an effective workforce. As the program manager, you are responsible for making sure quality improvement occurs continuously in your program. You will do this by engaging in training opportunities for yourself and ensuring that your staff have opportunities to access high-quality professional development.

Supporting Staff: The Importance of Professional Development

Effective managers cultivate a culture of continuous improvement in their program.

Supervision Cycle

The reflective supervision cycle is the manager’s best tool for supporting continuous program improvement. Evaluation of staff is a regular and planned activity. Staff will require different levels of supervision depending on their needs and experience working with children. All staff should know ahead of time when they will be observed and how they will participate in the reflective supervision process. As part of the effective workforce, you too will need to increase your knowledge and skills in promoting positive guidance practices among the staff. Sharing your own goals for learning more about positive guidance practices, social skills curricula, and environmental assessment with staff will demonstrate your willingness to grow professionally.

Intervention Packages

https://static.virtuallabschool.org/atmt/guidance/MG.Guidance_3.AdminSupport_L2.InterventionPackages.pdf

Supporting Infants and Toddlers with Challenging Behavior

Kendro, a 20-month old, began attending Bright Star Child Care Center three months ago. Ms. Geda, one of the toddler caregivers, has noticed that Kendro seems to be “in his own world” and rarely engages with the program caregivers or other children. When other children enter the immediate space where Kendro is playing, he runs away. Kendro also has difficulty transitioning between activities. When the rest of the children are eager to go outdoors or have a snack or meal, Kendro becomes upset about having to stop what he is doing. When he’s upset, Kendro will cry for long periods of time and resist when Ms. Geda tries to comfort him. Ms. Geda is concerned that the Center cannot meet Kendro’s needs. Although she knows she could talk to her administrator, she is also worried that she will be viewed as not having things under control. This is Kendro’s first experience in care outside of his home, and he is an only child. His mother, Janice, reports that they have not had issues with other children when Kendro is with his cousins or with long periods of crying before. Janice says that since enrolling in the Center, she struggles for several hours each evening trying to get Kendro to go to sleep. She let Kendro’s doctor know this at their last appointment, and the doctor said that most children would have adjusted to a new caregiving arrangement by now. Now Janice is conflicted. She needs child care so she can continue to work, but is worried Kendro is not coping well. Challenging Behavior in Very Young ChildrenThe concerns that Kendro’s mother and Ms. Geda face in the above scenario, based on an article written by Hunter and Hemmeter in 2009, may sound familiar to you. Their article, Addressing Challenging Behavior in Infants and Toddlers, discusses research showing that it is common practice for child care centers to request that children leave programs due to their behavior. Hunter and Hemmeter describe how continuing in the current child care environment is problematic because Kendro’s behaviors may become worse. This may affect Kendro’s ability to form healthy relationships with peers and adults and may increase stress for his mother—all of which may make it difficult for Kendro to develop a sense of belonging. The authors note that despite evidence that social-emotional concerns can develop in infants and toddlers (Zeanah, 2000), little is known about the causes of these concerns (Briggs-Gowan, Carter, Bosson-Heenan, Guyer, & Horwitz, 2006) and only a small percentage of children this age receive early intervention or mental health support. This sheds light on the fact that 4-year-olds in preschool programs are the most likely age group of students to be expelled, for children preschool-age through high school (Gilliam, 2005).The Pyramid ModelIn Addressing Challenging Behavior, the authors propose that early care and education programs use the Pyramid Model to promote children’s social-emotional development, prevent challenging behavior, and support children who need help beyond universal strategies.The Pyramid Model is a bottom-up approach, meaning that the tiers build upon one another. For example, a high-quality child care program must have an Effective Workforce, the bottom tier of the Pyramid Model, in order to provide the support described in tiers that sit above it, including Nurturing and Responsive Relationships and High-Quality Supportive Environments.You can learn more about this framework by using the search feature in the VLS website pages and typing, “Pyramid Model” or by directly visiting The National Center for Pyramid Model Interventions website. Hunter and Hemmeter highlight these additional ways caregivers can support young children and prevent challenging behavior:Use screening tools to identify developmental and behavioral concerns as early as possible. This programmatic-wide practice is a helpful way to collect more objective information to support ongoing observational assessments.Embed relationship-building practices into daily routines. Diapering and mealtime are excellent opportunities for caregivers to engage in shared experiences with young children through nurturing touch and conversation. Routines should be structured enough so that there is some predictability for the children, but flexible enough to accommodate specific needs and encourage exploration.Focus on self-regulation to help children learn to self-soothe, the meaning of emotions, and effective ways to communicate wants and needs. Responding to children’s communication, labeling feelings, and providing guided opportunities for children to make decisions and cooperate with others are all strategies that support learning to control one’s emotions and actions.Relationship-Building PracticesAsk parents about their child’s needs, interests, routines, and preferencesTalk frequently with the child’s parents about heir caregiving practices at home (e.g., how do they feed or put the infant to sleep?).Communicate daily with families about children’s activities and experiences.Welcome families and encourage them to stay or visit anytime.Develop rituals with families and children at drop-off and pick-up time.Encourage breast-feeding and offer private, comfortable spaces to do so.Conduct home visits.When referring to positive behavior support (PBS) plans used for children needing intensive intervention, Hunter and Hemmeter say, “The most effective plans are those that are consistently implemented by all the caregivers in a child’s life,” and “Caregivers implementing individual behavior plans need and greatly benefit from opportunities to: reflect on their experience, share concerns and beliefs, gain support, and receive positive recognition for their efforts and accomplishments” (2009). While not formally tiers in the Pyramid Model, Addressing Challenging Behavior in Infants and Toddlers emphasizes the importance of family engagement and reflection—two practices rooted throughout the Virtual Lab School courses. Here the authors suggest additional practices to support and enhance relationships with children and families:The Pyramid Model in PracticeNow that you understand the basics of the Pyramid Model, think back to the scenario at the beginning of this activity. How might the Bright Star Child Care Center use the Pyramid Model to support Kendro, Janice, and Ms. Geda? Read the second part of this scenario here and reflect how you can support your staff by implementing the practices described in this summary.Ms. Jo, the program administrator at Bright Star Child Care Center, has an open door policy with staff and families and doesn’t hesitate to step in when help is needed in a classroom. She is always willing to listen to concerns or brainstorm possible solutions (Effective Workforce). After Ms. Geda expressed concern for Kendro, Ms. Jo began to intentionally come into the classroom around the time Janice and Kendro arrive. This allows Ms. Geda to be able to take a bit of extra time to welcome and speak with Janice and Kendro. Ms. Geda has discovered that Kendro loves to play peek-a-boo with his blanket, and doing this has become a part of their morning arrival routine (Nurturing Relationship). Often times, Kendro likes to then take the blanket and have some alone time in the book nook. Ms. Geda has added a few stuffed animals and other soft items in this area (Supportive Environment), so Kendro can start his day off with an enjoyable activity. Ms. Geda and her co-teachers have found that Kendro more easily transitions if they join him in his play about 5 minutes before it is time to go to the next activity (Targeted Social-Emotional Support). Ms. Geda will enter the area where Kendro is playing and narrate what he is doing, “That’s a big block tower!” or sometimes hand him toys or objects he is interested in. They have noticed Kendro loves to play with blocks and will playfully “fly” each one over to him when he wants more. Kendro occasionally will have a meltdown during a transition, but overall there is a decrease. Ms. Geda and Ms. Jo have been in communication with Janice about the strategies they are using and the changes they see. They mostly use a take-home journal where Ms. Geda writes about Kendro’s interests and responses to program activities and strategies, and Janice will use the journal to make comments or ask questions. Though both Ms. Geda and Ms. Jo agree the strategies have been effective in helping Kendro engage with others and transition, they have agreed to formally touch base at the end of the month to reflect on how things are going and determine if further support is needed. Related ResourcesTechnical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Interventions (TACSEI) https://challengingbehavior.cbcs.usf.edu/ TACSEI is funded by the Office of Special Education Programs and focuses on addressing the social–emotional needs of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities. The Web site has multiple resources including recommended practices, case studies, PowerPoint presentations, and tools for teachers.The Emotional Development of Young Children: Building an Emotion-Centered Curriculum (2nd ed.) M. Hyson (2004) New York: Teachers College Press This book includes an overview of social– emotional development and guidance in designing classrooms to promote children’s emotional development.An Activity-Based Approach to Developing Young Children’s Social Emotional Competence J. Squires, & D. Bricker (2007) Baltimore: Brookes This practical guidebook is a ready-to-use, linked system for identifying concerns and improving young children’s social–emotional health. This book walks readers through a five-step intervention process called Activity-Based Intervention: Social-Emotional.Endless Opportunities for Infant and Toddler Curriculum: A Relationship Based Approach S. Peterson & D. Wittmer (2009) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education This is a practical “how-to” book designed to help infant–toddler care teachers plan a responsive and relationship-based curriculum. This book, which helps infant–toddler teachers make intentional decisions about the care they provide, was a primary source for the development of the infant– toddler CSEFEL modules.Strategies for Understanding and Managing Challenging Behavior in Young Children: What Is Developmentally Appropriate—and What Is a Concern? www.ehsnrc.org/PDFfiles/TA10.pdf EHS/NRC Technical Assistance Paper 10, 2006 This useful Technical Assistance paper uses a realistic scenario to: offer insight into infant and toddler behavior, illustrate how temperament relates to challenging behavior, and describe how Early Head Start programs can support infants and toddlers who exhibit challenging behavior. Prepared for the Head Start Bureau, under contract # HHSP23320042900YC, by the Early Head Start National Resource Center @ ZERO TO THREE.Digging Deeper: Looking Beyond Behavior to Discover Meaning, A Unit of Three Lessons, http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/Professio nal%20Development/On-line%20Lessons/ Digging%20Deeper%20-%20Looking%20Beyond% 20Behavior%20to%20Discover%20Meaning/ Digging_Deeper_intro.html These three on-line lessons offer user-friendly self-paced lessons on understanding the meaning of behavior as well as a process for determining how to respond to challenging behavior.Michigan Association of Infant Mental Health (MI-AIMH) www.mi-aimh.org/ The mission of MI-AIMH is to promote and support nurturing relationships for all infants The Web site provides up-to-date information on infant mental health and lists training, resources, and products related to supporting infant mental health.Program for Infant/Toddler Caregivers www.pitc.org/ The Program for Infant/Toddler Caregivers Web site offers information on training, resources, and practices to meet their mission of ensuring America’s infants get a safe, healthy, emotionally secure, and intellectually rich start in life.ReferencesBoyle, C. A., Decouflé, P., & Yeargin-Allsoop, M. Y. (1994). Prevalence and health impact of developmental disabilities. Pediatrics, 93, 863–865.Briggs-Gowan, M. J., Carter, A. S., Bosson- Heenan, J., Guyer, A., & Horwitz, S. Are infant and toddler social-emotional and behavioral problems transient? Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45(7): 849–858.Briggs-Gowan, M. J., Carter, A. S., Irwin, J. R., Wachtel, K., Cicchetti, D. V. (2004). The brief infant-toddler social and emotional assessment: Screening for social-emotional problems and delays in competence. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 29(2), 143–155.Briggs-Gowan, M., Carter, A., Skuban, E. M., & Horwtiz, S. (2001). Prevalence of social emotional and behavioral problems in a community sample of 1- and 2-year-old children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 40(7), 811–819. Campbell, S. B. (1995). Behavior problems in preschool children: A review of recent research. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36(1), 113–149.Danaher, J., Goode, S., & Lazara, A. (Eds.). (2007). Part C updates (9th ed.). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute, National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center. Dunlap, G., Ester, T., Langhans, S., & Fox, L. (2006). Functional communication training with toddlers in home environments. Journal of Early Intervention, 29, 81–97.Dunlap, G., & Fox, L. (1999). A demonstration of behavioral support for young children with autism. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 1(2), 77–87.Fox, L., & Clarke, S. (2006). Aggression? Using positive behavior support to address challenging behavior. Young Exceptional Children Monograph Series, 8, 42–56.Fox, L., Dunlap, G., & Cushing, L. (2002). Early intervention, positive behavior support, and transition to school. Journal of Emotional and Behavior Disorders, 10, 149–157.Fox, L., Dunlap, G., Hemmeter, M. L., Joseph, G. E., & Strain, P. S. (2003). The teaching pyramid: A model for supporting social competence and preventing challenging behavior in young children. Young Children, 58, 48–52. www.challengingbehavior.org/do/resources/ documents/yc_article_7_2003.pdfGilliam, W., (2005). Prekindergarteners left behind: Expulsion rates in state prekindergarten programs. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from www.med.yale.edu/chldstdy/faculty/pdf/ Gilliam05.pdfGowen, J., & Nebrig, J. (2002). Enhancing early emotional development: Guiding parents of young children. Baltimore: Brookes.Grossman, T., Striano, T., & Friederic, A. (2006). Crossmodal integration of emotional information from face and voice in the infant brain. Developmental Science, 9(3): 309–315.Hemmeter, M. L., Corso, R., & Cheatham, G. (2006, February). Addressing social emotional development and challenging behavior: A national survey of early childhood educators. Poster presented at the Conference on Research Innovations in Early Intervention, San Diego.Hemmeter, M. L., Fox, L., Jack, S., & Broyles, L. (2007). A program-wide model of positive behavior support in early childhood settings. Journal of Early Intervention, 29, 337–355.Kagan, S., Tarrant, K., Carson, A., & Kauerz, K. (2006). The Early Care and Education Teaching Workforce: At the Fulcrum. Houston, TX: Cornerstones for Kids National Center for Children and Families: Teachers College, Columbia University www.cornerstones4kids.org/images/ teachers_report_0107.pdfMackrain, M. (2008). Michigan’s Child Care Expulsion Prevention Project. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from http://gucchd.georgetown.edu/ files/conference_calls/TACenter/17Apri08/ Michigan%20CCEP.pptNational Research Council & Institute of Medicine. (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. J. P. Shonkoff & D. A. Phillips, (Eds.), Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Powell, D., Dunlap, G., & Fox, L. (2006).Prevention and intervention for the challenging behaviors of toddlers and preschoolers. Infants and Young Children, 19(1), 25–35.Roberts, R., Attkisson, C., & Rosenblatt, A., (1998). Prevalence of psychopathology among children and adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 715–725. Seibel, N., Britt, D., Gillespie, L. G., & Parlakian, R. (2006). Preventing child abuse and neglect: Parent–provider partnerships in child care. Washington, DC: ZERO TO THREE.Worcester, J., Nesman, J., Raffaele Mendez, L. M., & Keller, H. R. (in press). Giving voice to parents of young children with challenging behavior. Exceptional Children.Zeanah, C. H. (2000). Disturbances of attachment in young children adopted from institutions. Journal of Developmental Behavior Pediatrics, 21(3), 230–236.Adapted from: Hunter, A. and Hemmeter, M. L. (2009, January). The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning: Addressing Challenging Behavior in Infants and Toddlers. ZERO TO THREE.

Explore

There are many high-quality professional-development resources available to you through publishers, websites, free webinars, videos, etc. As a manager, you can provide resources for staff development about using positive guidance practices, enhancing the learning environment, observation and documentation of child behavior, and planning responses to children’s behaviors.

Use the attached Improvement Resources document to explore a few high quality resources. Consider how you might use these resources to improve your program’s quality. Use this chart to determine what training and supports you would need to incorporate these resources into your staff development activities.

Improvement Resources

Explore the following high-quality resources as you consider how you might use them to improve the quality of your program.Resources for Supporting Positive Guidance PracticesHow could this resource be used to improve our program’s quality?What training and/or support do I need in order to use this resource in professional development/training activities?Environmental Assessment Tools (e.g., ITERS, ECERS, SACRS, etc.) ers.fpg.unc.edu  ASQ SE Screening Tool brookespublishing.com  TACSEI Backpack Connection Series (for parents) challengingbehavior.cbcs.usf.edu  Head Start National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning 15 min. In-Service Suites eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov  

Apply

It is helpful to develop a written timeline to plan staff supervision. Think about who will conduct the supervision, when the evaluations will take place, what observation tools will be used to evaluate staff, and when you will meet with each person to provide feedback after the evaluation.

Be sure that within your observational tools or evaluation forms you outline behaviors you expect to see that reflect the philosophy of guidance in your program.  In the attachments below there is a blank sample evaluation form from the Child Care Lounge website (https://www.childcarelounge.com) and it provides just one example of a staff evaluation form that could be used.

  • Does this form capture all the job skills with regards to positive guidance you think should be included in a staff evaluation?
  • How does your current staff evaluation plan support your mission and program philosophy about child guidance?

Next, look at the example staff evaluation form.  Based on this staff member’s performance,

  • What would be your next steps?
  • What would you recommend in terms of professional development?  Would any of the tools you researched in this lesson be applicable?
  • What goals might you construct with this staff member?

Child Care Staff Evaluation

Whether you are child care administrator, director or a supervisor of student teachers; it is likely you will being evaluating caregivers. The evaluation of staff serves many purposes. In addition to a tool used for promotion and dismissal, staff evaluations can be valuable sources of feedback and tools used for professional growth. Used properly, checklists and performance appraisals can help promote open communication between the daycare staff and administration and clarify expectations.Many directors will often give new providers a copy of the evaluation so that they know what the work expectations are and can measure their own progress. It is helpful to establish a set guideline for when evaluation will occur. Some programs will schedule staff evaluations at the end of a probationary period and then annually after that. It is helpful to ask the staff member to complete the form first, thereby allowing your ratings to show areas of agreement or discrepancy.Key: A = Always; F = Frequently; O = Occasionally; R = Rarely; N = NeverGeneral Work HabitsArrives on timeAFORNReliable in attendanceAFORNResponsible in job dutiesAFORNAlert in health and safety mattersAFORNFlexible with assignments and scheduleAFORNMaintains a positive attitudeAFORNGives ample notice for absenceAFORNRemains calm in tense situationsAFORNInteraction with ChildrenFriendly, warm and affectionateAFORNEye to eye interactionAFORNUses modulated, appropriate voiceAFORNShows respect for individualsAFORNIs aware of developmental levelsAFORNEncourages independence and self-helpAFORNAvoids stereotyping and labelingAFORNReinforces positive behaviorAFORNUses positive discipline techniquesAFORNRegularly records observations of childrenAFORNClassroom ManagementCreates an inviting learning environmentAFORNMaintains a safe environmentAFORNProvides age appropriate activitiesAFORNDevelops goals from observationsAFORNFacilitates growth in all areas of developmentAFORNServes as an appropriate role modelAFORNAnticipates problems and redirects behaviorAFORNIs flexible, responsive to children's needsAFORNIs prepared for the day's activitiesAFORNHandles transitions wellAFORNWorking With ParentsAvailable and approachable with parentsAFORNListens and responds well to parentsAFORNIs tactful with negative informationAFORNShows respect for those from diverse backgroundsAFORNMaintains confidentialityAFORNSeeks a partnership with parentsAFORNRegularly shares information about the child's progressAFORNInvolves parents in center activities and eventsAFORNWorking With Co-workersIs friendly and respectfulAFORNStrives to assume a fair share of workAFORNShares ideas and materialsAFORNCommunicates directly, avoids gossipAFORNApproaches criticism with learning attitudeAFORNLooks for ways to be helpfulAFORNSolves conflict independentlyAFORNProfessionalism and GrowthTakes job seriously, seeks skill improvementAFORNParticipates in workshops, classesAFORNSets goals for personal growthAFORNBehaves in an ethical mannerAFORNExamples of Behavior From Each Evaluation CategoryGeneral Work Habits Working With Children Classroom Management Working With Parents Working With Co-workers Professionalism and Growth Additional Comments: Goals for Improvement: 

Demonstrate

True or False? The Pyramid Model is a graphic representation of how management can lay the foundation to support staff members’ positive interactions with families.
Finish this statement: As a manager, you can help build an effective workforce by…
You are new to your role as program manager and would like to begin staff evaluations. What steps should you follow?
References & Resources

Center for the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL). Retrieved from http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/

Child Development Institute. Retrieved from http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/

Hunter, A., & Hemmeter, M.L. (2009). Addressing Challenging Behavior in Infants and Toddlers. Zero to Three, 29(3), 5-12.

Lentini, R., Vaughn, B. J., & Fox, L. (2008). Creating Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior. Retrieved from https://challengingbehavior.cbcs.usf.edu/Pyramid/pbs/TTYC/index.html

National Association for the Education of Young Children Accreditation Systems. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/accreditation

Powell, D., & Dunlap, G. (2009). Evidence-Based Social-Emotional Curricula and Intervention Packages for Children 0-5 Years and Their Families (Roadmap to Effective Intervention Practices). Tampa, Florida: University of South Florida, Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED577993

Technical Assistance Center for Social and Emotional Development for Young Children. Retrieved from https://challengingbehavior.cbcs.usf.edu/

The Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute Environmental Rating Scales. Retrieved from https://ers.fpg.unc.edu/