Sometimes we all struggle with knowing how to respond to others. Think about the following scenarios and how they might influence cognitive development for children or youth. How would you start a conversation with the staff member? Discuss the scenarios with the Training & Curriculum Specialist in your program who also completed these scenarios. How do your responses differ relative to your roles? How can you work together to support staff members in these situations?
| If you saw. . . |
You would say. . . |
| Trent is a new caregiver in the infant classroom. He has very little experience with infants, but he is warm and energetic. He seems to gravitate towards the mobile infants. You have noticed that he waits until one of the other caregivers responds to younger infants when they cry. |
“What have you enjoyed about starting in the infant room? Which children have you made a strong connection with?” “I noticed how much Javion enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with you today. It’s great that you have already built such a strong relationship with some of the children. Are there children you feel less comfortable with? What can we do to help you build your confidence?”
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| Meredith and Alacia work together in the preschool classroom. They have become good friends. You have noticed them becoming chattier with each other. In fact, they spend most of free choice time sitting together in different areas of the room and talking about non-work-related topics. They are spending less and less time talking to the children. |
“Our first responsibility is to keep children safe. Supervision is critical, so preschool staff need to move around the room and be really intentional about monitoring every space. I appreciate that you two have a great relationship, and that’s so important for the children to see. They also need you to spend time focused on them. Let’s make a plan for tomorrow’s free choice time: how do you two want to arrange yourselves so you are supervising and interacting with all the children?”
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| Corinne has been a school-age staff member for three years, and she does excellent work with the program. She came to you last week crying because she is so upset about a new staff member. She thinks the new staff member is too harsh with the kids and stifles their creativity. She is thinking about finding a new job. |
“I am so sorry to hear that you’re upset. Thank you for sharing your concerns with me. You are looking out for the kids, and that’s what we want! I’ll talk to our trainer about her observations, and I’ll observe in the program tomorrow. Based on what I learn, I’ll take the steps necessary to remedy the situation. In the meantime, if you see anything that puts a child in danger, don’t hesitate to follow reporting procedures. Let’s set a meeting for next week to follow-up about your concerns and whether things have improved for you.”
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Management
Cognitive Development
Lesson 3
Explore
What Do I Say Now?
Reflection