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Module 5: Behavior Expectations and Rules

Effective Teacher Practices Supporting High Quality Supportive Environments and Nurturing & Responsive Relationships: Behavior Expectations and Rules

90 minute face-to-face session

Contact hours: 2 contact hours (90 minute session plus 30 minute pre-learning activity review)

Slide 1: Welcome

Our early childhood settings provide the building blocks for children’s development -- cognitively, socially, and morally. We know children at this age learn best through play. But without rules and behavioral expectations, play can become chaos. Giving children expectations to follow and teaching rules are about more than learning to behave and sit quietly in school. By helping children learn expectations and the importance of rules, we are helping them develop their overall character. Jean Piaget’s work showed that children construct and reconstruct knowledge of the world by interacting with the environment. As children build knowledge, they begin to understand what is right and what is wrong (Piaget, 1965). We help children build and apply knowledge when we support their successful interaction with others.

Children in preschool are learning to develop and sustain positive relationships with others. We build upon those skills by teaching them about behavior expectations and the importance of rules. Behavior expectations and rules provide the structure within which children successfully share, play, and interact with others.

Slide 2: Review Pre-learning Assignment

1. You reviewed the Instructional Practices to Promote Behavior Expectations and Rules Teacher/Staff Checklist. How did you do? Which practice(s) do you wish to improve in the current or upcoming school year?

2. What was one instructional practice from the self-assessment that you implement ‘almost always?’ What strategy do you use to implement the practice?

3. You read, “Why Teachers Adopt a Controlling Motivating Style Toward Students and How They Can Become Autonomy Supportive” by Johnmarshall Reeve at this link: URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00461520903028990

Discuss: Why is self-regulation important for children? What is its place in the development of positive

social and emotional skills? How might teachers move from teacher-directive teaching to reflective teaching in order to help

children develop autonomy? Reflect on one area in your life, personal or professional, where your autonomy was taken away

and you had difficulty with either buy-in or participation. How did that feel? What did you learn from interviewing a colleague about how he/she responds to directives that

remove his/her ability to have a voice?

1Effective Teacher Practices Supporting

High Quality Supportive Environments and Nurturing & Responsive RelationshipsNC Early Learning Network, a joint project of NC-DPI and UNC-FPG, 2015

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00461520903028990


[Trainer note – discuss pre-learning assignment (instructional practices self-assessment, reading, and reflection upon article -- Why Teachers Adopt a Controlling Motivating Style Toward Students and How They Can Become Autonomy Supportive).]

Slide 3–4: Objectives

Learning objectives – As a result of participation in this module, participants will know the importance of self-regulation of behavior as it relates to the development of positive emotional and social skills by:

1. Understanding the relationship between behavior expectations and rules2. Understanding the importance of involving families/caregivers in the development and

implementation of the expectations and rules 3. Understanding the process of creating, teaching, and communicating behavior expectations and

rules to families, staff, and children4. Understanding how to articulate the relationship between instructional practices, Foundations

for Early Learning and Development, and the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards5. Understanding how formative assessment reflects children’s understanding of behavior

expectations and rules

We will spend this session exploring behavior expectations and rules, understanding how these look in early childhood settings, and strategies for teaching and reinforcing them. Behavior expectations and rules help children succeed, not only in preschool, but in their communities and throughout their lives. It all starts right here.

Slide 5: Example of poster with these behavior expectations:

In schools, we often hear these three behavior expectations: Be Safe, Be Responsible, and Be Respectful. While we want children to behave, it’s even more important for children to learn to self-regulate in every situation and environment. We do this by helping children develop a feeling of self-control and independence while also adhering to the behavior expectations and rules that structure their classrooms.

Children need to be able to understand behavior expectations and rules. Let’s think for a few minutes about your classroom and school rules. Are they rules that make sense for both children and adults? If a rule is to be quiet in the hallway or cafeteria, what is the reason behind the rule? Do adults follow the rule? Are we teaching children the meaning of the rule, its purpose and place, and how it will help them develop positive relationships?

Slide 6: Activity- Sharing rules

Let’s talk about it. What are some rules you have in your classroom? What do you expect children to do at circle time? Lunch? Recess?

On your tables are some notecards. Make sure you each have a blank note card. Think about the rules you have in your classroom, therapy room, or other educational setting, then:• Write one rule on a blank card.




• After everyone in the group has written one rule, take turns sharing your rule. Can you identify the underlying meaning of the rule? Can the rule be reworded to help children better understand what is expected?

[Allow about 5 minutes for participants to discuss rules.]

[Trainer note -- when setting up the venue, arrange tables so that there are 4-6 participants per table. Small groups (4-6 participants) ensure that everyone has a chance to talk and share.]

Let’s come back together. What were some of the rules you shared?

[Chart some of the rules groups report.]

What rules did you re-word in order to make them more understandable?

[Allow participants to respond. Prompt as needed to talk about vague rules or rules with words children might not understand.]

Slide 7: Alternate rules: Video of Lisa Bruggeman’s class

Let’s watch a short video clip of a teacher giving children options for how they might sit during group time. In this classroom there were two assistants and another support staff person for five hours daily at the time of the recording. Seventeen children were enrolled in the class: 14 children were supported by NC Pre-K and nine were supported by Title I. The class included four children identified as exceptional: three with developmental delays and one with speech and language delay. Of the children identified with developmental delay, one was being assessed for autism and one for hearing impairment. In addition, one child was on a behavior plan with a modified daily schedule and five children were being referred for play therapy for severe emotional trauma/needs. Two children were receiving occupational therapy and behavioral services. One child was a Dual Language Learner. The children’s ages ranged from three to five years old.

This video illustrates how a rule such as ‘Stay Seated’ can be phrased to give children autonomy in a structured way. We will talk more in a bit about the need to foster autonomy for children within the structure of a learning environment.

Find the Instructional Practices for Classroom Design to Promote Behavior Expectations and Rules Observer Checklist from your handouts and take a moment to review the instructional practices listed.

[Trainer note – you may wish to have participants take turns reading the instructional practices aloud.]

Keep the instructional practices checklist in front of you and we will look for these practices when we observe the classroom in this video.

[Show Module 5 Behavior Expectations-Rules video 1.]

What did you see the teacher do? What did she do well?




[Invite a few participants to comment. Prompt as needed to talk about making rules flexible.]

Slide 8: Establish Rules and Expectations Checklist

How do you establish behavior expectations and rules? In your handouts, you have two sets of the Checklists of Instructional Practices for Promoting Behavior Expectations and Rules. You used the ‘teacher/staff’ checklist as a self-assessment prior to attending today’s face-to-face session. You previewed the observer checklist prior to watching the video.

The checklists are adapted from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL with a ‘c’) and the University of Iowa. The checklist items are part of the Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool (TPOT) – with which you may be familiar if you are familiar with SEFEL. Staff at CSEFEL with a ‘c’ conducted extensive research and found that these practices have proven to be effective for helping children learn emotional and social skills. In other words, they are evidence-based practices. Research supports their effectiveness.

[Trainer note -- if you have internet access, you may wish to pull up the CSEFEL website and show teachers where they can find resources -- http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/]

Take a look at the first few practices:

Instructional practice #1: The teacher will establish and display no more than five rules for a given area (circle or center area, hallways, outdoor play areas, bathrooms, etc.), connecting them throughout the day to the school’s or LEA’s behavior expectations.

Instructional practice #2: The teacher will use and model rules/directions, oral and written, that are positively phrased, telling children what “to do” rather than what “not to do.”

Instructional practice #3: The teacher will post rules with pictures or objects at eye level so that all children may see them.

The first practice addresses both behavior expectations and rules. We talk about ‘behavior expectations’ and ‘rules’ as two separate, but related, things. Behavior expectations are overarching – they are what is expected of the child across situations and settings. Think of these as the umbrella. Rules are more specific and concrete. They can be specific to certain situations and settings, such as ‘classroom rules’ versus ‘hallway rules,’ ‘outside rules,’ etc. Rules fall under the umbrella of behavior expectations. Rules are how we guide children to meet the behavior expectations. Rules are clear examples of the behavior expectations in practice. When we say “use walking feet inside” we are helping children learn the larger context of being safe. Behavior expectations help children understand how we want them to be responsible, respectful, and safe in the various settings that make up their everyday life: home, child care, classroom, community, etc.

Slide 9: Poster with ‘Let’s Get Along’ at the top followed by rules such as, ‘Use kind words, ‘Be quick to forgive,’ etc.



http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/


We want to make rules short, to the point, and specific, using words that are easy for preschool children to understand and apply.

Now take out your observer checklist of instructional practices. Suppose you observed a classroom and saw this poster on the wall. Creating and posting this poster shows that the teacher is using which instructional practices?

[Allow participants to respond. Prompt as necessary to talk about Instructional practices 1 and 2.]

Is there anything on this poster you might change?

[Invite a few participants to comment. Prompt as needed to talk about lack of specificity, level of vocabulary, and no visual support for rule.]

Slide 10: Signs that say ‘NO’

Think about expectations and rules that you see around you as you drive or read the paper or watch the news. So many are phrased in negative terms: Don’t speed, don’t drive under the influence, etc. While it’s important not to speed and not to drive under the influence, how might we rephrase these for a more positive message?

[Prompt as necessary for examples such as, ‘Drive within the speed limit’ and ‘Drive sober.’]

In this manner, the rule is phrased positively -- and it also uses words that make the meaning clear.

Slide 11: ‘Rephrase the rule!’

In your handouts, you have a document titled Communication is Key that summarizes how to communicate rules and behavior expectations.

Thirteen rules are listed. I’ll read some aloud. Listen to the wording and let me know how you might rephrase the rule so that it is more positive?

[Read 3-4 of the rules, one at a time, and give participants time to rephrase it.]

[Trainer note -- if you have time, assign a few rules to each small group, have them discuss, and report back.]

Slide 12: Example of rules

We’ve said that preschool settings should have a few simple rules – about 3 to 5 per setting – that are ‘short and sweet,’ stated in positive language, and easy to follow. Classroom rules address classroom basics such as noise level, movement inside and outside, interactions with property, interactions with adults, and interactions with peers. You may have slightly different rules depending upon the setting, such as circle time, center time, lunch and snack, and outdoor play time.

Slide 13: Preschool boys playing




Universal Design for Learning (UDL) means creating early education environments that allow all children to be equal members, with equal access to all learning opportunities, so that all children can engage in and learn from a common curriculum to the best of their individual strengths and abilities. We design the environment from the outset so that all children have access, rather than ‘retrofit’ the environment for those with different learning styles and needs. We offer strategies that support different learning styles and help children reach their full potential.

(Conn-Powers, Cross, Traub, & Hutter-Pishgahi, 2006).

Making sure all children have access and are engaged sometimes means that application of rules varies by child. Expectations and rules should be worded so that they can be met by all children, but they may be applied differently depending upon an individual child’s individual needs. Make sure there is a ‘goodness of fit’ between each child and the behavior that is expected of him or her. For example, a child who is uncomfortable seated with legs crossed during circle time may be more comfortable – and therefore more attentive -- sitting with his or her knees up or out. The expectation is that the child will stay seated. The posture of the seating may be different from child to child. A rule about keeping hands still may need to be adapted for a child who needs to hold a fidget to help him or her focus.

[Trainer note – for more information, see the article about the use of fidgets with children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at this link -- http://kidcompanions.com/fidgets-foradhd-toys-tools-children-special-needs-c/]

Are there other times when rules are not appropriate for all children or all situations? For example, under what circumstances might it not be appropriate for all children to adhere to ‘no talking’ rules? How could you modify this rule for some children?

[Prompt if necessary to talk about children who need support to develop expressive communication skills.]

Another example of adapting rules is the ‘hands to self’ rule versus children’s need for rough-and-tumble play. Many children love rough-and-tumble play and play fighting. Climbing over one another and rolling around also helps young children: understand the limits of their strength explore their changing position in space find out what other children will and won’t let them do.

You can usually tell play fighting from the real thing. In rough-and-tumble play, children smile and laugh. Once they finish, they continue to play together. To keep rough-and-tumble play from leading to real fighting, establish some rules around what is and isn’t acceptable play. For example, a rule could be that play fighting must stop when one of the participants expresses the wish to stop.

Dr. Stuart Brown, a physician, psychiatrist, clinical researcher, and the founder of the National Institute for Play, has made a career of studying the effects of play on people and animals. His studies of young homicidal males and felony drunken drivers revealed that most had lacked normal, developmentally appropriate rough-and-tumble play as children and pre-adolescents while a control population had experienced typical playground give and take during their elementary and middle school years.



http://kidcompanions.com/fidgets-foradhd-toys-tools-children-special-needs-c/



In addition, through his study of animals, Dr. Brown discovered that when you deprive a social mammal like a rat or monkey of its normal rough-and-tumble play it enters adulthood emotionally fragile, unable to tell friend from foe, and poor at handling stress (http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Consequences_of_Play_Deprivation).

[Trainer note – see more information about rough-and-tumble play at this link -- http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/rough_and_tumble_play.html/context/249]

Flexible classrooms allow children to be who they are. While behavior expectations and rules give classrooms structure, flexibility within that structure helps children learn to make choices and gives them a feeling of control. Choice and control contribute to the development of self-regulation skills that help children interact positively and healthily in the world throughout their lives.

Tools of the Mind defines self-regulation as:“A critical competency that underlies the mindful, intentional, and thoughtful behaviors of younger and older children alike. The term self-regulation (sometimes also called executive function) refers to the capacity to control one’s impulses, both to stop doing something, if needed (even if one wants to continue doing it) and to start doing something, if needed (even if one doesn’t want to do it).”

Tools of the Mind. (2015).

Research indicates self-regulation is a set of skills that can be strengthened by providing supports such as instruction and coaching over time. Some children may require more intensive interventions in order to overcome factors that interfere with development of self-regulation. For example, self-regulation can be disrupted by prolonged or pronounced stress and adversity including poverty and trauma experiences. Toxic stress occurs when children experience prolonged and/or frequent physical or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence, and/or poverty. Such adversity causes a child’s stress response system to stay activated for extended periods resulting in oversensitivity to changes in the environment and normal stressors. Teachers can buffer children from the negative impact of these types of stressors by providing nurturing environments and scaffolding the self-regulation skills of children.

(Murray, Rosanbalm, Christopoulos, & Hamoudi, 2015).

Slide 14: Develop rules collaboratively

Rules should be developed collaboratively with children. Do you agree? Should we involve children in creating rules? Why?

[Allow participants to respond. Prompt if necessary: If children are involved in developing rules, they may feel some ownership, rather than feeling that rules are something imposed by adults. Involving children allows adults to see what children understand, or don’t understand, about the behavior expectations.]



http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/rough_and_tumble_play.html/context/249


How have you involved children in developing rules?

[Invite a few participants to comment. Provide examples as needed such as, at the beginning of year children share what rules are important to them, having open-ended questions based on a rule, i.e. if the rule is Be Safe what does that mean? As conflicts occur, discuss with children at circle time. ]

Slide 15: Family engagement

Take another look at your list of instructional practices for behavior expectations and rules. The fourth practice is to ‘communicate and involve families/caregivers in understanding the importance of developing behavior expectations and rules and explain how success can be achieved when continuity and collaboration occur between home and school.’ If families know and understand your classroom rules, you can include references to the rules as part of your ongoing communication with families. Do any of you make regular reference to rules in your communication with families? What are some strategies for doing that?

[Allow participants to respond. Prompt as needed to talk about listing rules as part of a communication template that you regularly send home, etc.]

Some families may appreciate help establishing positive behavior expectations and rules at home. Talk with families about how you developed and use your classroom rules and how the process and the rules themselves might be adapted for home. If the home-school expectations and rules are aligned, rules can provide a common language for teaching staff and families and children receive a consistent message.

Everyone should be involved in creating behavior expectations to assure buy-in across staff and families. Ask staff and families to suggest behavior expectations for children at school and at home. Asking others to articulate what they expect from children’s behavior will help you understand what’s important to the adults who spend time with and have an influence upon the children you instruct. This also allows you to understand and learn about any cultural difference families may have related to young children’s behavior.

Give staff and families examples of what you mean by ‘behavior expectations.’ Get their opinions. Have the conversation with families through phone or email or as part of a discussion at open house or ‘parent night.’ Experience indicates that simply sending information home to families has little effect.

How have you involved families in developing or teaching rules?

[Invite a few participants to comment. Provide examples as needed, such as: Invite parents to incorporate safety rules at home. Develop a communication log that lets parents share how the rule was used at home. Small key rings with visual pictures of rules. Rules listed on newsletters. Develop open-ended questions about rules to send home to parents so parents know how to engage the child and what to ask the child about.]

Slide 16: Instructional practices checklist




So far, we’ve talked about how to display behavior expectations and rules – and also how to develop them. Now let’s talk about the teaching staff’s role in making those rules and behavior expectations meaningful for children. Take a look at the rest of the instructional practices on your checklist.

IP-5: The teacher will utilize a variety of strategies (role play, stories, etc.) to demonstrate and will assist children in understanding the rules and behavior expectations.

IP-6: The teacher will use naturally occurring opportunities to facilitate discussions which will allow children to think critically about the importance of following behavior expectations and rules in the school environment.

IP-7: The teacher will review and facilitate learning of posted behavior expectations and rules with children prior to and during individual-, small-, large-group activities, and during transitions.

IP-8: The teacher uses reflective strategies to enhance their own instructional practices and ensure the learning and understanding of rules and behavior expectations in order to promote a safe environment.

Once they are developed, we communicate behavior expectations and rules in many different ways for children, staff, and families. We can illustrate expectations on bulletin boards, in newsletters, etc. We use visuals for children who may not read all the words. We have children help illustrate the rules by cutting pictures out of magazines or modeling for photos of the rules. Review rules on a regular basis –as a planned part of circle time and also spontaneously when issues arise in the classroom that illustrate the application of rules. Remember and communicate ‘the why’ of the rule. If your rule is to stay seated, why is that important?

[Pause for responses. Provide examples as needed such as: Children might need to stay seated to eat, to ride on the bus, etc. We “use walking feet” because it is my job to keep you safe.]

When you reinforce and teach rules, give concrete examples and link them to behavior expectations. For example, if the behavior expectation is ‘being friends’ and the rule is ‘share swings,’ you might say, ‘You’ve been a great friend; I saw you take turns with Connie on the swing.’ Rather than just acknowledging the rule or expectation by saying, “you’re being kind,” be specific. “You’re being kind. I saw you say please and thank you when you asked the teacher for more juice!”

Slide 17: Using visuals

All children benefit from visual cues to help them understand what is expected. In addition to posting rules on the wall in the circle time area, you can make cue cards to carry with you to remind children of rules and expectations.

Slide 18: Activity- Gallery of visuals: posters, cue cards, bracelets with rules, etc.

Let’s look at some examples. We have various samples of visual rules and expectations used in classrooms. Each table has a handout with six visuals printed on it. At your table, review and talk about the visuals on your handout. Assign a recorder who will write down comments about each of the six visuals. Look at the visual/sample and make a note about it: do you like it, would it work, would it work with all children, how might you use it? After everyone is finished, we will share with the whole group.




[Allow time for activity. When it is time for groups to report out, go to the slide that shows the items on the handout they reviewed.] Slide 19: Gallery 1 displaySlide 20: Gallery 2 displaySlide 21: Gallery 3 displaySlide 22: Gallery 4 display

Slide 23: Video 2- Reviewing Rules

Let’s watch a video of a teacher reviewing rules. The classroom you will see in this video had 14 children enrolled, a teacher, one full-time teacher assistant, and one part-time teacher assistant. Both of the teacher assistants were new to the classroom that school year. There were 11 children with IEPs. Ten were identified as having a developmental delay and one was identified as on the autism spectrum. Four of the children in the classroom were supported by NC Pre-K and one child’s family paid tuition. The class included three-year-olds who do not attend every day – therefore you will not see all 14 children in the video clip.

In this video you will see the teacher gathering children for circle time. You will notice how she uses visuals in reviewing rules.

Find the Instructional Practices for Behavior Expectations and Rules Observer Checklist from your handouts. Let’s look for these practices as we watch this video.



Look at the Instructional Practices Checklist for Behavior Expectations and Rules for Observers. To what extent did you see these practices in the video you watched? What did you see that was evidence of the practices on the checklists? Was there anything else the teacher could have added to this activity to maximize the teaching and learning opportunity? Discuss this at your tables and we’ll come back and talk about it.

[Allow about five minutes for small group discussion.]

Let’s come back together. What instructional practices did you see?

[Groups report out. Prompt as needed to include: IP-1 Establish 5 rules or less for a given area IP-2 Rules/directions are positively phrased telling children what “to do and not what “not to do” IP-3 Rules are posted with pictures IP-5 Instructors utilize a variety of strategies to demonstrate and review rules/expectations]

Slide 25: NC Professional Teaching Standards




Now pull out the handout on NC Professional Teaching Standards. Put yourself in the shoes of the principal who is observing this classroom for evaluation purposes. Which teaching standard did the teacher demonstrate during the interactions you observed? Please talk at your tables and we’ll come back and discuss.

[Allow about five minutes for small group discussion. If participants are using the McREL (available at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/effectiveness-model/ncees/instruments/teach-eval-manual.pdf), you could assign groups to a focus on a standard by reviewing the descriptions of each standard. Have groups list examples of evidences that demonstrate the teachers use of that standard.]

What teaching standard did you see? How was the teaching standard demonstrated? What did the teacher do?

[Group reports out. Prompt as needed to include: Standard II: Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students Standard III: Teachers know the content they teach Standard IV: Teachers facilitate learning for their students]

Slide 26: Foundations for Early Learning and Development

We’ve talked about intentional instructional practices. We’ve seen how teachers embedded those practices into the regular routine of the day. Now let’s think about what the children are doing. What early learning and development standards are they working toward in these scenarios?

Take out your Foundations document. We’ll watch the video again and this time, let’s focus on what the children are doing and the goals they work toward when learning behavior expectations and rules. Let’s have this table focus on Emotional and Social Development, this table Health and Physical Development, this table Language Development and Communication, this table Cognitive Development, and this table Approaches to Play and Learning. Make note of the early learning and development standards you see in the domain area to which you are assigned. Talk about it at your tables and we’ll come back together to report out.

[Trainer note – the purpose of this activity is for participants to explore Foundations through the lens of behavior expectations and rules.]

Slide 27: Reviewing rules

[Show Module 5 Behavior Expectations-Rules video 2 again.]


Okay – let’s come back together. What did you see?

[Have some participants report out. Prompt as needed to include: ESD-5: Children demonstrate the social and behavioral skills needed to successfully participate in

groups.




ESD-7: Children recognize and respond to the needs and feelings of others HPD-8: Children develop awareness of basic safety rules and begin to follow them CD-9: Children explore concepts connected with their daily experiences in their community APL-2: Children seek to understand the world around them LCD-1: Children understand communication from others LCD-2: Children participate in conversations with peers and adults in one-on-one, small and large

group interactions LCD-3: Children ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify

something that is not understood.]

Slide 28: iPoints

iPoints are ‘Instructional Practices Observed IN Teaching Standards.’ You have two sets in your handouts. Although they contain the same information, one set of iPoints is for the teacher to use to see the connections between practices, early learning and development standards, and NC Professional Teaching Standards. The other set is for administrators to see connections when observing a classroom. Find the practices that we’ve talked about thus far in this session. iPoints show some of the early learning and development standards and the teaching standards these practices demonstrate and promote.

Slide 29: Crosswalk showing relationship between emotional-social early learning and development standards and the NC Standard Course of study, including:

Foundations Goal ESD-7: ‘Children recognize and respond to needs and feelings of others’ leads to NC Essential Standards for Social Studies - Civics and Government for Kindergarten 1.1: ‘Exemplify

positive relationships through fair play and friendship.’

You also have in your handouts a set of crosswalks that shows how the early learning and development standards align with the NC Standard Course of Study (NC essential standards and the common core). The crosswalk is meant to show, ‘when we help children work toward this early learning standard, we are preparing them to work toward this kindergarten standard.’ Our early learning and development standards prepare children to play fair, have friends, and follow rules in kindergarten. Use the iPoints as a reference when you wish to find the connections between practices, early learning and development standards, and NC Professional Teaching Standards. Use the crosswalks when you wish to find the connections between our early learning and development standards and kindergarten standards.

Slide 30: Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment

Teachers conduct formative assessment when they identify what children know and have children express what is expected. You may recall from the Formative Assessment module that North Carolina's formative assessment learning community's online network (NC FALCON) outlines the steps of formative assessment to include: 1) determine clear learning targets, 2) define criteria for success, 3) collect, document, and analyze evidence, 4) provide clear descriptive feedback, and 5) change or adjust instruction. What would formative assessment look like when teaching children about behavior expectations and rules?




Slide 31: Formative Assessment Review

Think back to the video clip we just watched. In that classroom, the teacher reviewed classroom rules during large-group time. What may have been her learning target for this group activity?

What criteria might she have defined for success? In other words -- how did she know if the children understood the rule?

What evidence might she have collected to show whether or not children met the criteria? What did the children do? What are some additional questions the teacher could have asked to make sure the students understand the class rules?

What feedback did she give the group during this activity? What additional feedback could she have given?

What might be next steps for this activity? How might she change or adjust instruction during the next opportunity to review classroom rules?

[Allow participants to respond. Prompt as needed to describe how the teacher assessed TJ’s skills during the activity.]

Slide 32: Video 3

Now let’s look at another video clip of one of our excellent teachers here in NC. In this classroom, there were two assistants and another support staff person for 5 hours daily at the time of the recording. Seventeen children were enrolled in the class: 14 children with support from NC Pre-K and nine with support from Title I. The class included four children identified as exceptional: three with developmental delays and one with speech and language delay. Of the children identified with developmental delay, one was being assessed for autism and one for hearing impairment. In addition, one child was on a behavior plan with a modified daily schedule and five children were being referred for play therapy for severe emotional trauma/needs. Two children were receiving occupational therapy and behavioral services. One child was a Dual Language Learner. The children’s ages ranged from three to five years old.

In this video, you will observe a large-group time activity. The children have just returned from spring break and the teacher is taking the opportunity to review the class rules and behavior expectations. She is using an activity in which each child received a Popsicle stick with a green circle (appropriate choice) attached to one end and a red circle (inappropriate choice) attached to the other end. The teacher describes a typical action that you may find in a preschool class. The children identify the action as a ‘go’ (an appropriate choice) by holding up the end of the Popsicle stick with the green circle. They identify the action as a ‘stop’ (an inappropriate choice) by holding up the end of the Popsicle stick with the red circle.

Find the Instructional Practices for Behavior Expectations and Rules Observer Checklist from your handouts. Let’s look for these practices as we watch this video.






Look again at the Instructional Practices to Promote Behavior Expectations and Rules Teacher/Staff Checklist. To what extent did you see these practices in the video you watched? What did you see that was evidence of each of the practices on the checklists? Was there anything else the teacher could have added to this activity to maximize the teaching and learning opportunity? Discuss this at your tables and we’ll come back and talk about it.


Let’s come back together. What instructional practices did you see?

[Groups report out. Prompt as needed to include: IP-5 Instructors utilize a variety of strategies (role play, stories, etc.) to demonstrate and review

rules and behavior expectations. IP-6 Instructors facilitate discussion allowing children to think critically about behavior

expectations or rules and their importance in the classroom and related settings. IP-7 Review posted behavior expectations or rules with children prior to and during individual,

small group, and large-group activities, and during transitions.]

Slide 34: Teaching Standards

Now pull out the handout on teaching standards. Which teaching standard did the teacher demonstrate during the interaction you observed? Please talk at your tables and we’ll come back and discuss.


What teaching standard did you see? How was the teaching standard demonstrated? What did the teacher do?

[Group reports out. Prompt as needed to include: Standard II: Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students Standard IV: Teachers facilitate learning for their students]

Slide 35: Foundations

Take out your Foundations document. We’ll watch the video again and this time, let’s focus on what the children are doing. Let’s have this table focus on Emotional and Social Development, this table Health and Physical Development, this table Language Development and Communication, this table Cognitive Development, and this table Approaches to Play and Learning. Make note of the early learning and development goal in the domain to which you were assigned that children are working toward in this activity. If you’re not sure, read the more detailed information provided in the developmental indicators.




[Trainer note – for this activity, assign groups to different domains than they were assigned in the earlier video activity.]

Slide 36: Reviewing rules

[Show Module 5 Behavior Expectations-Rules video 3 again.]


What early learning and development standards were children working toward in the activity we watched?

[Allow participants to respond -- prompt as needed to include: (APL-2) Children actively seek to understand the world around them (ESD-4) Children form relationships and interact positively with other children (ESD-5) Children demonstrate the social and behavioral skills needed to successfully participate in

groups (ESD-7) Children recognize and respond to the needs and feelings of others (HPD-8) Children develop awareness of basic safety rules and begin to follow them (LDC-2) Children participate in conversations with peers and adults in one-on-one, small, and large

group interactions (LDC-3) Children ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify

something that is not understood]

Slide 37: iPoints

Find your iPoints document again – and locate the practices we observed in this video clip. These show the connections among practices, the early learning and development standards, and the teaching standards.

Slide 38: Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment

We talked about a formative assessment moment in the circle time activity. What would formative assessment look like in this ‘stop and go’ activity?

At your table, discuss:• What may have been her learning target for this group activity?• What criteria might she have defined for success? In other words -- how did she know if the children

understood the rule? • What evidence might she have collected to show whether or not children met the criteria? What did

the children do? What are some additional questions the teacher could have asked to make sure the students understand the class rules?

• What feedback did she give the group during this activity? What additional feedback could she have given?

• What might be next steps for this activity? How might she change or adjust instruction during the next opportunity to review classroom rules?




[Allow participants to respond. Prompt as needed to include: What might have been the learning target for this activity?

Understanding of behavior expectations.

What might have been the criteria for success – in other words, how would the teacher know if the children understood the activity?

Display ‘go’ symbol for appropriate behaviors and display ‘stop’ symbol for inappropriate behaviors. Verbal description of why behavior is appropriate or inappropriate.

What was the evidence that children understood the activity – what did they do? What are some additional questions the teacher could have asked to make sure the students understood the activity?

This was the day the children returned from a week of spring break. She scanned the circle to determine if the children were responding and attentive. By using the stop/go sticks, she could visually see who was correct. This was visual evidence that the children knew the answers. She could have videotaped the session or had her teaching assistant take data on the activity.

What feedback did she give? What other feedback might she have given?

She gave brief feedback such as “good choice” and a thumbs up. She also elaborated on certain examples such as “Why is it not safe to throw blocks?” and reminded them to raise their hand if they had something to share. This allowed her to check to make sure the children understood the meaning of the rule, not just the answer.

There is one child who does the opposite of all the other children. She knows her students well enough to know he is doing this on purpose and not because he does not know the answer. She does not respond to his behavior.

How might she change or adjust instruction during the next opportunity for this activity?

She could change or adjust her instruction by: asking the children to think of a safe/unsafe rule; role play a rule with another adult and ask the children to respond with their red and green sticks; call attention to and compliment children who follow the classroom rules throughout the daily routines.

Slide 39: Children getting along

Behavior expectations and rules help children grow into respectful, responsible, safe individuals. As successful members of the classroom community, children develop relationships with adults and peers, learn to care for one other, work together, and develop empathy and compassion. Behavior expectations and rules help children learn to regulate their behavior, giving them critical skills they need for successful participation in all communities. Behavior expectations and rules help our classrooms run smoothly while also developing the future: a world where children and adults live in safe, nurturing, happy, healthy environments.

Slide 40: Conclusion




Pull out your teacher checklist one more time. What’s one practice that you’ll work on with your next class? What’s one strategy you learned today that you will try? And – for extra credit – what early learning and development standard will you be promoting when you implement that strategy?

[Give a few minutes for participants to work individually.]

Does anyone want to share?

[Have a few participants share. Respond positively.]

Slide 41: Post-learning Activity

1. Dissection of Rules:Use the form attached to dissect rules and find their underlying meaning or message.What was the premise for each rule? Was it what you originally thought it would be? Is there a better way to phrase the rule? Can the rule be adapted for students who learn differently?

2. Develop a Lesson Plan:Adam Holland of FirstSchool reminds us that teachers may view behavior expectations and rules as a precursor to teaching and learning. Teachers may feel they cannot teach until children learn to follow the rules. However, behaviors are a skill set to be taught just like literacy and math. Develop a lesson plan that incorporates the teaching of rules. How is this different than your current approach to lesson planning?

3. Family Engagement:Think about the strategies you have used or plan to use to involve families and caregivers in the development and understanding of the classroom behavior expectations and rules. What resources have you shared or can you share with families about behavior expectations and rules? What might you do to further engage and involve families in the discussion of behavior expectations and rules in both the classroom and at home?

[Trainer note – assign the post-learning activities – dissecting rules, lesson planning, and family engagement.]

Slide 42: Questions

References

Brown, S.L. (2014). Consequences of play deprivation. Scholarpedia, 9 (5), 30449. http://dx.doi.org/10.4249/scholarpedia.30449

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



http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/

http://dx.doi.org/10.4249/scholarpedia.30449


Conn-Powers, M., Cross, A. F., Traub, E. K., & Hutter-Pishgahi, L. (2006). The universal design of early education: Moving forward for all children. Young Children, 61(5). Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200609/ConnPowersBTJ.pdf

Fox, L. K., Hemmeter, M. L., & Snyder, P. (2008). Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool for Preschool Classrooms (TPOT) Manual. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.

dEntremont, L. (2012, November 16). Fidgets for ADHD: Toys or tools for children with special needs? Retrieved from http://kidcompanions.com/fidgets-foradhd-toys-tools-children-special-needs-c/

Murray, D. W., Rosanbalm, K., Christopoulos, C., & Hamoudi, A. (2015). Self-regulation and toxic stress: Foundations for understanding self- regulation from an applied developmental perspective. (OPRE Report #2015-21). Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

NC FALCON. (n.d.). North Carolina’s formative assessment learning community’s online network. Retrieved from https://center.ncsu.edu/ncfalcon/

North Carolina Foundations Task Force. (2013). North Carolina foundations for early learning and development. Raleigh, NC: Author. Retrieved from http://ncchildcare.nc.gov/pdf_forms/NC_foundations.pdf

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (2012). North Carolina Teacher Evaluation Process. Raleigh, NC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/effectiveness-model/ncees/instruments/teach-eval-manual.pdf

Piaget, J. (1965). The moral judgement of the child. New York, NY: Free Press.

Raising Children Network. (2014). Rough-and-tumble play. Retrieved from http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/rough_and_tumble_play.html/context/249

Reeve, J. M. (2009). Why teachers adopt a controlling motivating style toward students and how they become more autonomy supportive. Educational Psychologist, 44(3), 159-175.

Tools of the Mind. (2015). Self-regulation. Retrieved from http://www.toolsofthemind.org/philosophy/self-regulation/



http://www.toolsofthemind.org/philosophy/self-regulation/

http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/rough_and_tumble_play.html/context/249

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/effectiveness-model/ncees/instruments/teach-eval-manual.pdf

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/effectiveness-model/ncees/instruments/teach-eval-manual.pdf


http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200609/ConnPowersBTJ.pdf

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