ECERS Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale is widely used in the United States and internationally to assess the overall quality of preschool and kindergarten classrooms and to provide a ...framework for continuous quality improvement. This new book in the ERS® Family presents best practices to help coaches build trusting relationships with teachers, program directors, and administrators that will improve classroom environments and teaching practices. By using ECERS-3 and ECERS-R as a coaching tool, Holly Seplocha shows coaches and teachers how to work together to implement what is best for children. Each ECERS subscale chapter offers suggestions for quick and easy solutions, as well as strategies for classroom change that generally take more time for teachers to understand and incorporate into daily practice. This resource also includes guidance and activities for facilitating group meetings, professional learning communities, and staff workshops. "Coaching with ECERS" will help refine classroom practices and environments so that scores will rise, not just for the day, but for every day. Book features: (1) Outlines the nuts and bolts of coaching with ECERS in a way that has meaning and impacts classroom practice; (2) Provides an overview of adult learning and coaching strategies, incorporating techniques for coaching novice and experienced teachers, as well as administrators; (3) Examines the diversity of roles, from peer coaching to coaching from the inside or outside of the program, to administrators and supervisors who coach within their role; (4) Presents the case for building onsite program capacity for coaches who target their efforts with administrators; and (5) Offers hands-on advice, strategies, and tools including "ECERS Tips" and "No, No, Never, Nevers," as well as helpful resources to support coaches and administrators. Foreword by Debby Cryer, Richard M. Clifford, Thelma Harms, and Noreen Yazejian.
Children and their families and teachers use video-sharing websites for new types of learning and information sharing. With the expansion of the World Wide Web, the ability to freely exchange ...pattern-based information has grown exponentially. As noted by Alexander, "pattern language development" is a process in which communities freely share information, with the intention of developing best practices. Millions of people throughout the world can visually demonstrate new and traditional knowledge through online videos. This technology adds value, because video-based searching provides new ways of interpreting and relaying information that were not possible with just text. Streaming videos allow a learner to see complex processes over and over again in a manner not easily conveyed with pencil and paper, through verbal conversation, or even by face-to-face demonstration. This article explores the pedagogical implications of this relatively new digital phenomenon in the context of pattern language development.
This article discusses the importance of using picture books to support young children's literacy. A picture book is different from a children's book, because it contains illustrations. In a picture ...book, both the picture and text are equally important. The text and illustrations of high-quality picture books weave rich stories that can excite and surprise children, make them laugh, make them wonder, and make them think. Turning each page brings another element to the magic. Whether the pictures are photographs, black-and-white line drawings, unusual designs, paintings, woodcuts, or collage, the visual art form excites the young audience. Whether the text is factual, fictional, historical, readily identifiable to the listener, or something from another culture, the stories fill young children with a multitude of ideas, words, and questions. Using the wealth of classic and new picture books available, adults can support literacy in ways that are engaging to children. Picture books should be a part of every day in the early childhood years. Reading to children and engaging them in activities that encourage the use of expressive language, phonological awareness, and high-level thinking is critical for the development of the skills and dispositions that are necessary for reading and writing.
Effective parent-teacher conferences open the dialogue and offer one vehicle for establishing and strengthening partnerships with families. While schools and programs vary in the frequency of ...conferences, all successful and productive parent-teacher conferences share some common features. Seplocha presents a baker's dozen of conferencing tips gleaned from her own experiences as a teacher and as an administrator supporting teachers in building strong partnerships through conferencing.
This research explored the needs, expectations, and experiences of early childhood teachers as they worked together in graduate study. The study looked at data collected from graduate students in ...three courses that were part of a pilot program. In this program, traditional (M.Ed. students) and non-traditional (uncertified teachers working in low SES urban child care centers) graduate students were enrolled in the same early childhood graduate courses. Following New Jersey Supreme Court mandated universal preschool in 30 low SES districts, non-traditional students were required to obtain the new (P-3) teaching certification. Results showed that most students valued their learning experiences. Additionally, combining the two groups of learners created significantly more ethnic diversity in the graduate classes. Challenges included decreasing class size, creating a sense of community for learners from diverse backgrounds and experiences, and maintaining the rigor of course material while meeting the needs of students who do not have a strong theoretical background.
This investigator closely examined the work of administrators primarily responsible for leadership and management of high quality early childhood education (ECE) programs, and described their work in ...vivid detail. The field of leadership research remains relatively undeveloped at this writing. Previous researchers have been unable to agree upon effective leadership traits and behaviors across different contexts, or to show that particular leadership traits and behaviors have consistent effects on educational outcomes. In addition, only recently have scholars turned attention to the organizational analysis of ECE centers. The guiding question was what leadership qualities are shared among directors of six high quality ECE programs in different regions of the United States. The researcher employed Bolman & Deal's framework (1984, 1991) to illuminate the work of highly promising ECE directors. Structural, Human Relations, Political, and Symbolic frames were applied to ECE directors' work to produce a number of new hypotheses regarding effective ECE leadership. In this multi-site case study, six ECE administrators of reputedly high quality programs were shadowed and interviewed extensively. Evidence of program quality had been collected using a complex nomination process and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (Harms & Clifford, 1980). Collateral data were collected from program staff at each site, to substantiate the directors' perceptions. The data were subsequently coded, modeled, and analyzed for consistent themes both within cases and between cases. The researcher found that effective ECE leaders are experienced and knowledgeable in child growth and development and early childhood education. They are skilled in leveraging resources and exhibit a sense of ownership. They maintain a strong assistant and remain active in the ECE community. They exhibit leadership in vision and focus on the larger picture. They encourage and support staff training. They are collaborative and encourage teamwork. They are caring individuals. They show appreciation for staff and listen to the voices of parents. Leaders unveiled strongly held personal values that influenced their behavior regardless of frame-in-use. Each administrator revealed a strong idiographic dimension, unique in one aspect and common in another. Findings are framed as hypotheses for further study.
More states are recognizing that preschool is a vital first step toward helping children succeed in school. Ensuring that preschoolers have a high quality early learning experience provides them with ...the skills they need for later school success. In New Jersey, the poorest school districts have been collaborating with community-based child care centers to implement this program. But the process of moving beyond health and safety licensing standards, improving the education levels of teachers, and using nationally recognized, research based curricula has been a difficult challenge. The Newark Lighthouse Initiative sought to assist three child care centers in Newark to achieve the changes that would raise their quality level. This innovative project was intended to serve as a model for preschool programs across New Jersey and around the nation. By striving to provide children with the best possible early education, the initiative would help centers set the stage for later school success. This report details the experience of these three preschools and the lessons learned on the road to building model preschools. (Contains 10 footnotes.)
Strasser and Seplocha discuss how university professors can help their students understand issues of diversity through interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. Coursework and assignments in the ...Interpersonal domain give students the opportunity to dialogue and share opinions, while coursework and assignments in the Intrapersonal domain encourage students to reflect and make individual meaning. They cite specific examples of strategies and assignments that have been successful in helping students in their classes understand multicultural perspectives and diversity issues through Interpersonal and Intrapersonal domains.
