Head Start
Arizona Head Start TTA Office
Summer Webinar Series:
Intentional Teaching
Mary Kramer Reinwasser, M.Ed.
Arizona State-Based TTA Manager
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
Agenda
Part One:
• Defining intentional teaching and
intentional curriculum
• Principles of intentional teaching
and intentional curriculum
• Intentional Teaching strategies:
– Principles of effective
teaching strategies
– Child-guided versus adultguided
– Differentiated teaching
– Multisensory approach
Part Two: (strategies continued)
• Language Development
– Conversations
– Open-ended questions
– Vocabulary Development
• Approaches to learning
– Initiative and curiosity
– Engagement and persistence
– Reasoning and problem
solving
• Continuum of Teaching
Behaviors
• Guidelines for Teaching Teams
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
2
Learning Outcomes
1. Participants will be able to define intentional
teaching
2. Participants will be able to name the principles of
intentional teaching
3. Participants will be able to identify strategies for
language development and approaches to learning
4. Participants will be able to describe the continuum
of teaching behaviors
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
3
Why intentionality?
• The gap in achievement between low-income children and their middleclass peers is real and significant.
• Using an intentional curriculum is an important strategy to reduce the
achievement gap, and since no curriculum is teacher-proof, strategies to
help teachers effectively use the curriculum are equally important.
• Low-income children make gains in early literacy and early math when
high-quality preschool programs include an intentional curriculum
• An intentional curriculum is research-based, emphasizes teachers
actively engaged with children, includes attention to social and
regulatory skills, is responsive to cultural diversity and English language
learners, is not teacher-proof, and requires new ways to measure
classroom quality, teacher effectiveness, and student progress.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
4
What is intentional teaching?
Intentional teaching is “to always be thinking about what we are
doing and how it will foster children’s development and
produce real and lasting learning.”
(Epstein, 2007, p.10)
“In everything teachers plan and do in the Head Start education
program, they need to be highly intentional. That is, they need
to work with the outcomes for children in mind and
consciously seek out every opportunity to help children
achieve these outcomes through the learning experiences they
plan, the ways they interact with children, and the ways they
create and regularly modify the environment.”
From "Seeing the Big Picture in Head Start." Head Start Leaders Guide to Positive Child Outcomes.
HHS/ACF/ACYF/HSB. 2003. English.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
5
What is an intentional teacher?
The one attribute that seems to be characteristic of outstanding
teachers is intentionality, doing things on purpose.
(Slavin, 2000, p. 7)
• What am I trying to accomplish?
• What are my students' relevant experiences and needs?
• What approaches and materials are available to help me
challenge every student?
• How will I know whether and when to change my strategy or
modify my instruction?
• What information will I accept as evidence that my students
and I are experiencing success?
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
6
What is an intentional curriculum?
•
•
•
•
•
An intentional curriculum is a research-based curriculum that
includes “planned, organized, sequenced activities and lessons
focusing on academic readiness”. (p.7)
The curriculum is age-appropriate and fun for young children.
It emphasizes active engagement of teachers and children,
Addresses social and adaptive skill development,
Is culturally sensitive, and
Contains a process to rate
– classroom quality,
– teacher effectiveness, and
– student progress.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
7
Joint Position Statement on Curriculum
Policymakers, the early childhood profession, and other
stakeholders in young children’s lives have a shared responsibility
to implement a curriculum that is:
• Thoughtfully planned
• Challenging
• Engaging
• Developmentally appropriate
• Culturally and linguistically responsive
• Comprehensive across all developmental domains
• Likely to promote positive outcomes for all young children
Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and National Association of Early Childhood Specialists
in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE) (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building
an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Washington, DC: NAEYC
< www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/CAPEexpand.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
8
Principles of an Intentional Curriculum
Plan the Curriculum
• Ensure a research-based developmentally–appropriate
curriculum is in place
• Provide daily opportunities for children to choose their play
activities indoors and outdoors
• Take dictations from children frequently and post them in
locations visible to children and families
• Equip centers with various writing materials in order to
encourage children create print during play
• Use questions that encourage children to think and reason,
and also use expanded language
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
9
Principles of an Intentional Curriculum
Structure the physical learning environment
• Ensure both indoor and outdoor environments are safe for
children
• Use interest areas or centers to organize the classroom space.
Have plenty of different types of equipment and materials
• Display what children have created and topics in which they
are interested. Good physical learning environments will have
the following:
– Child-sized furniture
– Materials that are labeled and on open shelves
– Quiet and active centers
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
10
Principles of an Intentional Curriculum
Schedule the program day
• Have a consistent, yet flexible daily routine and include a variety
of types of activities
• Use a variety of groupings, including opportunities for children to
work alone or with another child
• Use lesson plans that reflect activities consistent with the
curriculum
• Provide a variety of activities within recurrent routines that
provide structure for the children’s day
• Post a picture schedule at the child’s eye level to reflect child
initiated play, small group and whole group instructional time,
and refer to it throughout the day
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
11
Principles of an Intentional Curriculum
Interact with children
• Connect with children and build relationships with them
• Help children feel secure by providing a warm and caring
environment
• Encourage and support language and communication
• Encourage initiative in children by respecting their choices and
interests and welcoming their ideas
• Acknowledge children’s activities and accomplishments through
praise and encouragement
• Support peer interactions by modeling reciprocal relationships
with the children
• Encourage independent problem-solving
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
12
Principles of an Intentional Curriculum
Build relationships with families
• Exchange information with families about the curriculum and
how it promotes children’s development
• Provide information and strategies to families about how to
extend learning at home
• Explain activities to family members and encourage them to
participate, according to school rules, in the classroom,
outdoors, and in other class activities and events
• Encourage family members to share cultural heritage and
practices, stories, activities and languages
• Examples of ways families can extend learning at home
through naturally occurring learning experiences
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
13
Principles of an Intentional Curriculum
Assess children’s development
• Use assessment results and on-going progress monitoring to
plan for individual children and for the whole group
• Observe children to obtain information on how they learn,
interact with others, engage with new materials, expand
ideas, etc.
• Assess mastery of a skill as well as the ability of the child to
demonstrate the skill across other settings and with other
people
• When necessary, realign expected outcomes based on
ongoing monitoring of progress
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
14
Intentional Teaching Strategies
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
15
Key Principles about Effective Early Learning
Strategies
1. High quality, continuous early care and education helps lowincome children do better in school.
2. Social-emotional development is the foundation for, and
intertwined with, early cognitive development.
3. Formal early learning occurs in a variety of settings, including
school-based, center-based, and home-based programs, so it is
important to pay attention to all settings when considering
strategies to improve achievement and close the gap.
4. Closing or reducing the achievement gap is not simple and
requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond only
efforts to improve what children know and can do and must
consider how families, schools, and communities can support
early learning and the transition to school.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
16
Child-guided versus adult-guided experiences
• Child-guided: refers to experience
that proceeds primarily along the
lines of children’s interest and
actions, although teachers often
provide the materials and other
support.
• Adult-guided: refers to experience
that proceeds primarily along the
lines of the teacher’s goals, although
that experience may also be shaped
by children’s active engagement
(Epstein, 2007, p. vii).
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
17
Differentiated teaching
• Provide a focus to hold
children’s attention
• Break teaching into
small parts
• Provide hands-on
practice
• Use an integrated
approach.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
18
Multisensory practices make sense
•
•
•
•
Use real materials
Use chants and rhymes.
Make it fun!
Provide natural
environments
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
19
Making sense and meaning are essential
•
•
•
•
Tap into prior knowledge
Use organizers.
Provide hands-on practice
Give the children time to
reflect
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
20
Questions
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
21
The Arizona Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Office
and STG International thank you for joining our webinar today!
Please continue to join the 2010 Summer Webinar Series
occurring every Tuesday and Thursday during the months of
June and July at 3:00 Pacific Daylight Time.
Please contact Mary Kramer Reinwasser at
mary.reinwasser@stginternational.com for more information.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
22
Intentional Teaching: Part Two
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
23
Agenda – Part Two
Part One:
• Defining intentional teaching and
intentional curriculum
• Principles of intentional teaching
and intentional curriculum
• Intentional Teaching strategies:
– Principles of effective
teaching strategies
– Child-guided versus adultguided
– Differentiated teaching
– Multisensory approach
Part Two: (strategies continued)
• Language Development
– Conversations
– Open-ended questions
– Vocabulary Development
• Approaches to learning
– Initiative and curiosity
– Engagement and persistence
– Reasoning and problem
solving
• Continuum of Teaching
Behaviors
• Guidelines for Teaching Teams
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
24
Learning Outcomes
1. Participants will be able to define intentional
teaching
2. Participants will be able to name the principles of
intentional teaching
3. Participants will be able to identify strategies for
language development and approaches to learning
4. Participants will be able to describe the continuum
of teaching behaviors
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
25
Language Modeling
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
26
Language Modeling
• Conversations
• Open-ended questions
• Vocabulary
development
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
Conversation: Respectful Listening
How do we show respect for the other person in a
conversation?
– By giving people time to form thoughts, to respond, and to
complete their statements
– By focusing on the concern that the other person is
expressing.
– By letting the other person begin the conversation or do a
lot of the talking.
From the ECLKC on Speaking and Listening Respectively
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
Conversation: Respectful Listening
How do we help keep a conversation open an moving
forward?
– Door Openers ("Would you like to talk?)
– Encourages ("I'd like to hear more about what you think" or "I'm
here if you want to talk over your ideas")
– Open Questions ("What are some of your ideas?“)
– Nodding, saying "yes" or "no" or "I hear you" or "uh-huh" or
"tell me more“
– Facial and body expressions that show interest
From the ECLKC on Speaking and Listening Respectively
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
Conversation: Respectful Listening
What should we avoid doing so that we don't block
the progress of a conversation?
–
–
–
Saying “always” or “never”
Lecturing
Facial or body expression that shows a lack of interest
From the ECLKC on Speaking and Listening Respectively
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
Open-ended Questions
• Open-ended questions don’t have right and wrong answers.
• Open-ended questions encourage children to recall what
they’ve done and to practice talking about it.
• Open-ended questions can produce more than one kind of
response.
• Open-ended questions are appropriate almost any time
during almost any activity.
• Open-ended questions can be used to help teach children to
solve problems.
• Asking open-ended questions can stimulate children to use
more specific vocabulary to explain what they’re doing.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
Vocabulary Development
To enhance children’s ability to communicate and to use an
increasingly complex and varied vocabulary…
• Respond to children's speech with expansions and questions
that point out causes and consequences.
• Introduce new words and using new words
• Talk about a book you are going to read to children before
reading it, asking them to predict from the title or cover what
the story will be about or what might happen next.
• Talk with children after reading a story; ask them to retell the
story or act it out. Encourage them to talk about the
characters and events, answering their questions and
responding to their comments.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
Vocabulary Development
To enhance children’s ability to communicate and to use an
increasingly complex and varied vocabulary…
• Write down children's messages to parents or others, dictations for
language experience charts, or stories, and read them back.
• Participate in play to get it going if children have difficulty or to
extend it to include more language interaction.
• Get in the habit of giving children plenty of time—five seconds or
so—to respond to a question or conversational comment.
• Plan in-depth projects with children to investigate questions or
topics of interest that expand vocabulary and provide opportunities
for extended discussion and different points of view.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
Approaches to Learning
The following is an excerpt from the Head Start Leaders Guide to Positive Child
Outcomes. Domain 7: Approaches to Learning
www.eclkc.gov
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
34
Initiative and Curiosity Strategies
• Encourage children's natural inclination to ask questions and
to wonder. Help them refine their questions and think of
ways they might get answers.
• Provide meaningful, realistic choices of play and work
experiences.
• Help children who have difficulty making choices by limiting
choices or helping them think through their options.
• Engage children in science and math experiences that start
with asking questions, forming hypotheses or making guesses,
collecting data, and drawing conclusions.
• Read or write stories in which children change or make up
their own endings.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
Initiative and Curiosity
• Play games that build on and extend children's curiosity, such
as, "I Spy" or "Mystery Bag."
• Be flexible enough to change plans if children initiate a more
interesting idea or experience.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
36
Engagement & Persistence Strategies
• Play games in which children must listen carefully and follow
more than one direction, such as "Simon says, stand on one
foot and touch your nose."
• Assign children important, necessary tasks that involve
following multiple-step directions: "Take your coat off, hang it
in the cubby, and pick out a book to enjoy."
• When children quit or give up too easily, gently encourage
them by saying, "Try one more time" or "Think of something
else you could try."
• Gradually lengthen the time children are expected to remain
engaged in activities or experiences; for instance, read longer
stories to extend children's attention span.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
37
Engagement & Persistence Strategies
• Engage children in prior planning of their own and remind them of
their plans as needed: "What was it you planned to do today? Are
you finished?"
• Provide ways for children to revisit and reflect on their
experiences and learning.
• Make frequent comments about children's efforts: "Look how
hard you've been trying to put that puzzle together. You're almost
finished."
• Help children identify successful strategies for problem-solving: "It
really helps when you look for the very first letter of your name to
find your cubby."
• Offer praise that is specific and meaningful to what a child (or
children) have actually done
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
38
Reasoning & Problem Solving Strategies
• Engage children in generating multiple solutions to questions
or problems: "It is raining and we can’t go outside. What
could we do instead?"
• When exploring or experimenting with a science or math
topic, engage children in the scientific method of asking
questions, generating hypotheses, gathering data, predicting
what will happen, and observing consequences.
• Play games that involve classifying, comparing, and
contrasting, such as Dominoes, Lotto, and other matching and
sorting games.
• Ask children to classify objects using more than one attribute
("Find the large, blue square; find the small, red circle.").
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
39
Reasoning & Problem Solving Strategies
• Help children verbalize their reasoning, thinking out loud
about how to solve a problem or answer a question. Write
down children's recommended ways of solving problems as
well as their solutions to problems. Try them out.
• Model open-mindedness and creativity. Demonstrate that
there may be more than one way to do things or to solve
problems.
• Encourage children to think of as many solutions as they can
to interpersonal problem situations. Ask them to think about
what would happen next if they use a certain solution or to
anticipate the consequences of an action.
• Read and act out stories in which characters reason and solve
challenging problems.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
40
Continuum of Teaching Behaviors
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
41
Nondirective Teaching Behaviors
CONTINUUM OF TEACHING BEHAVIORS (Based on Bredekamp and Rosegrant, 1992)
Nondirective
Ackno Give attention and positive encouragement to keep a child
wledge engaged in an activity.
Model
Display for children a skill or desirable way of behaving in the
classroom, through actions only or with cues, prompts, or
other forms of coaching.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance
Network
From the
ECLKC on Seeing the Big Picture in Head Start
Mediating Teacher Behaviors
Mediating
Facilitate
Offer short-term assistance to help a child practice in
developing a skill (as an adult does in holding the back
of a bicycle while a child pedals).
Support
Provide a fixed form of assistance, such as displaying the
alphabet near a writing center for children to refer to.
Scaffold
Support children to work "on the edge" of their current
competence; set up challenges or assist
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
43
Directive Teaching Behaviors
Directive
Co-construct
learn or work collaboratively with children on a
problem or task, such as building a model or block
structure.
Demonstrate
Actively display a behavior or engage in an activity
while children observe the outcome.
Direct
Provide specific directions or instructions for
children's behavior within narrowly defined
dimensions of error.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
44
Guidelines for Teaching Teams
• Use the child outcomes framework and a well-designed
curriculum to plan and individualize in all domains.
• Be planful and intentional in interacting with children and
creating learning experiences to achieve desired child
outcomes
• Pay attention to what children need to know and be able to
do to succeed in school
• Regularly engage children in focused, small-group
experiences to promote thinking processes and concept
learning
• Reflect on the teacher's role
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
45
In summary…
Ask yourself these reflective questions…
• How often are my interactions with children over the day
intentional?
• How do I demonstrate, through my informal experiences and
settings, that I am intentional in my teaching and in the
children’s learning?
• What does intentional teaching look like in a home-based
setting or center-based setting?
• Would parents be able to notice that I am intentional in my
work with their children?
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
46
Questions
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
47
The Arizona Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Office
and STG International thank you for joining our webinar today!
Please continue to join the 2010 Summer Webinar Series
occurring every Tuesday and Thursday during the months of
June and July at 3:00 Pacific Daylight Time.
Please contact Mary Kramer Reinwasser at
mary.reinwasser@stginternational.com for more information.
Head Start State-based T/TA Office for Arizona
A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
48