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An Introduction to Reflective Practices

Reflective practice is a process of learning through thinking. It is a method by which educators and caregivers can develop professionally by regularly reexamining teaching practices and philosophies and adjusting when needed to better serve the interests of one’s students and their families. It involves reflecting on all the elements that make up your practice as an ECE professional and looking for, among others, the following things:

• What is working well for my young learners, and what could be improved upon to better guide them on their educational journey? This includes, among other things:
  • Does the design of the physical classroom allow for free and safe movement for students?
  • Are the learning centers in the educational environment encouraging inquiry, interaction, and deeper thinking in the students?
  • Am I providing opportunities for learning by all types of learners: visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic, logical, social, and solitary?
  • Have I made efforts to accommodate learners with different physical, social, or emotional needs and neurodivergent learners?
• How do my experiences, biases, values, and practices affect my view of my role as an educator and my interactions with my students and their families?
• What are my goals for my students, and for myself, professionally, and are my current practices serving those goals?

Educators are busy professionals who already have a lot on their plates. Adding reflective practices to your to do list may seem like a daunting task. Here are some ways to approach reflective practice to make it manageable and an endeavor that helps you become better at the job you enjoy:

• Start small. If you are new to reflective practices and are feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of getting started, choose one area to focus on; for example: reflect on your read alouds and examine them for interactivity, representation, and connection to your learning goals for your students. Choose one new area to focus on at a time.
• Keep a journal. Putting your thoughts into writing can help you learn from them. Jot down times when you notice something working (or not) to give you a starting point for your reflection. Being alert throughout your day and looking for moments and occurrences that would benefit from further thought makes reflective practice easier.
• Schedule your check in. Making reflective practice a regular thing is the best way to make it effective for you. Choose a schedule that works for you. You might consider one of these:
  • At the beginning or end of a month.
  • At the beginning or end of a new learning unit.
  • Before each staff meeting or performance review as both reflection and preparation.

Reflective practice does not need to be a formal review and overhaul of your educational practice, but rather a means of continually thinking about what you are doing and why, with the goal of being your best professional self.

For the main article Building Bridges: Professional Growth Through Mentorship and Reflective Practices, CLICK HERE

For the article The Practice and Value of Mentorship in Early Childhood Education, CLICK HERE

For the article Exploring the Benefits of Mentoring to the Mentor, CLICK HERE

For the article Exploring Cooperative Reflective Practices in the Early Childhood Education Setting, CLICK HERE

Exploring Cooperative Reflective Practices in the Early Childhood Education Setting

Reflective practices involve thinking intentionally about what you are doing in the learning environment, why you are doing it, and how successful you are in serving your students and your goals for their learning. By reflecting upon your teaching practices through the lens of your learning and development goals for the children in your care, you can constantly improve as an educator and ensure you are doing what is best for each child you teach.

Reflective practice is often thought of as a solitary endeavor for professional development. However, there is benefit to engaging in cooperative reflective practices within a teaching community. Rather than merely thinking about your teaching practices, discussing them with colleagues with an eye toward ensuring the greatest benefit to students can lead to even greater professional development. Here are some ways in which joining together with others in reflective practice can be helpful even beyond the usefulness of solo examination:

• Gaining impartial perspectives. Many people judge themselves too harshly, or too easily. It is not a simple matter to see oneself (or one’s actions) clearly. Having others join in reflecting on the practice of teaching within the learning environment ensures a balanced view of things.
• Shared experience. In the same way that mentoring relationships help guide and support new educators (see The Practice and Value of Mentorship in Early Childhood Education in this newsletter), cooperative reflective practices can help new teachers learn from the experience of more seasoned educators.
• Helping others learn about themselves. The goal of reflective practice is to develop your skills as a professional educator by thinking intentionally about what you do and how it serves your goals. By sharing that process with other professional educators, you can help them to do the same. The way you have thought about something may help someone else look at their practices and in a new and insightful light.

The article An Introduction to Reflective Practice in this newsletter gives some tips on how to go about engaging in solo reflective practice. Here are some tips on how to do so cooperatively:

• Be intentional about cooperative reflective practice. Set aside a time and a topic for each discussion to maximizes the benefits by allowing professionals taking part in the group practice to prepare for the discussion by engaging in their own self-reflection first.
• Use real world scenarios – rather than hypotheticals – for group reflection. Reflective educators are always looking for scenarios in their learning environments that prompt further thought. Allow members to bring these scenarios to the group for discussion.
• Choose a moderator for each discussion to guide the group and keep everyone on topic. This practice is most helpful when it is deliberate rather than a generalized discussion.
• Suspend judgement. The goal of cooperative reflective practices is not to make a determination about particular actions or decisions, but rather to discuss the impacts and alternatives to find what best serves the needs of the children.

For the main article Building Bridges: Professional Growth Through Mentorship and Reflective Practices, CLICK HERE

For the article The Practice and Value of Mentorship in Early Childhood Education, CLICK HERE

For the article Exploring the Benefits of Mentoring to the Mentor, CLICK HERE

For the article An Introduction to Reflective Practices, CLICK HERE

Exploring the Benefits of Mentoring to the Mentor

The benefits of mentorship to a new ECE professional are many and easy to understand. What may be less obvious is the professional development value of mentoring to the more seasoned educator. This article explores some of the upside of mentoring to the mentor that you may not have considered. These benefits make it clear that mentoring practices withing ECE programs are a win-win-win: benefiting new educators, experienced ECE teachers, and administrators alike.

According to Indeed, mentors in professional guidance relationships gain the following skills and benefits:

• Mentoring builds leadership skills. Those skills are valuable in the classroom, when dealing with families, and can lead to career advancement as well.
• Mentors learn new practical skills. While there is an adage that says “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” – it’s simply not true. While seasoned educators have a wealth of knowledge to share on successful strategies for inside and outside of the classroom, they also benefit from learning about a fresh approach as seen through a new pair of eyes.
• Mentors experience growth in interpersonal skills. This is particularly true for ECE educators who spend a high percentage of their time dealing with young children. Serving as a mentor offers the opportunity to guide and interact with other adults on a deeper level than what is available at monthly staff meetings.
• Mentoring leads to greater reflective practices. Other articles in this newsletter examine various aspects of reflective practices, but mentors are in a unique position to reflect on their own experiences and strategies as they strive to pass their knowledge and guidance to a colleague. Being able to teach what you do successfully forces greater understanding of the how and why of the success of those practices.
• Mentoring leads to networking opportunities. Building the kind of trusting relationship with a new colleague that results from mentorship means making a connection that is more likely to endure than one with a simple colleague. That relationship can lead to more connections in the field that a mentor can tap in the future for any number of needs, such as:
  • Seeking support for community wide initiatives to benefit the industry.
  • Looking for new professional opportunities.
  • Needing expert knowledge in an area of practice with which the mentor is less familiar.

Clearly, mentoring programs are not just good for new and inexperienced ECE professionals. Acting as a mentor is good for the professional development of experienced teachers as well. And the benefits derived by both mentee and mentor allow them both to better guide and facilitate the growth and learning of students and their families, which serves to strengthen the ECE center as a whole.

For the main article Building Bridges: Professional Growth Through Mentorship and Reflective Practices, CLICK HERE

For the article The Practice and Value of Mentorship in Early Childhood Education, CLICK HERE

For the article An Introduction to Reflective Practices, CLICK HERE

For the article Exploring Cooperative Reflective Practices in the Early Childhood Education Setting, CLICK HERE

The Practice and Value of Mentorship in Early Childhood Education

The value of mentorship in education is fundamental and clear from the fact that a standard requirement of bachelor’s degrees in education include a student teaching component. In the same way that doctors learn practical skills under the guidance of more experienced doctors, one way teachers learn how to best serve their students is from more experienced teachers. The benefits mentees receive from mentors are two pronged.

Professional Guidance

The most commonly understood benefit to mentees from a mentor relationship is professional guidance. Mentors can provide knowledge to a new ECE educator on every aspect of their new position. They can share their experiences on what works and what doesn’t in all the following situations and more:

• Strategies for classroom management
• Tips for communicating with the families of students
• Best practices for working within a teaching team
• Most efficient ways to comply with regulations set by the state and the center
• How to approach challenging student dynamics
• Ways to incorporate opportunities for learning in even mundane tasks within the learning environment

An important component of a mentoring relationship is trust. Trust is developed as two professionals work together in a mentoring relationship and get to know and rely on one another. That trust makes the following elements of the guidance of mentors more powerful:

• Feedback given by someone in a position of trust and with whom a mentee is familiar is more impactful that feedback from a more distant colleague.
• Guidance on handling a given situation will be more helpful when given by a mentor who has established a relationship with the mentee and understands their background, experience, and potential biases.

As was noted in the introduction to this newsletter, turnover in ECE roles is higher in inexperienced teachers. Setting up a mentoring program within an Early Childhood Education Center allows for mentors to share their earned and lived knowledge with new teachers to counter that inexperience and hopefully increase retention among newer educators.

Professional guidance is only one benefit of mentorship, however. Another is Emotional Support

Emotional Support

The role of an ECE educator is a difficult one for many reasons. No one understands the challenges that a new teacher faces better than another teacher. Beyond the professional guidance offered by a mentor, a mentee can benefit from emotional support from another professional. Burnout among educators at all levels is a top reason for staffing shortages. Having a colleague with deep knowledge of the challenges, as well as the rewards, of the role is invaluable. “Mentors offer a safe space for you to discuss your fears, frustrations, and failures without judgment. They become your ultimate cheerleader and confidant while helping you build resilience, self-confidence, and a sense of belonging within your professional community.” 4 Transformative Benefits Of Mentorship You Can’t Afford To Miss

For the main article Building Bridges: Professional Growth Through Mentorship and Reflective Practices, CLICK HERE

For the article Exploring the Benefits of Mentoring to the Mentor, CLICK HERE

For the article An Introduction to Reflective Practices, CLICK HERE

For the article Exploring Cooperative Reflective Practices in the Early Childhood Education Setting, CLICK HERE

Building Bridges: Professional Growth Through Mentorship and Reflective Practices

This will probably not come as a shock to the education professionals reading this newsletter, but there is a staffing shortage in the Early Childhood Education.  While there are many reasons for this shortage, including a lack of federal funding, the relatively low pay and prestige associated with the roles, and educator burnout, there are ways to combat staffing shortages by supporting ECE professionals in their roles to attract and retain talented educators in jobs working in   ECE.

Studies have shown that more experienced teachers are more likely to stay in their roles as ECE professionals.  To give less experienced ECE professionals the support they need to gain experience, confidence, and investment in their roles, ECE Center directors and staff must promote their professional growth. This newsletter will explore two ways of accomplishing this task: mentorship and reflective practices.

Mentorship is the pairing of more and less experienced ECE professionals to provide support and promote a sharing of knowledge and experience. This newsletter will explore the many and varied benefits of mentorship in the ECE space, including confidence building and skill sharing. This newsletter will also cover the mutually beneficial aspects of mentorship by exploring the often- overlooked benefits of mentorship to the more experienced mentor.

Reflective practice has been referred to as “learning by thinking”. Reflective practices involve examining one’s experiences, practices, and beliefs and thinking deeply about them to learn about oneself and one’s professional roles. Reflective practice helps to ensure that educators remain learners. This newsletter will explore steps ECE professionals can take to engage in personal reflective practices. Further, this newsletter will explore the process and benefits of cooperative reflective practices in an ECE learning environment in ways that benefit administrators, educators, and caregivers alike.

For the article The Practice and Value of Mentorship in Early Childhood Education, CLICK HERE

For the article Exploring the Benefits of Mentoring to the Mentor, CLICK HERE

For the article An Introduction to Reflective Practices, CLICK HERE

For the article Exploring Cooperative Reflective Practices in the Early Childhood Education Setting, CLICK HERE

Approaching and Working with Families Whose Children Have Disabilities

Families whose children have disabilities often face stress and other difficulties in their lives. Having their children attend an inclusive child care setting can be a relief of some of the pressures these families face. As child care educators and providers, it is important to know how we best work with families of disabled children. Working closely with the families helps give students the best chance for a successful integration to an inclusive program. Educators can talk to a student’s family about the best way to communicate with them. This may include scheduled meetings or through email or phone calls. The willingness and ability of families to be involved can be  impacted by how they are approached and engaged by the school. It’s important to be mindful and respectful. Implement engagement strategies that help everyone feel empowered to advocate for the student and instill confidence that their concerns will be heard.

When meeting or engaging with families of children with disabilities there are a few things to take into consideration to provide a productive and respectful meeting. Providing accessible information about the purpose of the meeting, including advance copies of documents to be discussed and a list of who will be present, will be helpful in easing a families apprehension or anxiety. Schedule a meeting at a time and place convenient for families and the school. This ensures that needs and commitments, such as work or childcare, are accommodated. To facilitate a productive meeting make sure all key personnel have been invited and briefed on what is required of them. This may include outside support agencies. It is also comforting for families if they are encouraged to bring an advocate or support person if they desire. Inform the families about the roles of those attending the meeting including those who may be new to the families interaction with the program. Make sure the meeting is free from interruptions like phone calls, other students and staff. There is a need to be sensitive to cultural needs and protocols and always make accommodations for interpreters if needed.  Always make a record of the meeting and distribute it to participants. This may include key discussion points and areas for action. If immediate action needs to be taken, inform families of what needs to be done and help facilitate those actions. It is reassuring to let families know that everything being discussed is for the well-being and benefit of their children and that the program can be seen as an ally who has the child’s best interest in mind.

Keeping in mind that the program must be ADA compliant, it is required by law that providers make reasonable accommodations for a disabled individual. Reasonable accommodations may include a meeting to talk about how to best help the student integrate into the program. It is important to discuss with families how the student’s disability may affect the way they learn, what support and reasonable accommodations could  meet the student’s needs, and how current reasonable adjustments are meeting the student’s needs. Direct and truthful communication with the family is required and in the best interest of all the parties involved in helping the student maximize their potential.

For the main article Americans with Disabilities Act, CLICK HERE

For the article How Does the ADA Apply to a Child Care Provider?, CLICK HERE

For the article Making the Child Care Facility Accessible and Compliant with the ADA, CLICK HERE

For the article Promoting and Providing Inclusive Child Care, CLICK HERE

Promoting and Providing Inclusive Child Care

There are many benefits to disabled children being in an inclusive program. Some of the benefits of inclusive child care for children with special needs include the chances to learn by observing and interacting with other children of similar ages, the time and support to build relationships with other children, chances to practice social skills in real world situations, exposure to a wider variety of challenging activities, opportunities to learn at their own pace in a supportive environment, and chances to build relationships with caring adults outside of family. Typically developing children can also benefit from interacting with a child with a special need in their child care program. Benefits of inclusive child care for typically developing children include increased appreciation and acceptance of individual differences, increased empathy for others, and preparation for adult life in an inclusive society. As early childhood educators, how can we make our programs and services inclusive?

Educators can make inclusive classroom by creating an environment, both physical and emotional, where all students are invited to participate and everyone is treated with respect and kindness. Educators can answer children’s questions with simple, straightforward honesty and encouraging open dialogue about disabilities and abilities among children and parents. We can help children feel comfortable with each other and develop friendships based on their shared interests, facilitating interactions and play between children with different abilities, especially if the child with special needs has difficulty communicating in a way that another child can understand. Teachers can create a sense of community in the classroom, where every person is valued as a unique individual who has something to contribute and where everyone is responsible for caring for one other. Teachers in an inclusive classroom have an opportunity to help shape children’s attitudes and behavior toward people with disabilities.

Inclusive programs are more successful when classroom teachers are given adequate support. Specialized training should be considered. Educators who have participated in specialized professional development opportunities feel more confident in their knowledge and skills and provide higher quality experiences for all of the children.

A successful inclusive child care program also has an administration that is supportive. A supportive administrator puts supports in place to help teachers when the challenges become especially difficult. They seek out helpful community resources and professionals, and ensures that teachers and families have opportunities to connect with and make use of them. Collaboration with other early childhood special education professionals is of tremendous value to providers when a child with special needs is in their program. Specialists can provide a wide range of services and supports within the group setting. They can talk with teachers about what they can expect from the child and help teachers adapt the environment and curriculum so that the child can be fully involved throughout the day. They are a vital source of accurate information about specific disabilities and intervention strategies.

Inclusive child care programs and working with children with disabilities can be challenging. However, the benefits provided to the disabled student and their families, as well as the benefits to all the students and educators in the program, make those challenges a worthwhile undertaking for any program.

For the main article Americans with Disabilities Act, CLICK HERE

For the article How Does the ADA Apply to a Child Care Provider?, CLICK HERE

For the article Making the Child Care Facility Accessible and Compliant with the ADA, CLICK HERE

For the article Approaching and Working with Families Whose Children Have Disabilities, CLICK HERE

Making the Child Care Facility Accessible and Compliant with the ADA

The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) offers protection from discrimination based on disabilities. As child care providers, all of our programs are required to be compliant with the ADA. There are many aspects to being ADA compliant that goes beyond just offering spaces to disabled students in our programs. ADA compliance in education requires that educators ensure all students have the opportunity to take part in and benefit from school programs and services. Programs must provide students with disabilities the same types of opportunities and experiences other students enjoy, making sure the quality of services and benefits provided is equal to those received by other students. Programs must emphasize classroom accessibility and provide the proper equipment to increase the student’s comfort and chances for success. Let’s take a deeper look at some requirements of the law to be ADA compliant.

The ADA requires that “reasonable accommodations” be made in the classroom for students with disabilities. When planning accessibility for our classrooms we should take into consideration the following:

• physical disabilities including genetic conditions
• chronic illnesses or other issues which impact mobility
• sensory impairments such as hearing and vision disturbances
• cognitive impairments including learning disabilities, ADHD, and other disorders
• emotional impairments which include major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress

Classroom accessibility involves design elements, teaching strategies, technological aids, and communications. Inclusive classrooms provide all students with equal opportunities and the tools they need to succeed. Making sure our programs and classroom are ADA compliant we must create accessible learning environments.

Vanderbilt University found the following five areas to focus on when creating these inclusive environments:

1. The first area of focus is the physical learning spaces. The location in the building, layout, and various technologies offered accommodation to student mobility issues as well as for vision, hearing, and cognitive impairments must be considered.
2. The second area of focus is course materials. All course materials should be available and able to be used by all students. Educators need to provide disabled students with auxiliary aids to learning and use of course materials.
3. The third area of focus is communication with students. It is important to communicate your goals in being ADA compliant and creating an inclusive classroom. Be aware of students in your classroom with Individualized Education Programs (IEP). Approach each student and their families to ensure they are being provided with what they need. Use a variety of methods in communicating with both the student and their families. Take time to consider if classroom policies impact students with disabilities.
4. The fourth area of focus is the class environment. Inclusive classrooms engage and encourage involvement from all students including those with disabilities. Aim at reducing social stigma and marginalization through  interactive group activities. Conduct activities in a variety of formats to ensure students with disabilities are able to contribute.
5. The fifth area of focus is out of class activities. Inclusive classrooms take into account the varied settings your students will be in. This includes the playground, school activities and celebrations, and field trips.

To ensure ADA compliance, make sure students with disabilities have what they need in all situations. Creating an ADA compliant program is not difficult and will benefit everyone in your program.

For the main article Americans with Disabilities Act, CLICK HERE

For the article How Does the ADA Apply to a Child Care Provider?, CLICK HERE

For the article Promoting and Providing Inclusive Child Care, CLICK HERE

For the article Approaching and Working with Families Whose Children Have Disabilities, CLICK HERE

How Does the ADA Apply to a Child Care Provider?

The Americans with Disabilities Act is a law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities against discrimination. The law requires that child care providers not discriminate on the basis of disability, thus providing children and families with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in the child care center’s programs and services. There are many different aspects to the ADA that child care providers must comply with.

Children with disabilities may not be excluded from child care settings merely for having a disability. Facilities may exclude children with disabilities if their presence is a direct threat to the health or safety of others or requires a fundamental alteration of the program. Programs have to make reasonable modifications to their policies and practices to integrate children, parents and guardians with disabilities into their programs unless doing so would be a fundamental alteration to the program. Child care providers must also provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services needed for effective communication for children and adults with disabilities when doing so is not an undue burden. Centers and child care spaces must also be generally accessible to disabled persons. Existing facilities are subject to readily achievable standard for removal of barriers that would hinder access to the disabled. New construction and altered portions of older facilities must be fully accessible. Terms such as direct threat, fundamental alteration, undue burden, readily achievable are all terms that can be viewed differently by different parties. It is best to seek counsel before excluding anyone for any reason from your program. Another article this newsletter discusses further is how to make your facility accessible and compliant with the ADA.

How can providers decide if a child with disabilities can be enrolled in the program? Facilities cannot just assume that a child’s disabilities are too severe for the child to successfully be part of the program and services provided. An individualized assessment must be made about whether the provider can meet the needs of the child without fundamentally altering the program. During this assessment the child care provider must not react to preconceived notions or stereotypes of the individual’s abilities or how much care would be required. Providers should speak to guardians, and other professional that work with the child to determine the fit within the program. It is often very simple to integrate children with disabilities into a mainstream program. The benefit of doing so will be good not only for the child, but for everyone in your program. In another article in this newsletter, we will see the benefits of promoting and providing inclusive child care.

Complying with the ADA is a matter of law. All facilities and providers must be in compliance, failure to comply may cost your facility’s license to be revoked or not renewed, you may find your program being sued by individuals or even by the US Government. Compliance is easier than most think and being an inclusive provider is of benefit to your entire program.

For the main article Americans with Disabilities Act, CLICK HERE

For the article Making the Child Care Facility Accessible and Compliant with the ADA, CLICK HERE

For the article Promoting and Providing Inclusive Child Care, CLICK HERE

For the article Approaching and Working with Families Whose Children Have Disabilities, CLICK HERE

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that protects the rights of disabled people and protects these individuals from discrimination based on their disabilities. All American businesses need to comply with the ADA in both terms of customers and employees. Child care providers also need to be in compliance with this law. In a child care setting the law protects students, their families, and the employees of the program. As it pertains to our students, children with disabilities cannot be excluded from programs solely on the basis of their disability. The ADA aims to promote inclusion and equal opportunities for all children regardless of their abilities. As Early Childhood Professionals our aim should be the same as this law’s  – providing opportunities to all children is what our profession is all about.

There are many steps for our child care programs and facilities to take in order to be ADA compliant. In this month’s newsletter we examine how the ADA pertains to our preschool programs and services. We show how the law applies specifically to our centers and programs. The newsletter discusses how to make our facilities accessible and compliant with the law. We also dive into how we can promote and provide inclusive child care and the benefits that an inclusive program provides to everyone associated with it. How to approach and work with families whose children have disabilities is examined to determine how we can better serve these families.

Compliance with the ADA is mandated by law, but as educators we should strive to provide the best possible care to all of the children in our communities.

For the article How Does the ADA Apply to a Child Care Provider?, CLICK HERE

For the article Making the Child Care Facility Accessible and Compliant with the ADA, CLICK HERE

For the article Promoting and Providing Inclusive Child Care, CLICK HERE

For the article Approaching and Working with Families Whose Children Have Disabilities, CLICK HERE