How does reflective supervision work? Therapist and reflective consultant Michelle Dineen explains in this Q & A

May 11, 2021

Michelle Dineen, MSW, LICSW, IMH-E®, is a therapist and reflective consultant. As a therapist, she has a special interest in working with parents who have young children. As a reflective consultant, she leads group reflective supervision sessions for people in a variety of professions. This includes teams working in such fields as public health and emergency services, as well as teams working for social service agencies and crisis nurseries.

Dineen is also an instructor for our online course RIOS 1: Using the RIOS Framework for Reflective Supervision. She also authored our self-study module Wondering with Purpose: Reflection in Any Setting. In the first part of our Q & A with Dineen, she discusses the benefits of reflective supervision. She also talks about the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to people in helping professions.

What happens in a reflective supervision session? How does reflective supervision help participants?

Michelle Dineen: Reflective supervision sessions can be led by a reflective supervisor who works within an organization, or they can be led by an external consultant, like me. Reflective supervision is particularly helpful for people whose work is emotionally charged. These providers often work with people who are in high-stress situations.

In reflective sessions, providers can take a step back and think about themselves as players in the interactions with people they assist. Reflective sessions are a place where providers can work on understanding their part of the equation. My job is to help providers name and manage the emotions that they experience while helping others.

In reflective sessions, we do mindfulness to become more aware of our bodies’ responses to emotions. When we get emotionally charged or someone we meet is emotionally charged, that is somewhat contagious. If we don’t understand our own reactions, we can end up taking on someone else’s emotions.

The providers I work with are empathetic. They are in relationships with the people whom they are helping. But they’re practicing how to manage the boundaries between their own emotions and those of others. They’re asking questions like: “What can I understand about the emotions that we experienced? What isn’t mine to hold onto anymore? What can I let go of and still be good at my work?” They’re practicing not being a sponge that soaks in all of the emotions in the room. Being a sponge leads to burnout.

So reflective supervision can help prevent burnout. It can also help participants increase their effectiveness at work. Can you talk a little bit about why that is the case?

MD: Reflective supervision sessions are not based on fixing anything. Instead, they are based on giving space to the experiences people are having with an initial goal of wondering what might be going on with the other person. From there, we get into challenging assumptions. All of us are judgmental. That’s how we keep safe. The key is to recognize our assumptions and to be curious about the person we are interacting with.

For example, let’s say you are a home visitor who works with parents and kids. You might have assumptions like, “I could do better than this mom.” Everyone has weird thoughts like these. We may feel that we can’t say them out loud. If I leave feelings and thoughts like these unconscious and buried, they may come out sideways. I may accidentally act on them. But if I have a safe space to notice those thoughts, such as a reflective supervision session, I don’t have to hang on to them. I can move through them and use them to lead me in my intervention and support of that parent.

You mentioned you work with public health professionals. How has their work changed since the start of the pandemic?

MD: I’ve noticed that some of the separation of “provider” and “client,” or of “us” and “them,” if you will, is gone. It’s because we’re now all experiencing a universal stressor. This isn’t necessarily just applicable to public health; it’s applicable to everyone who works with people. The pandemic has changed the way work feels and the way it feels to help someone else. Providers are finding that the stress experienced by their clients feels familiar.

I mentioned that one piece of reflective supervision is the separation of “my feelings” and “your feelings.” Thinking about what’s happened over the past year, so many professionals are now in the position of saying to their clients, “I’m confused about what’s happening also. I don’t know when I can see you again. I don’t understand the technology to connect with you virtually. I don’t know what barriers there will be to connect with you.” It’s really a struggle for people who have been doing this for a long time, because their skill sets may not translate well when they are not in the room with someone. These providers are now being subjected to stress at a similar level to the people with whom they work.

It sounds like any professional who normally works with people face-to-face could be experiencing these high stress levels.

MD: Yes, many workers use themselves, their presence, as a tool to connect with someone. They can’t do that virtually, or at least, they can’t do it in the same way. For example, sometimes a home visitor’s work is to sit in silence as a person cries about the tragedy they’re having, or to sit in silence while holding a baby.

The educator and reflective consultant Carol Siegel has said that stress and creativity are opposites. When stress goes up, creativity goes down. People in helping professions practice creativity all the time. Think of a kindergarten teacher when a child is really dysregulated. The teacher thinks, “I’ll try this to help them. Now I’ll try that. That didn’t work. What else can I do?” What do professionals like these do when their creativity is constrained by the virtual format? They feel tired, incompetent. They can’t do what they want to do and serve the people they want to serve. And they know people are suffering for it.

Stay tuned for the second part of our conversation with Michelle Dineen. To learn more about reflective supervision, explore Dineen’s online course RIOS™ 1: Using the RIOS™ Framework for Reflective Supervision. For a self-paced introduction to reflective skills, Dineen’s self-study module Wondering With Purpose: Reflection in Any Setting is another option. Register for any of CEED’s self-study modules for $10 off throughout May in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month.

Honoring Mental Health Awareness Month with $10 off any CEED self-study module

May 5, 2021

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Reflective Practice Center at the Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) is offering $10 off your registration for any of our self-study modules throughout May. Our modules explore aspects of reflective practice and reflective supervision in an on-demand, self-paced format. They’re suitable for professionals in a variety of fields including early childhood education, social work, and health care. Discover new evidence-based content and access new skills; explore our nine modules for just $75 per registration for a limited time!

Mind the gap: watching Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood as experiential learning

May 5, 2021

By Mary Harrison, PhD, LICSW, IMH-E®

In the early days of 2020—a time that seems both recent and incredibly distant—I wrote a blog post about why Mr. Rogers still matters to people. The post seemed to resonate with readers at the time and has continued to do so during the upheaval of the past year. I’ve tried to think through why that might be, and I keep coming back to the idea of slowness.

You might have heard of the slow movement and related ideas like “slow food” and “slow work.” We’re often told we need to slow down, practice self care, check in with our loved ones, and find balance. This all sounds appealing, but at a time when we are inundated with news and images and updates and advice, it is difficult to actually slow down, to practice some of those coping strategies that are constantly pressed on us.

For some of us, the COVID-19 pandemic did enable—or enforce—a slower lifestyle. Some of us have found it possible for human connections to flourish over Zoom, even having regular conversations with friends and families in a way that we were never able to before. I can also recall some lovely moments of in-person connection, chatting with neighbors from afar or with fellow mask-wearers at the grocery store across a polite six feet of space.

But are we actually experiencing the physical sensation of slowness? Are our minds ever quiet? My body and mind seem to have forgotten what it means to slow down and just be, or to give something my full attention and let my mind wander in deep thought. Quiet nothingness is a time during which we can feel emotions, form new thoughts, slow our heart rates, make connections. But such slowness can seem very elusive.

The beloved children’s TV personality Mr. Rogers moved at such a slow pace that it seems to me almost painfully so at times. In our world of clickbait, tweets, and text chains, connections happen quickly. And then we move on—quickly—to the next thing, and the next.

Fred Rogers on the set of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood with puppets Henrietta Pussycat and X the Owl

Mr. Rogers’ whole way of being was different. His well-known shoe-and-sweater-swapping routines were predictable and deliberate. The way he spoke allowed for words and ideas and questions to hang in the air for consideration. Frankly, watching old episodes initially drives me nuts. It’s the same as sitting for silent meditation after an absence of practice. It creates an instant need for mental list-making and physical fidgeting.

Sitting with an old Mr. Rogers episode is an invitation to visit a past version of ourselves. This past self didn’t always scramble to see who just texted or scroll to see who just posted. Perhaps this past self was five years old, home sick from school, and eating chicken noodle soup and saltines. This past self was comforted by a favorite Mr. Rogers Neighborhood episode in which he visited the crayon-making factory. Or perhaps this past self was the parent of a preschooler searching for something that their child could watch that didn’t involve a screeching cartoon character.

Watching Mr. Rogers is experiential learning for a more mindful, slower way of living. Start an episode as an adult and you will be reminded of familiar sights and songs. The nostalgia might feel sweet as you settle in for a whole episode.

But I wonder if at some point you will start to feel waves of a different kind of emotion. Urgency? Boredom? Irritation? Perhaps one of these labels will fit this itchy feeling, or maybe you’ll just experience it as a nagging “I need to be doing something” train of thought. When I tried this exercise recently, this was exactly what happened to me. Adding to my unease was a sense that I wasn’t proud of having these thoughts and feelings.

But like silent meditation or any mindfulness practice, there is a gap period before your body can actually slow down, before your mind can actually grow quieter. It’s uncomfortable. Other tasks beckon. Other things need tending. You tell yourself this is “good for you” because it’s a “healthy form of self-care.” You will yourself to sit and be quiet.

Here’s where I’ll advocate for watching Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood as a form of meditation. It works because he keeps you company; he talks and walks you through this uncomfortable gap period. Fred Rogers’ familiar routines and soothing cadence can dim our inner fluorescent lights and set the stage for the slowdown. Tolerating the transition from constant stimulation to slowness and silence is easier with Mr. Rogers, because he is already there. He is just ahead of you, waiting for you in that more intentional place. All you have to do is let go of the conscious or unconscious habit of responding to the call of half-finished tasks and buzzing notifications.

You can take the train to the land of make-believe, but in your case, it is from a place dominated by the crush of worries, tasks, and FOMO (fear of missing out) to a place of slowly untying shoes and zipping up sweaters. You can shed the layers of responsibility in favor of a safe learning experience. And all the while, your body can slow down, your mind can quiet, your heart beat can reset, and you can actually find yourself experiencing moments of just being.

Mr. Rogers can help us mind the gap between our fervent efforts at keeping our heads above water and living at a more natural pace. What are the benefits of slower living? For one, new ideas have space to come to light. We can experience a deeper level of exhale. Our human bodies can be open to the energy and light of others. Our children need this for learning; we need it for surviving and thriving.

I invite you to revisit Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood when you can. Observe yourself as you watch an episode: your mind, your heart, maybe your restlessness, maybe your longing for the next thing. I invite you to join Mr. Rogers for the full episode and see how you feel as it unfolds. See how you feel by the end. Transitioning to his slower pace just might remind you how it feels and leave you longing to experience such slowness again soon.

Early childhood education in the age of COVID-19: Part two in a series

April 12, 2021

By Hannah Riddle de Rojas, Program Quality Specialist

In a previous post, Program Quality Specialist Hannah Riddle de Rojas explored two important ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected child care providers: financially and operationally. In this follow-up, she addresses the coronavirus’ ongoing toll while looking toward a stronger future for the sector.

A colorful stack of cloth masks on a table

As SARS-CoV-2 began spreading in the United States in early 2020, the virus’ impact on child care—a sector that was already in crisis—was immediate. Fortunately, funding to support child care providers was included in coronavirus relief bills at the federal level as early as March 2020.

On March 27, 2020, Congress provided $3.5 billion to states to shore up the child care sector as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
On December 21, 2020, Congress extended some of the relief measures included in the CARES Act, passing a new stimulus bill which allocated another $10 billion to the early education field.
On March 11, 2021, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, which includes a $39 billion investment in early childhood education.

Despite Congress’ actions in 2020, financial problems for this chronically underfunded sector remained. Congress’ latest allocation of funding is cause for optimism, and it comes at a critical time. After more than a year operating amid the COVID-19 pandemic, child care providers continue to experience constant change and much adversity. Data from a nationwide survey conducted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) portray a stark financial reality. As of December 2020, when NAEYC released the survey results:

56% of child care centers “were losing money each day they remained open,” and
44% were “confronting so much uncertainty” that they couldn’t say how much longer they would remain open.

Poignantly, 42% of survey respondents said they had taken on personal debt to buy supplies for their programs, and 39% said they had used money from their personal savings accounts to do so. All of this is against a backdrop in which day-to-day operations are more expensive because of a need to purchase additional cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment as well as, according to 60% of respondents, additional personnel costs when providers or their family members test positive for the virus.

Providers have also made dramatic changes to day-to-day operations in response to new regulations. Daily cleaning and disinfecting routines have been dramatically extended. Stuffed animals have been removed from classrooms. Providers are encouraged to enforce mask mandates for all children ages two and above. A source of stress for providers and families both is the knowledge that a provider may have to close abruptly for weeks if a staff member or a child tests positive for COVID-19. Another stressor, of course, is the looming question of closing permanently. In Minnesota, 63% of respondents to the NAEYC survey reported that they knew of more than one child care provider in their community that had closed for good.

One such provider is Hopkins Early Learning Center (HELC) in Hopkins, MN, which closed its doors on December 18, 2020. Due to the pandemic, the program experienced an unsustainable combination of lower enrollment and increased operational costs. I spoke with Jamie Bonczyk, then the executive director of the program, in September 2020 for an earlier blog post on this topic. I got back in touch with Bonczyk in the wake of her program’s closure to ask if there was a message she’d like to share about the impact of COVID-19 on the child care sector.

“My one thing I would like people to know is that we were a fragile industry before the pandemic,” said Bonczyk. “And we have the opportunity to build back stronger by addressing the ‘big three’: access, affordability and quality.”

When HELC closed its doors, 22 educators and staff lost their jobs and the community lost access to 117 spaces for high-quality child care. At a time when Minnesota is experiencing a child care shortage—the most recent estimate I have seen suggested that another 40,000 spaces are needed to meet demand in greater Minnesota—such loss hits especially hard, especially for parents and their employers.

After publishing that earlier blog post, I heard from Courtney Greiner, director of Mini Mos Child Care and Preschool in Esko, Minnesota. She wrote about her experience and that of her employees.

“The teachers that work here are amazing, kind, showed up when others didn’t,” she wrote.

“They risked their health, their family’s health, and did it for the right reasons. […] They knew what they were doing was making a difference, and I hope that that doesn’t get lost when this is over. I hope that it isn’t forgotten that they showed up so that the essential workers could also show up. [The teachers] were caring for [essential workers’] most precious family members so they could take care of everyone else’s sick family members, so that food could be stocked at the grocery store, so that gas stations could be open, so the mail could go out, so the country could continue to run. Without these caregivers, where would the kids go while the essential employees were working?”
Courtney Greiner, Director, Mini Mos Child Care and Preschool, Esko, MN

Greiner’s viewpoint is compelling during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when many of us have used phrases like “essential worker” for the first time. Throughout the pandemic, I’ve come to realize the truly interconnected nature of our society. While our culture tends to prioritize individualism, the many ways in which I depend on others in my community have become clearer.

Of course, Greiner’s words will still apply when we get “back to normal.” Our need for high-quality child care will still exist, as it always has. I hope that we fulfill Greiner’s vision by remembering the dedication of child care professionals who continued to do their jobs so that, as she wrote, the country could continue to run. I hope that we hold onto our acute awareness of the value of their work. And I hope that policymakers seize the opportunity that Bonczyk identified—the opportunity to build the child care system into something better than it was before the pandemic.

Kendeou awarded Distinguished McKnight University Professorship

April 9, 2021

Panayiota (Pani) Kendeou, Guy Bond Chair in Reading and professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s psychological foundations of education program, has been awarded the Distinguished McKnight University Professorship, which recognizes outstanding faculty members who have recently achieved full professor status. Kendeou’s cutting-edge research on the cognitive processes of reading comprehension advances our understanding of reading and transforms reading instruction in K-12 schools.

As a Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Kendeou will carry the title throughout her University career. She is one of seven University professors receiving the award in 2021. Department of Educational Psychology Professor and CEHD Associate Dean for Research Frank Symons earned the award previously.

Through this award, Kendeou is being recognized not only for her development of models that explain how students learn to read and read to learn but also for her use of these models to design innovative, educational technologies that are used at scale. The significance of her approach is in the integration of scientific advancements and technological innovations that improve reading and learning.

“Dr. Kendeou exemplifies scholarship at a research university with a land-grant mission,” said Department Chair Kristen McMaster, “She is conducting theoretically sound, methodologically rigorous research that is advancing current knowledge, and she is doing so in ways that are timely, relevant, and contribute directly to the education and learning of individuals in our schools and communities.”

Kendeou received the CEHD Research Excellence Award from the University of Minnesota in 2020, the Early Career Impact Award from the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS) Foundation in 2015, the Tom Trabasso Young Investigator Award from the Society for Text & Discourse in 2012, and the Research in Literacy Award from the UK Literacy Association in 2009. She was elected fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2019 and the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in 2020.

Thinking through “how” and “why” when beginning reflective supervision: Q & A with Tracy Schreifels

March 18, 2021

Tracy Schreifels, MS, LMFT, IMH-E® (IV), is a therapist, reflective consultant, and Executive Director for Ellison Center, a non-profit early childhood mental health agency in the St. Cloud area. Schreifels teaches in the marriage and family therapy program at St. Cloud State University and is the co-chair of the Advisory Board for the Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health – Infant and Early Childhood Division. In addition to teaching CEED online courses, Schreifels authored two of CEED’s self-study modules: A Guide for the Guide: The “How” of Reflective Supervision and The Plot Thickens: Reflective Supervision for Groups. In this Q & A, she discusses A Guide for the Guide.

Who would benefit from enrolling in this module?

Tracy Schreifels: This module is designed for professionals who are preparing to provide reflective supervision, either as supervisors or as consultants. In order to work as providers of reflective supervision, professionals should have a solid foundational understanding of the principles of infant and early childhood mental health. They should also be receiving ongoing reflective supervision. This module will help them marshal that knowledge and experience to transition to providing reflective supervision.

This module would also be useful for those who are moving their reflective supervision practice to a virtual format. I’d add that even when one has been providing reflective supervision for a while, revisiting the topics in this course could be helpful in refining that practice.

What reflections did you have while building the content for this module?

I always enjoy getting back into the literature around the dynamic and growing field of infant and early childhood mental health. As I explored the content and topics for this module, I found myself reflecting on the ways in which I initiate reflective supervision with those to whom I provide it. Reviewing content also made me more intentional and more aware of why I do what I do when I am getting started with a new supervisee. So although this module is called “The ‘How’ of Reflective Supervision,” I thought a lot about the “why” as well!

Preparing this module also prompted me to look back at how I learned to provide reflective supervision and how much the field has changed since that time. When I was being mentored on providing reflective practice, there wasn’t much research that we could draw upon to guide that process. It is amazing how much the field has grown in the past 10 years!

What drew you to the work that you do?

I was drawn into this field through amazing mentors. I have always had a passion for working with young children, so I earned a degree in child and family studies and worked as a preschool teacher. At one point, the agency I worked for as a teacher brought in a reflective consultant to support us in our work. I looked forward to our monthly sessions, but when the grant funding ended, so did our reflective practice. I decided to go to graduate school to earn my master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. I knew that I wanted to specialize in the field of infant and early childhood mental health.

What are the top three takeaways that you hope students come away with from your module?

First, I want participants to leave this module with more competence and confidence in establishing reflective supervision as a supervisor or as a consultant.

Second, I hope that those providing reflective supervision can find comfort in the rupture and repair process that happens in these relationships.

Third, I hope that offering virtual reflective supervision will feel less daunting with the supports and resources offered in the module.

Would you like to share any additional thoughts?

We are never done learning. Professionals need the supportive relationships that are developed in reflective supervision. Those relationships support the professionals themselves as well as the children and families they work with. I hope that module participants enjoy the content and allow themselves to reflect and process as they work through it!

Demerath, colleagues: Here’s how teachers can build trust with students as schools open up

March 8, 2021

Peter Demerath, Sara Kemper, Eskender Yousuf, and Bodunrin Banwo

A group of CEHD faculty, staff, and graduate students recently published an op/ed in Minnpost which aims to emphasize the importance of building trust between students and educators as K-12 schools return to in-person learning.

Peter Demerath, OLPD Associate Professor; Sara Kemper, CAREI Research Associate; Eskender Yousuf, OLPD PhD student; and Bodunrin Banwo, OLPD adjunct instructor and PhD alumnus drew upon their qualitative research collaboration at Harding High School in St. Paul to inform their arguments in the op/ed.

In the piece, the authors argue that educators build trust by responding to six unspoken queries they had learned were often on the minds of their students: “Why are you here?,” “How much do you know and care about me?,” “How much do you respect me?,” “How real are you?,” “Do you know how to help me learn?,” and “What are you willing to do to help me?”

“Relationships set the stage for interactions”: Q & A with Ashley Midthun

March 1, 2021

Ashley Midthun, MS, is a program quality manager at CEED, where she has worked for more than eight years. In her work, Midthun uses the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®) tool to observe and assess learning environments; she also trains others to use the CLASS®. In addition, she serves as the CLASS® Anchor and conducts monthly webinars for CLASS® Coaches through the Online Learning Community. In this Q & A, she explains how classroom observation works, what sets high-quality learning environments apart, and what parents and professionals should know about classroom quality.

What drew you to the early childhood field?

Ashley Midthun: I have had the joy of working at CEED for the past eight and a half years. During my undergraduate career at Iowa State University, I worked with children in various settings—hospital, child care, shelter, and school. Those experiences solidified my passion for serving children. After working as an Early Head Start teacher, I decided to pursue a dual early childhood teaching licensure and early childhood master of science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. During that phase of my education, I learned how much I love the link between assessment, research, and the quality of care children receive. That’s why, upon completing my degree, I looked for a position that encompassed all three components and was fortunate to land at CEED.

Your work involves using the CLASS® tool as an observer and a trainer. Talk a little about how being a classroom observer works. What are you looking for?

The CLASS® is a valid and reliable tool that is used around the world to help determine and enhance classroom quality. “Valid” means that the tool measures what we are intending to measure. “Reliable” means that the tool (and observers who use it) will yield consistent results over time. The CLASS® was created by Robert Pianta, PhD, at the University of Virginia, who incidentally completed his doctorate in psychology at the University of Minnesota. All of our PreK CLASS® observers here at CEED go through extensive training. We learn to use the CLASS® tool in a way that maintains a high level of reliability. We actually exceed the reliability standards set by Teachstone, the company that oversees the CLASS tool.

As a CLASS® observer, I visit classrooms with an objective lens focused on interactions. Specifically, I look for ten dimensions of classroom quality that are set out in the PreK CLASS® tool. I write detailed and specific notes about what I observe in the classroom within a 20-minute cycle. I then spend ten minutes scoring the cycle and repeat the process up to three more times. The CLASS® emphasizes interactions between all the adults in the classroom and the children in their care. Notable interactions include teachers and children communicating in a positive way, teachers asking children to explain their thinking, and children’s ideas being embedded into classroom activities.

In my role as a CLASS® trainer, I tailor the information I deliver based on the trainee’s role within early childhood education. So, for example, trainings can be tailored to teachers, coaches, administrators, or directors. They can also be generalized to an entire program. They can be customized to meet the specific needs of an individual classroom or program. Training other early childhood professionals to use the CLASS® tool is one of the highlights of my work. The opportunity to share a tool that can improve the classroom environment and have lasting, positive implications for children is such a joy.

What can we learn from teachers who oversee high-quality classrooms?

Interactions matter. Specifically, positive, supportive, encouraging interactions make a difference in children’s long-term social-emotional development. Ultimately, these interactions support high-order thinking skills, such as analyzing situations or showing resilience.

Let’s look at the first of those skills—analyzing situations. A lot of emphasis is placed on the curriculum and materials used in a classroom, but it’s how those things are used that makes a vital difference in children’s development. Let’s say that blocks are available for children to play with in a particular classroom. If children are never asked what they plan on building with the blocks or how they will build their structure, then the opportunity for high-order thinking is limited. In contrast, think about a teacher who not only has blocks intentionally available but also asks children to brainstorm about how they will use the blocks. By asking children to describe what they need to build their creations, the teacher helps them develop cognitive connections.

Now let’s look at the second skill I mentioned—resilience. The relationship between a child and a teacher or provider is the foundation for the child’s perseverance in difficult moments. This is an important, but often overlooked, aspect of relationships. When children can rely on teachers’ support and guidance, they are more likely to answer challenging questions. That is because they know that even if they get the question wrong, they will not be ridiculed or ignored. Instead, they’ll be encouraged to think critically about trying again.

Finally, relationships set the stage for interactions. Children who are welcomed daily with smiles, calm voices, and excitement are better set up to reflect those same experiences back to their peers.

What should parents know about classroom quality?

While having an aesthetically pleasing classroom environment has value, I encourage parents to dive deeper and ask questions about how teachers engage children in learning, how teachers guide children through challenging situations, and what resources are available to ensure children’s varied learning styles are recognized and supported. Teachers play a vital role in children’s lives. Experiences in early childhood have lasting impacts on children’s overall development. Using a valid and reliable assessment tool, such as the CLASS®, is important to ensure that each child receives high-quality care.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I’m currently immersed in early childhood both in my work and in my home life as a parent to a four-year-old, a three-year-old, and a seven-month-old. Our current favorite family activity is pulling out every cushion and pillow in our house. We use them as “stepping stones” to avoid the “lava,” a.k.a. the floor! I also love to read, listen to The Office Ladies podcast, and watch past seasons of Survivor with my husband.

“People need a place for their struggles to be held by another”: Q & A with Angela Klinefelter

February 15, 2021

Angela Klinefelter, MS, LMFT, IMH-E (III), is an infant mental health specialist and licensed teacher of parents and children. She provides parent education and home visiting for the St. Cloud School District Early Childhood Family Education Program. She also provides reflective consultation and training across Minnesota, specializing in the areas of social-emotional development of young children, the enhancement of parent-child relationships, and working with parents. In addition to teaching our online course on Working with Parents: Using Infant Mental Health Principles to Support Special Populations, Klinefelter authored the self-study module The Domino Effect: Parallel Process in Reflective Supervision.

Who would benefit from enrolling in this module?

Angela Klinefelter: Anybody who works with children and families can benefit from this module. The module was created with the early learning field in mind, but the content is also relevant for people who work with older children. In fact, I’d argue that it’s relevant for everyone at some level. Most concepts in infant and early childhood mental health provide opportunities for us to think more broadly about perspectives from all points of view, including our own. This is done while holding relationships in mind. This reflective lens is applicable to all relationships.

What does it mean to have a reflective lens?

Having a reflective lens is about being thoughtful, mindful, and intentional. It’s a way to transform the ways in which professionals view, wonder about, consider, understand, and respond to the families in which they serve. It’s the idea that we attend to all of the relationships within the family.

We need to feel safe to regulate our body and emotions. When parents are feeling safe and regulated, they have increased capacity to build relationships with providers. These relationships then give parents the opportunity to be reflective about parenting and their child.

Infant mental health consultant Michelle Fallon created the “perspective pyramid.” The pyramid is a visual metaphor that helps us understand the true complexity of a system of relationships. Each corner of the pyramid represents a person within a system of relationships.

As an example, let’s say a home visitor is working with a family where a five-year-old child is having tantrums. Using their reflective lens, the home visitor considers: “What does this situation look like through Mom’s lens? What does it look like through Dad’s lens? What does it look like to the five-year-old?” If we can have a conversation with all of the people in the perspective pyramid that takes into account their different viewpoints, we can bring everyone back to a space where we can consider what is best for the family. The facilitator—in this example, the home visitor—pulls all the different perspectives together using their infant mental health knowledge and their relationship with the parent or caregiver.

This brings us back to the concept of parallel process that we delve into in this module. If the home visitor makes the parent feel heard, then the parent in turn has greater capacity to listen to the child. And what gives the home visitor the capacity to listen and consider all perspectives? The relationship with a reflective supervisor. The supervisor creates safety and regulation in order to help the home visitor understand their own feelings so that they have the capacity to work with the family.

What drew you to reflective work in the infant and early childhood mental health field?

After graduating from college with my degree in education, I was licensed to teach Kindergarten through 6th grade. Although I’ve always been drawn to working with very young children, I was fortunate to begin my career in a combined 5th–6th grade classroom. That was also the year when my husband’s brother, who was a police officer, was killed in the line of duty. Our family tragedy occurred in January, five short months after beginning my new career. Through the chaos of that experience and the challenges of my first year of teaching, there was a student who stood out.

With only a few days to prepare for my new job, several team members warned me about a student that would be in my class. Because of team members’ previous experiences, this student was expected to present multiple challenges. He proved to be just the opposite. He was the student who taught me that everyone deserves a chance to change their story.

Our relationship began as I threw this student’s very large behavior report file from the previous year in the garbage, right in front of him. I wish I could say that I was being relationally intentional. The truth was that I had not had time to sort through the previous teacher’s files. The student responded with the following: “Thank you for saving my dignity.” Then he returned to his seat. That was the moment I realized I had much more to learn about understanding people than I had ever imagined. He made me think so much more deeply about relationships. I will forever be grateful he was in my class.

Relationships are my passion. Reflective practice promotes relationships. This work honors the parents and practitioners who are doing their best with what they have to improve outcomes for their families and communities. People need a sense of felt safety, more understanding, and a place for their struggles to be held by another without judgment. It just helps. Don’t we all want stronger families? They make the world a better place.

What’s the top takeaway that you hope students come away with from your module?

Understanding the parallel process is a way to increase your capacity so that you are able to continue the emotionally charged job of working with families. Because we are human, our hot buttons get pushed. Our buttons might have to do with the cleanliness of a home, a yelling parent, or an inability to nurture a young child. We may remain stuck and unable to see the parent through a different lens. Our reaction may project judgment for reasons that make sense. The parallel process reminds us that in order to strengthen the parent-child relationship, we also must consider our relationship with the parent. By doing that, we reach the child. Embracing reflective practice provides an opportunity for professionals to regulate around experiences with families—and perhaps, to reignite your sense of passion and purpose.

The pandemic’s biggest impact on children? How it affects adults

February 2, 2021

By Alyssa Meuwissen, PhD, Research Associate

Parents and caregivers have a lot to think and worry about during the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve written about parental concerns around lack of socialization and novel experiences, as well as questions about mask-wearing and increased screen time. I’ve provided some research-based information that I hope will ease parents’ and caregivers’ minds and help them make the most of children’s interactions with them and with others in these challenging times. However, my biggest child development concern actually relates to how the pandemic is affecting us, the adults.

Experience-expectant processes: what really matters right now

Relationships with adults are, by far, the most foundational component of healthy child development. Children rely on responsive interactions with their caregivers to build brain development. Relationships with stable, nurturing adults create a buffer for children from the negative impact of stressful or traumatic events.

A young child looks out a window with their hands placed on the windowpane

Will children be impacted by the stress their parents and caregivers are feeling?

My short answer: The good news is that “good enough” parenting really is good enough. You do not have to respond to your child at every moment, and you can continue to nurture and grow your relationship even through instances of conflict. That is true even when the adult is the one who loses their cool.

What is concerning is that for some families, the pandemic creates substantial barriers to high-quality parent-child relationships. The stress of losing a job, housing, or food security; the loss of social support; increased depression and anxiety—all of these factors have the potential to negatively impact the interactions that children have in their homes.

Similarly, for children in child care or early education settings, stress on providers is known to negatively impact positive relationships with children and even increase the likelihood of expelling children from programs. When professional caregivers are overwhelmed due to ever-changing policies and concerns about finances and job stability, it impacts the care they can provide to children. Also, as children re-enter schools and child care after interruptions caused by the pandemic, providers will be challenged to support children with less experience in social situations and more early life stress than they had previously.

This is most concerning for:

Families already experiencing poverty or other major stressors
Families with existing mental health concerns
Families dealing with racial injustice and discrimination

What can we do to mitigate concerns?

In order to stop the pandemic from hurting the development of young children, we must support the adults who are caring for them.

As parents, we can intentionally repair relationships with our children when needed. While they don’t need to know details, it’s OK for them to know that you are stressed and that sometimes you get impatient or mad, but that it’s not their fault and you still love them.
For parents, staying connected with a social support group and doing what you can to support your own mental health is important, but in many situations can only go so far. Policies and programs that can directly address the major stressors in family’s lives (e.g., financial insecurity, mental health concerns) are needed to ensure that children are given a chance to thrive.
Similarly, people who work in early childhood care and education need to be given the practical and emotional support necessary for them to continue to serve children and families under high stress. Policies and programs need to be put in place to ensure providers have access to the knowledge and skills necessary to support children. They must also have adequate time and support to meet the demands of their job.
For those who work in early childhood education, reflective supervision is a growing professional development practice that can provide emotional support and an outlet for the stress that frontline professionals are subject to. You can download a free e-book from the Reflective Practice Center at CEED to learn more about the benefits of reflective supervision.

Selma Fraiberg, a pioneer in infant mental health, once said that working to promote healthy development in young children is “a little like having God on your side.” Children have an amazing ability to grow and thrive in a huge variety of circumstances. Yes, the pandemic is affecting children’s lives here and now, limiting their opportunity for peer interaction and a variety of experiences, but this year will only be one block in building their development.

At the same time, the pandemic can affect child development by disrupting the nurturing relationships between children and their caregivers. This is both COVID-19’s most significant potential threat to child development and the most difficult to address, because it requires a commitment from policymakers to support both families and the child care and education systems that they depend on. As we continue through what we hope are the final months of the pandemic and look forward to the recovery phase, let’s make sure to focus on giving parents and caregivers the support they need to be there for their children.

The middle ground: supporting children’s brain development during the pandemic

February 2, 2021

By Alyssa Meuwissen, PhD, Research Associate

Parents and caregivers are understandably concerned about how our changed lifestyle amid the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting children. In my previous post on the subject, I explained how I categorized some of parents’ most common questions based on a theory of brain development that breaks learning down into experience-expectant and experience-dependent processes. Experience-dependent processes can occur anytime in life. (In other words, if your two-year-old is missing out on peer interactions right now, don’t worry: she can catch up next year.)

In this installment, I’ll address aspects of the pandemic that I think fall into a kind of middle ground. These aspects alter the environment that the developing brain is set up to learn from. That means they can cross the line into affecting experience-expectant processes and so are areas of potential concern. The good news is that adults can act to mitigate these experiences so that they don’t affect children in the long term.

Will babies be affected by seeing adults wearing masks?

Beginning at birth, babies prefer to look at faces—even drawings of faces or face-like shapes—above all else. It’s clear that they’re biologically programmed to seek out faces and that caregivers’ emotional expressions provide crucial information about the world around them. Adults in public places are now wearing masks, making their faces distinctly less face-like, and hiding our mouths, which are the most obvious indicators of smiles.

A woman wearing a face mask holds a baby

My short answer: Babies are incredibly resilient. They can probably learn a lot in whatever time they have with unmasked adults. It’s unlikely that sometimes seeing adults, including primary caregivers, in masks will have a great impact on children’s development—although babies may notice and even show some distress. However, children who spend long hours in settings with masked caregivers may not be getting critical input that the developing brain expects and relies on. I don’t know of any research at this time that can point to how much unmasked time is enough.

This is most concerning for:

Children who spend long hours in child care settings with masked providers
Young babies who don’t have the vision and cognition to process the variety of environmental cues that toddlers and preschoolers do
Children with developmental delays or difficulties with emotion regulation or perspective-taking

What can we do to mitigate concerns?

Make sure that adults who live in babies’ households (so they don’t need to be masked) know the importance of face-to-face time. Every minute counts in terms of eye contact, facial expressions, and talking to your baby.
For those who must be masked when interacting with babies, there are clear masks available that allow others to see your mouth when interacting with you. The ClearMask is one version that has been approved by the FDA and is being recommended by the Florida Association for Infant Mental Health.

Will the increase in screen time harm our children?

Like most parents working from home, I have used screens more than I otherwise would to occupy my toddler. A lot of parents I know worry about this, and with good reason, as children’s brains do not expect to sit and passively consume blinking lights as a main source of stimulation. There is evidence that too much screen time can affect children’s ability to pay attention and regulate their own behavior. However, we also know that the content chosen matters greatly, and that children can learn academic and social skills from high-quality TV and games.

My short answer: This depends on dose and content. Screen time has the potential to be harmful for children if it takes away their opportunities to play, be active, and engage in other types of thinking, or if they are watching shows that are violent or not age-appropriate.

What can we do to mitigate concerns?

Choose programming intentionally that will promote cognitive and social skills. With limited opportunities to play with other children or experience new ideas and places, the content kids view on screens is likely shaping their world view now more than ever, and we can use that to our advantage! PBS has great shows for young children–Daniel Tiger, Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street, and Elinor Wonders Why are a few that are designed to teach children academic and social skills. Khan Academy has a free app with age-specific games. Search the internet for videos about any of your child’s interests, from how a garbage truck works to live streams of baby polar bears.
Be involved in screen time. I know that often, the whole point of screens is to have a chance to do something else. But if you watch a show with your child every once in a while or even just catch the first or last few minutes, you’ll glean enough to help children apply lessons from the show to their own life.
Set limits and be consistent. Make the limits reasonable given your current situation so that you can stick to them; it’s OK if this looks different than it would in non-pandemic life. Children will be less likely to have meltdowns if they can expect that screens are used during a specific time of day for a certain length of time.

My next post in this series will explore my greatest concern about children’s development during COVID-19: the pandemic’s impact on adults.

Will our kids be okay? Parents’ concerns about the pandemic’s effect on children

February 2, 2021

By Alyssa Meuwissen, PhD, Research Associate

As the pandemic has dragged on over nearly a year now, I’ve had to adjust my expectations for a return to “normal,” along with everyone else. There’s now a light at the end of the tunnel as vaccines are distributed. Nevertheless, many parents of young children have lingering concerns. The years from birth to five are recognized as a foundational period for child development. Children in that age bracket will have spent 20% of that important period in this altered pandemic life. How will it affect their long-term development?

Normal behavior or pandemic problem?

In my personal experience, it has been hard to sort out normal behavior from the pandemic’s influence. When my younger daughter, now six months old, was six weeks old, my husband contracted COVID-19. Because he was instructed to self-isolate within our home, the only adult face our daughter saw for three weeks was my own. When our baby was 12 weeks old, her grandmothers began providing child care for her and our older daughter. Our baby was very fussy and often cried when she looked at her grandmothers closely. How much of that was typical stranger anxiety and how much was due to her experience in the pandemic?

We didn’t go to any playgrounds for a few months. After playgrounds reopened, another child approached my two-year-old daughter and said, “Hi.” My daughter cried. How much of that was her naturally shy personality and how much was due to the pandemic?

For a few months, my two-year-old was obsessed with Daniel Tiger. Most of her pretend play revolved around things she saw him do: fly a kite, buy shoes, make an obstacle course. She even started using words from the show, like “grr-ific” and “tiger-tastic,” in conversation. Was this simply a two-year-old’s enthusiasm? Or was it because it had been so long since she’d gone to a library, a grocery store, or a restaurant—much less seen friends in person—that she no longer had vivid personal recollections on which to base her pretend play?

In each of these cases, there were likely normal developmental forces at work interacting with the experience of living in a pandemic. There’s no way to know “what might have been” had there been no pandemic. But as parents, we naturally worry about what our children have lost and grieve for this year of their childhood as we had pictured it for them.

Two children wearing cloth masks sit on stairs

As a parent and child psychology researcher, I think it’s important to address parents’ concerns. But I also know it’s important not to get too stressed out about things that won’t matter in the long run. I’ve identified some of the biggest concerns I’ve heard from parents regarding the pandemic’s effect on children. Based on my personal experience and my training as a developmental psychologist, I’ve sorted these concerns into three categories.

The first category includes pandemic-related circumstances towards which developmental science suggests children will show resilience. I’ve addressed these questions below and provided some tips for parents and caregivers.
The second category includes legitimate concerns, but ones that we as parents and caregivers can affect positively in the near term. I’ve addressed these in the second post in this series and provided some additional tips.
The third category includes major causes for concern. In the final post in this series, I’ve explained why addressing these serious problems will require collective effort, rather than individual actions.

Experience-expectant and experience-dependent processes

The framework that has helped me create these categories is a developmental concept that describes how genes and environment interact to result in learning. In a 1987 paper, William Greenough and colleagues suggested that humans learn through what they called experience-expectant and experience-dependent processes.

Experience-expectant processes are based on information that the brain expects to be present in the environment and that we are genetically prepared to take in. This includes sources of information that are universally present in typical development, such as vision or language. If babies are not exposed to these sources of information during a specific time in their development, their brain will prune away the neurons that would typically be devoted to processing them. Experience-dependent processes, on the other hand, are what allow humans to learn a huge variety of skills. Our brains are not “hard-wired” to learn hockey or chess; we can learn these skills at any time in our lives. This kind of learning involves forming new synapses rather than pruning neurons.

Experience-dependent learning: Don’t worry, our kids will catch up

In this section, I’ll address two of the most common concerns I’ve heard from parents.

Will the lack of peer interaction harm my children?

My short answer: There’s no “critical period” for learning social skills. If a child misses out on some things at age two, she can learn them next year at three. While the transition back to frequent, large-group peer interactions might be uncomfortable and require adult support, kids will bounce back. I don’t predict many long-term effects on personality or on children’s ability to make friends.

What can we do to mitigate parents’ concerns?

Focus on interactions with the people in your household. While your child may not get to interact with as many same-age peers as they normally would, they can learn a lot of skills interacting with siblings and parents. Talk about and model skills like taking turns and using “please” and “thank you.”
Try short Zoom playdates with planned activities. It’s harder for toddlers and preschoolers to carry on a conversation when they can’t physically interact, but they can have a dance party, do a show and tell of their toys, or play games like “Simon Says.”
Silver lining: This situation is making siblings (if your child has them) more essential playmates than they otherwise would have been!

A family of two adults and two young children play Monopoly

Are children suffering from a lack of stimulation?

My short answer: While trips and activities are certainly enjoyable and enriching, all the experiences needed for supporting brain development in young children can be done at home. As a parent, I completely understand that it’s daunting (and repetitive) to be stuck inside all winter with your kids. But as long as children are given the opportunity to play, they are doing the necessary work of childhood.

What can we do to mitigate parents’ concerns?

If staying at home gets boring, try thinking about different categories of play: pretend play, gross motor, fine motor, music and dancing, construction play, and playing games. Try to promote a mix of these each day.
Remember that your perspective is different from your child’s. To them, reading the same book over and over again is a great opportunity to learn and understand. In their playroom, they may visit the farm, the fire station, and the moon all within 10 minutes!
Acknowledge your own sadness about what might have been, but try to reframe another day at home as another day to engage in high-quality play.

Children have grown up in an infinite number of different conditions across history, location, and culture. As a middle-class parent in the United States, I have an “ideal childhood” in mind for my children, but I also know that I am part of a generation whose expectations tend toward intensive parenting and over-involvement. Sometimes, I think about the things that my children are missing out on, like playgrounds, museums, birthday parties, and holiday celebrations. I feel sad about the loss of fun experiences and about the delay in forming positive relationships and discovering my family’s traditions. However, I don’t worry about their long-term development. In many other environments, it’s very normal for children to spend their early childhood at home with one or a few caregivers.

In the next post in this series, I’ll tackle parents’ questions that fall into a kind of “middle ground”: research confirms that they are real concerns, but they also have real solutions.

OLPD team to partner with South Kazakhstan University

January 22, 2021

A team comprised of faculty and students affiliated with the Comparative and International Development Education program within the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development has secured a grant from the American Councils for International Education to support a partnership with M. Auezov South Kazakhstan University (SKU), focused on English Language Integration in Higher education Pedagogy. The project will feature a series of workshops, collaborative reflective activities, and a summit that will investigate sustainable collaborations between SKU and UMN.

The UMN team—which includes Associate Professors Bhaskar Uphadyay and Christopher Johnstone, affiliate faculty Marina Aleixo, and doctoral students Zhuldyz Amankulova and Elizabeth Orr—will be responsible for workshops on content and language integrated learning, teaching as reflective practice, cooperative teaching skills, interdisciplinary collaboration, integrating English into science disciplines, and Universal Design for Learning in higher education. The grant period is for one year. Read more.

“There is always room to grow and learn as a supervisor”: Q & A with Una Majmudar

January 7, 2021

Dew on the petals of a yellow and red flower against a blue sky

Una Majmudar, MSW, LCSW, IMH-E® is clinical director in the Division of Children, Youth, and Families, at The Health Federation of Philadelphia. She co-created the module Hand in Hand: Joining Administrative, Clinical, and Reflective Supervision Roles with Brandy Fox, LCSW, IECMH-E®, director of cross-sector IECMH initiatives for the Pennsylvania Key. In this Q & A, Majmudar shares her top takeaways from the module and reflects on what drew her to a career in infant and early childhood mental health.

Who is the main audience for your module? Who might benefit from enrolling?

Una Majmudar: This module was designed for supervisors who are balancing multiple roles. It will best suit supervisors who have some working knowledge of reflective supervision or who are already providing some reflective supervision. The goal of this module is to help them effectively integrate reflective tasks with other administrative or clinical tasks.

This module will also appeal to those who are looking to enhance their supervisory skills by adding reflective supervision. Program directors can benefit from this module by gaining insights that will make them better equipped to supervise and support managers who are balancing multiple roles. Our goal for this module is to challenge participants to think about the importance of reflection in all aspects of supervision.

What realizations did you have while building the content for this module?

The process of building this module made me reflect on so many things, including gratitude. I am profoundly grateful to those who developed reflective supervision and to those who have mentored me over the years and continue to do so. I am grateful that I work for an organization that believes deeply in the professional development of their staff.

I remember interviewing for my first job out of graduate school, and I was reminded that the supervision you receive will be the most important aspect of your job. I hope that one day, reflective supervision will be available for all providers in the infant and early childhood mental health field because it is absolutely best practice. The work we do is deeply meaningful and impactful. We “hold” so many infants, young children, and their families “in mind.” As supervisors, we are holding our supervisees in mind also. The notion of being held in mind by another, as described so eloquently by Jeree Paul, is the essence of our work. May we all do it with great care for those we hold—and for ourselves.

I especially want to honor the memory of one of the pioneers of reflective supervision, Rebecca Shahmoon-Shanok, LCSW, PhD (1943-2020). Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of participating in many trainings and workshops facilitated by Rebecca. She has left a lasting impression on me as a clinician and supervisor. I will forever be grateful for her gentle, humble mentorship of myself and others in this field. You will see Rebecca highlighted in several videos in this module, and I hope you will feel the same way.

What drew you to social work as a career and to work with young children in particular?

Why do we do the work that we do? That is always a question that involves a lot of reflection! I started my social work career working with teenagers in a residential setting and I always wondered about their early years. Graduate school confirmed for me that attachment and child-parent relationships were where I wanted to focus my career. Ultimately, my passion for Infant Mental Health clinical work really took off when I had opportunities through work to attend Zero to Three conferences. I learned about the work of Alicia Lieberman, who developed child-parent psychotherapy.

There is something very special about witnessing the intimacy of a child-parent relationship and about supporting the dyad as they navigate and learn about each other. I am always humbled to be given the opportunity to hear stories and support journeys that promote healing. Impacting how a young child experiences the world and the relationships around them is by far the best investment we can make for our future. Sometimes that means helping to heal intergenerational traumatic experiences, and sometimes it’s as simple as supporting a family as they move into their first stable home.

What are the top three takeaways that you hope participants learn from your module?

First, reflective practice is the foundation of all aspects of supervision. Second, no matter where we are in our professional lifespan, getting support through reflective supervision or peer reflective supervision is crucial. Third, there is always room to grow and learn as a supervisor. We hope you find that spot where you can push yourself beyond your comfort zone.

Do you have any additional thoughts you would like to share?

I’d like to say to participants that I hope this module is just a beginning for you. I hope that those who embark on this learning find themselves curious and able to be vulnerable. Doing this work is hard, challenging, rewarding, and healing all at the same time. Learning is a lifelong process during which we must be willing to reflect on ourselves, our work, our relationships. Always remember that as Jeree Pawl wrote, “How you are is as important as what you do.” Good luck, and have fun!

CEED’s top 20 blog posts of 2020

December 15, 2020

Confetti and paper cut-outs of the number 2020

2020 is drawing to a close, and it was nothing if not memorable! We took a look back at CEED’s 10 most popular blog posts from the past year. From Mr. Rogers’ wisdom to kindergarten readiness at home, we hope you’ll revisit favorites or find a few gems you missed the first time around.

#1: Reflective practice in uncertain times: how you are is as important as what you do

#2: CEED releases e-book on reflective supervision

#3: Why Mr Rogers still matters–a lot

#4: Supporting kindergarten readiness at home

#5: New series of resource guides for early childhood professionals

#6: How COVID-19 has changed early childhood education

#7: Designing online learning for adults: three questions to ask before you start

#8: Meet CEED’s director: Q & A with Ann Bailey

#9: Training for reflective supervision: CEED’s new report is based on our nationwide survey

#10 Meet CEED’s newest team member: Q & A with Anne Larson

To all our readers and every member of the early childhood workforce, we wish you a peaceful, safe, and healthy holiday season and a wonderful new year!

Gratitude, sympathy, sharing: helping children practice prosocial skills at home

December 15, 2020

By Ann Bailey, PhD, Director, CEED

Years ago, my mom bought a sign at an art fair that is made out of game tiles and yardsticks. The sign says, “There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.” I have been thinking about that sign often these days, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a mostly negative impact on many families’ holiday plans. Many of us will be missing out on things we look forward to at this time of year, especially visits with family and friends. Annual traditions–special meals and treats, gift giving, decorating our homes–may look very different, or they may not happen at all. For me, during what seems likely to be a less-than-ideal holiday season, it feels even more important to focus on behaviors such as gratitude, sympathy, and empathy.

The author's mom's sign uses board game tiles to spell out the message "There is always, always, always something to be thankful for" — This art fair find has stood the test of time

It might be surprising to use the word “behaviors” to describe gratitude, sympathy, and empathy. We tend to think about these as traits that a person is born with, or perhaps as states of mind that happen spontaneously. In early childhood education literature, however, gratitude, empathy, sympathy, and other behaviors are defined as “prosocial skills.”

In their book The Roots of Prosocial Behavior in Children, Nancy Eisenberg and Paul Mussen define prosocial skills as “voluntary actions that are intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals.” Prosocial skills include taking turns, sharing, and group entry (a child’s ability to ask to join a group of peers). These are all skills that we easily recognize as learned behaviors. Prosocial skills also include empathy, sympathy, and kindness. In the early childhood field, we consider these to be something that we need to learn, rather than something we are born knowing how to do.

Prosocial skills are also known as “friendship skills,” because they help us get along with one another. Research demonstrates that young children who show greater prosocial skills are more likely to have positive social interactions as well as a more positive view of themselves. They are also less likely to engage in aggressive behaviors. Researchers have also found that these behaviors tend to be fairly stable over time. In other words, once a child has learned and practiced prosocial skills, they should be able to use them successfully over a lifetime.

In a 2018 article in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Tara Fahmie and Kevin Luczynski suggest that prosocial skills thrive in environments where both adults and children promote and reinforce them. But how can parents and caregivers create those environments and foster those prosocial skills when preschool and playdates may not be an option, when school is virtual, and when opportunities to visit with family and friends are few to nonexistent?

It’s true that interacting with their peers is an excellent way for children to practice friendship skills. It’s also true that the pandemic has affected the amount of time many children spend with people their own age. But there are ways for parents and caregivers to step in and help children learn prosocial behaviors. In her book Skillstreaming in Early Childhood: A Guide for Teaching Prosocial Skills, Ellen McGinnis describes a four-part approach: modeling, role-playing, performance feedback, and generalization.

Model appropriate behaviors

When you’re playing with a child, demonstrate the behaviors you want the child to use, such as group entry, sharing, and problem solving. Work on group entry by simply asking your child if you can play with them before jumping in. Work on sharing by telling the child, “I’d like to play with the toy you have. Will you share it with me?” Be sure to respect their answer. If they say no, you could suggest that you take a turn with the toy for five minutes and then give it back. Or you could demonstrate problem solving by finding another toy and proposing a trade.

For children who are working on developing an emotional vocabulary, try labeling emotions: “It’s exciting to do something fun together!” or “I feel badly that he is crying. I wonder how I could help him.”

Role-play appropriate behaviors

Let’s say you want to work on developing sympathy. You might try playing the role of the child while your child plays the role of the caregiver or teacher. You can pretend to be upset and ask your child how they, as the caregiver or teacher, would respond to you. If they don’t have the emotional vocabulary yet, give them the appropriate words by suggesting that they say, “I can see you’re upset. Can I help you?” or “I get upset sometimes, too. What can we do about it?” You might also try involving dolls or stuffed animals in role playing. For example, you might pretend that a toy is showing kindness to another toy and then point out that kind act to your child.

Give performance feedback

Have you heard that old parenting saying, “Catch them being good”? The third step in McGinnis’ teaching approach reminds me of that saying. Children need feedback to learn appropriate behaviors. Try to notice throughout the day when children show kindness and empathy or try problem solving. Then point it out: “Thank you for helping your sister put the toys away!” “I saw that you were frustrated opening your snack, and I liked how you asked for help.” You can catch grown-ups being good, too! You might, for example, point out that a driver stopped to let you cross the street and label that as an act of kindness.

What if you observe some not-so-good behavior? Let’s say your children are arguing. Rather than swooping in to solve the problem and stop the arguing, you could try asking the children how they might solve the problem. Children often offer up creative responses to problem solving!

Generalize

Help young children make the connection that if a prosocial skill works at home, then it should also work at school or child care. Children who haven’t had the opportunity to practice these behaviors outside their homes for many months may need extra support in this area. Providing specific instructions and labeling the skills (“taking turns,” “showing empathy,” “problem solving,” and so on) will help children understand that these skills are generalizable. In other words, they can be used anywhere that young children typically spend their time: at child care, school, a place of worship, the library, the playground, and so on. Even if they don’t have an immediate opportunity to try out their skills in the wider world, you can help them imagine doing so.

Using our imaginations is actually a great way to flex our prosocial muscles. There rarely seems to be a lack of problem-solving opportunities where young children are involved, but inventing a pseudo-problem is another way to teach them about things like sharing and kindness. A classic example is asking children to imagine one apple and several people around a table. How would the children make sure everyone gets some of the apple? They might talk about cutting the apple up into enough portions so that everyone gets some, having each person take a bite until it’s gone, or trying to find more apples.

From an adult vantage point, the prosocial approach in a given scenario might seem obvious, almost instinctive. For children, however, navigating social interactions takes repeated rehearsals. Eventually, prosocial behaviors can become habits.

The same can be said of gratitude, and that’s the prosocial habit that I am working to adopt as 2020 comes to an end. In these waning days of a difficult year, I’m making a concerted effort to focus on the people, places, and things for which I am grateful. Of course, on some days, this is easier than on others. That is a reality that we can express to children as well. A colleague shared with me a wonderful way that she found to encourage her children to show gratitude. Before Thanksgiving, she made a paper turkey, and at the end of each day, she asked her young children to share what they were grateful for that day. Then she wrote their answers on a feather and added it to the turkey. Now that Thanksgiving has passed, an alternative might be to write children’s answers on strips of paper and make a paper chain.

I take solace in the words of author Amy Collette, who said, “Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.” I hope this holiday season provides you with opportunities to light that fire of joy and share it with those around you.

Announcing CEED’s new self-study modules!

December 2, 2020

The Reflective Practice Center at CEED has just released nine new self-study modules. Several of these self-paced, standalone learning experiences explore fundamental aspects of reflective practice; others deepen practitioners’ knowledge of advanced topics. Created with working professionals in mind, each module delivers evidence-based content in a practical, three-hour format. Each module provides focused learning and companion resources that meet the professional development needs of people who work with or on behalf of young children and families.

The modules are designed for practitioners in any early childhood field where reflective supervision is provided. They are suitable for people who provide reflective support as a supervisor or a consultant. Many are appropriate for managers who make decisions about staff participation in reflective supervision.

“This suite of modules is appropriate for practitioners in any early childhood-related discipline,” says Deborah Ottman, Associate Director of Professional Development. “Many of the modules are also suitable for people in leadership positions in these fields. We have options that are equally useful to a child life practitioner, a child care center director, or a court-appointed guardian ad litem, for example.”

Our new modules are:

The modules were created by experts from CEED and from around the United States. All modules are aligned with the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health’s competency areas and meet Endorsement® professional development requirements. The cost is $85 per individual registration for each module. Group rates are also available. Participants who complete a module receive a Certificate of Completion for three clock hours.

“We’re delighted to offer a new professional development option for practitioners and supervisors in fields such as social work, healthcare, and early education,” said Ann Bailey, Director of CEED. “We know that these professionals are incredibly busy. They want to keep up with the latest research and practice, but they want to acquire that knowledge in efficient, concentrated doses. That’s what we have tried to do with the self-study modules. These were designed so that in one or two sittings, you can absorb new information that you can put into practice the same day.”

Contact Karen Anderson with questions and for pricing for organizations.

Fundamentals of authentic assessment

November 23, 2020

By Margarita Milenova, PhD, Program Quality Specialist

What does my child know? How much English does my preschooler understand? Is my child on the right path to be successful at school in a couple of years? How can I help at home?

These were some of the questions that were on my mind several years ago. I knew what my child was able to do at home, but I was not sure whether he was displaying the same skills and abilities at the child care center. As a parent, I sometimes felt like I was living in two parallel universes. In one of them, I told bedtime stories and asked about my child’s day in my native language, Bulgarian. In the other universe, encompassing my child’s life outside of our home, he played with other children and expressed curiosity about the world in English.

Then came the first parent-teacher conference. The teachers showed me a portfolio of my child’s work and their notes on what he did and said. I was thrilled to learn about the progress he had made in language and math. I could see that the teachers had paid close attention to what my child was able to do. The information that they provided was based not on subjective opinions but on the ongoing assessment that was happening in the classroom. It was clear that the teachers were working hard to provide a great daily experience and plenty of learning opportunities for my child. As an educator, I was aware of the benefits of formative authentic assessment, and as a parent, I knew I was a partner in this shared process. In this blog post, I hope to answer some common questions that teachers, administrators, and parents may have about assessments.

What is authentic assessment?

Authentic assessment is an ongoing process of evaluating a child’s development. It also includes planning and implementing activities to support better outcomes for children. Authentic assessment happens in familiar settings, with familiar people, and it happens over time.

My favorite definition of authentic assessment comes from the book Basics of Assessment: A Primer for Early Childhood Educators by Deborah J. Leong, Elena Bodrova, and Oralie McAfee. The book’s authors explain that authentic assessment takes into account “the situation or context in which the child performs the task as well as what the child is asked to do.” Such an assessment requires that “children apply their knowledge and skills in a situation that is meaningful to them and is within the range of typical classroom activity.”

When using authentic assessment to decide where a child is in his or her development, an educator with knowledge of child development looks at how the child demonstrates skills or knowledge consistently in different settings. This can include motor skills, social-emotional skills, academic knowledge, and more. For example, is the child able to consistently and over time identify a small number of items without counting? Perhaps one week he or she points to two chairs in the dramatic play area while playing with a peer. The next week, he or she communicates while coloring that there are three crayons at the art table. The following week, the child communicates that he or she placed three forks at the lunch table while helping set up.

The educator can use different strategies to document these observations: writing anecdotal notes, taking photos, and/or making audio and video recordings. The educator is then able to assess the child’s development and complete the rating on paper or electronically.

What are the steps of authentic assessment?

First, familiar adults or caregivers observe a child’s behavior in a natural environment. For example, they may observe the child during daily activities in the classroom or on the playground. The next step is to document these observations by writing anecdotal notes about what the child did or said, taking video clips or audio recordings, and so on. Organizing the documentation helps educators know what skills and behaviors they observed and where they need more evidence. This way, educators can be intentional about further observation or ask colleagues, parents or guardians to collaborate on collecting more information.

When they have gathered enough information, it’s time to review and analyze the documentation for each child and evaluate where the child is in his or her development. The data is then compared against a set of standards. In Minnesota, we use the Early Childhood Indicators of Progress. Next, educators share information with families. Finally, based on their assessment data, they plan and implement changes in their teaching practices.

How do I choose an authentic assessment for my program?

There are various assessment instruments available to educators that help them measure children’s progress. An assessment instrument instructs educators on the type and quantity of data they should collect based on a child’s age. It also tells them how often they should collect those data. The instruments are based on a set of developmental norms that are founded in research.

Every state has its own early learning guidelines for preschoolers; most states are moving towards early learning guidelines that include children from birth to five years of age. These guidelines describe what to expect of children at a given age in a given developmental domain (gross motor, early literacy, approaches to learning, and so on.). These norms are foundational to authentic assessment, as they let adults know what can be considered typical development at a given age and what may not be typical. Many valid and reliable early childhood assessment tools have completed crosswalks with states’ early learning standards to make that part of assessment easier for early childhood professionals.

A valid and reliable assessment instrument gives educators valuable data that informs changes in their teaching practices. The words “valid” and “reliable” have a special meaning in this context.

A valid assessment measures what we are intending to measure.
A reliable assessment measures consistently even if different teachers are using the same procedure.

To choose the assessment that is right for your program, start with the purpose of the assessment. Is it going to be used for accountability and reporting? To communicate with families? To make changes in the classroom environment and interactions? Are there concerns about a child’s development?

When assessments are used in high-stakes policy decisions or for accountability, administrators and educators should check with the appropriate state agency for a list of approved assessments. For instance, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) oversees Parent Aware, a Quality Rating and Improvement System for child care providers. DHS offers a list of approved assessments from which child care providers can choose in order to participate in the Parent Aware ratings program. As another example, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) implemented the Kindergarten Entry Profile Initiative, a system by which Minnesota schools can assess kindergarteners’ knowledge and skills. MDE offers a list of approved assessments that schools can use in order to participate in the system.

Curriculum is another consideration. Some assessments are embedded in curricula, while others could be used with any curriculum. An example of the former is the Teaching Strategies Gold™ assessment that was created to be used specifically with the Creative Curriculum™. An example of the latter category is the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP 2015), which is a widely-used formative assessment created by the California Department of Education to assess the development of all children. The DRDP 2015 can be used with English language learners and to assess children with and without disabilities. It can be used with any curriculum for reporting, program quality improvement, and making changes in instruction.

How can I expand my understanding of the assessment instrument my program chose?

For a deeper understanding of the instrument, educators need to attend a training provided by trainers certified by the assessment publisher. While educators don’t need to undergo certification to administer authentic assessment in a classroom, some assessment publishers do require trainers to be certified to train teachers and administrators. For example, I certified with WestEd to be an approved trainer on the DRDP 2015 and acquired a trainer certification for COR Advantage. Trainings provide educators with the opportunity to learn the requirements of the assessment tool, ask questions, and practice using the instrument.

Authentic assessment is an ongoing process. How do I find time to do it?

It might feel overwhelming when there are so many things happening throughout the day in any given classroom. Being intentional about collecting, organizing, and reviewing information can be helpful. Plan where and when you want to collect data during the day, knowing that you will not be able to collect all the data on all the children in one day. Or choose a few children to follow one day, a few more the next day, and so on.

Another way to enrich the process is inviting all team members who work with the children to share their perspectives. A speech therapist who comes into the classroom daily might have more observations to add to a child’s portfolio. A yoga teacher might contribute information about gross motor skills. Parents can share what is going on at home. Children can file their own drawings or writing samples, and family members can help organize daily notes.

How do I share assessment information with families?

Building strong relationships with families prior to sharing assessment findings is the foundation for having deep conversations about children’s strengths and areas of growth. Of course, COVID-19 presents logistical challenges to building these relationships. The next post in this series will address the unique challenges of authentic assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

New series of Resource Guides for early childhood professionals

September 23, 2020

We’re pleased to share a series of downloadable Resource Guides intended for people who work with infants and young children. These 10 guides (and two bonus resources) cover topics of interest to child care providers and early educators that are particularly relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The guides fall into three subject categories:

Preparing for Children’s Return
Understanding Young Children’s Challenging Behavior
Supporting and Managing Young Children’s Behavior

Colorful wooden alphabet letters scattered on carpet

Each guide includes a featured resource such as a video or article, followed by a brief summary of the main points and an interactive component such as a quiz or reflection question. Many of the guides are accompanied by handouts with practical ideas and activities related to the topic. The Resource Guides were compiled by CEED for the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). They are posted with MDE’s permission.

Topic I: Preparing for Children’s Return

Explore the Topic

Resource Guide 1: Reopening Child Care and Early Education Programs during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Resource Guide 2: Tips for Supporting Infants’ and Young Children’s Transition as We Re-open

Go Deeper

Resource Guide 3: Thriving Childcare: Social-Emotional Health and COVID-19 Guidelines

Topic II: Understanding Young Children’s Challenging Behavior

Explore the Topic

Resource Guide 4: Reflecting on Our Reactions and Responses to Children’s Behavior

Resource Guide 5: Behavior Has Meaning

Go Deeper

Resource Guide 6: Understanding the Science of Early Development and the Core Story

Topic III: Supporting and Managing Young Children’s Behavior

Explore the Topic

Resource Guide 7: It Takes Two: The Role of Co-regulation in Building Self-Regulation Skills

Resource Guide 8: Toxic Stress—Introduction: A Story for Early Educators

Go Deeper

Resource Guide 9: Better Kid Care—Infant–Toddler Care: Guiding Behavior

Resource Guide 10: Stress Detectives and Safe Harbors: Helping Children Feel Secure

Bonus Resources

Bonus Resource 1: The Importance of Stories and Narratives

Bonus Resource 2: The Virtual Early Education Center (VEEC)

Meet CEED’s Associate Director of Program Quality: Q & A with Kristina Erstad-Sankey

September 23, 2020

Kristina Erstad-Sankey is Associate Director of Program Quality at CEED. She and her colleagues work directly with early childhood education providers, such as Head Start locations, child care providers, and school districts.

Q: Can you describe some general principles of what a high-quality early childhood program looks like?

KES: There are basic standards in areas such as health and safety—think ratios, supervision, personal care and hygiene practices, etc. There are also standards around the materials and curriculum used, program structure, furnishings, assessments, and developmentally appropriate practices. Things like funding, data use practices, and ongoing evaluation can come into play as well.

Another important aspect of program quality has to do with the relationships among staff and families. This can mean the quality of staff interactions with children as well as the level of family involvement and inclusion. What might be less well known outside the field is that program quality can also include things like staff turnover and compensation. Another thing we look for is staff access to relationship-based professional development and training.

You might be wondering who comes up with the standards that we use to evaluate program quality. We get guidance from quality rating and improvement systems; in Minnesota, we have Parent Aware. There are also state-based child care licensing requirements, school district standards, and Head Start standards. We also draw on information from organizations that advocate for high-quality early childhood education, such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

We also refer to standards that have been set by the Minnesota Department of Education called Early Childhood Indicators of Progress. The ECIPs describe the skills and knowledge that the Department of Education expects children to acquire in early childhood. The state also describes the skills and knowledge that they expect child care professionals to exhibit in their Knowledge and Competency Framework for Educators.

I know this might sound a little complicated, and it’s true that my team takes multiple dimensions of program quality into consideration when they do an assessment. However, the important thing to remember is that all of these standards and systems are working together to ensure that every child in Minnesota has access to early education that is meaningful to them.

Q: What is relationship-based professional development?

KES: Relationship-based professional development (RBPD) uses an ongoing professional relationship as the mechanism for growth and positive change in an early childhood educator’s practice. This is different from the traditional model of professional development that uses one-time trainings or in-service days as the mechanism. RBPD uses experience, reflection, and practice to help professionals set and achieve goals and have a long-term, sustainable impact.

Q: What would you like for early childhood educators to know about your team’s work?

KES: I love to highlight all of the different aspects of what we do, because often early childhood professionals are familiar with us from one specific area of our work. Maybe they have attended a training to learn how to use a formative assessment tool like Desired Results for Children and Families (DRDP) or COR Advantage. Or they have seen our staff present at a conference. We get the chance to interact with a lot of practitioners when we work with school districts on implementations and evaluations and when we conduct observations for example using the CLASS® or ERS™ assessment tools. We also provide group relationship-based professional development support. We are always looking for ways to partner!

One difference in COVID-19 pandemic times is that the in-person trainings that we normally offer are not possible. We are working diligently on an online format for these trainings, and when that is approved, it will appear in Develop and on CEED’s website. I’d encourage people who are interested to keep an eye out for that!

Q: What would you like for parents to know about your team’s work?

KES: One thing that seems to surprise many parents is how complex and well researched early childhood education is. Ask the early childhood professionals in your life about their work. Ask them about the assessments they use, a training or conference they went to, or what they’re up to on those staff training days. These practitioners really work hard to provide a quality program for the kids in their care, and I’ll bet they’d love to share with you the new things they are learning and thinking about.

In general, many people are surprised by the level of thought and preparation that goes into things like how a classroom is organized, how a concept is taught, or how a backyard is set up. All of these are guided by standards, research, and recommended practices. For example, a classroom might look really tidy to a visitor. We might look at how that cleanliness impacts the children in that classroom. Is the tidiness making it easier for children to find and use materials, to stay focused? Is the teacher’s time spent tidying up the room at the expense of learning moments? Taking time to learn and reflect about early childhood education is time well spent. Whether you are a grandparent taking care of a grandchild, an assistant teacher in a Head Start classroom, an educator in a toddler room, or a family child care professional, knowing how to support quality early childhood education is important!

Q: What are some of your interests and hobbies outside of work (aside from being a busy parent)?

KES: Running! I am working towards a marathon, but for now I’m just happy I can run miles in the double digits.

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CEED’s top 20 blog posts of 2020

Announcing CEED’s new self-study modules!

Fundamentals of authentic assessment

What is authentic assessment?

What are the steps of authentic assessment?

How do I choose an authentic assessment for my program?

How can I expand my understanding of the assessment instrument my program chose?

Authentic assessment is an ongoing process. How do I find time to do it?

How do I share assessment information with families?

Meet CEED’s Associate Director of Program Quality: Q & A with Kristina Erstad-Sankey

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