EvidencedBased Practices: Four Big Ideas in Early Childhood

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Evidenced-Based Practices Four Big Ideas in
Early Childhood

• High Plains Education Cooperative
• Ulysses, Kansas

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High Plains Education Cooperative

• 17 Southwest Kansas School Districts
• 10,000 square miles
• 10 ECSE Interventionists
• 120 aged 3-5 students with disabilities
• 12 Speech Pathologists, 3 OTs, 3 PTs, 10 School
  Psychs
• Culture of change best practices

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HPEC Early Childhood Practices1. High Plains
Educational Cooperative believes in providing
services to children in their natural settings
(those settings the child would attend if they
did not have a disability).2. High Plains
Educational Cooperative believes in embedding a
childs instructional goals within their daily
activities. Learning can occur throughout each
day and between visits of professionals.3.
High Plains Educational Cooperative believes
children learn best through developmentally
appropriate play and by participating in a
variety of learning opportunities. 4. High
Plains Educational Cooperative supports the
concept of Primary Coaching where one member of a
multidisciplinary team provides support to a
family or other caregiver while receiving
coaching and supports from other team
members.5. High Plains Educational Cooperative
believes that parents are their childrens best
teachers. Coaching and collaboration occurs
between the Early Childhood professional and the
parent to develop the most appropriate learning
goals and activities for children. 6. High
Plains Educational Cooperative believes in
continual staff development. 7. Research based
practices and interventions are integral to
support services.
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Early Childhood Assessment

• Trans-disciplinary Play-Based Assessment
• Conduct in ECSE classrooms
• Focus on skill deficits

• Gather information from multiple sources
• Activity Based Assessment
• AEPS
• SATTIRE
• Focus on childs interests
• Look for mismatch between expectations and
  performance

• We used to .

• Now we .

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Routines Based Instruction -Helping caregivers
engage the child in enjoyable learning
opportunities that allow for frequent practice
and mastery of emerging skills in natural
settings. -Learning activities and
opportunities are functional, based on child and
family interest and priority. -Intervention
focuses on the childs participation in naturally
occurring, developmentally appropriate activities
with family and peers.
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Routines Based Instruction

• Work on skills and skill deficits
• Pull students aside to work on deficit areas
• Focused primarily on child within the classroom
  setting rather than in natural environments

• Embed learning routines throughout the childs
  day
• Target the priorities of the caregivers
• Provide multiple learning opportunities for
  children
• Support caregivers competence and confidence in
  working with children

• We used to .

• Now we .

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Natural Settings

• -Early Childhood natural settings are those
  settings where students with disabilities would
  attend if they did not have a disability.
•  
• -Natural settings could include the home,
  community playgroups, daycares, public or private
  preschools, At-Risk 4 classrooms.

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Natural Settings

• Have Early Childhood Special Education
  Classrooms
• Have 3 year olds come to EC classrooms
• Provide support services in school classrooms

• Children are educated with their non-disabled
  peers
• Provide more of a continuum of support services
• Share necessary supports with caregivers so they
  encourage facilitation of their childs
  development
• Children attend settings they would be in if
  they did not have a disability

• We used to .

• Now we .

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Goals should be functional and be responsive to
caregivers priorities. The focus is helping
children participate more fully in their natural
environments.

• Goal Writing

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Goal Writing

• Write skill and deficit based goals
• Write multiple goals
• Create a goal in each developmental domain

• Write functional goals that help the child
  participate more fully in their environment
• Prioritize one area based on caregivers concern
• Write trans-disciplinary goals

• We used to .

• Now we .

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Primary Coach-A process for supporting families
of young children with disabilities in which one
member of a multidisciplinary team is selected by
the team, receives ongoing coaching from other
team members and uses coaching as an interaction
style to build the capacity of caregivers to use
everyday learning opportunities to promote
development. -The primary provider brings in
other services and supports as needed, assuring
outcomes, activities and advice so as to not
overwhelm or confuse family members.
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Primary Coaching

• We used to .
• Be the expert
• Visit homes or classrooms at different times
• Be directive with support services
• Work specifically with the child

• Now we .
• Have set team meetings
• Collaborate with others
• Identify one person as the lead for a family
• Primarily work with adults

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Coaching

• -Coaching is a process and style of interaction
  to build the capacity of family members and other
  caregivers to promote the childs learning and
  development.
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• -The coach asks questions, models with the child
  for the parent, shares information and jointly
  plans next steps for the child.

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Coaching

• Tell the parents and teachers what to do
• Have the majority of students come to the
  special education classroom
• Work directly with students
• Come across as the experts

• Primarily work with adults not children
• Come in as equals to brainstorm ideas
• Strengthen caregiver capacity and learning
• Observe more consistent follow through with
  interventions

• We used to .

• Now we .

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Staff Development1. Primary Coaching workshop
October 20072. Implementing Evidence-Based
Practices in Early Intervention in Kansas,
February 20083. Sharing 4 Big Ideas with peers
at categorical meetings (speech, EC, psychs,
motor), Spring 20084. Putting 4 Big Ideas Into
Practice inservice, May 20085. Summer Study
Group on Activity Based Instruction, June 20086.
Goal Writing and Teaming Skills inservice,
August 20087. AEPS Training, August 20088.
Professional learning discussions at categorical
meetings, ongoing
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Dana Pfanenstiel, Early Childhood
Interventionist High Plains Education
Cooperative Amy Spencer, Early Childhood
Interventionist High Plains Education
Cooperative Shelly Harris, Assistant
Director High Plains Education Cooperative Phoebe
Rinkel, Technical Assistance Kansas Inservice
Training System