Early Childhood PBISIts Relational

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Early Childhood PBISIts Relational

• Sharon Thornagle
• Carolyn Jones

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Terminology

• PBS Positive Behavioral Supports
• PBIS Positive Behavioral Intervention and
  Supports
• EBS Effective Behavioral Supports
• EBIS Effective Behavioral and Instructional
  Supports
• RTI Response to Intervention
• SWIS School-wide Information System
• FBA Functional Behavior(al) Assessment

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Early Childhood PBIS is Different from School-Age

• Systems Differences
• In Oregon, we have various systems
• EI/ECSE
• Early Interventionyounger than 3 years old,
• Early Childhood Special Education3-5 years
• Head Start Programs
• Other community/private pre-schools

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Structural Differences

• Programs vs. Multi-classroom School Sites
• The classroom is often the school.
• The classroom is often in a location by itself
  without other classrooms on the site.
• There is not usually an entire building to
  coordinate in terms of systems that directly
  impact the child.

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PBIS Implementation Differences

• Systems can be effective in a classroom-based
  model
• Classroom-based implementation simplifies the
  process because there are fewer staff members to
  bring on board.
• Systems can be effective in a program-based model
• Program-based supports staff through
  collaboration and alignment.
• Cross-setting opportunities and supports

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Other ways EC is different from School-Age

• Potty training is not always complete.
• The people are small.
• Language development is still in process.
• Social skills are still emerging. Differences
  between kids can be vast.
• Habits can be tenacious, but have been in effect
  for less than 5 years

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Additional Differences?

• Higher percentage of At-Risk or Identified
  Special Needs population in EI/ECSE and Head
  Start programs.

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Relationship and connection are the heart of
successful instruction

• Primary focus for adults is
• Building relationships with students
• Nurturing relationships
• Coaching through relationship
• Acknowledging through relationship
• Validating through relationship
• Helping students build sense of self in the
  relationship

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Early Childhood Atmosphere

• Joy
• Lots of Positives/Encouragement
• Visual cues
• Verbal cues
• Rhymes/songs for remembering
• Greetings
• Learning the social basics
• Learning the classroom basics
• Organized for activity learning through play
  and hands-on

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Social Skills CategoriesEC Foundations

• Me
• Self concept
• Self control
• Us
• Social Relationships
• Cooperation
• All of Us
• Knowledge Families and Communities

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Early relationships

• A preschooler already has a sense of likes,
  dislikes, inclinations and attitudes.
• When children feel comfortable and safe, they can
  put all their energies toward playing, learning
  and growing.

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Brain-development

• Children are different at pre-school

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Brain DevelopmentInformation to keep in mind

• A baby's brain has over 100 billion brain cells,
  or neurons, at the time of birth, these cells are
  not really connected in a working network.

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• A newborn's brain is about 25 percent of its
  approximate adult weight.
• By age 3, it has grown dramatically by producing
  billions of cells and hundreds of trillions of
  connections, or synapses, between these cells.
• While we know that the development of a young
  child's brain takes years to complete the first
  three years of life are a period of incredible
  growth in all areas of a baby's development.

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Brain Development

• A childs brain is not just a smaller version of
  an adult brain.
• Neurons are still moving into place.
• Synapses/connections are rapidly occurring.
• The protective myelin insulation for the axons
  (wires that connect one neuron to anothers
  dendrites) is not yet developed.

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Early Brain Development, continued

• In early years of a childs brain development,
  these neurons form important connections that
  allow the brain to think, learn and perform other
  functions, i.e. develop the cerebral cortex.
• There are millions of connections made every
  second of the day.

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Early Brain Development, cont.

• Connections are made based on the response the
  child is getting from the people in the
  environment.
• If those are caring, encouraging responses, the
  neural pathways are stronger and create an
  ability to form attachments to others.
• Experiences in the first years of life will help
  to form the connections that will last the rest
  of a childs life.

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Cerebral Cortex Neuron Structure
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Science of Human Behavior

• Behavior is learned.
• There is no such thing as nature without nurture
  or nurture without nature.
• Behavior occurrences are linked to environmental
  factors.
• Neurons that fire together wire together.

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Science of Human Behavior

• When our emotions are engaged, the brain
  remembers better.
• Motivation is a key factor in brain plasticity.
• Brain plasticityability of the brain to make new
  connections, create new neural pathways.

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• Child Learning and Development occurs best
• Through
• Dynamic interaction
• In an
• Environment of Safety, Belonging, Trust

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Thats what its all about

• Creating those conditions of connection and
  supportive environment is what Early Childhood
  programs are about.
• Using interaction, fun, practice, rhyme, and
  methods that acknowledge emotions and encourage
  and celebrate progress are at the heart of
  programs.
• Its also what the research says works and what
  the best of our time-honored traditions have
  always done.

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The Beauty of the Pyramid forEarly Childhood

• The Pyramid and PBIS honors what is already being
  done that is working well.
• i.e. research-based, data-based.
• It provides a structure for thinking.
• It helps raise awareness of what we are doing.
• It helps us think more clearly in terms of
  systems.

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Designing Program-Wide Systems for Student
SuccessEARLY CHILDHOOD
1-5
1-5
5-10
5-10
80-90
80-90
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Universals for PreSchoolers

• Build Positive Relationships
• LOTS of specific encouragement
• Trust, consistency, fairness
• Use sensory motor, play, interactive, relational
  methods
• Personal interaction, positive body language and
  facial expression
• Designing Supportive Environments
• Clear expectations/rules, routines
  scheduletaught directly embedded
• Social Emotional Teaching Strategies
• Teach language of emotions
• Teach manners/social Interaction strategies
• Teach cooperation and general social skills
  concepts
• Use sensory motor, play, interactive, relational
  methods

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Yellow Zone at Pre-school is often blended with
Green

• Many Yellow Zone interventions can be and may
  work best when implemented for the whole group.
• E.g. social stories can be taught to the whole
  group to help establish/reinforce group norms.

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Teaching Concepts to Build On Science of Learning
Behavior Change

• Behavior change occurs when the brain is engaged.
  
• Memory is crucial for learning we build on past
  experience.
• Initial changes are just temporary.
• When we practice, the brain remembers better.

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• Skilled pre-school teachers understand and
  practice brain-based strategies that create a
  foundation of relationship, clear established
  norms and a rich learning environment.
• PBIS provides a structure for seeing how it all
  fits together.
• Helping people see where the sound practices that
  they use fits in the model, enhances
  implementation.

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What does that mean for Pre school?

• Picture building a house.
• Relationships are the foundation.
• Connecting and valuing are the blueprints
• Teaching and modeling social-emotional skills
  provide the framing.
• The children do the details and decorating.