Have students read Chapter 8 of this book, as well as Chapters 1–3 of Bredekamp & Rosegrant (1995; see full reference below). As an introduction to the topic of supporting children’s learning, ask students to respond to the following reflective questions:

1. Based on your readings, what is your interpretation of the role of the teacher in supporting young children’s learning?
2. How do these readings help define what that role should look like for children who are being educated in an inclusive early childhood setting?
3. Instructors may wish to collect these responses and use them as a “quiz” grade or to use them as a way to begin the discussion about this important topic.

Reading:

Bredekamp, S., & Rosegrant, T. (Eds.) (1995). Reaching potentials: Transforming early childhood curriculum and assessment for young children – Volume 2. Washington, DC: NAEYC.


Activity 2: Role Play

Pair students with a partner to role-play using the incidental teaching procedure. Ask one of the students to be the child and one to be the teacher. Provide the students with snack materials for use in this activity (e.g., juice, animal crackers, raisins).

In this scenario, the child needs to learn to express his or her wants and needs using one-word utterances. The teacher is going to set up the snack routine in a way that creates opportunities for the child to work on that skill (e.g., give small portions of drink/food; withhold assistance). The child will pretend to request more food or assistance with the snack materials by gesturing the request. The teacher will ask the child what he or she wants when he or she makes the gesture. If the child does not respond within 5 seconds, the teacher will provide a verbal prompt (e.g., “say more,” “say help”). When the child models the prompt, he or she should receive access to what he or she desires. After this has been practiced once, have the students switch (i.e., the child becomes the teacher and vice versa) and complete the role-play again.

Once the activity is complete, discuss the utility of this procedure in the classroom.

1. For what other skills could you use this procedure? In what other situations could you teach requesting?
2. How easy or difficult would it be to implement this procedure in the classroom?
   
   

Activity 3: Videotape

Review the videotape of the snack activity developed for Chapter 4. This time, when students watch it, allow each small group (self-selected) to choose a child in the video to observe. As each group watches the child participate in the activity, ask them to focus on how the child learns. At the conclusion of the videotape, ask the students to summarize what they learned about how the child learns specific to his or her processing, sensory, attending, and physical abilities.

Once that information has been summarized, have students describe how they would support the child’s learning in terms of the types of prompts they might provide, the length of time they would wait before providing support, and the level of support they would provide (indirect versus direct teaching). Students will have to limit their recommendations to instruction that is provided to the child in the setting they observed on the videotape. When students have completed their recommendations, they should be asked to share their work with the rest of the class.