"Many kids use and understand media devices and platforms better than we do. But their technological abilities are often ahead of their emotional maturity and judgment," advises James Steyer, founder of Common Sense Media, in Work & Family Life (September 2012; workandfamilylife.com). Steyer shares research results the impact of screen time on preschool children:
A landmark study at the University of Washington showed that for every hour per day that preschool boys spent watching violent TV shows, they had three times the risk of developing behavioral problems at age 7. This was true even when they were watching cartoons on commercial channels, which often have more violence than adult shows.
For each hour of TV young kids watch, they have a 10 percent higher chance of attention problems at age 7, including restlessness, trouble concentrating, and impulsive behavior.
Visual images may over stimulate and rewire preschoolers' developing brains. Learning to read and write takes time and patience. Kids who are used to the fast pace and instant gratification of screen media may easily get bored.
More than two hours daily of screen time also increases the odds that kids will be overweight. They are exposed to a barrage of ads for high-caloric, sugary foods — and when they are sitting in front of a screen, they are not running, jumping, and moving around.
Shared from "Exchange EveryDay"
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Invest in Quality
Quality: What It Looks Like
The quality of a child’s future depends on the quality of caregiving in the first five years.
This is particularly true of our most at-risk children. Benefits that can accrue from
a first-rate early learning experience come only if the setting is safe, healthy, stimulating,
thoughtful, organized and—perhaps most important—led by well-trained, attentive
teachers. Here’s what to look for in a successful early learning program.
Quality: What It Looks Like
The quality of a child’s future depends on the quality of caregiving in the first five years.
This is particularly true of our most at-risk children. Benefits that can accrue from
a first-rate early learning experience come only if the setting is safe, healthy, stimulating,
thoughtful, organized and—perhaps most important—led by well-trained, attentive
teachers. Here’s what to look for in a successful early learning program.
What you want to see:
Educated, attentive, and engaged teachers and staff
· Teachers with four-year degrees and specific training in
early childhood education.
· No more than eight infants and toddlers and no more than
20 preschoolers in a classroom.
· Teacher-to-child ratios of 1:3 for infants and 1:10 for
preschoolers.
· Teachers who crouch to eye level to speak to children.
· Teachers who hold, cuddle, show affection, and speak
directly to infants and toddlers.
· Families and teachers exchanging information about the
child’s development and learning progress.
A safe, healthy, and child-friendly environment
·
A room well-equipped with sufficient and appropriate
materials and toys.
·
Classrooms in which materials and activities are organized
logically and placed at eye level for the children.
·
Materials and toys accessible to children in an orderly display.
·
Centers that encourage safe, outdoor playtime.
·
Frequent hand-washing by children and adults.
·
Children offered breakfast, lunch, and a time to nap.
·
Visitors welcomed with appropriate parental consent.
Stimulating activities and appropriately structured
routines
·
Children receiving a variety of stimuli in their daily routine
using indoor and outdoor spaces and age-appropriate
language, literacy, math, science, art, music, movement,
and dramatic play experiences.
·
Children participating with teachers and each other in
individual, small-group, and large-group activities.
·
Children who are engaged in their activities.
·
Preschoolers who are allowed to play independently.
What you don’t want to see:
Inattentive, overwhelmed, or unengaged staff
·
Unengaged teachers sitting on the side of the classroom
not participating with children.
·
Shouting, swearing, or other displays of hostile discipline.
·
Infants and toddlers crying without being soothed and
supported.
·
Teachers speaking to children only to control or direct
behavior.
·
Teachers who are unresponsive to children’s needs or
attempts to communicate.
·
Children being asked closed-ended (“Yes or No”) questions
instead of “how” and “why” questions.
An unsafe, unhealthy, or uninspiring environment
· Small, cramped centers or homes without designated
appropriate spaces for different ages.
· A center or home that smells or looks unclean, or has
visible safety risks.
· Use of television or video to occupy children.
· Children easily distracted or frightened by visiting strangers.
· Disorganized or inaccessible play centers.
· Insufficient, damaged, or inappropriate materials or toys.
Activities and routines that are too chaotic or inflexible
·
Children wandering aimlessly, left unsupervised, or
displaying unchecked aggression.
·
Children restrained in car seats or in high chairs at times
other than meal time.
·
Children spending a lot of time waiting for turns or standing in lines.
·
Children expected to sit at desks or perform highly
structured tasks (worksheets), or other forms of
age-inappropriate expectations.
·
Lack of children’s self-directed creative/imaginative play.
Quality: What It Looks Like
Identifying Quality Programs
Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS)
Similar to rating systems for restaurants and hotels, a QRIS
awards quality ratings to early learning programs that meet a
set of defined program standards.
A QRIS should have five elements:
1. Standards ranging from basic licensing to higher
quality standards.
2. Accountability measures and monitoring processes
used to determine how well programs meet standards
and to assign ratings.
3. Program and practitioner outreach and support, such
as training, mentoring, and technical assistance.
4. Funding incentives awarded to programs when quality
levels are achieved.
5. Parent education efforts. Most QRIS award easily
recognizable symbols, such as stars, to programs
to indicate the levels of quality and to inform and
educate parents.
Currently, 19 States (CO, DE, DC, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MS,
MT, NH, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, and VT) have a statewide
QRIS with all five elements.
Source: National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center
Program Accreditation
Accreditation is a voluntary process designed to improve the
quality of early learning programs. Accreditation systems
require programs to meet defined standards and engage in
extensive self-study and validation by outside professionals to
verify that quality standards are met. Research has
demonstrated that accreditation positively affects program
quality, including benefits to children, families, and staff.
Several organizations accredit early learning programs; the
National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC) is an example of one that is highly regarded as an
indicator of quality programs.
Program Quality Assessments
A range of assessment tools can evaluate an early learning
program using observations of practice and the environment,
and surveys or interviews of teachers or parents. Some
commonly used assessments include:
· The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), an
observational tool that measures the quality of teacher–child
interactions in pre-kindergarten classrooms.
· The Environmental Rating Scales, which are available for
infant and toddler settings (ITERS), pre-school settings
(ECERS), family child care settings (FCCERS), and
school-age programs (SACERS). They evaluate physical
environment, basic care, curriculum, interaction, schedule
and program structure, and parent and staff education.
Child Assessments
Parents, providers, and policymakers struggle to balance the
need for measures of children’s development and learning with
concerns about the proper role of assessment when dealing
with very young children. When chosen appropriately, child
assessments can provide information that helps programs
continuously improve. Common tools include:
·
Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, which
measures physical, motor, sensory, and cognitive
development in babies and young children.
·
Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA), a tool to
measure social-emotional strengths and behavioral
concerns.
·
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), which measures
comprehension of English vocabulary.
·
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS),
measures used to regularly monitor the development of
pre-reading and early reading skills.
·
Woodcock-Johnson, an assessment of cognitive and
language abilities.
·
Bracken Basic Concept Scale, which determines a child’s
school readiness and knowledge of English-language verbal
concepts.
·
Work Sampling System, an assessment that uses ongoing
teacher observations to document children’s skills,
knowledge, behavior, and accomplishments.
The quality of a child’s future depends on the quality of caregiving in the first five years.
This is particularly true of our most at-risk children. Benefits that can accrue from
a first-rate early learning experience come only if the setting is safe, healthy, stimulating,
thoughtful, organized and—perhaps most important—led by well-trained, attentive
teachers. Here’s what to look for in a successful early learning program.
Quality: What It Looks Like
The quality of a child’s future depends on the quality of caregiving in the first five years.
This is particularly true of our most at-risk children. Benefits that can accrue from
a first-rate early learning experience come only if the setting is safe, healthy, stimulating,
thoughtful, organized and—perhaps most important—led by well-trained, attentive
teachers. Here’s what to look for in a successful early learning program.
What you want to see:
Educated, attentive, and engaged teachers and staff
· Teachers with four-year degrees and specific training in
early childhood education.
· No more than eight infants and toddlers and no more than
20 preschoolers in a classroom.
· Teacher-to-child ratios of 1:3 for infants and 1:10 for
preschoolers.
· Teachers who crouch to eye level to speak to children.
· Teachers who hold, cuddle, show affection, and speak
directly to infants and toddlers.
· Families and teachers exchanging information about the
child’s development and learning progress.
A safe, healthy, and child-friendly environment
·
A room well-equipped with sufficient and appropriate
materials and toys.
·
Classrooms in which materials and activities are organized
logically and placed at eye level for the children.
·
Materials and toys accessible to children in an orderly display.
·
Centers that encourage safe, outdoor playtime.
·
Frequent hand-washing by children and adults.
·
Children offered breakfast, lunch, and a time to nap.
·
Visitors welcomed with appropriate parental consent.
Stimulating activities and appropriately structured
routines
·
Children receiving a variety of stimuli in their daily routine
using indoor and outdoor spaces and age-appropriate
language, literacy, math, science, art, music, movement,
and dramatic play experiences.
·
Children participating with teachers and each other in
individual, small-group, and large-group activities.
·
Children who are engaged in their activities.
·
Preschoolers who are allowed to play independently.
What you don’t want to see:
Inattentive, overwhelmed, or unengaged staff
·
Unengaged teachers sitting on the side of the classroom
not participating with children.
·
Shouting, swearing, or other displays of hostile discipline.
·
Infants and toddlers crying without being soothed and
supported.
·
Teachers speaking to children only to control or direct
behavior.
·
Teachers who are unresponsive to children’s needs or
attempts to communicate.
·
Children being asked closed-ended (“Yes or No”) questions
instead of “how” and “why” questions.
An unsafe, unhealthy, or uninspiring environment
· Small, cramped centers or homes without designated
appropriate spaces for different ages.
· A center or home that smells or looks unclean, or has
visible safety risks.
· Use of television or video to occupy children.
· Children easily distracted or frightened by visiting strangers.
· Disorganized or inaccessible play centers.
· Insufficient, damaged, or inappropriate materials or toys.
Activities and routines that are too chaotic or inflexible
·
Children wandering aimlessly, left unsupervised, or
displaying unchecked aggression.
·
Children restrained in car seats or in high chairs at times
other than meal time.
·
Children spending a lot of time waiting for turns or standing in lines.
·
Children expected to sit at desks or perform highly
structured tasks (worksheets), or other forms of
age-inappropriate expectations.
·
Lack of children’s self-directed creative/imaginative play.
Quality: What It Looks Like
Identifying Quality Programs
Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS)
Similar to rating systems for restaurants and hotels, a QRIS
awards quality ratings to early learning programs that meet a
set of defined program standards.
A QRIS should have five elements:
1. Standards ranging from basic licensing to higher
quality standards.
2. Accountability measures and monitoring processes
used to determine how well programs meet standards
and to assign ratings.
3. Program and practitioner outreach and support, such
as training, mentoring, and technical assistance.
4. Funding incentives awarded to programs when quality
levels are achieved.
5. Parent education efforts. Most QRIS award easily
recognizable symbols, such as stars, to programs
to indicate the levels of quality and to inform and
educate parents.
Currently, 19 States (CO, DE, DC, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MS,
MT, NH, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, and VT) have a statewide
QRIS with all five elements.
Source: National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center
Program Accreditation
Accreditation is a voluntary process designed to improve the
quality of early learning programs. Accreditation systems
require programs to meet defined standards and engage in
extensive self-study and validation by outside professionals to
verify that quality standards are met. Research has
demonstrated that accreditation positively affects program
quality, including benefits to children, families, and staff.
Several organizations accredit early learning programs; the
National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC) is an example of one that is highly regarded as an
indicator of quality programs.
Program Quality Assessments
A range of assessment tools can evaluate an early learning
program using observations of practice and the environment,
and surveys or interviews of teachers or parents. Some
commonly used assessments include:
· The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), an
observational tool that measures the quality of teacher–child
interactions in pre-kindergarten classrooms.
· The Environmental Rating Scales, which are available for
infant and toddler settings (ITERS), pre-school settings
(ECERS), family child care settings (FCCERS), and
school-age programs (SACERS). They evaluate physical
environment, basic care, curriculum, interaction, schedule
and program structure, and parent and staff education.
Child Assessments
Parents, providers, and policymakers struggle to balance the
need for measures of children’s development and learning with
concerns about the proper role of assessment when dealing
with very young children. When chosen appropriately, child
assessments can provide information that helps programs
continuously improve. Common tools include:
·
Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, which
measures physical, motor, sensory, and cognitive
development in babies and young children.
·
Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA), a tool to
measure social-emotional strengths and behavioral
concerns.
·
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), which measures
comprehension of English vocabulary.
·
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS),
measures used to regularly monitor the development of
pre-reading and early reading skills.
·
Woodcock-Johnson, an assessment of cognitive and
language abilities.
·
Bracken Basic Concept Scale, which determines a child’s
school readiness and knowledge of English-language verbal
concepts.
·
Work Sampling System, an assessment that uses ongoing
teacher observations to document children’s skills,
knowledge, behavior, and accomplishments.
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