Integration Strategies And Instructional Techniques In The Early Childhood Learning Environment

Summary of Integration of Classroom Management Strategies and Instructional Techniques in the Early Childhood Learning Environment

To understand my reflection of my lesson plans in this last year, I would like to offer a picture from where I have come as an educator. As a child care provider for over ten years, my experience lies mainly with infants to early preschool aged children. Our facility was our home. We had only a few in this age group up with a few more at varying times. Some I cared for more than eight years of their life, beginning as an infant. Spending eight to twelve hours a day with many of our children, I knew them as I knew my own. This is an important component of my learning process and I believe a tribute to my versatility

Although I did not feel I had the mechanics in my dialog with the students rehearsed well enough or my activities fine tuned to their needs, I was able to quickly accommodate as the moment arose. If a student had a question or a problem with understanding a concept, I was able to break it down in immediate response. I sometimes used items in the host classroom as well to facilitate the redirection. This is a characteristic I value as a teacher that I believe my experience has taught me. My lesson plans evolved to be more concise and encompassing for my students, but the flexibility for the immediate needs in the classroom, in the moment, proved to be an important part of a successful learning environment for the student and myself, as the

Education has had a metamorphosis in the last decade that now has a higher basis in evidence based practices and data driven curriculums. Technology has made many of these resources available in immediate demand and provided an ability to discuss and implement. With the strength of the core of such resources, they can be an asset to educators in their day to day obstacles. Some sources I readily use are feeds through ED News and Education Week; updates through the Illinois Early Learning Project, Understood, and the Smart Classroom Management blog by renowned author Michael Linsin; and my LinkedIn feeds to include Quality Counts for Children, Autism Home Support Services, and a few local connections with professors and professional education advocates that are live in the field. I continue to follow the published accounts of leaders in education such as those at the Ron Clark Academy and the teachings of A Connected School (2003) team, Good, Grumley, and Roy, where they cite William T. Powers in his Perceptual Control Theory. The Connected School program has been implemented in our district and is still active in a few as appositive behavior guiding tool. I am involved in the Professional Child Care Providers Association for home childcare employees in our area and have been active in