1. REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
ASSIGNMENT
______________________________
ECEP 132:
Guidance and the Individual Child
Centennial College - Ashtonbee
(Winter Semester)
Submitted to:
Priti Parikh
Submitted by:
Khiara Remedios G. Albaran
Submitted on:
April 4, 2012
3. Reflective Practice Guidance Logs
Part 1 – Objective Observation
(Clearly identify the problem. Examine the “context” of the problem)
Date: March 13, 2012 (between 9:00 to 10:00 AM)
Pseudonyms: Marie and Marlo; Jacob
Setting: The situation occurred during their morning free-play, which is the
suggested period where the observer can conduct her planned activity. It
happened in one of the mat areas in the classroom – the observer and two other
children were seated on the mat.
Observation: During the morning session in the centre the observer was
conducting a planned activity with two children – Marlo and Marie. Marlo
and Marie were holding on to a foam stick (each on one end) where they
insert sponges with a hole in the middle. After 3 to 5 minutes of doing the
activity, Jacob comes in, bent a little forward (standing) and grasp on the
“stringing activity equipment” (foam stick and sponges with a whole in the
middle). As Jacob pulled it towards him, the two other children just looked
at him and the observer reached out her hand – attempting to stop it. The
observer didn’t pull the toy back, then Jacob started touching the foams –
trying to remove it from the stick, one-by-one.
Context of the problem: Jacob intervenes in an activity without waiting
for his turn – the child is yet to develop the concept of taking-turns.
Part 2 – Decision
(Clearly identify the guidance strategy and state why the chosen strategy is appropriate
for this child and the situation)
The observer chose redirection as the guidance strategy for the child.
Redirection through diversion and/or distraction is believed to be effective
for younger children (infants and toddlers). It is effective for younger
children because of the concept of perception and attention. The
perception skills of younger children are still in the developing stage, thus
making it easier to distract them with a powerful stimulus. For example,
one person can redirect an infant when he/she is crying by pointing to
something even though it could mean nothing; but not only simply
pointing, they alter their voice and their facial expressions and even their
movements to make it look more exciting. Marion mentioned that “young
children have difficulty ignoring irrelevant information (2011)” which makes
it hard for them to control their attention. In this sense, in redirection we
divert and distract the child with other things – this other things may not
be connected with what the child is focusing as of that moment. Since it is
4. effective to children, redirection can be considered as an immediate
response and solution especially in this situation where there are other
children who are waiting for the activity to resume. This efficient response
also indicated a positive guidance strategy where the observer was able to
acknowledge a behavior without stepping into the child’s confidence and
self-esteem.
Aside from that, with all honesty, redirecting through diversion and
distraction can be considered as a typical response for caregivers or
childcare provider every time faced in a situation similar to this one. Also,
the observer used verbal communication through reminders – teaching
them helpful or appropriate behavior. One may clearly assume that they are
still young for such a guidance strategy, but it is typical for an adult to say
something and communicate. It doesn’t make sense to them yet, but one
must consider that they’re in their formation stage where they just absorb
(for now) what they see, hear and learn, thus making modeling a great
influence to them. At that time, when the observer used the said strategy,
she didn’t expect for the child to respond and understand the statement
like “it’s not yet your turn.” She just believes that by stating the word term,
the child gets to experience the meaning of the concept which will soon
help him to form his vocabulary words (when repeated or with
consistency).
Part 3 – Actions
(Clearly discuss your actions (what you did and said),
the child’s response and the results of the guidance strategy)
The observer, Marlo and Marie were all still seated on the mat while Jacob
was standing between the observer and Marie but not exactly in the middle
– around two steps away (right side of the observer).
Jacob remained standing as he pulled the sponges out of the stick, one-by-
one. The observer placed her right hand on Jacob’s left shoulder (holding it
just in case he gets out of balanced) while her left hand was holding onto
the equipment. The observer then said, “Jacob, it’s not yet your turn …
Marlo and Marie is still using the toy.” Jacob was not letting the toy go so
the observer wrapped her right arm on Jacob’s waist, while her left hand
was placed in Jacob’s stomach area - she held him over to sit beside her.
Once Jacob was seated right next to her, the observer held on to the
equipment, and gave it to Marie (Marlo walked away since it took the
observer more than a minute to resolve the situation) who was waiting for
it.
5. As Jacob sat right next to her, the observer stretched her right arm and
pointed towards the toy that was placed across them (north-east) and said
“Oh what’s that Jacob?” – With eyes wide open and with a smile. The
observer pulled the toy and started pressing the buttons and said, “Look
Jacob! What do we have here?” She continued to press the buttons,
producing a sound, and then she offered ot to Jacob. “Do you want to try it
Jacob? You can have it” said the observer, still pressing the buttons and
moving her head from right to left. The Jacob took it and started pressing
the buttons – he also slightly moved his head sideways (left to right, right to
left) while still sitting. The observer said, “da … da …” following the tone of
the toy while looking at Marie as she continued with the activity.
Part 4 – Reflection
(Clearly discuss your strengths and needs and the changes that you would
make if needed)
Strengths Needs
For this guidance log I consider Even though I was successful in
the following as my strengths: redirecting the child, I can
the ability to attract the child to admit that I still need to form
proceed with the activity where more confidence with regards to
he/she is being redirected to guidance strategies especially
and the ability to control one’s when the ECEs are around. I
emotion. First is the ability to feel so shy whenever they’re
attract the child with a different around but I believe that I am
activity. If I didn’t take much getting more and more
effort with my facial expression, confident as time passes by and
movement and tone there could given the fact that I was told
be a possibility that the child that I can act as an ECE with the
won’t even look at me, or look children (thus, requiring me to
at me but find it unattractive be confident).
and continue to focus with what
he is doing.
Second is the ability to control
my emotions (esp. from getting
upset). Even though it was an
important activity, since the
other two children were giving
me a good response, I did
control my tone of voice and
6. facial expression which can
immediately translate my
emotions as of that moment.
Sometimes, in situations like
this, we tend to say no with
conviction and just pull the toy
away from the child. In this
situation, I took my time to
gently redirect him in a
different activity and patiently
waited until he settles down.
Discuss the changes that you would make and why you would make them.
If I am to change something with the redirection that I have performed, I
think I would go for more available materials that are similar to each other
instead of redirecting him to a different one. I feel so bad that the child
wasn’t able to experience the activity because I feel his interest - him,
interfering, makes me think that he is indeed interested with the activity
but I was not able to cater to him.
7. Supervising ECE Signature
Dear ECE Supervising Teacher: Please read and review the guidance log.
Select the appropriate box below.
o This log is accurate based on your observations.
o This log is somewhat accurate.
Please explain : _______________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
o This log is not accurate based on your observations.
Agency Name: _____________________________________
Phone Number: _____________________________________
Name of ECE: (Please Print) _____________________________________
ECE Signature: _____________________________________
Date of Signature: ________________________________
Thank-you!
9. Reflective Practice Guidance Logs
Part 1 – Objective Observation
(Clearly identify the problem. Examine the “context” of the problem)
Date: March 20, 2012 (between 11:30 am to 12:30 pm)
Pseudonyms: Mark and Mary
Setting: It happened after having their lunch and while they were having their
free-play. This period seems like their cooling down time, while they wait for their
turn for diaper change and/or check - which is part of their daily routine before
they head to their sleeping time.
Observation: The observer and three of the children were sitting on the
mat and on the floor, playing with tambourines and singing songs. After 5
minutes the observer was reminded of the day’s program plan which aims
to explore and play with the telephone set. Two of the other children
walked away and played in a different area of the room. The observer took
hold of one of the telephone toys and played with it and pretended to talk
to the child (Mary) in front of her. When she caught Mary’s attention, she
gave it to her and then they started playing. Pretending to talk to each
other. The observer at that time was using her left hand, placed it on her
left ear and pretended that it was a telephone. After a minute or two, Mark
walked towards the observer and Mary. He was walking directly towards
Mary who was playing with the telephone. At that point the headpiece of
the phone was on Mary’s ear. He stretched his arm, getting hold of the
telephone. The two children both held on to the telephone and pulled it
towards their side but without too much force.
Context of the problem: Mark attempted to take hold of the telephone
toy while Mary was still playing with it. They both held unto the toy, pulling
it towards their side.
Part 2 – Decision
(Clearly identify the guidance strategy and state why the chosen strategy is appropriate
for this child and the situation)
Before the actual response of the observer, it is only appropriate to indicate
that there was also a present indirect guidance in the environment per se –
having two toys of the same kind available for the children to explore. As
mentioned in the observation, the telephone exploration was part of the
centre’s planned activity for the day, which is why (what they usually do)
the ECEs brought out ample amount of toys for children to explore the
same type of toy, all at the same time. Duplicating the toy can be
considered as a prevention strategy to decrease the occurrence of fighting
behavior over a toy. It was mentioned by Bullard (2010) that having the few
10. materials, or in this case (if ever) having only one telephone available, does
not only increase fighting behavior, it may also reflect that “children have
limited choices and may waste time waiting for materials to become
available. … Additionally, children’s ability to reach their full potential may
be hindered.”
On the other hand, given that there was already a preventive strategy that
was present in the environment, the observer also chose to apply
redirection to the child. The difference this time is that, the observer was
able to redirect the child towards the same toy – thus, still providing the
appropriate material for his interest which supports his exploration and full
potential. Aside from mentioning that it is the most effective strategies for
infants, it can also be said that it is the most appropriate during that time
since you want to get the attention of the child and show him that you have
the another (same) toy available for him. Marion (2011) mentions that
redirection is a technique that “may involve distracting a very young child
with a more appropriate activity” – which in this case, the observer was
distracting the child towards an available toy to prevent the occurrence of
further behavioral issues.
Part 3 – Actions
(Clearly discuss your actions (what you did and said),
the child’s response and the results of the guidance strategy)
Still sitting on the mat – the children and the observer are all in the same
level. Mary was sitting on the right side of the observer and Mark was
walking in front of them (towards them and is directed to Mary).
Once the observer saw that Mark stretched out his hand towards the toy,
she immediately said “Look Mark, I have another telephone here.” She first
tried to catch his attention hoping that the child won’t pull further. As soon
as Mark looked at her while still holding on the phone she immediately
looked from behind – twisting her body instead of standing up and moving
away. She searched for the other telephone on top of the cubby behind her
(where it is normally found), and then she immediately grab it as soon as
she saw it and placed the head piece on her right ear and said, “Hello
Mark!” while looking directly at the child – hoping that she gets his
attention once again. The child looked back at her let go of the other
telephone and stretched his arm towards the observer. The observer did the
same by stretching her arm, giving other telephone to the child. The child
picked it up from her hands and the observer then said, “Hi Mary, its Mark!
How was your lunch?” … “Hello Mark! My lunch was really yummy!” The
11. pretend conversation went on repeatedly. After a minute or two, Mary
stood up and placed her telephone’s headpiece on the observer’s right side
of the face and the observer pretended to have a conversation with Mary.
Mark looked at them and he stood up and followed what Mary did and
placed his telephone’s headpiece on the left side of the observer’s face.
Part 4 – Reflection
(Clearly discuss your strengths and needs and the changes that you would make if needed)
Strengths Needs
For this guidance log I consider What I thought of at first, as
the following as my strengths, one of my needs is the
which led to the success of the accessibility of the materials.
chosen strategy. First is the But then as I look back, I
accessibility to the duplicate remembered that this need was
material. If we were not situated covered by the environment.
near the area where I can get The environment per se, guided
the duplicate telephone, I may and supported not only the
assume that redirecting the children, but also me as the
child to a different equipment facilitator of the experience
won’t be that easy because the (planned or spontaneous). The
child could have or might insist environment fosters an indirect
of wanting the telephone and guidance strategy that lessens
that getting his interest to the the direct intervention that the
new one (where he is facilitator needs to perform in
redirected) might not work such cases.
immediately, which may result
to a loud cry and negotiation. With this in mind, on the other
This situation may also affect hand, I consider ``foresight`` as
the other child’s interest to the a need. When I say foresight, I
activity. should have gotten the cue that
Mark was showing right in front
Second is the power and of me – I already saw him
enthusiasm of my action and walking towards us. I should
voice that enabled me to get his have invited him to come over,
attention and persuade him with the phone in my hand and
towards the desired direction. not wait for him to stretch his
Without this, I suppose, I failed arm – aiming for the telephone.
to become an effective ECE
since I wasn`t able to provide an
experience that catered to the
child`s interest.
12. Lastly, even though it is not my
strength per se, I consider the
availability of a duplicate of the
equipment as strength because
it only shows that the
environment is developmentally
appropriate and that it fosters
to the full potential of the
children. I also consider it as a
strength because i
t only shows that the
environment is prepared to
prevent fighting behaviours to
occur. It was mentioned in one
of our discussions before and in
one of the videos that we used,
that prevention is the key
strategy for the ECEs, in terms
of handling difficult behaviours
inside the classroom.
Discuss the changes that you would make and why you would make them.
If I am to change something in my strategy, I can say that I would apply
``foresight`` like what I have mentioned in my needs. To effectively do this,
I should have used the duplicate toy instead of using my hands as a pretend
phone – knowing that it is available. This for me, is considered as a
prepared tool, so by the time comes that a child joins into the activity I
could apply an immediate response by offering or giving it to him and at the
same time including him or her directly to the experience.
To better illustrate the change, I choose to apply it to the given situation in
this log. If, let`s say, I was using the duplicate toy and Mark comes into the
activity, I could have (might have) provided a spontaneous action or
response to him and at the same time, I could have or might have provided
continuity to Mary`s exploration – without interruptions. Such
interruptions could have caused Mary`s interest to decrease, given that in
some cases, as explained by my ECE, children tend to move away once you
don`t give them the attention that they need and at the same time, your
actions (looking for the toy, standing up or turning your back) might also
be seen by the children as a redirection as they watch you. For example,
during an experience, I stood up and went to look for a toy on a bin. I
successfully saw the toy that I was looking for, and the child sees that I was
able to get a toy on that bin; there`s a possibility that the child will also
stand up and move towards that bin leaving the experience that you are
providing.
13. Supervising ECE Signature
Dear ECE Supervising Teacher: Please read and review the guidance log.
Select the appropriate box below.
o This log is accurate based on your observations.
o This log is somewhat accurate.
Please explain : _______________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
o This log is not accurate based on your observations.
Agency Name: _____________________________________
Phone Number: _____________________________________
Name of ECE: (Please Print) _____________________________________
ECE Signature: _____________________________________
Date of Signature: ________________________________
Thank-you!
15. Reflective Practice Guidance Logs
Part 1 – Objective Observation
(Clearly identify the problem. Examine the “context” of the problem)
Date: March 5, 2012 (between 9:00 to 10:00 AM)
Pseudonym(s): Tyler
Setting: The situation occurred during their morning free-play, which is the
suggested period where the observer can conduct her planned activity. It
happened inside the classroom after the child performed an activity with a water
table and a few pieces of balls of different makes and textures.
Observation: During the closing part of the planned activity, the observer
asked Tyler to place the balls, one-by-one, on the bin that she was holding.
The child picked up a ball from the water table using both of his hands and
dropped it on the bin on his left. He did this for four times, getting all the
remaining balls into the bin (some of the balls were on the floor, because
the child threw some during his exploration). After the water table was
cleared with all the balls, the child started to play with the water by
pounding on it with his right hand and then both of his hands. The
observer started singing, “wash our hands, wash our hands…”, bent down
and held on to the child’s left arm. The child pulled away and pounded on
the water using his right hand. The child cried and pounded more times on
the water when the observer tried to take him away from the water table.
Context of the problem: The child refused to be taken away from the
activity that he seems to be interested with (the planned activity was based
on the child’s cues and interests).
Part 2 – Decision
(Clearly identify the guidance strategy and state why the chosen strategy is appropriate
for this child and the situation)
The observer chose to apply redirection and at the same time, limits.
Redirection, particularly diversion and distraction, is said to be very
effective for young children because they are still developing their ability to
control their attention – knowing what to ignore and where to focus on.
One of the major factors that one must consider in guiding children is the
development of their perception. Marion mentioned perception as “one
part of the whole process of cognitive development (2011).” He defined it as
the “process of organizing information obtained through seeing, listening,
touching and smelling (2011).” Children’s perception of things greatly affects
their attention, most especially for young children. When faced with
intense stimulus (bright colors, loud sounds and powerful emotions), young
16. children experience the difficulty of ignoring it most especially when that
certain “stimulus” captures their attention. With this in mind, diverting and
distracting infants becomes an effective guidance strategy.
Another guidance strategy that was used by the observer was to help the
child accept limits particularly through decreasing the distance between her
and the child and through getting the child’s attention politely. We are all
aware that these strategies won’t mean that much to the infants since they
are still developing (esp. their language), but with all honesty that was one
of the natural responses that the observer was able to apply. In decreasing
the distance between the educator and the child, the observer bend down
to be able to talk to the child directly – giving eye contact. Also through
this, the observer was able to convey her actual message through a visible
expression that the child can actually/clearly see. In getting the child’s
attention the observer used a nonthreatening verbal cue and physical
contact that she assumes to be helpful in stating the limit to the child. As
mentioned by Marion, “using nonthreatening verbal or nonverbal cues and
appropriate physical contact is essential with toddlers and is highly
recommended with preschoolers, especially those who have not learned to
live with reasonable boundaries and limits (2011).” Though it was not
mentioned that it is effective for infants, one cannot consider this as a
useless strategy; instead, this could serve as an introduction for the child as
he is about to enter toddlerhood and at the same time, the observer
thought that this won’t do harm for him.
Part 3 – Actions
(Clearly discuss your actions (what you did and said),
the child’s response and the results of the guidance strategy)
Still beside the water table – the observer was kneeling down, while the
child was standing on her right, facing the water table.
The observer started singing “wash our hands, wash our hands [Mr.
Thumbkin tone]” again and said, “Tyler, let’s go and wash our hands” while
holding on to his left arm. The child pulled away – moving his body away
from the observer. The observer didn’t pull against it or Tyler might fall to
the side. She replaced his left hand on the child’s arm and used her right to
hold the other side of the child’s body. The observer moved her body
behind the child – now like squatting (legs fully bent, sitting on the
ground). The observer is now holding both the sides of the child. The
observer pulled the child away from the water table, then his body started
moving against the pull. The observer stood up, bent over the child and
held his left hand with her left hand, and his right hand with her right
17. hand. The observer raised both hands away from the water table and said,
“Tyler, it’s time to wash our hands.” Let go of the child’s left hand and
stretched her arm and pointed to the sink behind the gate – 10-15 steps
away from them, “look Tyler! There’s water there, remember? Water!
Water! Yes, there’s water! (tone of excitement)” while the child pounded
again to the water table. The child stopped and looked up (instead of
looking down to the water table) the observer held on to the child’s left
hand again and then they started walking towards the sink.
Part 4 – Reflection
(Clearly discuss your strengths and needs and the changes that you would
make if needed)
Strengths Needs
For this guidance log, I consider With all honesty, the need that
the following as my strengths: I’m thinking of right now is not
patience & determination, yet that effective for infants –
composure and ability to show limits. When the time comes
excitement, thus attracting the that I move to the other level, I
child. First is patience. One can realized that truly, limits,
feel like giving up since it shows transitions, boundaries and the
that there could be no way to like are a must to make things
stop the child without actually easier not only for the teacher
pulling him physically away but also for the child.
from the water table. But I was
so patient and determined to
persuade the child to proceed to
the next activity without
actually making him feel
different as I pull him away. I
don’t actually want to do it
since I don’t want to intervene
to the activity that he wants to
do – but we had to.
Second is composure. As the
facilitator, we are told not to
show our emotions to children
since this will greatly affect
them. While the child doesn’t
want to leave the water table
and that when he kept on
18. pounding on the water table –
water splashing on both of our
faces, I must hold on to myself
and remain calm ( don’t get
pissed off). Even though in
some way, it could be
frustrating we should not show
it to the child. We should
always remain our calmness,
still act positive whenever
possible and respect the child.
We are here to protect the
child, which is why, as how
Marion puts it, “we are
obligated to reject any strategy
that is ‘disrespectful, degrading,
dangerous, exploitative,
intimidating, psychologically
damaging, or physically harmful
to children (2011).”
Third is the ability to attract the
child with a new object or new
activity. Since we know that
children can easily be redirected
because of their developing
perception, it is still a task for
us to think of ways on how to
redirect them. We have to
create an “intense stimulus” to
attract them. With this in mind,
we result to excited expressions,
excited tones and the like –
acting out that the other one
(where we are redirecting them)
is more fun!
Discuss the changes that you would make and why you would make them.
If I can only change something, it will be the location of the water table – putting it
somewhere where the sink is close and really visible. The gate at the time was
covering the sink – preventing Tyler to see it fully. Redirecting Tyler to the sink
could have been easier if he can see it in the first place. Changing the setting could
also be considered as a preventive strategy which is essential for guiding children –
