Supporting on-site training: time, focus, and consistency

Childhood Education, Fall 2003 by Maldonado, Nancy S, Winick, Mariann P

Training early childhood personnel can be time-consuming and costly. The videos reviewed for this column provide on-site and cost-effective staff development possibilities for home care, center care, and primary school use. These materials can be used individually or with a team, maximizing staff time, facilitating continuity in training, and ensuring consistency for staff related to important basic tenets of early childhood practices.

Infant and Toddler Development

The message that becoming human requires human interaction as well as reciprocal activities based on the development of trust is a constant throughout all five videos from the two training series reviewed here. Both series were developed by Anne Prairie from the City College of Chicago. Insightful, well-grounded material is provided by early childhood specialists, teachers, and caregivers. An accompanying guide can facilitate use of the videos as a self-contained course on infant and toddler care.

KEYS TO QUALITY INFANT AND TODDLER CARE, Module 131, 27 minutes. What should be your expectations of a child care center? How would you measure its quality? This excellent introduction to infant and toddler care poses and answers these questions from (and for) caregivers, parents, and early childhood program planners. By viewing infants and toddlers receiving daily care in a variety of settings, the viewer is made mindful of the centrality of trust and intimacy in early development. Seven "keys" to quality care are presented: 1) responsive and consistent care by a nurturing adult; 2) relationship consistency, maintained by a low adult-child ratio; 3) individualization of the curriculum; 4) responsive environment; 5) safety and health protocols and procedures; 6) continuity between caregiver and child; and 7) a quality staff and quality program. An excellent introduction to infant and toddler care.

INVESTING IN CARING RELATIONSHIPS, Module 136, 28 minutes. Viewers learn about the kind of investments required to build quality relationships between caregivers and children, as well as between caregivers and parents. Caring adults ensure a protective and stable environment by investing time, focus, and consistency. Learning through relationships takes on meaning as we view daily interactions related to early cognitive learning, emerging language, and development of social learning. This is a rich, low-keyed presentation focused on the importance of the parent and caregiver relationship, continuity of care at home and center, and the continuity of culture and language. An excellent video for staff and parents.

CHILD-CENTERED CURRICULUM, Module 128, 23 minutes. This video shows various teachers and caregivers planning for quality care through a team approach. The caregivers develop close relationships and share information with parents, an important dimension of planning curriculum for the child. The teachers use their observational skills to match individual children to particular activities. This well-paced film shows infants engaged in activities that tap into their emerging verbal and problem-solving skills. Everyday experiences (e.g., mealtime engagement and routines) are shown in situations with ease.

PROMOTING LANGUAGE AND LITERACY, Module 137, 29 minutes. Tried and true practices are brought into clear relief as viewers see infants and adults engaged in reciprocal activities related to the development of language. Valuing of home language and the sharing of experiences between staff and parents are dynamically demonstrated as viewers watch an infant move from making eye contact to nonverbal expressions to language play to understanding. These familiar interactions are put into a meaningful developmental context. Ways of meeting an individual child's needs (e.g., delayed language or home-school language differences) are notably presented.

SENSORY AND ART, Module 130, 24 minutes. This exceptionally wellmade module focuses on allowing children to explore objects through each of the five senses in a variety of settings; hence, critical learning becomes meaningful. The development of brain processes is apparent as we see the care givers, infants, and toddlers engage in shared activities. The tenderness of being held and touched, the give-and-take of conversation and being read to, the smells of familiar food, and the comfort and pleasure of music are captured, and signs of the children's wonder and adventure are revealed. Teaching songs in the child's home language offers comfort and brings consistency and continuity into the child's "second home." Caregivers become more aware of the meaning of smell, touch, and taste, and use this knowledge to further the child's learning. Specific art activities are shown that engage the senses.

Extensions: This series comes with a guide book for using the videos as course material. It is also possible to use the guide to selectively fit the needs of a particular setting and audience. Each module stands on its own and can be used to introduce, reinforce, and refresh concepts of quality in infant and toddler care. This series is well worth the viewing and discussion time.