The Infant/Toddler Teacher’s ERS Toolbox

1. The Infant/Toddler Teacher’s ERS Toolbox Providing teachers with the “tools” they need to implement the Environment Rating Scales

2. Objectives Review the role of the early childhood teacher in creating high quality experiences for infants and toddlers. Gain understanding of how the Environment Rating Scales (ERS) can be used to support program planning and growth.

3. About the Authors Thelma Harms Richard Clifford Debby Cryer

4. About the Authors • University of North Carolina

5. About the Assessors The PA Key ERS Team has 16 Assessors. The Assessors have, on average, more than 18 years of ECE experience.

6. About the Assessors • We want to see programs do well on the ERS. We want ECE teachers to like where they work and feel supported. • Like you, we want good things for all children.

7. A Teacher’s Role

8. Environment Rating Scales & Best Practice Working Together

9. ERS & Best Practice • Look at what actually happens in the classroom. • Change and adapt as we learn more. • Notes for Clarification! (www.ersi.info) • Emphasize developmentally appropriate practice – teachers and kids working together to explore and experience.

10. Developmentally Appropriate Practice = Best Practice To make good decisions, teachers consider what they know: (1)about child development and learning, (2) about each child as an individual, and (3) about the social and cultural contexts in which each child lives. http://www.naeyc.org/DAP

11. Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) “ . . practice that promotes young children’s optimal learning and development.”

12. The PigglyWigglies

13. You are unsure about what/how many materials and when they should be accessible and what the Assessor is looking for Assessors are “unfriendly” You want more feedback before, during, and after the assessment You want longer/multi-day assessments What you’ve told us about the ERS

14. I Spy . . . with my little eye.

15. It was Observed!

16. Much of the day . . .

17. Much of the Day • Much of the day: In most items, “much of the day” is associated with the children’s access to materials typically used indoors. It means most of the time that any child maybe awake and able to play. If children are prevented from using materials for long periods by overly long routines when the children have to wait with nothing to do, being kept in groups that they are not engaged in, or being kept in areas where access is not possible, then credit cannot be given for “much of the day”

18. WWW.ERSI.INFO PAKEYS.org

19. Enough is enough . . . Or is it? Choosing Materials

20. A wide variety of Books • Is this a picture of an animal? • This one? How about this one? Or this?

21. Creepers and Crawlers and Walkers – Oh My!

22. She’s TOUCHING me! Working with a group that includes everyone from non-mobile infants to walkers will also impact the way you use your available space(s).

23. What do outdoor experiences look like for infants and toddlers? Get outside!

24. your classroom doesn’t stop at the door . . .

25. Television, Video, Computers with Infants and Toddlers

26. Real experiences lead to real interactions Among the many reasons why television & computers are not considered appropriate for very young children is that they take away from the interactions that are so critical to development . . . especially language development.

27. Pardon me, what did you say?

28. Looking at Routines as Interactions and not chores

29. We want to be a quiet observer

30. Some things you would tell one another about the ERS: “To get ready for the observation, it is best to just follow the routine daily, don’t short cut. This way you & your children will be more comfortable.” “. . . practice what you are supposed to do on a daily basis . . .” “Take the ERS training.”

31. Our Favorite “Assessors”