SAUSD's Amplifying Leadership Podcast

5. Empathy and Strategy: Understanding and Supporting Early Learners in the Classroom

• Bianca Barquin • Season 1 • Episode 5

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What if the challenging behaviors of your early learners are actually their way of communicating their needs and emotions? This episode takes you on a journey into the fascinating world of early learning with Diana Torres, Damaris Sandoval, and Andrew Montoya. We explore the importance of empathetic connections and unique insights into how we can understand these silent messages behind every action. Diana gives us an insight into the significance of understanding the 'why' behind every behavior, while Damaris elaborates on the impactful role of classroom environments and their contribution to a child's cognitive, social, emotional and imaginative growth. Andrew redefines our perception of transitions, viewing them not just as physical relocations but as behavioral recalibrations.

We also venture into the important realm of trauma-informed approaches in early learning. The episode emphasizes the collective effort required from educators, specialists, and administrators to set clear expectations and develop mentally appropriate strategies. We discuss how to create safe, predictable environments and build meaningful relationships, that can help mitigate the impacts of trauma. The focus is on understanding these silent messages hidden in the behaviors of our little ones to foster an environment that facilitates success and holistic development. Join us as we strive to decipher these encoded messages and pave the way for our young explorers to navigate their early learning journeys with confidence.

Links:
NCPMI Hot Button Activity

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Bianca Barquin:

Welcome back to SAUSD's Amplifying Leadership. I'm your host, Bianca Barquin. Our journey today leads us into the intricate world of early learning, a pivotal period shaping a child's educational journey, especially now with universal pre-kindergarten in play, younger souls are entering our educational realms. Their behaviors, often perceived as challenging, paint a mosaic of their inner world and unexpressed needs. Today we weave through insightful discussions with Diana Torres, our Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, Damaris Sandoval, our go-to specialist in Early Learning, and Andrew Montoya, a Behavior Intervention maestro. Diana Torres, taking us into her world, beautifully elucidates the importance of building empathetic connections and a profound understanding of the why behind every behavior.

Diana Torres:

Well, first, and foremost, I want to start by thanking you for giving me the opportunity to be here today with Andrew and with Damaris to talk about this really important work, the important work that's happening in our school district, especially with what you mentioned during your opening our UPK initiative and the fact that children are coming to us younger and younger, and so there's some considerations around that.

Diana Torres:

And so, in answer to your question, I think what I'll say that the link between the challenging behaviors that we're seeing and the adults in our classrooms, it really goes back to what you said in the opening as well, empathy and relationships.

Diana Torres:

So when you take the time to try to understand the why behind the behavior, I think that then you're able to really kind of target the behavior and sometimes see that it's not, it changes your perspective. You no longer see it as a challenging behavior, you see it as a need that needs to be met right, and there are times that, for a variety of reasons maybe a child who's still learning to communicate, maybe in a language that's something different than the home language, sometimes those are some of those considerations, but that only comes when you take the time to get to know the child and I think that that personalized approach is really the way that you not only build relationships with the child and the family, but then it starts, I think the perspective starts to change. It's not necessarily a challenging behavior, it's just one that maybe we typically haven't seen in the classroom, because now the kiddos are coming to our classroom settings younger.

Bianca Barquin:

A need that needs to be met. Diana's words echo, reminding us that these behaviors are not mere disruptions, but a nonverbalized plea, possibly arising from a myriad of root causes language barriers, unmet emotional needs or simply an unfamiliarity with the structured world of a classroom. To unravel these knots, we take a closer look at the impact of the learning environment, a canvas where these behaviors often play out vividly. Damaris Sandoval weaves into our understanding the quintessential role of classroom environments, and her tale doesn't just speak of mere spaces but invites us to envision realms where little hearts and minds explore, express and sometimes exasperate.

Damaris Sandoval:

Just like Diana said, it's very important to have that relationship with our students, but it's also important as a teacher to have safe classroom environment for our students to be able to understand those difficult behaviors, especially when they're so young. They're coming in younger and younger now. Now we're having four-year-olds coming into our classrooms and it's important to have well-organized classroom, clear areas or centers, different activities. For example, a cute little reading corner that's inviting and encouraging, you're encouraging the love for reading and language development. Having a dramatic play area to build that social-emotional component and build empathy and imagination. Having a block area for building and supporting that cognitive and problem-solving, math and manipulative hands-on activities that promote the early math, science, exploring and understanding the world around them. All of these components it's important to have in our classroom. But one of my favorites is providing a safe and calming space for our students. Sometimes our students feel frustrated or they're having a bad morning and they need that time and that space to feel comfortable.

Bianca Barquin:

The blocks, the reading corner, the dramatic play area. Each component meticulously curated, serves as a conduit for developing various facets of a child-- cognitive, social, emotional and imaginative. Damaris emphasizes the creation of these areas, including a calming space, a gentle harbor where turbulent emotional storms can be soothed. An interesting query arises: how universally are these areas adopted and implemented?

Damaris Sandoval:

Yes, we're in that process and that's the beauty of all of this. Teachers are actually having the opportunity to build these areas and we're purchasing materials and it's great to go into these classrooms and see that change and see how students are actually engaging in all of these activities and they're learning through all of these centers and using all aspects of the classroom.

Bianca Barquin:

We're in that process. Damaris's words underscore an evolving reality where the conscious, intentional creation of these spaces is happening, lighting the way for our young explorers to safely navigate through their early learning journeys. Transitions subtle, yet significant. Andrew Montoya paints a vivid picture of transitions, not merely as physical relocations but behavioral recalibrations. How does the energy shift from the boisterous playground to the structured classroom?

Andrew Montoya:

I think it's also important to think about those transitions and how we're literally transitioning from one physical space that expects a certain type of behavior into a new space that expects a completely different type of behavior. And we can see those as opportunities to kind of break the behavioral expectations in one environment and set up for the behavior expectations in another. And those check-ins allow us to see which students are ready for those transitions and which students might need a little bit more, as Diana said, support with their behavior before entering. If we think about when students are coming into the classroom, they're coming in from outside, from running around, from engaging with their peers, where you can be loud, where you can be fast, and that's okay. And now we're going into an environment where we don't want you to be loud and fast, at least not initially, and so I was thinking more in that sense. But even within your classroom, if there are different behavior expectations within those centers, being able to kind of create a break, break that space and then provide the next expectation. It's really important.

Bianca Barquin:

These shifts, these transitions encapsulate opportunities for redirecting behavioral expectations. But beyond these transitions and subsequent expectations lies a deeper inquiry understanding that behaviors emanate from a deeper source, a root that, when understood, allows for a nurturing growth. Root cause, an expression that takes us deeper into our understanding of behavior. Andrew, sharing personal insights elucidates that immediate reactions, though prevalent, often cloud the pathway to understanding the underlying triggers of behaviors.

Andrew Montoya:

That root cause is really important. But before we get there, the first part of your question was how do we create that time and space and avoid that immediate reaction, r ight? And I just wanted to kind of throw out there, I have a four-year-old and a two-year-old at home and so I understand that there are a lot of immediate reactions going on in my house as well. But I think that part of it allows us to look at the behavior from the lens of the root cause, so I didn't want to skip over that part of it. I think it's really important to have the self-awareness and the self-management skills as adults.

Andrew Montoya:

There's a really cool activity that I like to do. It's called the Hot Button Activity. I'll go ahead and link it, but really it just kind of walks you through what are my hot buttons, what are the things that get under my skin, what impact does that have on me? And then how might that impact my interaction with students? And I think understanding that allows us to create some time and space so that we can look at the behavior from more of a functional lens rather than a reactive lens. So then when you start thinking about the functions of behavior, really there's two big functions and then we kind of go from there.

Andrew Montoya:

It's either getting or avoiding something. All behavior kind of serves those two main functions, getting or avoiding. You could get or avoid adult attention, peer attention, activities, items, sensory things are too loud, things move around too much, the lighting is off, whatever it is. And understanding what the need that behavior is serving for the student is really important. So I know if we have to see it through a student's lens, not through how it's impacting the environment, but what need is it meeting for the student? And it's really important to distinguish that, because my strategies for supporting a student who's trying to get out of something is going to be completely different and almost opposite in most cases for a student who's trying to get something. So being able to kind of distinguish that is important.

Bianca Barquin:

Unraveling behaviors through a lens of understanding, empathy, structured environments and a deep delve into the root causes becomes the harmonic symphony that paves the way for navigating through the intricate tapestry of Early Learning. Setting the stage for the developmental journey is crucial. Diana Torres amplifies the essentiality of clear expectations and establishing structure for these young minds. Clear expectations act as an unseen guide, directing them through the organized chaos that is the learning environment. But these expectations must not be rigid. They must be imbued with understanding and compassion.

Diana Torres:

I think the first thing I think of are clear expectations, right? Andrew mentioned earlier that the transition from the outside into the classroom--i f you know the outside rules but you don't know what's expected inside that classroom, how can you expect, right, a child or anyone really to be able to adhere to expectations? So much of that work has been done for years here in Santa Ana through PBIS, and so just teaching the expectations, I think, is something that has been super effective for classroom teachers, and then, when those expectations are taught, then reinforcing the behavior, right, through a variety of incentives, and I know there's lots of ideas and thoughts around that, but I think it's something that has proven to be successful in our classroom settings. The other, and I know this is again right, I mentioned earlier, our youngest learners are humans in smaller versions, right? So, just like all of us crave routine, crave structure, right, we all I know I have my routine.

Diana Torres:

We, I think, off mic, we talked about coffee and espresso, and I know 5 am that's when my first cup of coffee is served, and so I think the same holds true for our kids, and I know Andrew was talking earlier about his two year old and his four year old and, honestly, even I have two little ones you know eight and 11, they need structure, they need routines, and when kids know what to expect and what's coming, I think it makes for just a more harmonious kind of environment for our teachers and for the students. Damaris mentioned something earlier as well, and it was the use of visual supports, and I think that's pretty crucial. Sometimes we hear something, but if we don't have a visual anchor, it may not stick. I know that's true for me. I need visual anchors all the time, and so I think that's also a really, really effective strategy to support the types of expectations, right, that we have for children in our classrooms.

Bianca Barquin:

Damaris Sandoval echoes the sentiment that understanding each child is pivotal. By utilizing developmentally appropriate practices, we understand that there's a silent call from every misbehavior, a plea often masked by actions that may be perceived as disruptive or non-compliant.

Damaris Sandoval:

Developmentally appropriate helps you understand the child as a whole, because each child has their own individual needs and they make progress and grow at their own pace. So as educators, we're creating and nurturing an environment that's tailored to each child's needs and interests and accommodating various learning styles and supporting their development effectively. So developmentally appropriate encourages teachers to establish behavior expectations that are at the child's age level. For example, we have four-year-olds and these four-year-olds are sometimes, you go into these classrooms and are expected to sit at the carpet or doing work for 30 to 45 minutes. The expectation is too long for them and they can't attend too long. You see students wiggling in their chairs. You see them not paying attention, looking at something else, playing, fidgeting and what is appropriate for them? You can start off with maybe five minutes if the child can attend, and then slowly increase that time to be able to foster that child's needs.

Bianca Barquin:

It's not a singular battle. Educators aren't isolated soldiers in this quest to decipher and respond to challenging behaviors. As Diana mentions, the district is proactively providing learning opportunities.

Diana Torres:

That's where at the district level, it's really, it's been our responsibility and our response to provide professional learning opportunities related to developmentally appropriate practices, related to how to use the environment as the extension of learning opportunities, and so I think that what I would add is yes, there's all of this, but don't worry, there's somewhere in a team that's ready to support our teachers in the classroom so that they do feel equipped and they do feel that they have the skill set to respond in situations, to set up the classroom in a way that's going to help students be successful.

Bianca Barquin:

Delving deeper into the psychology behind challenging behaviors, Andrew Montoya enlightens us on trauma-informed teaching. It's not merely a buzzword. It's a lens through which educators can perceive the unseen struggles that many students bear. Trauma doesn't always scream. Sometimes it whispers through subtle behaviors, reactions or resistances encountered in the classroom.

Andrew Montoya:

When we think of trauma-informed, a lot of times we think of, when we hear trauma, we think of those big events that have a huge impact on us. But I actually wanted to start with what trauma is and what it encompasses, because, although some of those would be considered trauma, such as abuse, neglect, things like that, trauma also includes things like food insecurity. It includes things like housing insecurity. It includes things like a sense of safety in my community. Those are probably going to be a lot more common that we see in the classroom. You might not be able to pinpoint what it is, but we might encounter those more often in our classroom. The next thing I wanted to touch on is the impact that has on the person. It really does start and it's all in the brain.

Andrew Montoya:

When we think about are kids ready to learn? What we're really saying is are they operating in their prefrontal cortex? Are they in that executive functioning part of their brain that deals with organization, time management, planning, ability to focus? When you experience trauma even those more broad you're finding more broad sense, it impacts that prefrontal cortex. It becomes harder to focus, it becomes harder for organization and time management and motivation and things like that. We might see that in the classroom, as the student's disorganized, the student doesn't know how to focus, the student won't start their task or whatever that is, and to just understand that those are also impacts of trauma. Now what we can do, again, going back to a lot of what we've been saying, this is really the root of why we want safe, predictable environments and establishing meaningful connections and relationships with students, because those are going to help us kind of buffer the impacts of trauma.

Bianca Barquin:

As the narrative weaves through diverse perspectives, the confluence of understanding, structure and support emerges as a holistic approach towards managing behaviors in Early Learning. It's a collective endeavor: educators, specialists and administrators joining forces to carve out a path that encompasses clear expectations, developmentally appropriate strategies, and a trauma-informed perspective. Join us for part two, where we continue to explore the myriad facets of behavior management in early learning environments, deciphering the silent messages behind every action and sculpting an atmosphere that beckons success, understanding and holistic development. So until our next deep dive, keep amplifying, keep leading and keep making a difference within the walls of our schools and in the hearts of our students. I'm Bianca Barquin, and this has been SAUSD's Amplifying Leadership. Stay Inspired.