Guiding Behavior in the Preschool Classroom - Part 3, Observing and Investigating

​There are times when teachers are implementing positive guidance techniques in the classroom and challenging behaviors still occur.  In these situations, it becomes essential for the teachers to become skilled observers in the classroom.  The same way that an investigative reporter tries to find out the answer to a mystery, a teacher must investigate what happens in the classroom. 
 

• The Before – When a child continues to display challenging behaviors, the teacher needs to investigate what happens before and after the behavior.  There could be a trigger that occurs right before the behavior each time.  For example, if a toddler is consistently biting other children in the classroom, the trigger could be when another child gets too close and makes the child feel threatened.  If there is a consistent pattern that shows a trigger and then the behavior, then the teacher’s primary task is to eliminate the trigger to reduce the behavior.  For the biting toddler, the teacher may encourage the toddler to tell other children to “stop” when they get too close in order to prevent the child from biting.

 

• The After -  In other cases, a child may be demonstrating a challenging behavior because of a desired consequence.  For example, a child who desperately wants attention may hit his classmates just to receive additional attention from his teachers.  In this type of situation, the teacher may need to remove the desired consequence from the child to reduce the negative behavior.  Instead of offering negative attention to the child who hits his friend, the teacher may need to offer all of her attention to the child who was hurt.  Then the teacher needs to find ways to offer the child positive attention when he is following the classroom rules.

 

• Finding Support – Even the most skilled teachers sometimes need an outside perspective to take a look at the classroom to investigate and see patterns.  When a teacher is with the children each and every day, it can be hard to step back and offer an unbiased opinion.  A new set of eyes can see the classroom with a fresh perspective and observe triggers and consequences that the classroom teacher may not see.  It is also extremely important for the teachers to partner with the child’s family to receive the family perspective on how to help the child.  The family knows what motivates the child, what the child is afraid of, and how to calm him down when he is upset.  This is information can be the key to solving a complicated mystery.

 
The reason that teachers want to solve these mysteries is to help the children in their care.  Teachers want to help their students learn to be a part of the classroom community and work together with others.  In order to do this, early childhood educators must work hard to be problem-solvers.