The Early Childhood Research Podcast

Classroom management is an essential component of every teacher’s life, and most teachers spend a considerable amount of time trying, refining, adapting and experimenting until they feel they have a handle on it. But is our classroom management style effective for creating a smooth, well-functioning classroom but leaving some of our kids out in the cold? You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. Dr Clodie Tal Today I’m so pleased to have Dr Clodie Tal who is the Head of the Master’s degree program in Early Childhood Education at the Levinsky College of Teachers’ Education in Tel Aviv, Israel. Clodie’s background * PhD in psychology from Bar-Ilan University, Israel * Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from California State University in the US. * She has been training undergraduate and post-graduate early childhood teachers for a long time and, academically, her special interests include classroom management, teacher values, teacher-child and teacher-parent relationships. * Clodie has been involved in extensive in-service training in communities throughout Israel and when you listen to her talk about how they encourage their student teachers to develop classroom management skills you’ll find that it’s very hands-on, very reflective and perhaps quite confronting for those students, too. Clodie is very much in touch with everyday teacher concerns and she feels very strongly about the need for an intentional and well considered focus on classroom management. Clodie’s new book Moral Classroom Management in Early Childhood Education. You can find a link to the book on Clodie’s Classroom Management website. Liz: Clodie Tal, welcome to The Early Childhood Research Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. Clodie: Thank you for inviting me to this talk. What is moral classroom management? Liz: Congratulations, on the publication of your book Moral Classroom Management in Early Childhood Education. It’s an interesting title, because I’d imagine most teachers would bristle if we suggest that their own management style isn’t as moral as it could be. All of us have our own sense of morality and ethics, so I’m interested in hearing what led you down this path of what you term moral classroom management? What does moral classroom management mean to you and in what ways does it differ from other ways of managing classrooms? Clodie: I do understand the skepticism related to the overuse of morality in the title, that’s why I really do appreciate your question. Everyone would declare that he is moral; no one would admit that he or she is not. I think that there are big gaps between what people declare and what they really do in their daily practices. Liz: That is very true. Classroom power struggles and bias Clodie: Looking at the class from a moral classroom management perspective means that you have to take into consideration the power struggles in your own class, power struggles between children and between the staff and the children. To be able to overcome your own weakness to prefer, let’s say, the bright children or the children who are similar to your own background. To be able to see the well-being of all children, to accept the fact that children who don’t achieve so well or whose behavior is really challenging and sometimes quite...

Are you worried that your child is a late talker? That they don’t know as many words as other children their age, or can’t put the words together into a phrase? This post tells you what you can do! You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. What is ‘normal’? Before we start today we need to ask the question, in terms of language development, what is ‘normal’? Firstly, we must keep in mind that there needs to be a fairly wide range to what is considered normal. Comparing your own child directly with another might not be reassuring, and we shouldn’t look around at playgroup, for example, and start rating our kids by intelligence or the number of friends they have, or their ability to paint a masterpiece. Children develop differently, and that’s OK. If we do have concerns we should visit our doctor or other health professional and ask for their opinion. Early intervention is the very best way of helping struggling children in the long term, so I’m not saying ignore developmental delay. But I am suggesting that sometimes we worry too much, especially if we’re doing the comparison thing! My first daughter spoke in full sentences from a very young age, but my second daughter took much, much longer. We’re talking years longer! There would have been no point getting anxious about her development because they were two very different children with different personalities and gifts. They’re grown now, and my first daughter communicates really well through writing and my second daughter communicates powerfully through her art and music. There’s no difference in their understanding and expression of language, just in how it’s ended up being channelled. 3 to 12 months When talking about language development, the first year is very important. It’s the time when the foundation is being laid so the stronger we can make it, the better. We want to encourage them to make sounds, cooing and babbling and gesturing. They may start to form their first words at around 12 months old. 12 to 18 months From 12 to 18 months the first words start popping up and they begin adding to the vocabulary. They can understand ‘no,’ but may not obey! If your child isn’t babbling or using gestures by 12 months then talk to your doctor. 18 months to 2 years From 18 months to 2 years children start to put 2 words together to make a kind of sentence. They should understand most of what you say, and you’ll probably understand them. If your child doesn’t have any words at 18 months, then see your doctor. 2 to 3 years From 2-3 years children start using longer, more complex sentences, and their pronunciation is getting better. They can play and talk at the same time, and strangers can probably understand much of what a 3 year old is saying. 3 to 5 years From 3-5 we get longer and more complex conversations. They’ll want to talk about lots of different things and they’ll learn many more words. They might make up funny stories and will use better grammar. For the first three years children understand a lot more than they can say. This is why it’s so important for us to be interacting and chatting face to face with our young children even if we feel a bit silly or that it’s a waste of our very limited time. Language development is not just about learning to say individual words, it helps children express what they need or what they feel. It encourages thinking and problem solving and helps them make friends and build relationships.

Are you worried that your child is a late talker? That they don’t know as many words as other children their age, or can’t put the words together into a phrase? This post tells you what you can do! You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. What is ‘normal’? Before we start today we need to ask the question, in terms of language development, what is ‘normal’? Firstly, we must keep in mind that there needs to be a fairly wide range to what is considered normal. Comparing your own child directly with another might not be reassuring, and we shouldn’t look around at playgroup, for example, and start rating our kids by intelligence or the number of friends they have, or their ability to paint a masterpiece. Children develop differently, and that’s OK. If we do have concerns we should visit our doctor or other health professional and ask for their opinion. Early intervention is the very best way of helping struggling children in the long term, so I’m not saying ignore developmental delay. But I am suggesting that sometimes we worry too much, especially if we’re doing the comparison thing! My first daughter spoke in full sentences from a very young age, but my second daughter took much, much longer. We’re talking years longer! There would have been no point getting anxious about her development because they were two very different children with different personalities and gifts. They’re grown now, and my first daughter communicates really well through writing and my second daughter communicates powerfully through her art and music. There’s no difference in their understanding and expression of language, just in how it’s ended up being channelled. 3 to 12 months When talking about language development, the first year is very important. It’s the time when the foundation is being laid so the stronger we can make it, the better. We want to encourage them to make sounds, cooing and babbling and gesturing. They may start to form their first words at around 12 months old. 12 to 18 months From 12 to 18 months the first words start popping up and they begin adding to the vocabulary. They can understand ‘no,’ but may not obey! If your child isn’t babbling or using gestures by 12 months then talk to your doctor. 18 months to 2 years From 18 months to 2 years children start to put 2 words together to make a kind of sentence. They should understand most of what you say, and you’ll probably understand them. If your child doesn’t have any words at 18 months, then see your doctor. 2 to 3 years From 2-3 years children start using longer, more complex sentences, and their pronunciation is getting better. They can play and talk at the same time, and strangers can probably understand much of what a 3 year old is saying. 3 to 5 years From 3-5 we get longer and more complex conversations. They’ll want to talk about lots of different things and they’ll learn many more words. They might make up funny stories and will use better grammar. For the first three years children understand a lot more than they can say. This is why it’s so important for us to be interacting and chatting face to face with our young children even if we feel a bit silly or that it’s a waste of our very limited time. Language development is not just about learning to say individual words, it helps children express what they need or what they feel. It encourages thinking and problem solving and helps them make friends and build relationships.

There is more to school readiness than a child being the right age, knowing some numbers and learning to share. School readiness is about our whole community. This post talks about the what families, early care providers, teachers and schools can do to give children the best possible start to ‘big’ school. You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. What is school readiness? In the 1800s Horace Mann said, and I paraphrase, “Education is the great equalizer, the balance-wheel of the social machinery.” He believed that getting everyone into school would mean equal opportunities for all. However, by the mid 1900s it was realised that this wasn’t enough. Children from poorer families were not growing up and having the same rates of employment and income as middle class kids. There are many reasons for this, of course, but today we’re talking about school readiness. What it is and why it’s so important, not just for individual children and their families, but for society as a whole. School readiness is controversial The very term, ‘school readiness’ is controversial. If you use Google Scholar you’ll find nearly 150 different definitions, so how are parents who are wanting to help their child get ready for school supposed to know what will be the most beneficial? Traditionally, school readiness was simply a matter of chronological age and as long as a child could manage basic expectations for that age group they were considered ready for school. In other words, it all came down to the individual child. The downside to this approach was that it was too simplistic. It meant that early childhood services and the community did not really have anything to do with preparing a child for school, and it also meant that schools did not have to think about the needs of the children coming in. These days the term ‘school readiness’ makes you think of a child knowing basic numbers and letters and how to play nicely with others. However, this is also too limited. School readiness is much more than that! A research definition The definition I’m using today is broader. Please keep in mind that this is a research-based post, so my comments are based on research papers I’ve been reading, and most are not my own original ideas. You can find the list of papers at the end of this post. And just to clarify, I’m talking about the first year of formalised school, whatever that is called in your region. I refer to Kindergarten a lot because that’s what it’s called in my state, in other states it’s called Prep, and I know in some countries Kindergarten happens prior to official schooling. This definition of school readiness is actually an equation. Ready families + Ready early childhood services + Ready Communities + Ready schools = Ready children. In other words, children will only be ready for school if their families, day care providers and communities have given them the opportunities they need to be ready. This takes the onus off the child and hands responsibility back to us. It would be good to add a ready society to that list also, because society as a whole needs to accept the importance of preparing children for school so they’ll put money and programming into supporting it. Research strongly shows that supporting children and their families prior to school entry is much more successfu...

There is more to school readiness than a child being the right age, knowing some numbers and learning to share. School readiness is about our whole community. This post talks about the what families, early care providers, teachers and schools can do to give children the best possible start to ‘big’ school. You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. What is school readiness? In the 1800s Horace Mann said, and I paraphrase, “Education is the great equalizer, the balance-wheel of the social machinery.” He believed that getting everyone into school would mean equal opportunities for all. However, by the mid 1900s it was realised that this wasn’t enough. Children from poorer families were not growing up and having the same rates of employment and income as middle class kids. There are many reasons for this, of course, but today we’re talking about school readiness. What it is and why it’s so important, not just for individual children and their families, but for society as a whole. School readiness is controversial The very term, ‘school readiness’ is controversial. If you use Google Scholar you’ll find nearly 150 different definitions, so how are parents who are wanting to help their child get ready for school supposed to know what will be the most beneficial? Traditionally, school readiness was simply a matter of chronological age and as long as a child could manage basic expectations for that age group they were considered ready for school. In other words, it all came down to the individual child. The downside to this approach was that it was too simplistic. It meant that early childhood services and the community did not really have anything to do with preparing a child for school, and it also meant that schools did not have to think about the needs of the children coming in. These days the term ‘school readiness’ makes you think of a child knowing basic numbers and letters and how to play nicely with others. However, this is also too limited. School readiness is much more than that! A research definition The definition I’m using today is broader. Please keep in mind that this is a research-based post, so my comments are based on research papers I’ve been reading, and most are not my own original ideas. You can find the list of papers at the end of this post. And just to clarify, I’m talking about the first year of formalised school, whatever that is called in your region. I refer to Kindergarten a lot because that’s what it’s called in my state, in other states it’s called Prep, and I know in some countries Kindergarten happens prior to official schooling. This definition of school readiness is actually an equation. Ready families + Ready early childhood services + Ready Communities + Ready schools = Ready children. In other words, children will only be ready for school if their families, day care providers and communities have given them the opportunities they need to be ready. This takes the onus off the child and hands responsibility back to us. It would be good to add a ready society to that list also, because society as a whole needs to accept the importance of preparing children for school so they’ll put money and programming into supporting it. Research strongly shows that supporting children and their families prior to school entry is much more success...

Anyone who cares for or is teaching children with autism needs to listen to this interview. There are so many helpful tips, stories and suggestions from this lovely Australian family. You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. This post contains one Amazon affiliate link. Links from this post * Brad and Jenn’s website * First and Then App * Sensory Tools: providers of courses and products regarding sensory issues (this is not an affiliate link) * All Things Autism: A youtube video with Jen and Brad talking about their work. They’ll be adding more autism-related videos in the future. Summary of Part 1 Hello. I’m Liz, the host of the Early Childhood Research Podcast. We’re so glad you’ve joined us today. This is episode 12, and it’s a follow on from last week’s interview about loving and educating children with autism. This interview is with Jenn and Brad Ratcliffe who have 2 boys, aged 15 and 12, who both have moderate to severe autism. They have also both worked in education. We’ve talked about their experiences leading up to diagnosis, the many, many classes and therapies they’ve tried, and the difficulties special needs can put on the family, particularly if there’s long-term denial. On the teaching side, we’ve talked about how we can develop relationships with non-communicative children, how to help our neuro-typical children understand and be supportive of their autistic friend, and how to communicate with parents of special needs students to give them confidence and to develop an open and trusting dialogue. Education Podcast Network This podcast is part of The Education Podcast Network at www.edupodcastnetwork.com. Let’s move on to the next part of our interview! Teaching children with autism: strategies for mainstream teachers LIZ: If you could choose 3 strategies or priorities for a mainstream teacher to incorporate into their inclusive classroom, what would they be? Strategy 1: Visual supports JEN: Definitely the first thing that I think all children on the spectrum as well as others can benefit from, is visual supports. Using visual support for the timetable is important because a lot of kids on the spectrum can have anxiety around what’s going to be happening next. So supporting the day, and the next activity that’s coming, and using timers and verbal prompting. Giving advanced notice of any changes that are going to take place, especially in a mainstream school. Sometimes it can be, ‘we can’t go to the library today, so we have to go tomorrow.’ Well, that might be enough to put someone on the spectrum into a meltdown. So we have to be able to advise them of that and supporting that visually as well is going to help the whole day for everybody. Strategy 2: Calming strategies The second thing would be to have calming strategies. Some children on the spectrum actually listen better while they’re fiddling with something or they’ve got a sensory toy to hold on to. It’s interesting because you think,

Anyone who cares for or is teaching children with autism needs to listen to this interview. There are so many helpful tips, stories and suggestions from this lovely Australian family. You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. This post contains one Amazon affiliate link. Links from this post * Brad and Jenn’s website * First and Then App * Sensory Tools: providers of courses and products regarding sensory issues (this is not an affiliate link) * All Things Autism: A youtube video with Jen and Brad talking about their work. They’ll be adding more autism-related videos in the future. Summary of Part 1 Hello. I’m Liz, the host of the Early Childhood Research Podcast. We’re so glad you’ve joined us today. This is episode 12, and it’s a follow on from last week’s interview about loving and educating children with autism. This interview is with Jenn and Brad Ratcliffe who have 2 boys, aged 15 and 12, who both have moderate to severe autism. They have also both worked in education. We’ve talked about their experiences leading up to diagnosis, the many, many classes and therapies they’ve tried, and the difficulties special needs can put on the family, particularly if there’s long-term denial. On the teaching side, we’ve talked about how we can develop relationships with non-communicative children, how to help our neuro-typical children understand and be supportive of their autistic friend, and how to communicate with parents of special needs students to give them confidence and to develop an open and trusting dialogue. Education Podcast Network This podcast is part of The Education Podcast Network at www.edupodcastnetwork.com. Let’s move on to the next part of our interview! Teaching children with autism: strategies for mainstream teachers LIZ: If you could choose 3 strategies or priorities for a mainstream teacher to incorporate into their inclusive classroom, what would they be? Strategy 1: Visual supports JEN: Definitely the first thing that I think all children on the spectrum as well as others can benefit from, is visual supports. Using visual support for the timetable is important because a lot of kids on the spectrum can have anxiety around what’s going to be happening next. So supporting the day, and the next activity that’s coming, and using timers and verbal prompting. Giving advanced notice of any changes that are going to take place, especially in a mainstream school. Sometimes it can be, ‘we can’t go to the library today, so we have to go tomorrow.’ Well, that might be enough to put someone on the spectrum into a meltdown. So we have to be able to advise them of that and supporting that visually as well is going to help the whole day for everybody. Strategy 2: Calming strategies The second thing would be to have calming strategies. Some children on the spectrum actually listen better while they’re fiddling with something or they’ve got a sensory toy to hold on to. It’s interesting because you think,

Do you have a child with autism? Do you teach a child with autism? Listen to this interview for some excellent tips and ideas from this wonderful family! You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. This post contains one Amazon affiliate link. Education Podcast Network Welcome, it’s great to have you here. I’m Liz and I’m the host of The Early Childhood Research Podcast. We’re part of the Education Podcast Network so if you’re looking for more podcasts to listen to, pop over to www.edupodcastnetwork.com Jennifer and Brad Ratcliffe This is episode 11 and today I’m switching focus from pure research to practical experience. I’m interviewing 2 educators, Jennifer and Brad Ratcliffe, who are also the parents of 2 boys with autism. We’ll be talking about ways to integrate children with special needs into the classroom, the effective use of support teachers, how family life is changed and the extra pressures that autism brings. I’ve split the interview into 2 parts rather than making one extra long episode. So this is part 1 and you’ll find the rest of the interview in episode 12. This was Not on the Brochure Jenn has written a book called This Was Not On The Brochure. It’s a book about how to live a great life even when it has handed you what you didn’t expect. Brad is working on a super useful app and together they’re writing another book, an A-Z of helpful tips for parents of children with autism. Just so you know, Jenn is no longer in the classroom. She is now a successful businesswoman which started out because she needed to be able to work from home in order to be there for her boys. Now to the interview! Jenn & Brad Ratcliffe, I’m so glad you could join me today. JENN & BRAD: Thank you. It’s great to be with you. I’ve been really looking forward to this interview because although this is a research-based podcast, and both of you have worked in, or are currently working in education, our focus today is for you to speak to us as parents. To give us an understanding of working children with autism from a parent’s perspective. Diagnosis You have 2 boys, Cameron and Coby, that were both diagnosed with moderate to severe autism when they were young. At what ages were they diagnosed, and what behaviours did you notice in the lead up to being diagnosed? JENN: Cameron was around 3 years old when he went for his assessment, on his third birthday actually. I remember that quite clearly because it was not what we were hoping for or expecting. Coby was a little bit younger, he was 2.5 years when he went for his assessment. The reason we took them was, initially we thought Cameron might have had a hearing problem. We weren’t sure if he could hear us because quite often he’d be in his own little world. We’d be calling him but he did not seem to be responding, it seemed like he wasn’t understanding. So initially we took him for a hearing test and that came back clear, but by that stage we’d started to realise. We’d spoken to different people and had started to think it had something to do with autism. What we noticed was that he’d go into his own shell and socially he didn’t seem to be interested in other people, or even us. And as parents we tried really,

Do you have a child with autism? Do you teach a child with autism? Listen to this interview for some excellent tips and ideas from this wonderful family! You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. This post contains one Amazon affiliate link. Education Podcast Network Welcome, it’s great to have you here. I’m Liz and I’m the host of The Early Childhood Research Podcast. We’re part of the Education Podcast Network so if you’re looking for more podcasts to listen to, pop over to www.edupodcastnetwork.com Jennifer and Brad Ratcliffe This is episode 11 and today I’m switching focus from pure research to practical experience. I’m interviewing 2 educators, Jennifer and Brad Ratcliffe, who are also the parents of 2 boys with autism. We’ll be talking about ways to integrate children with special needs into the classroom, the effective use of support teachers, how family life is changed and the extra pressures that autism brings. I’ve split the interview into 2 parts rather than making one extra long episode. So this is part 1 and you’ll find the rest of the interview in episode 12. This was Not on the Brochure Jenn has written a book called This Was Not On The Brochure. It’s a book about how to live a great life even when it has handed you what you didn’t expect. Brad is working on a super useful app and together they’re writing another book, an A-Z of helpful tips for parents of children with autism. Just so you know, Jenn is no longer in the classroom. She is now a successful businesswoman which started out because she needed to be able to work from home in order to be there for her boys. Now to the interview! Jenn & Brad Ratcliffe, I’m so glad you could join me today. JENN & BRAD: Thank you. It’s great to be with you. I’ve been really looking forward to this interview because although this is a research-based podcast, and both of you have worked in, or are currently working in education, our focus today is for you to speak to us as parents. To give us an understanding of working children with autism from a parent’s perspective. Diagnosis You have 2 boys, Cameron and Coby, that were both diagnosed with moderate to severe autism when they were young. At what ages were they diagnosed, and what behaviours did you notice in the lead up to being diagnosed? JENN: Cameron was around 3 years old when he went for his assessment, on his third birthday actually. I remember that quite clearly because it was not what we were hoping for or expecting. Coby was a little bit younger, he was 2.5 years when he went for his assessment. The reason we took them was, initially we thought Cameron might have had a hearing problem. We weren’t sure if he could hear us because quite often he’d be in his own little world. We’d be calling him but he did not seem to be responding, it seemed like he wasn’t understanding. So initially we took him for a hearing test and that came back clear, but by that stage we’d started to realise. We’d spoken to different people and had started to think it had something to do with autism. What we noticed was that he’d go into his own shell and socially he didn’t seem to be interested in other people, or even us. And as parents we tried really,

Want to listen to an expert talk about the most essential addition strategies our young children should be learning for future success? You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. Dr Elida Laski This is episode 10 and today I’m speaking with Dr Elida Laski who is an Assistant Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College in the US. Elida’s primary research focus is mathematics in early childhood and she has published many papers and won many awards for her work, including being highlighted in the Wall Street Journal, Science Daily and CBS Radio. For our purposes, however, her most outstanding qualification is that she was, originally, a Kindergarten teacher, so she knows what she’s talking about! If you want to check out her research further, pop over to The Thinking and Learning Lab. The Education Podcast Network The Early Childhood Research Podcast is very proud to now be part of the Education Podcast Network. There are a growing number of excellent education podcasts there, so if you’re keen to find more podcasts to listen to, go over and try some of them out. Now to the interview. Elida Laski, welcome to The Early Childhood Research Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you so much for having me, Elizabeth. I think what you’re doing is really important. What is decomposition? Today we’re talking about one of your areas of research, and that is the early use of decomposition for addition and its relation to base-10 knowledge. When I hear the word ‘decomposition’ the first thing that pops into my head is the picture of an apple core slowly rotting away in my garden. What does ‘decomposition’ mean when we’re thinking in terms of mathematics and young children? Well, I think your image of an apple core rotting away captures the essence of decomposition, it’s breaking down. And that’s how we refer to it with the mathematics of young children. But decomposition is just the breaking down of a problem that might seem difficult or more complex into simpler problems that are easier for children to handle. So, I could give you some examples of the kinds of problems children might use decomposition on and how they would break them down. Types of decomposition There are a number of different kinds of decomposition. * One of them that is more familiar to early childhood teachers is the breaking down of problems into known facts. For example, if the child was given the problem 6+8 they might automatically know that 6+6=12 and then 2 more would be 14. * Another kind of decomposition is when you have 2 double digit numbers and you break down the process of adding those together into first adding the tens and then adding the units. For 38+23 you would say 30+20 is 50, 8+3 is 11, 50+11 is 61. It allows them to perform mental math without having to worry about the algorithm of carrying the ones. * And then the final kind of decomposition that’s really quite common in the East Asian countries, and one that has been shown in my research to be really important for helping children do mental math, is known as going ‘through 10.’ That one would be, for example, if you had 24+9 the goal is to break down the 9 to get to the next possible decade. So you’d say, ‘24+6 is 30’ and then just add whatever’s left over, so you’d have 33.

Want to listen to an expert talk about the most essential addition strategies our young children should be learning for future success? You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. Dr Elida Laski This is episode 10 and today I’m speaking with Dr Elida Laski who is an Assistant Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College in the US. Elida’s primary research focus is mathematics in early childhood and she has published many papers and won many awards for her work, including being highlighted in the Wall Street Journal, Science Daily and CBS Radio. For our purposes, however, her most outstanding qualification is that she was, originally, a Kindergarten teacher, so she knows what she’s talking about! If you want to check out her research further, pop over to The Thinking and Learning Lab. The Education Podcast Network The Early Childhood Research Podcast is very proud to now be part of the Education Podcast Network. There are a growing number of excellent education podcasts there, so if you’re keen to find more podcasts to listen to, go over and try some of them out. Now to the interview. Elida Laski, welcome to The Early Childhood Research Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you so much for having me, Elizabeth. I think what you’re doing is really important. What is decomposition? Today we’re talking about one of your areas of research, and that is the early use of decomposition for addition and its relation to base-10 knowledge. When I hear the word ‘decomposition’ the first thing that pops into my head is the picture of an apple core slowly rotting away in my garden. What does ‘decomposition’ mean when we’re thinking in terms of mathematics and young children? Well, I think your image of an apple core rotting away captures the essence of decomposition, it’s breaking down. And that’s how we refer to it with the mathematics of young children. But decomposition is just the breaking down of a problem that might seem difficult or more complex into simpler problems that are easier for children to handle. So, I could give you some examples of the kinds of problems children might use decomposition on and how they would break them down. Types of decomposition There are a number of different kinds of decomposition. * One of them that is more familiar to early childhood teachers is the breaking down of problems into known facts. For example, if the child was given the problem 6+8 they might automatically know that 6+6=12 and then 2 more would be 14. * Another kind of decomposition is when you have 2 double digit numbers and you break down the process of adding those together into first adding the tens and then adding the units. For 38+23 you would say 30+20 is 50, 8+3 is 11, 50+11 is 61. It allows them to perform mental math without having to worry about the algorithm of carrying the ones. * And then the final kind of decomposition that’s really quite common in the East Asian countries, and one that has been shown in my research to be really important for helping children do mental math, is known as going ‘through 10.’ That one would be, for example, if you had 24+9 the goal is to break down the 9 to get to the next possible decade. So you’d say, ‘24+6 is 30’ and then just add whatever’s left over, so you’d have 33.

Environmental protection is such a huge and complicated subject, but we know it’s important to encourage a love of nature, and a desire to protect it, in our children. This post highlights how we can help our children understand sustainability, offers practical suggestions and notes common pitfalls to avoid. You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript. Transcript Click over to Can Young Children Help Create a Sustainable World to read the text for this podcast. You’ll also find the research credits there plus links to helpful organisations. Free bookmarks You can download these bookmarks here! There are 8 different bookmarks and they come in both colour and black and white. Looking for resources for outdoor learning? I recommend you take a look at Green Grubs Garden Club. Rosie is a New Zealand teacher who creates unique and beautiful teaching resources covering all sorts of bugs and other animals, and plants as well. She does have some free printables, too, so they’re a great way to get started! Leave a rating If you enjoyed this episode please add a review and rating on iTunes. It helps others find the podcast more easily. Or, if there was a particular point that resonated with you perhaps you could share that on your Facebook page or on Twitter? Previous Episodes * #0  The Early Childhood Research Podcast: An Introduction * #1  Healthy Eating in Young Children * #2  Developing Pre-Writing Skills * #3 Dealing with Bullying: 10 Proven Strategies * #4 School Readiness through Music * #5 What are the Rights of a Child? * #6 Does Movement Improve Learning Outcomes? * #7 How to Communicate Effectively about Childhood Development * #8 Anger Management: How to Calm an Angry Child

Environmental protection is such a huge and complicated subject, but we know it’s important to encourage a love of nature, and a desire to protect it, in our children. This post highlights how we can help our children understand sustainability, offers practical suggestions and notes common pitfalls to avoid. You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript. Transcript Click over to Can Young Children Help Create a Sustainable World to read the text for this podcast. You’ll also find the research credits there plus links to helpful organisations. Free bookmarks You can download these bookmarks here! There are 8 different bookmarks and they come in both colour and black and white. Looking for resources for outdoor learning? I recommend you take a look at Green Grubs Garden Club. Rosie is a New Zealand teacher who creates unique and beautiful teaching resources covering all sorts of bugs and other animals, and plants as well. She does have some free printables, too, so they’re a great way to get started! Leave a rating If you enjoyed this episode please add a review and rating on iTunes. It helps others find the podcast more easily. Or, if there was a particular point that resonated with you perhaps you could share that on your Facebook page or on Twitter? Previous Episodes * #0  The Early Childhood Research Podcast: An Introduction * #1  Healthy Eating in Young Children * #2  Developing Pre-Writing Skills * #3 Dealing with Bullying: 10 Proven Strategies * #4 School Readiness through Music * #5 What are the Rights of a Child? * #6 Does Movement Improve Learning Outcomes? * #7 How to Communicate Effectively about Childhood Development * #8 Anger Management: How to Calm an Angry Child

While this anger management post title says it’s about how to calm an angry child, it’s really about how to encourage young children to calm themselves. It’s not a quick and easy method (if there even is such a thing), but it can be highly effective if it’s implemented consistently and if the children are encouraged to try, adapt and experiment. Don’t forget to download the free printable, I hope you find it useful! You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. Anger Management Anyone can get angry given certain conditions, but some people manage their anger more effectively than others. It’s the same for children. Most young children will get angry, but there are great variations in how often it occurs and how extreme the anger becomes. It might be due to personality or because tantrums generally lead to them getting what they want. It might be due to genetic and environmental factors. It might be the normal process of learning to deal with their own emotions. But it might also be due to speech delays, where a child becomes frustrated because they can’t communicate what they’re feeling or what they want. It also might be due to sensory processing issues, where a child experiences a bombardment of sensory stimuli that is overwhelming and so they lash out. As adults we need to observe our children to try and understand what triggers frustrated behaviours. We shouldn’t just assume they’re naughty, spoiled, tired or seeking attention. If we are going to help our kids learn to calm themselves, we need to narrow down the causes and we need to be prepared to try many different methods in the search for what’s most effective. We need to be flexible When it comes to calming an angry child there is no ‘one size fits all’ method, so just because we had great success with one child’s emotional rollercoaster, doesn’t mean we’ll have equal success with another. Each child needs to find their own path, with our support, and it may take quite some time. We need to be patient, consistent and a supportive, positive ally during this process. In saying this, we must protect all the children in our care, so if an angry child is endangering another, either physically or emotionally, we must certainly step in and separate the children so that both are safe and the situation cannot escalate. How do we implement an anger management strategy? There are 3 steps we can take when implementing an anger management strategy in our classroom or at home. * Teach children to identify and understand their own emotions * Teach calming strategies * Practice, adapt, refine, more practice Teaching children to identify and understand their own emotions It’s difficult for children to manage their behavior if they don’t understand their own feelings, if they don’t understand why they’re getting upset or the consequences of being angry. Experts encourage us to spend plenty of time teaching kids about emotions in general, reading relevant stories and talking about the scenarios and behaviours of the characters. Showing them pictures of children showing different emotions, taking photos of your kids acting out various emotions and using them for discussion. Of course, these discussions need to happen when the children are calm,

While this anger management post title says it’s about how to calm an angry child, it’s really about how to encourage young children to calm themselves. It’s not a quick and easy method (if there even is such a thing), but it can be highly effective if it’s implemented consistently and if the children are encouraged to try, adapt and experiment. Don’t forget to download the free printable, I hope you find it useful! You can listen to this episode above, listen to it on iTunes or Stitcher, or read the transcript below. Anger Management Anyone can get angry given certain conditions, but some people manage their anger more effectively than others. It’s the same for children. Most young children will get angry, but there are great variations in how often it occurs and how extreme the anger becomes. It might be due to personality or because tantrums generally lead to them getting what they want. It might be due to genetic and environmental factors. It might be the normal process of learning to deal with their own emotions. But it might also be due to speech delays, where a child becomes frustrated because they can’t communicate what they’re feeling or what they want. It also might be due to sensory processing issues, where a child experiences a bombardment of sensory stimuli that is overwhelming and so they lash out. As adults we need to observe our children to try and understand what triggers frustrated behaviours. We shouldn’t just assume they’re naughty, spoiled, tired or seeking attention. If we are going to help our kids learn to calm themselves, we need to narrow down the causes and we need to be prepared to try many different methods in the search for what’s most effective. We need to be flexible When it comes to calming an angry child there is no ‘one size fits all’ method, so just because we had great success with one child’s emotional rollercoaster, doesn’t mean we’ll have equal success with another. Each child needs to find their own path, with our support, and it may take quite some time. We need to be patient, consistent and a supportive, positive ally during this process. In saying this, we must protect all the children in our care, so if an angry child is endangering another, either physically or emotionally, we must certainly step in and separate the children so that both are safe and the situation cannot escalate. How do we implement an anger management strategy? There are 3 steps we can take when implementing an anger management strategy in our classroom or at home. * Teach children to identify and understand their own emotions * Teach calming strategies * Practice, adapt, refine, more practice Teaching children to identify and understand their own emotions It’s difficult for children to manage their behavior if they don’t understand their own feelings, if they don’t understand why they’re getting upset or the consequences of being angry. Experts encourage us to spend plenty of time teaching kids about emotions in general, reading relevant stories and talking about the scenarios and behaviours of the characters. Showing them pictures of children showing different emotions, taking photos of your kids acting out various emotions and using them for discussion. Of course, these discussions need to happen when the children are calm,