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In early childhood settings, children and teachers interact all day long. The benefits are enormous when even some of those “everyday” interactions become intentional, purposeful, and culturally responsive—in other words, Powerful Interactions®! With these three steps, you can embed Powerful Interactions in your daily work with children from birth through age 8:
- Step One: Be Present. Pause, tune in to yourself and the moment, and consider how you might need to adjust to create a “just-right” fit with a child.
- Step Two: Connect. To foster trust and confidence, let that child know that you see her; are interested in what she is doing, saying, and thinking; and want to spend time with her..
- Step Three: Extend Learning. Make use of your strong connection with the child to stretch her knowledge, skills, thinking, or language and vocabulary.
With updated content and research, new examples and insights, and questions to guide group study discussions, the new edition of this bestselling classic covers everything you need to understand what Powerful Interactions are, how to make them happen, and why they are so important in increasing children’s learning and your effectiveness as a teacher. Discover how Powerful Interactions—and you—make a difference!
Amy Laura Dombro, MS, creates resources for teachers, family support professionals, and community leaders. Former head of the Bank Street Infant and Family Center, Amy works with and for national organizations to translate complex information so that it is engaging and easy to use. In addition, she often documents stories of successes, challenges, and lessons learned so that readers can benefit from the experiences of others. Her publications include The Power of Observation, Smart Start in Action and Honoring Our Babies and Toddlers, a guide for caring professionals working with military families.
Judy Jablon, MS, is an educator and author with more than 30 years of experience in early childhood and primary education. A former teacher, Judy is grounded in theory and practice that emphasize child development, observation, critical thinking, and experiential learning. Judy provides facilitation, leadership coaching, and training to a wide range of educational institutions and agencies. She has coauthored numerous publications including Observation: The Key to Responsive Teaching,The Power of Observation and The Work Sampling System.
Charlotte Stetson, MEd, spent the first 20 years of her career in early childhood education teaching young children in varied settings. During the second 20 years, she was a consultant and author. She worked with teachers, coaches, and administrators to implement best practices in the areas of classroom environment, curriculum content, observation-based assessment, and teacher-child interactions. In addition to Powerful Interactions, she is a coauthor of Observation: The Key to Responsive Teaching; Winning Ways to Learn; The Creative Curriculum Study Starters; and the DVD The Creative Curriculum in Action! Since retiring in 2014, Charlotte is learning to play the cello, volunteers for Acadia National Park, and pursues her longstanding photography hobby.
Welcome
The Power of Teacher–Child Interactions
About this Book
A First Look at Powerful Interactions
What Is a “Powerful Interaction”?
How Do You Turn an Everyday Interaction into a Powerful Interaction?
What’s in It for You?
Step One: Be Present
What Does It Mean to “Be Present”?
Doing a Quick “Me Check”
Getting Started with “Being Present”
Reflect on Your Practice
Step Two: Connect
What Does It Mean to “Connect”?
Seven Strategies for Connecting
Step Three: Extend Learning
What Does It Mean to “Extend Learning”?
Examples of Extending Learning
Ten Strategies for Extending Learning
You Make the Difference!
Energy—Keep Your Cup Filled
Confidence—Watch Yourself in Slow Motion
One Last Word
Discussion Questions
References
Index
Acknowledgments
About the Authors