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The discussion activity encourages students to interrelate
their own thoughts and experiences with specifi c ideas from the chapter.
Identify the guidance principle (listed at the beginning of the chapter) that
is the most important to you in your professional development. Relate the principle
to an experience of yours as a student either before entering your teacher
preparation program or since. Why is this experience relating to the principle
important to you?

. The differences between a teacher who is a professional
and a teacher who is a technician.
a. Observe a teacher you regard as a professional as he or
she responds to situations in the classroom. Record an incident that you
believe washandled effectively. Talk with the teacher about his and the
child(ren)’s responses. Compare findings to ideas in the chapter.
b. Interview a teacher you believe to be a professional.
Discuss decisions the teacher has made that might be construed difficult,
innovative, or even controversial in order to assist a child. Ask about the
teacher’s reasons for the decisions. Compare findings to ideas in the chapter.

Guidance reduces the need for mistaken behavior.
a. Observe an instance when a teacher acted to resolve a
problem (without punishment) in a firm but friendly manner. Think about what
level of mistaken behavior was at work. Reflect about how the teacher showed
understanding of the child or children involved. Compare results to ideas in
the chapter.
b. Observe an activity that seemed a “good match” between
the levels of development of the children and what the activity asked the
children to do. Discuss the amount of productive behavior and/or mistaken
behavior you observed during the activity. Compare findings to ideas in the
chapter.
c. Ask a teacher to discuss a change he has made to the
curriculum or schedule to improve the match between the needs of the children
and the expectations of the program. How did the change make the day “go
better” for the children, and for the teacher? What does the teacher think were
the educational implications of the change? Compare findings to ideas in the
chapter.

Guidance is solution oriented.
a. Observe an instance when a teacher assisted children to
peaceably resolve a problem. What did the teacher and children say and do? How
was the teacher’s intervention similar or different from the guidance
intervention technique(s) in the chapter. Compare findings to ideas in the
chapter.
b. Ask a teacher to recall an instance when he successfully
assisted one or more children to resolve a classroom problem without
punishment. Ask how the teacher determined the outcome was successful. Ask the
teacher his feelings about the experience. Compare findings to ideas in the
chapter.

Liberation teaching, fundamental to the encouraging
classroom.
a. Observe an example of liberation teaching when a teacher
assisted a child who otherwise might be stigmatized. Focusing on the responses
of the teacher and the child in the situation, decide why you believe
liberation teaching was at work. Compare findings to ideas in the chapter.
b. Ask a teacher to share an experience when he was
successful in helping a child who was at risk for stigma. Inquire about what
the teacher did that supported the child. Ask how the teacher determined the
outcome was successful. Ask the teacher his feelings about the experience.
Compare findings to ideas in the chapter.

School anxiety and the encouraging classroom.
a. Observe in a classroom that you believe to be
encouraging. Select a child who you perceive to be vulnerable for school anxiety.
Observe a situationwhere the teacher worked directly with the child. Record the
observation as objectively as you can. Compare the responses of the teacher,
the child, and/or other children in the class to what the book says should
happen in the encouraging classroom.
b. Interview a teacher about the following: (1) what some
characteristics are of one or two children in the class who may be susceptible
to school anxiety; (2) how the teacher works with the group to be inclusive of
these children; and (3) how the teacher monitors responses with the identified
children to make the classroom encouraging. How does what the teacher says go
along with text material about the encouraging classroom?

Developmentally appropriate practice today and the encouraging
classroom.
a. Observe a small-group/learning center activity that you
believe to be developmentally appropriate. Record as objectively as possible
verbal and nonverbal responses that characterize one child’s responses.
Hypothesize what that child may be gaining from the activity in each of these
developmental domains: physical, cognitive, language, social/cultural, and
emotional. Through comparing your observations with the text, discuss your
learning about developmentally appropriate practice.
b. Interview a teacher who uses developmentally appropriate
practice. Ask how the teacher engages reluctant children in learning activities
so that they can experience success. How does the teacher assess the child’s
progress in relation to outcomes or standards that might be required in the
program or school. What difficulties and successes has the teacher experienced
in using DAP? Compare your findings to text material on developmentally
appropriate practice.

Building the classroom for prosocial development.
a. Observe two children in a class, what who is at a
beginning point in prosocial development and one who is making clear progress.
Watch for each child’s use of caring, sharing, cooperating, or helping
behaviors. Record one typical situation for each. Without comparing the
children, hypothesize about each child’s progress with each of the four
prosocial skills. Compare and contrast your findings with ideas from the text.
b. Interview a teacher about how she structures her
classroom to encourage proactive development. What are the teacher’s priorities
for individual children in her class who are at different points in prosocial
development? How do the teacher’s comments compare with ideas from text?

Reliability and novelty in the daily program.
a. Observe an instance of a “teachable moment” when a
teacher deviated from the schedule to provide a special experience. How did the
teacher manage the change of routine? What did you notice about the children’s
behavior before, during, and after the special event? Compare your findings to
ideas in the chapter.
b. Talk with a teacher about the daily schedule he uses. What
parts of the schedule is the teacher pleased with? If the teacher could modify
the schedule, what parts would he change? Why? Compare your findings to ideas
in the chapter.