Category: Writing

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?

Communicating with parents about mistaken behavior
a. Talk with a teacher about the approach she uses when
talking with a parent about a problem the child is having in the classroom.
What is important to the teacher to convey to the parent? How does the
teacher’s approach relate to the concept of mistaken behavior? Compare the
teacher’s thoughts with ideas from the chapter.
b. Talk with a parent about the approach she would like a
teacher to use if the parent’s child were having a problem in the classroom.
How do the parent’s comments relate to the concept of mistaken behavior?
Compare the teacher’s thoughts with ideas from the chapter.

What are considerations in understanding mistaken behavior,
aggression, and challenging behavior in young children?
a. Observe a conflict situation from its beginning until
after it is resolved. (The conflict should include purposeful acts of
aggression that might easily be called challenging.) Record in detail what the
children, and an adult, said and did during the situation. Referring to pages
in the text, analyze the behavior in terms of its being intentional,
aggressive, and challenging. Again referring to the text, discuss why the
conflict does or does not seem to you to be mistaken behavior.
b. Interview an early childhood teacher about the concept of
strong unmet needs mistaken behavior as it is explained in the text. Pointing
out what the book says about Level Three mistaken behavior, ask the teacher
questions around this issue: Does the teacher accept the idea that challenging
behavior, which is often aggressive and on purpose, can be considered mistaken
behavior? Why or why not? Record in detail the dialogue from your interview.
Referring to ideas from the text, compare the text ideas with the ideas of the
teacher about mistaken behavior

The three levels of mistaken behavior
a. Observe an example of Level One, experimentation mistaken
behavior. What did you observe that makes you think the mistaken behavior is at
this level? In what ways does recognizing this level of mistaken behavior help
you to understand the child? Compare your observations with ideas from the
chapter.
b. Observe an example of Level Two, socially influenced
mistaken behavior. What did you observe that makes you think the mistaken
behavior is at this level? In what ways does recognizing this level of mistaken
behavior help you to understand the child? Compare your observations with ideas
from the chapter.
c. Observe an example of Level Three, strong needs mistaken
behavior. What did you observe that makes you think the mistaken behavior is at
this level? In what ways does recognizing this level of mistaken behavior help
you to understand the child? Compare your observations with ideas from the
chapter.

Conflict management and young children’s development.
a. Observe a typical conflict in a classroom and record it.
Using the text as a reference, document whether the primary cause of the
dispute was property, territory, privilege, or a combination. What did you
learn about young children and their conflicts from your observation and
analysis?
b. Interview a teacher who uses a peace prop to aid in
conflict management. Find out as much as you can about how the teacher uses the
prop. Using the text to compare to the teacher’s ideas, what did you learn
about the use of peace props in conflict management with young children?

The concept of mistaken behavior
a. Observe a conflict situation in a prekindergarten,
kindergarten, or primarygrade classroom. Analyze the situation using the
concept of mistaken behavior. What lack of understanding or awareness did you
perceive in the child that suggests the conflict was mistaken behavior? Compare
your observations to ideas from the chapter?
b. The concept of mistaken behavior is a new one for many
teachers. Talk with a teacher about the concept. What parts of it are they
comfortable with; what parts are they not sure about? Compare your findings
from the interview with ideas in the text about mistaken behavior.

The compliment sandwich.
a. Observe a teacher talking with a child about a behavior
that the teacher would like the child to improve. Watch for whether the teacher
used a compliment sandwich? Why or why not? Compare your findings to ideas from
the text.
b. Interview a teacher about the compliment sandwich.
Explain the term if necessary. What value does the teacher see in using
compliment sandwiches? What importance does the teacher give to the positive
feedback part of the “sandwich”? How do the teacher’s ideas compare with the
text?

Misbehavior, an inappropriate term
a. Respecting privacy, observe an incident in a classroom
where a teacher intervened. Do you think the teacher regarded the situation as
misbehavior or mistaken behavior? What difference did the teacher’s decision
make for the child or children involved? For the teacher? Compare results to
ideas from the chapter.
b. Respecting privacy, interview a teacher about typical
problems she sees concerning children in the classroom. To what extent does the
teacher seem to think misbehavior is involved? Mistaken behavior? Compare your
findings from the interview with ideas from the chapter.