By Angie Marshall
Do you sometimes feel exhausted at the end of the day because of the conflicts that are occurring in your classroom? Do the children in your classroom need a lot of support in managing their emotions and getting along with their peers? If you answered “YES” to either of these questions, this article might provide you with some strategies related to the classroom environment that encourage and promote positive behavior.
Classroom environments play a key role in supporting children as they interact and engage with materials and other children. When considering challenging behaviors in a toddler or preschool classroom setting, it is important to remember that challenging behaviors are a form of communication. As early childhood educators, part of our role is to support children in understanding and learning how to manage their feelings and behaviors appropriately. When classroom environments do not support children’s developmental needs, they can sometimes create unwanted behaviors.
The classroom environment, or the way a classroom is arranged, the materials accessible, the daily schedule, and the teacher’s interactions with the children as they engage with others and the materials in the environment all lay the foundation for a developmentally appropriate learning environment. As teachers, it is essential to allow some time to reflect on the classroom environment, evaluate what is working or not working for a particular group of children, and then make adaptations to meet the needs of a particular group. As you reflect on your classroom, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you have defined learning centers?
- Does your classroom design have clear pathways that allow children to move around freely without disrupting others as they play and learn?
- Are you intentional about the placement of your learning areas? Is noisy play, like blocks and dramatic play, located away from your quiet areas?
- Do you follow a classroom schedule so that the children know what to expect next?
- Do you have visual cues to help children understand the classroom’s expectations?
- Do you have a wide variety of age-appropriate classroom materials accessible?
- Are you spending time with the children actively facilitating their play, modeling appropriate interactions, and guiding children as conflicts occur?
As you reflect on your answers to these questions, take some time and observe in your classroom. A well-planned classroom environment directly contributes to behavior management by reducing challenging behaviors and promoting a calm, predictable atmosphere. When children experience positive engagement in a supportive, well-prepared classroom environment, their focus improves, and social interactions become positive and more meaningful.
Although many programs use a variety of program observation instruments to meet Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS standards, consider using a program observation instrument like the Environment Rating Scale (ERS) to support data collection when you are experiencing challenging behaviors in your classroom. Additionally, two supportive books, All About The ECERS-3 and All About the ITERS-3, provide explanations and pictures to support a detailed look into your learning environment using the ERS. Two other program observation instruments that focus on the implementation of classroom practices related to promoting young children’s social-emotional development are the Teaching Pyramid Infant-Toddler Observation Scale (TPITOS) for infant and toddler classrooms and the Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool (TPOT) for preschool classrooms. Completing observations and gathering data using assessments can occur at any time during the program year and is a valuable resource when considering making enhancements to the classroom environment.
