HighScope - Early Childhood Special Education Alignment Guide

Rationale: Most general education early childhood education programs in Oakland County use

the HighScope curriculum. However, most of the early childhood special education (ECSE)

programs use the AEPS as their curriculum. While the AEPS serves as an assessment tool and

certainly supports the development of IEP goals, it does not include some of the critical

components of the HighScope curriculum (daily routine, learning environments, and adult-child

interaction strategies). Additionally, the AEPS addresses developmental domains such as motor,

social, and communication. However, academic domains, such as literacy and math, are not well

defined. The AEPS sequences of development can be very beneficial in ECSE. However, it is

recommended that ECSE Programs use a comprehensive curriculum. For these reasons, Oakland

Schools is working with local ECSE teachers to better understand and implement the HighScope

curriculum in their programs. This guide is intended to support ECSE teachers in implementing

the HighScope and is organized around the HighScope elements of the daily routine.

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Table of Contents

Plan Do Review …………………………………………………………………………..………3

Plan – Choice with Intention ……….…………………………………………………….………4

Do – Engage in Active Participatory Learning ……….…………………………………………..6

Embedded Learning Opportunities………………………………………………………………12

Review – Remembering with Analysis…………………………………………………………..15

Conflict Resolution…………………...………………………………………………………….16

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in ECSE……………………………………….17

Large Group Time………………………………………………………………………………..19

Small Group Time………………………………………………………………………………..20

Resources………………………………………………………………………………………...21

References……………………………………………………………………………………….22

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Plan Do Review

At the heart of the HighScope routine is the Plan Do Review process. This part of the day involves intentional planning, play (referred to as work time), and reflection. This part of the day holds tremendous potential for children with IEPs. The HighScope Plan Do Review process supports executive functioning skill development in young children. Executive function skills that are addressed in the Plan Do Review process are as follows:

Working memory – holding and manipulating information in our heads over short periods.

Self-Control – mastering and filtering our thoughts and impulses so we can resist temptations, distractions and habits and to pause and think before we act.

Cognitive or mental flexibility – switching gears and adjusting to changes demands, priorities or perspectives.

Many children participating in ECSE Services and Programs experience deficiencies in executive functioning. Additionally, the work time offers opportunities for embedding specialized instruction on IEP goals. The practice of embedding specialized instruction into everyday activities is recommended by the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children and has been shown to support skill development across several domains for preschoolers with disabilities, specifically social skills, fine motor skills, cognitive skills, and communication skills. The practice of embedding instructional procedures into a typical activity is commonly referred to as an Embedded Learning Opportunity (ELO). ELOs are used to provide instruction during naturally occurring activities that happen throughout the daily routine. Embedding involves addressing targeted skills, concepts, and vocabulary "in a manner that expands, modifies, or is integral to the activity or event in a meaningful way" (Pretti-Frontczak & Bricker, 2004, p. 40). An ELO includes both a clearly defined target behavior and the process to address the target behavior (i.e. instructional strategy). Due to the ability to promote development of executive functioning skills as well as to support developmental growth, the plan do review process has particular applicability to children with IEPs. However, it is critical to consider how to support students with IEP’s meaningful participation in the Plan Do Review process while scaffolding the learning of the children.

Plan – “Choice with Intention”During planning time, children have the opportunity to develop and express what they will do during work(play) time. Adults work to understand the plan, while encouraging children to extend or expand upon their plan. Skills addressed during planning time:

Self-control by encouraging children to pause and think before taking action.

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Expressive language by supporting children in articulating ideas, choices, and decisions and answering questions.

HighScope offers Scaffolding Cards addressing supporting children at early, middle, and later stages of development. ECSE teachers may want to consider using the strategies on the scaffolding card on planning with children in their classrooms. The following is an example of the information on the card.

When children are at an early stage of development, they may exhibit the following behaviors during planning: pointing, stating the area of interest, or make a plan but then do something different. To support the children, the teacher may expand upon the child’s language or gestures (i.e. the child points to the house area, the teacher says “You want to play in the house area”) or label the new plan (“I noticed you are playing in the art area instead of the house area”). To offer an extension, the teacher may want to ask the child to show materials they intend on working with (HighScope, 2013).

ECSE teachers may also want to include visual strategies to support children’s planning. For example, the teacher may offer a choice board with pictures or objects representing the various areas of the classroom (such as the example to the right).

Be sure to ask for increasing details to support the complexity of the plan, even for children who are utilizing augmentative or alternative communication systems. This can be done by asking children to express details about their plans (such as the materials they will interact with or what they hope to make during their play). For example, if a child chose to go to the drawing area, the teacher ask the child what materials he plans to use.

Recognize that children may change their plans. If so, they should point that out to children (such as showing the child a picture of area they went to), but not force them to do whatever they originally chose.

For student who is deaf or hard of hearing and uses either Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) or manual communication needs to first have the teacher’s full attention and presented the message within three feet distance from the teacher. Not necessarily that the student cannot hear from a greater distance, but to ensure that background noises and/or visual distractions will not interfere with the teacher’s message. Once a teacher poses the question, provide “wait time” with an “expectant look” allow the child time to process the message and see that the teacher is expecting a response. As professionals our instinct is to repeat and rephrase when the child does not respond immediately however a child with a hearing loss needs extra process the choices. Another step in this scaffold that encourages attention, comprehension, and listening comprehension of the options would be to “sandwich” the information. Present the verbal message again without visuals; add a visual for clarification, then remove the visual as the teacher follows up with exact repeated verbal message. If more clarification is needed for

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students who appear unsure or unfamiliar with the choices, provide an actual walk through of the options then repeat the “sandwich” strategy.

Do – Engage in Active Participatory LearningDuring work time, ECSE teachers and service providers should consider two broad categories of supports (1) providing curriculum adaptations designed to support access and participation AND (2) providing direct instruction on IEP goals through ELOs. Ingredients of Active Participatory Learning (HighScope, 2011)

Materials – Abundant materials that children can use in many ways. Children use a variety of real, practical, everyday objects. Materials vary in terms of size, texture, and consistency. Children have the space and time needed to use the materials.

o Considerations in ECSE: The use of real, practical, everyday objects will support children’s

understanding of functional use of objects. ECSE teachers may need to adapt materials for safety, specifically for children who put non-food objects in their mouths.

For children with delayed motor skills, modify equipment and materials as least intrusively as possible (only to the extent necessary for the child to participate). Ensure optimal positioning to allow the child to relax, focus attention of the activity, and engage as independently as possible.

Manipulation – Children are encouraged to explore and work with materials. Children use all of their senses and are encouraged to make connections through real life experiences.

o Considerations in ECSE: Children with sensory sensitivities may not wish to interact with textures

that are unfamiliar. Introducing unfamiliar textures into highly motivating activities might encourage children to participate. REMINDER: children may always choose to not touch or manipulate objects that are aversive to them.

For some children, engaging in dramatic play may require specialized instruction or material adaptation. Below is an example of a visual support for dramatic play (reminder: this type of adaptation is only appropriate for children who do not understand what to do with dramatic play materials, but who have shown interest in the materials. It would not be expected or required that the child play with these materials in exactly this way).

Choice – Children chooses what to do and who to play with.o Considerations in ECSE:

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Some children may find it difficult to choose from a large variety of objects. Consider using pictures of the various areas or objects in the areas to encourage children to make choices. You may need to offer a limited number of options as well.

Child language and thought - children describe what they are doing and learning.o Considerations in ECSE:

Model language and intentional, individualized vocabulary for the child by describing the actions in which a child is involved, naming or describing the toys or materials the child is playing with, talking about activities or objects in which the child has shown interest.

Use verbal expansions: Expanding is repeating what the child has just said and adding new information. That is, imitating what a child has said, as well as using additional words.

Self-talk: The adult talks about what they see, are doing, or hears during that immediate time. By self-talking or narrating what they are doing the child is being exposed to language receptively and incidentally to improve language foundation of expressive language and conversational skills.

Target important sounds, words, parts of phrases, or grammatical structures imbedded within an activity by vocally highlighting that specific target. (e.g. That is a BIG block. Put the block IN the box) Ways to address this strategy could include: increase in voice intensity, pausing slightly before you say the target, whispering the target (decrease intensity), or increase the duration of the target. This strategy helps the child direct their attention to a specific auditory nugget, encourages responses from the child, and incorporates turn-taking skills.

Ask questions that require more than a yes/no or one word response. Open-Ended questions allow the adult to provide opportunities for the child to engage in conversation. If a child is struggling with that form of questioning they can be taught by scaffolding with choices such as a set of targets (words, phrases) to use in order to answer a question, complete a statement or complete a task. This also encourages conversations to be less one-sided.

When a routine or activity becomes too familiar and the teacher notices that the child may be losing interest, the teacher can create an unusual or unexpected situation with familiar items which would be contrary to what the child would expect based on their understanding. To offer a reason for the child to communicate the adult can elicit this language by placing materials just out of reach, providing fewer materials or “forgetting” so that the child needs to request, or mixing up the scenario by placing a block on the sandwich instead of lettuce.

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Adult Scaffolding – Children are supported at their current developmental level and challenged to advance to the next stage.

o Steps for scaffolding: Adults enter the activity (silence, observation, understanding, listening). Participate on child’s developmental level and interest Offer support Provide gentle extensions within context, as appropriate.

o Considerations in ECSE: Use mirroring and imitating upon entering the play. Imitating is mimicking the child’s actions with similar toys/materials. Mirroring is repeating a child’s vocalizations or words back to the child. Teachers should add language and vocabulary as they imitate the actions. When mirroring language, teachers should also expand upon the child’s verbiage.

Embedded Learning Opportunities

Work time provides an excellent opportunity to provide specialized instruction on a child’s IEP goals. The HighScope model is one of supportive, shared control, rather than either permissive or authoritarian. Embedded instruction fits nicely into a model of shared control. The child’s interests, preferences, and choices drive the activity, while the adult intentionally, with planning, creates opportunities for prompting and feedback on the target of instruction (skill, concept, vocabulary).The Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center has identified the following steps when planning embedded instruction.

Identify the target skills and functional behavior that will be the focus of child learning (either the IEP goal, objective, or foundational skill leading to the achievement of the goal).

Identify the everyday activities that are best suited for teaching the targeted behavior (notice areas and materials the child is interested in).

Engage the child in opportunities to participate in these areas or activities Maximize the likelihood that a child will remain engaged in the activities by considering

the child’s interests and preferences Use prompts (verbal, gestural, physical, modeling, etc.) and prompt fading (e.g.,

decreasing assistance) strategies to promote child acquisition of the target functional behavior.

Provide context specific natural consequences (reinforcement) for a child’s use of target behavior or attempts to produce the behavior within and between activities

Use explicit feedback as needed to encourage, support, and reinforce child learning and development.

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Prompting strategies: When providing specialized instruction, it is important to understand prompting strategies and hierarchies. Following are types and definitions of prompting strategies.

Gesture - Prompts in which the adult establishes eye contact with the child and uses hand movements that are understood by the child to have certain meaning. Gestures suggest what the child is to do.

Verbal - The adult tells the child how to do something by describing what to do. Model - The adult shows the child how to do or say something by demonstrating the

desired action. Physical - The adult provides physical support for gross motor tasks or physically guides

the child to complete a fine motor taskPrompting procedures:

Least to most prompting - A series of three levels of help arranged to provide progressively increasing amounts of assistance. The first level is no help. The last level is a controlling prompt. The sequence begins with an opportunity for the child to respond to a natural cue. If she does not respond correctly, she is given less help than she may need to challenge her to complete the task independently. Increasing amounts of help are given, if needed, until she is able to complete the task correctly. This procedure is most useful when the child has developed some of the skills necessary to complete the task or is working on fluency, generalization or maintenance.

Most to least prompting: A series of three levels of help arranged to provide progressively decreasing amounts of assistance. The first level is a controlling prompt. The last level is no help. The levels of prompting are progressively faded as the child learns independence. This procedure is most useful when working on skill acquisition.

Embedding specialized instruction during work time– communication goal One example of specialized instructional strategies that can be embedded into work time is enhanced milieu teaching. Enhanced milieu teaching involves pairing environmental and responsive strategies with specific language prompting procedures and feedback to create a language learning opportunity (see below).

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Teachers should be cautious when using Access as an antecedent strategy. A key tenet of active learning is accessible materials. If using this strategy, the adult should be readily available to respond to the child’s communicative attempt. Also, this antecedent is only appropriate to use when the child has a learning target involving initiating a request.

Clean Up Time

In any early childhood program, clean up time is an essential learning opportunity. It is the ending of the “do” process in the Plan-Do-Review cycle. During clean up time, children return materials to the proper places in the classroom and prepare for the next activity. Clean up time is an excellent opportunity for children to practice early cognitive skills such as sorting, classifying, and matching object to object, or object to picture.

Considerations in ECSEo Simplify the activity by handing a child a basket with a few items in it to put

away (rather than asking the child to look at the entire room and decide where to start cleaning up).

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Following the child’s lead is directly related to the Scaffolding steps on the previous page

o Simplify the activity further by asking a child to put toys in a “clean up” bucket rather than finding the proper place in the classroom.

o Use words, pictures, and real objects to signify where items belong.

Review – Remembering with Analysis

During recall time, children have the opportunity to remember and reflect upon their experiences. Adults support children in recall by inviting them to talk about what they did and asking open ended questions (sparingly and with intention) to support children in adding more detail to their reflections. Adults also add comments and observations to the child’s recall narrative. Skills addressed during planning time:

Working memory by encouraging children to reflect upon their experiences and learning. Expressive language by supporting children in articulating experiences and answering

questions. Cognitive skills by asking children to observe, classify, predict, and draw conclusions.

HighScope offers Scaffolding Cards addressing supporting children at early, middle, and later stages of development. ECSE teachers may want to consider using the strategies on the scaffolding card on reflection with children in their classrooms. The following is an example of the information on the card.

When children are at an early stage of development, they may exhibit the following behaviors during recall time: pointing, recall one material, remember the most recent activity. To support the children, the teacher may ask what else the child did, restate what the child said and add more detail, add context to what the child said. To offer an extension, the teacher may want to ask the child what they did with the materials, ask what else the child remembers about the experience, or encourage the child to recall more activities - rather than the most recent one (HighScope, 2013).

ECSE teachers may also want to include visual strategies to support children’s recall.

Conflict Resolution (HighScope, 2017)

HighScope teaches six steps to resolving conflicts that arise in Early Childhood Environments. Given that many children in ECSE Programs have delays in the requisite problem solving, language, and social skills necessary to solve conflicts, this becomes a critical area for ECSE teachers. The six steps for conflict resolution are:

Approach calmly, stopping any hurtful actions. Place yourself between the children, on their level.

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Acknowledge children's feelings. Say something simple such as "You look really upset." Let children know you need to hold any object in question.

Gather information. Ask "What's the problem?" Do not ask "Why" questions. Restate the problem. "So the problem is…" Ask for ideas for solutions and choose one together. "What can we do to solve this

problem?" Be prepared to give follow-up support. Acknowledge their accomplishments (e.g., "You

solved the problem!") Stay nearby in case anyone is not happy with the solution and the process needs repeating.

Considerations in ECSE: While it may be necessary to adapt the steps, ECSE teacher need to pay special attention

to acknowledging feelings. This step should not be skipped. Be careful to not question, rather acknowledge “it looks like you’re upset” or just state the emotion “angry”

Interpret gestures, body and facial and add words to support vocabulary Due to limited expressive or receptive language, ECSE teachers may want to use limited

language and rely on visual cues, including gestures to support conflict resolution. When asking for solutions, it is important that children have the opportunity to think of

their own ideas for solutions. Teachers need to be able to interpret gestures and add words to the solutions.

That said, children at early developmental levels may need a “menu” of solutions that have been tried, taught, and successful. This menu should include solutions the children are familiar with. The strategies should have been taught at a neutral time (not a time of conflict). One strategy to teach solutions is scripted stories. For more information on scripted stories, visit http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/strategies.html .

It is important to only use these types of tools as a menu. Children’s own ideas that are not a part of the menu need to be honored. It is also important for teachers to create their own visuals based on children’s previous ideas.

If children are capable of coming up with their own ideas, a menu would not be an appropriate strategy.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in ECSEConflict resolution skills should be taught to all children in early childhood. Some children may need additional, individualized plans in order to support their social and behavioral skill development. In this case, ECSE teachers would be following the Process for Individualized Interventions (CSEFEL, 2017).

Step 1: Establishing a collaborative team and identifying goalso Identify relevant team members, including families. Hold a team meeting to

discuss and identify goals including both short term goals (what seems possible) and long term vision (what we hope is possible). Identify and define one target challenging behavior to reduce.

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Step 2: Gathering information (functional assessment)o Identify antecedents and environmental influenceso Determine the function of the challenging behavior o Identify effective reinforcers for challenging and desirable behaviors

Step 3: Developing hypotheses (best guess)o Triggers of the challenging behavioro Description of the challenging behavioro Responses that maintain the challenging behavioro Purpose of the behavior

Step 4: Designing behavior support planso What can we do to prevent the challenging behavior

Provide choices Intersperse difficult/non-preferred tasks with easy or preferred tasks Use visual supports and schedules Embed preferences Enhance predictability with schedules Alter physical arrangement of the classroom Remove triggers for challenging behavior

o What skill can we teach to replace the challenging behavior Teach communication skills/replacement behaviors Teach peer-related social skills Teach self-monitoring Teach tolerating delay of reinforcement Teach independence with visual schedules

o How will we respond in such a way to make the challenging behavior less efficient and effective than the desirable behavior

Reinforce desirable behavior Remove reinforcement for challenging behavior

Step 5: Implementing, monitoring, evaluating outcomes, and refining plan in natural environments.

Large GroupLarge group time is an opportunity for children and adults to create a sense of the classroom community by sharing ideas and learning with each other. During large group time, children actively participate, contribute their ideas to the activity, make choices and have opportunities to be leaders of the group. Adults initiate the group activity, ask children for suggestions, and plan several alternative activities (HighScope, 2011).

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Considerations in ECSE: Use peer supports by placing children who are not yet independently engaging in large

group activities next to children who are able to model actions. Use Augmentative and Alternative (AAC) devices to support participation. Allow children to use alternative seating Use pictures or actual objects when asking children to make choices about upcoming

activities. Use a mini-schedule to represent the activities that large group time will involve so

children understand when it is finished. For children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (McCormick, 2014):

o Set the child in front of the speaker during circle activitieso Speak in a normal teaching voiceo Speak the child’s name when addressing him or her and wait until he or she is

looking at you before speaking.o When referring to someone or something in the immediate environment, touch,

point, or nod in the direction of the person or object.o Do not stand in front of a strong light source when speaking to the child.o Teach peers attention getting techniques and remind them to speak one at a time

and look at the child.o Learn to use as many signs as possible if the child uses signs.

For children with Visual Impairment (McCormick, 2014): o Provide verbal cues for the child concerning what will happen next.o Provide physical cues about how to carry out an activity.o Label actions and objects as they are occurring.o Ensure exploration and manipulation of all parts of an object.o Let the child know where you are and teach peers to do the same.o Help the child make connections between events (when you hear the bell ring, we

will start to put the toys away and get ready for playground time).o Provide detailed verbal directions and explanations.

Small GroupSmall group time provides an opportunity for the adult to work with a small number of children on an activity planned and introduced by the teacher. Children are encouraged to use the materials in a variety of ways, while talking about what they are doing and interacting with each other and the adult. Considerations in ECSE:

As with work time, small group time offers an excellent opportunity to work using embedded learning opportunities.

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Peer supports can be used to model language and behaviors. For children who are working on social interaction or communication skills, prompt

asking peers for needed items to complete the activity. Embed child preferences into small group time to support engagement. For children who finish small group activities early, provide options for acceptable

activities.

Resources

For more information on HighScope, visit https://highscope.org/preschool. For more information on executive functioning, visit the Harvard Center on the

Developing Child at http://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/executive-function/.

For more information on embedded learning opportunities visit the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center at http://ectacenter.org/ or the Center to Mobilized Early Childhood Knowledge at http://community.fpg.unc.edu/connect-modules/learners/module-1.

For more information on positive behavior interventions and supports for preschoolers, visit the Center on the Social Emotional Foundations for Early Learning at http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/.

For more information on Scripted Stories, visit the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning at http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/strategies.html.

References

Center on the Social Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL). Resources: Pre School Training Modules. Retrieved from http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/training_preschool.html.

Epstein, A. (2003). How planning and reflection develop young children’s thinking skills. HighScope (2017). Curriculum components. Retrieved from

https://highscope.org/curriculum/preschool/details.HighScope (2013). Planning and reflection scaffolding cards.HighScope (2011). Daily routine part 1 – Overview and plan-do-review. HighScope Research

Foundation; Ypsilanti, MI.McCormick, L. (2014). Specialized instructional strategies. In M.J. Noonan & L. McCormick

(Eds.), Teaching young children with disabilities in natural environments (pp. 149-175). Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing Co.

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Pretti-Frontczak, K. & Bricker, D. (2004). An activity-based approach to early intervention (3rd Ed.). Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing Co.

Sandall, S. & Joseph, G. (2009). Effective practices for including young children with disabilities. Pre-conference session presented at the Division for Early Childhood Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM.

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