Give positive support

At Cybertots, we emphasise being positive.

Use positive reinforcement to support responsible and appropriate behaviour. Here's what we said before. It's also about reinforcing behaviour. In other words, it's not just enough to get them to do the right thing once, but to keep keep doing it. In other words, you train them to make it a habit.

You’d obviously approach a three-year old differently from a twelve-year-old. That is, the way to do it needs to be appropriate to the development stage and needs of the child.

Don’t forget to cooperate with other staff so that you are all reinforcing the same kinds of behaviour. In fact, you’ll probably discuss it in staff meetings, but you can also check with your supervisor and perhaps your instructor.

You need a full toolkit of strategies to redesign environments so that you can:

prevent problem behaviours, or make them inconsequential, and
teach new skills, making problem behaviours unnecessary.

Some suggestions:

Be a good example of positive attitudes to other people.

Be a good example of positive attitudes to learning.

Reinforce good behaviour by saying something positive.

Reinforce good behaviour by doing something positive that’s appropriate and clear. It can be as small as a smile or a nod, or something bigger such as a hand gesture, a clap, or a touch on the shoulder.

Watch the way you give instructions so that they are appropriate to the child’s need and the context.

Differentiate individual needs.

What individuals learn can depend on whether the teaching fits their learning style.

Share decision-making.

Use inclusive language and activities.

Give children equal opportunity to participate.

Show respect for children’s cultural and religious beliefs.

Structure activities to help children adjust well to being together as a social group (called socialisation)

Build children’s self-esteem and confidence by giving positive reinforcement and encouragement

Helping children to develop problem solving skills

Give children opportunities to extend learning or experiences

Give disabled children adaptive technologies if they need them.

Use the child’s first language when appropriate.

Cater for individual learning styles. (For example, activists will want to do things straight away, but reflectors will want time to think about things.)

Learning styles: What are they?

"Learning styles" is the idea that different students learn very differently and can be clever in different ways.

Individuals don’t all learn the same way. Some prefer discussion and to relate to people, some benefit very well from being told, some are solitary thinkers, some need to see a picture, and others need to try doing it. read more about these for learning styles: activists, reflectors, pragmatists and theorists. (More.)