Effective Communication about the Early Years Understanding

Effective Communication about the Early Years:
Understanding the Basics of Framing
Babies are great communicators. They communicate from day
one, through sounds
(crying, cooing, squealing), facial expressions (eye contact,
smiling, grimacing), as
well as gestures and body movements (moving arms and legs in
excitement or
distress). Most babies learn to communicate to get attention or
to get a need
fulfilled. They continue to develop more sophisticated
communication capacities
and are encouraged to do so when their efforts are rewarded by
appropriate and
timely responses from the people around them.
As adults, we are not that different. Throughout our everyday
lives, we are
constantly communicating both verbally and non-verbally. Over
time we learn how
to communicate best with various people and in different
situations. We continue to
develop and expand our communication capacities when our
efforts are successfully
received by the people around us.
As members of the infant-toddler field, we know how to
communicate effectively
with one another. We commonly use jargon about self-
regulation, early

intervention, infant mental health and healthy child
development. Yet our
professional lexicon may seem like a foreign language to lay
people, including
policymakers who want to understand child development and
articulate policies
that will help promote healthy development for babies, toddlers
and their families.
Policymakers are not likely to be well-versed in the terminology
of our field, yet
they are expected to comprehend intricate details of our work in
order to create
policies that support infants and toddlers appropriately.
Early childhood development is a complex process and
communicating it effectively
can be difficult. However, we must meet this challenge, so that
policymakers and
the public fully understand the needs of babies and the solutions
that best support
families raising young children. This article is designed to
provide infant-toddler
professionals and researchers with a basic introduction to some
concepts of effective
communications; first by outlining the fundamentals of framing,
and then by
introducing ways to think about reframing your
communications. We conclude this
article with some concrete examples of how to reframe a
message related to early
childhood development.
Framing 101
Effective communication requires an in-depth look at what we
are trying to

communicate and how people make sense of the information.
Fortunately, there are
people who dedicate themselves to this challenge. The
FrameWorks Institute, a
communications organization, conducts scholarly research on
framing the public
discourse about social problems and then translates that
research into
2000 M Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036 PHONE
202.638.1144 FAX 202.638.0851
www.zerotothree.org/policy
recommendations and tools for the non-profit sector.1 The
FrameWorks Institute
has conducted extensive research into how to communicate
effectively about early
childhood development,2 which makes its work particularly
useful to the infant-
toddler field.
FrameWorks’ approach to communications is based on the
precept that people rely
on “frames” to make sense of the world.3 “Framing refers to
the way a story is told
and to the way these cues [or stories], in turn, trigger the shared
and durable
cultural models that people use to make sense of their world.”4
In other words,
“people approach the world not as naïve blank-slate receptacles
who take in

stimuli…but rather as experienced and sophisticated veterans of
perception
who have stored their prior experiences as an organized mass.
This prior
experience then takes the form of expectations about the world,
and in the
vast majority of cases, the world, being a systematic place,
confirms these
expectations, saving the individual the trouble of figuring
things out anew all
the time.”5
We cannot be experts on everything, and so frames allow us to
quickly make sense
of the information we are receiving, so we can readily process
new information.
“Frames signal what counts, what can be ignored, and allow us
to ‘fill in’ or infer
missing information.”6
In essence, frames direct the way in which people reason about
the information in a
message. This process can have negative consequences though,
because some
frames will direct people to reason about the information
inappropriately or
inaccurately. In order to improve our communications, we must
identify the frames
that currently govern the way in which people think about
infants and toddlers, so
we understand how they are reasoning about the information.
Let’s examine this from the perspective of communications
about early childhood

development. For those outside of the infant-toddler field,
information about babies
is likely to be guided by their own experiences with very young
children, as well as
the frames that dominate the news media and public discourse.
These frames may
1 The FrameWorks Institute,
http://www.frameworksinstitute.org.
2 See
http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/products/ecdreports.shtml
for copies of the FrameWorks Institute’s
research reports and recommendations on early childhood
development.
3 Bales, S.N. (2002). Framing Public Issues. Washington, DC:
1.
4Gilliam, F.D. & Bales, S.N. (2004). Framing Early Childhood
Development: Strategic Communications and Public
Preferences. In: Halfon N., Rice T., and Inkelas M., eds.
Building State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems
Series, No. 7. National Center for Infant and Early Childhood
Health Policy. Retrieved January 17, 2006 from
http://www.healthychild.ucla.edu/NationalCenter/default.asp: 4.
5 Tannen, D. (Ed.) (1993) Framing in Discourse. New York:
Oxford University Press: 20-21.
6 Gilliam, F.D. and Bales, S.N. (2004): 4.
202.638.1144 FAX 202.638.0851
http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/
http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/products/ecdreports.shtml
http://www.healthychild.ucla.edu/NationalCenter/default.asp

or may not be accurate, based on what we know from scientific
study about child
development in the earliest years of life. If we want our
communications to help
people reason about early childhood development appropriately,
we should
introduce new frames that lead to alternate ways of
understanding the problem and
the policy solutions that match.
The FrameWorks Institute’s approach to communications, and
thus to the study of
how to talk about early childhood development, is based on the
following
assumptions:7
People are not blank slates.
Communication is interactive.
Communication resonates with people’s deeply held values and
worldviews.
Communication is frame-based.
When communication is inadequate, people default to the
“pictures in their
heads.”
When communication is effective, people can see an issue from
a different
perspective.
Next Step: Reframing
Understanding how frames work is the first step in an effort to
help people consider
a familiar issue from a different perspective. The next step is

reframing – providing
a different lens or story through which people can understand
new information.8
Reframing is hard work and takes practice, but the FrameWorks
Institute offers
tools to guide us in this process. One such tool is “levels of
thought.”
The FrameWorks Institute “adopts the position…that people
reason on the basis of
deeply-held moral values...”9 Those moral values are part of a
hierarchical process
for how people think about ideas and issues. As you will see
below, ideas and issues
can be divided into three levels of thought.
Levels of Thought10
Level One: Big ideas and values, like freedom, justice,
community, success,
prevention, responsibility
Level Two: Issue-types, like child care or child welfare
Level Three: Specific issues, such as earned income tax credits
or family and
medical leave
7 Bales, S.N. (2002): 7.
8 Bales, S.N. “A Five Minute Refresher Course in Framing.”
KIDS COUNT E-Zine. Issue No. 8. Washington, DC:
FrameWorks Institute.
http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/products/issue8framing.sht
ml. Retrieved February 27,
2006.
9 Ibid.

10 Ibid.
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ml
Reframing issues about infants and toddlers can be done
effectively “by reminding
[people] of the widely shared Level One values they already
incorporate into their
thinking...”11 We can communicate with others by using
“words and concepts like
‘responsibility,’ ‘community,’ ‘connection,’ ‘prevention,’ and
‘stewardship.’”12 Only
after we have introduced the Level One value, should we
communicate more specific
information such as the issue type and policy details.
Structuring our
communications in this way provides people with a context or
vision through which
they can understand the fine details of our message. Let’s take
a look at a fictional
framing and reframing to illustrate the way in which using
levels of thought can
improve your communications.
Original Frame
265 new babies were born in Fillmont, Indiana last year. 83%
of those babies

were born into homes in which both parents work and child care
is a
necessity. The community currently offers support services to
new parents,
but funds are lacking. The federal budget reconciliation bill
made across-the-
board cuts to domestic programs, including the Child Care
Development
Block Grant (CCDBG). This will have serious consequences for
child care
programs in our community. And with reauthorization of Early
Head Start
coming up this year, there is the possibility for even more cuts
to the
programs and services needed by the babies of Fillmont.
What was this message about? It’s specifically about child care
and budget
cuts to programs for babies. However, there is no clear value
expressed that
would help us think about the information in a particular way.
As a result,
we are left to make sense of the information and come to
conclusions based on
the “pictures that already exist in our heads.” Unfortunately,
those “pictures
in our heads” may not match the communicator’s intentions.
Reframe
The people of Fillmont, Indiana know how to strengthen their
community.
They know that a baby’s healthy social, emotional, physical and
cognitive
development helps form the brain’s architecture and leads to
success in

school, in life and in society. By investing in a comprehensive
Early Head
Start program, Fillmont, Indiana has made it a priority to
provide the best
start in life for all its babies and toddlers, so that their children
will grow up
to be good citizens of the community. The Early Head Start
program offers an
array of services to pregnant women, infants, toddlers and their
families,
including home visitation, parent support, early learning and
access to
medical, mental health and early intervention services. But this
community
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid.
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program cannot succeed without adequate federal support for
Early Head
Start. Reauthorization of Early Head Start is right around the
corner. It’s
time to remind our federal policymakers that babies in Fillmont
and across
the country depend on them.
What was this message about? The message was clearly about
community,

prevention, stewardship and responsibility. By creating a
shared vision for
the success of all children, we illustrate the notion that how we
care for our
youngest children is paramount to their future and society’s as a
whole. When
we then introduced specific issues and policies, it was through
the lens of the
Level One values we had already established in our
communication.
This is merely one example of reframing. You can begin to
practice framing by
thinking about situations in which you regularly communicate
about infant-toddler
development and writing down some sample messages. For
instance, if you were
going to meet with a state legislator about establishing a quality
rating system for
infant-toddler child care, how would you develop your
communication? First, make
a list of the two or three big ideas or Level One values that
establish a clear vision
for how you want the state legislator to think about quality
rating systems. Then
identify the Level Two category for your communication and
write down the specific
Level Three policies that you are promoting. When you put all
of these together, you
will have two or three possible frames for communicating about
quality rating
systems. Remember, frames have consequences for how people
reason about the
information, so be sure to test your new frames to determine
whether people are

reasoning about the information in the way you intended.
There is no magic bullet to effective communications. Instead
our challenge is to
work hard to understand the frames currently in use, as well as
develop new frames
that help people reason about early childhood development more
appropriately.
Babies are excellent examples of communication in action.
Now it’s our turn to
implement these lessons on framing and Be a Voice for Babies!
Author:
Debbie M. Rappaport, Senior Field Coordinator, ZERO TO
THREE Policy Center
Published: April 17, 2006
202.638.1144 FAX 202.638.0851
Effective Communication about the Early Years

The Elements of the Frame – Part One
Early childhood development is a complex process and
communicating it effectively
can be difficult. To help infant-toddler professionals
successfully communicate with
policymakers and the public about early childhood development,
the ZERO TO
THREE Policy Network is publishing a series of articles in The
Baby Monitor
focused on effective communication about the early years.
In the first article
(http://www.zerotothree.org/policy/framingissues.html), we
provided a basic introduction to some concepts of effective
communications; first by
outlining the fundamentals of framing, and then by introducing
ways to think about
reframing your communications.
“Framing refers to the way a story is told and to the way these
cues [or
stories], in turn, trigger the shared and durable cultural models
that people
use to make sense of their world.”1
We also included some concrete examples of how to reframe a
message related to
early childhood development.
This second article begins to break the process down even
further by examining the
strategic elements that comprise a frame. The elements of a
frame help people
understand new information by providing cues for how to

interpret the
communication. The concepts and research in this article are
derived from the work
of the FrameWorks Institute, a non-profit communications
research organization in
Washington, DC. According to FrameWorks, the essential
elements of a frame are:
Context
Numbers
Messengers
Visuals
Metaphors and Simplifying Models
Tone
In this article, we examine the first three elements of the frame
– context,
numbers and messengers – the research which supports each
element, how to use
it effectively in your communications and examples that relate
each element
directly to communicating infant-toddler issues. The next piece
in the series will
focus on visuals, metaphors and simplifying models, and tone.
Context
What does it mean to provide context in our communications?
Context refers to the
conditions or circumstances that help illustrate a situation. “The
way you identify
1Gilliam, F.D. & Bales, S.N. (2004). Framing Early Childhood
Development: Strategic Communications and Public
Preferences. In: Halfon N., Rice T., and Inkelas M., eds.
Building State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems

Series, No. 7. National Center for Infant and Early Childhood
Health Policy. Retrieved January 17, 2006 from
http://www.healthychild.ucla.edu/NationalCenter/default.asp: 4.
202.638.1144 FAX 202.638.0851
http://www.zerotothree.org/policy/framingissues.html
http://www.healthychild.ucla.edu/NationalCenter/default.asp
the problem [or issue you want to communicate] makes all the
difference in how
people are able to view [the solutions you propose.]”2
Establishing context in your
communications may seem like a rather straightforward and
simple strategy. And
yet, context is the element which is most often overlooked.
“When people
understand issues as individual problems, they may feel critical
or compassionate,
but they won’t see policies and programs as the solutions.”3
When you provide
context, it allows people to think about your issue as one that
affects the entire
community, and helps them see that community solutions are
needed.4
RESEARCH SUGGESTS:5
Context establishes the cause of a problem and who is
responsible for solving
it.

Context can further systems thinking and minimizes the
reduction of social
problems to individual solutions.
Context must be built into the frame from the very beginning
when the
problem is introduced.
So how can we use context to positively impact our
communications? The
FrameWorks Institute proposes the following strategies6:
1. Define the problem so that community influences and
opportunities are
apparent.
2. Make the connection between data and long-term trends.
3. Interpret the data: Tell the public and policymakers what is at
stake and
what it means to neglect this problem.
4. Connect the issue to root causes, conditions and trends with
which people are
familiar.
5. Assign responsibility.
6. Present solutions.
7. Acknowledge how well the state or community is doing in
addressing the
problem, rather than focusing on how individuals are addressing
it.

Let’s take a look at a fictional example of using context in a
communication that
impacts infants and toddlers.
Paid Family & Medical Leave
The Jackson Paper Company is taking its employees and
executives on the
road and making the case for paid family and medical leave at
the State
House. The company realizes that investing in the healthy
growth and
2 Bales, S.N. (June 2004). Framing Public Issues. Washington,
DC: 16.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.: 18.
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development of the community’s youngest children pays huge
dividends for
everyone, and they want the state to recognize it too. So they
are asking the
state to demonstrate their commitment to families with very
young children
by passing legislation that would make family and medical
leave more

accessible and affordable. Jackson Paper provides 6 weeks of
paid family and
medical leave and up to 6 additional weeks of unpaid family and
medical
leave to all of its employees – both men and women – upon the
birth or
adoption of a new baby or when a family member becomes ill
and needs care.
They recognize that to build a satisfied and loyal workforce,
you have to
support and value the people who work for you. Now it’s time
for the state to
do the same and make paid family leave a priority.
This example illustrates context by making paid family and
medical leave a public
issue, rather than the problem of one individual family. It
presents the problem,
offers solutions, and assigns responsibility.
Numbers
We see numbers everywhere – in our work, in the news, in our
everyday life
activities – and yet numbers alone do not tell a story. Research
from the cognitive
sciences tells us that numbers must be accompanied by narrative
in order for them
to be fully understood.
RESEARCH SUGGESTS7:
Numbers alone often fail to create “pictures in our heads.”
Most people cannot judge the size or meaning of numbers; they
need cues.
Once a frame is established, it will “trump” the numbers.

What, then, does this mean for people who use data regularly in
their work? It
means that we must think more strategically about how we use
numbers, how we
explain them and how we use them to support our frame. These
strategies8 from
FrameWorks help us use numbers more effectively:
1. Never provide numbers/data without telling what they mean.
2. Try to provide the interpretation first, then the data.
An excellent method for accomplishing this is “social math,” a
way of
associating numbers with comparisons of similar things that
people can
understand. This strategy was developed by experts at The
Advocacy
7 Ibid.: 19.
8 Ibid.: 19-21 and Bales, S.N. (November 2003). .” “The
Storytelling Power of Numbers.” KIDS COUNT E-Zine.
Issue No. 25. Washington, DC: FrameWorks Institute.
ml. Retrieved November 21, 2005.
202.638.1144 FAX 202.638.0851

ml
Institute and Berkeley Media Studies Group. Here’s an example
of social
math from the international advocacy community:
“’Two years ago in Nigeria, an AK-47 could be had in exchange
for two cows.
Now the price is down to one cow. And in Sudan, you can get
an AK-47 for a
chicken.’ (Marie Griesgraber, Oxfam America)”9
3. Use numbers only when necessary. When you use dramatic
numbers, you
may have the inadvertent effect of making the problem seem
unmanageable
or scary.
4. Use numbers to demonstrate cost-effectiveness and to convey
the cost of
ignoring the problem.
Let’s take a look at an example of using numbers effectively in
a communication
about infants and toddlers.
Using Social Math
“In the time it takes to watch an episode of Law and Order
SVU, five infants
are being removed from their homes for abuse or neglect or

both. During the
time you’re getting ready to go to work, another five babies
move into foster
care. Everyday in the United States, 118 babies leave their
homes because
their parents cannot take care of them.10”11
As this example demonstrates, associating numbers with
something people know
and recognize can help describe the scope and size of the data
being presented.
Messengers
The person who delivers your message – the messenger – is one
of the most
important elements in a frame. The messenger is the person
who establishes why
this is a problem about which people should care.12 In fact,
“messages can be
reinforced or undermined by their attachment to a [particular
messenger].”13 For
example, FrameWorks’ research on children’s oral health found
that when dentists
were the messenger, they were perceived as speaking from a
position of self-
interest.14 Thus the choice of messenger interfered with the
success of the frame.
9 Bales, S.N. (June 2004). Framing Public Issues. Washington,
DC: 20.
10 Administration for Children & Families. (August 2005) The
AFCARS Report: Preliminary FY 2003 Estimates as
of April 2005 (10) What were the ages of the children who
entered care during FY 2003?, U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services,

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/tar/re
port10.htm , retrieved
January 23, 2006.
11 Youcha, V., Hudson, L. and Rappaport, D. (April 3, 2006)
“From Science to Public Policy: Court Teams for
Maltreated Infants and Toddlers.” The Baby Monitor: ZERO TO
THREE Policy and Advocacy News. ZERO TO
THREE Policy Center. Washington, DC.
12 Bales (June 2004): 22.
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
202.638.1144 FAX 202.638.0851
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/tar/re
port10.htm
You can strengthen your frame by carefully selecting
messengers who will lend
credibility and avoid perceived self-interest.
RESEARCH SUGGESTS15:
The choice of messengers is as important as the message itself.
The message is reinforced or undermined by the choice of
messenger.
Knowledge and trustworthiness are critical to public
acceptance, not
likeability or familiarity.
Some messengers are not credible on certain issues because we

assume they
are biased toward a perspective.
Unlikely allies can prompt public reconsideration of an issue or
recommendation.
Some messengers convey specific frames.
Infant-toddler professionals and researchers can improve their
communications
about early childhood development by broadening the scope of
professionals they
utilize as messengers. Strategies16 proposed by FrameWorks
include:
1. Use messengers who can make the connection between the
severity of the
problem and the system that can address it. Be sure to use a
messenger who
can establish that the problem is public, not the problem of an
individual or a
particular family.
2. Test your messengers for public perceptions of their
knowledge and
trustworthiness.
3. Use unlikely allies.
4. Only use professional advocates and those closest to the issue
in supporting
roles, understanding the public’s assumption that they are
already vested in

the issue.
Let’s take a look at an example of using messengers effectively
in a communication
about infants and toddlers.
Judges as Messengers
Babies and toddlers are the most vulnerable to the effects of
maltreatment,
which can have life-long implications on all aspects of their
development if
not properly addressed. Yet the needs of infants and toddlers
in the child
welfare system are often overlooked. Social workers, early
intervention
specialists, court appointed special advocates and numerous
other
professionals are faced with the overwhelming issues that
plague infants and
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid.: 23.
202.638.1144 FAX 202.638.0851
toddlers in the child welfare system. But who can speak most
effectively
about these issues? ZERO TO THREE’s experience with its

Court Teams for
Maltreated Infants and Toddlers project has found that judges
are
knowledgeable and trustworthy messengers for communications
about
infants and toddlers in the child welfare system. Judges provide
a respected
and authoritative voice and help define the issue as one that
must be
addressed within the public arena.
Conclusion
There are several strategic elements that contribute to the ways
in which a
communication is understood. By appreciating these elements
and utilizing them
in the most resourceful ways, you can improve your
communications and advocacy
in support of healthy early childhood development. Watch for
our next framing
article, which will examine visuals, metaphors and simplifying
models, and tone.
Author:
Debbie M. Rappaport, Senior Field Coordinator, ZERO TO
THREE Policy Center
Published: May 30, 2006

202.638.1144 FAX 202.638.0851
Leadership Advocacy Assignment
We have worked through the module on advocacy. This module
has identified what advocacy is, its importance to the
profession,
provided guidelines for developing advocacy skills, and given
some examples of actions in advocacy.
The overall purpose of this project is for you to develop skills
you would use in the field as a professional, a leaders, and an
advocate. Because of the context of this being an online course,
we will focus primarily on written communication, with the
understanding that advocacy skills depend as much upon your
ability to interact with others face-to-face as through print and
other
media.
You will have several different audiences for this project;

consider the audience and purpose of the particular aspect of the
project as
you develop your advocacy actions.
You are to craft an “advocacy statement”; this statement should
summarize the changes you wish to advocate for within the
field.
Essentially this statement should describe the desired advocacy
outcome – what you wish to make happen. I will refer to the
“DAO”
which is the Desired Advocacy Outcome. Your advocacy
statement should be a description of your DAO. Your DAO
should address
either a state or federal level issue in early childhood education.
Your DAO needs to be something specific and manageable. For
example, I am all for “raising quality of early childhood
programs”
but that is far too vague a policy action. You must have
approval from me that your DAO will fit within the context of
this assignment.
The rest of the assignment essentially revolves around the DAO.
You will write a Fact Sheet or one page bulleted summary of the
research. Think of this as a “cheat sheet” you might share with

other advocates or policy makers (who do not want to read and
8 to 10 to 20 page research paper). This should be the bones of
your literature review.
You will write a literature review which provides the foundation
for your DAO, synthesizing the argument for your DAO from
the
professional literature. This should be a minimum of 8 pages of
text *** for the literature view, not inclusive of references, title
pages,
and other non-text accoutrements. This literature review should
be based on professional literature. Excellent work will call
upon
original research publications to integrate them into your
discussion (as opposed to consistently referring only to how
others interpret
that research).
***PLEASE NOTE – I do not like giving page number amounts.
Honestly, a thorough literature review of a topic along the lines
any
of you are likely to choose should be well past 8 pages, as
BOOKS are written on these issues.
Good advocates understand the arguments opponents will make

– why would policy makers, the public, other professionals and
professions NOT support your DAO? Almost all policies
required some type of funding for implementation – so one
aspect of
opponents’ arguments will typically addressing using funding
for ECE rather than other more immediate or more direct needs.
Who
might be opposed to your DAO? For example, you want to raise
salaries for staff – that is a public funding issue for public
programs
(like ABC and Head Start) and an issue that cuts into the
business model of private providers. How do you address those
concerns?
Consider carefully your proposed DAO and then discuss how to
counter arguments against your DAO.***
***NOTE: This is an aspect of the project many students
overlook.
You will then create advocacy actions that would be targeted to
different audiences to persuade individuals to support your
DAO. All
of your submissions for the assignment should clearly reflect
back to your DAO and advocacy statement. There are a
minimum of 3
advocacy actions for an acceptable paper; outstanding efforts
will include at least 4. Your three actions must come from the

following:
• Letter to the editor of a newspaper taking your advocacy for
your DAO to the public
• Letter to a relevant policy maker make the case for your DAO
(Use appropriate salutations and formatting – this is another
area where students do not follow through effectively)
• Mutli-media (video, powtoon, etc.) or a series of connected
posts to social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, or Google); if
you have other options you would prefer to use, contact me
before submitting
• Infographic educating the public about your DAO
Your advocacy actions especially should also use a variety of
technology tools/applications beyond simple word-
processing/Word
type programs.
Review the resources provided on Blackboard to support your
development of more specific aspects of the assignment (for
example,
writing letters to the editor, writing to policy makers, creating
infographics). My expectation is that your efforts, as
professionals and
advocates, will demonstrate appropriate conventions of writing
for each of these actions and audiences.

All aspects of the project will be graded with the NAEYC
Standards Rubric, including Standard 6f: Demonstrating a high
level of oral,
written and technological communications skills with
specialization for specific professional roles emphasized in the
program. As is
true for the whole class, graduate level standards for writing are
in place. Use APA format for your references and citations.
The text
formats (Sections A, B, D, E) should be double spaced; use
APA formatting for Section D. Remember again to write to
the
audience and purpose provided.
NOTE: This assignment provides potential documentation for
meeting Standard 6 in your capstone portfolio. (The reflection
you
provide in the portfolio is important for you to discuss how this
meets Standard 6.)

Section of
project
Purpose of section Audience for
section
General expectations Submission format/
DUE DATE
(A)
Advocacy
Statement/
Accurately summarizes within 3
– 5 sentences the change for
which you are advocating; a
clear DAO is described
General –
included
course
instructor,

course and
professional
peers, policy
makers,
public
Easily accessible by all
audiences including
Clear
Concise
Accurate reflection
Specific DAO
3 – 5 sentences; double spaced
Discussion board
with feedback from
peers related to the
clarity of the
statement; feedback

from instructor about
specificity and
feasibility for project
Module 3.1 DB: –
potential topic
Initial post due
Thursday
Module 4.3
Assignment – Draft
Advocacy Statement
(also see section C
below) due Sunday
EOD
Module 6.1/6.2 Final
Project due Sunday
EOD
(B)

Connection to
NAEYC Code
Ground the advocacy
statement in ethical
considerations; demonstrate
understanding of how advocacy
Course
instructor
Provide a rationale based on the
ideals and principles of the
NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct
for your advocacy statement –
Submitted to
instructor via BB as
part of the Advocacy
assignment
of Ethical

Conduct
is part of the ethical
expectations within the
clearly connect your statement to
the Code of Conduct; several
paragraphs double spaced
Project due Sunday
EOD
(C)
Bulleted
Research
Summary
Provides a one page bulleted
summary of the research that
supports your DAO

Policy
makers
Professional
peers
Concise clear relevant summary
of the research in support of the
advocacy statement/DAO; one
page; APA citation format
Submitted to
part of the advocacy
assignment; posted
on BB advocacy blog
for peer feedback
Module 4.3
Assignment Draft
Advocacy Statement
and Bulleted

research Summary
due Sunday EOD
Project due Sunday
EOD
(D)
Literature
Review
Provide the research and
theory that gives evidence for
the appropriateness of your
DAO – what is the research
that tells us this is best
practice? How
strong/consistent are the
findings of the research.
Course

instructor
At the very least, all bulleted
points on your one page
summary should be addressed
here – with a strong analysis and
syntheses of the research and
theory in support of the DAO
Includes relevant research and
remains on topic
Uses professional
literature/sources for research
Submitted to
assignment
Project due Sunday

EOD
While your opinion is going to
play a role in this – this should
represent PROFESSIONAL
values and not personal values.
Fewer than 8 pages of text (not
counting reference section) is
likely to be insufficient to support
your argument
APA format for text and citations,
double spaced
(E)
Opposing
views
(consider this
part of the

literature
review)
Include a consideration of
opposing viewpoints. What are
the arguments AGAINST your
advocacy outcome?
Course
instructor
Thoughtful consideration to
potential opposing views;
considerations about anything
that would require public funding
should be addressed ; minimum
one page double spaced
Submitted to

assignment
Project due Sunday
EOD
(F.1)
Advocacy
actions –
letter to editor
Write a letter to the editor for a
local or state (such as
Democrat Gazette) supporting
the DAO
NOTE: creating the action is
the intent of the project; I
cannot determine if you do
actually send your letter (but I
encourage you to do so!)
public Meets accepted criteria for letter

to editor (length, format);
accurately reflects advocacy
position statement; uses lay
language; is persuasive; clearly
and consistently presents the
DAO
Posted to BB
advocacy blog for
feedback from peers
and instructor;
submitted via BB as
part of advocacy
assignment
Module 5.1. DB Draft
Advocacy Actions
Initial Post due

Thursday
Project due Sunday
EOD
(F.2)
Advocacy
actions –
letter to policy
maker
Write a letter to an
APPROPRIATE policy maker to
advocate for your DAO policy
change
actually send your letter (but I
encourage you to do so!)

Relevant
policy maker
Meets accepted
criteria/formatting for letter to
policy maker(salutations/format,
length, voice), accurately reflects
advocacy position; uses formal
language; as addressed to
appropriate policy maker; is
persuasive; clearly and
consistently presents the DAO
Posted to advocacy
blog for feedback
from peers and
instructor; submitted
via BB as part of
advocacy

assignment
Advocacy Actions
Initial Post due
Thursday
Project due Sunday
EOD
(F.3)
Advocacy
actions –
multi media or
social media
You have choices here – video
created or proposed posts to
social media venues (such as
twitter, FB, google hangouts…).

Social Media venue posts must
be a minimum of 5 connected
and consecutive posts created
to provide a “story” supporting
your DAO
Pubic Evidences good communication
skills for the format; uses lay
language/minimizes professional
jargon; makes good use of the
medium; persuasive; clearly and
consistently presents the DAO
Posted to advocacy
blog for feedback
from peers and
via BB as part of
advocacy
assignment

Advocacy Actions
actually post your social media
actions (but I encourage you to
do so!)
Initial Post due
Thursday
Project due Sunday
EOD
(F.4)
Infographic

Create an infographic that
informs the public about your
DAO
Public Correct information, persuasive,
lay language (minimalize
professional jargon); clearly and
consistently represents the DAO
Posted to advocacy
blog for feedback
from peers and
via BB as part of
advocacy
assignment
Advocacy Actions
Initial Post due
Thursday

Project due Sunday
EOD

Effective Communication about the Early Years Understanding

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