A Guidance Approach for the Encouraging Classroom, 6th edition by Dan Gartrell

1. Chapter Eight
“Leadership Communication with the
Individual”
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

2. Guiding Questions
1. How do teachers’ listening skills build
relationships?
2. How do contact talks encourage young
learners?
3. What is a compliment sandwich and how
does it work?
4. Why is friendly humor an important
guidance strategy?
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

3. Guiding Questions
5. Is friendly touch still a viable guidance technique?
6. Why is the teaching team important in leadership
communication?
7. How can teachers care for themselves so they
can care for the children?
8. Cultural Responsiveness: How does the teacher
foster inclusive social identity in children?
9. Parent Partnerships: How do teachers use
leadership communication in the parent-teacher
conference?
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

4. After studying this chapter, you should be
able to:
• Explain whether the use of touch is a
viable guidance technique.
• Explain how teachers can care for
themselves so that they can care for
children.
• Tell how teachers use leadership
communication in the parent-teacher
conference.
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

5. Importance of Teacher
Listening Skills
• There are a variety of listening techniques that a teacher can
employ:
– Attending – Reflective listening
– Acknowledgement – Open-ended questioning
– Wait time – I-messages
– Expansion
• Using listening techniques helps to build a positive relationship
with children and encourages them to process and express their
thoughts and feelings.
• Techniques are effective when they’re blended, depending on a
teacher’s professional judgment.
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

6. Contact Talks
• Contact talk is the practice of spending quality time with
each child to check-in and get to know them.
• Even a very short time matters to children, telling them that
they are valued so much that their busy teacher finds time to
talk to them.
• Likely times for contact talks:
– Before other children arrive
– During choice time
– During unstructured active playtimes
– At lunch
– During a break in the day
– After a self-directing activity has begun
– After school
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

7. Compliment Sandwich
• The compliment sandwich is a focused way of
giving encouragement.
• Flow of a compliment sandwich:
– 1. At least one statement of encouragement
– 2. One suggestion, recommendation, request, or
question
– 3. At least one compliment
• The ratio of positive-to-negative comments is
important, as research suggests that the bare
minimum for a child to feel supported is two positive
to one negative.
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

8. Friendly Humor
• Friendly humor affirms positive relations with children
and supports a friendly atmosphere in the classroom.
• Teachers who see humor even in trying moments
can defuse problems effectively.
• “We need humor in the classroom but let’s be
careful about it. Humor can be a two-edged sword.
Some rules for humor: Never use it as a weapon, nor
to chastise or correct. Never make a student the butt
of a joke, and remember not to take yourself too
seriously” (Halcrow, 1988)
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

9. Touch as Guidance Technique
• Friendly touches can contribute to a warm and
caring environment.
• The acceptable bounds of touch, however,
need to be outlined in policies and understood
and practiced by all staff and volunteers.
• Children need to be taught to understand what
“friendly touches” are in the classroom setting
and why those are the guidelines.
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

10. Caring for Yourself
• Early childhood professionals are at risk of overfunctioning--
feeling they must be all things to all people.
• Honestly confronting within oneself the cause of the stress is
a first step to making life more manageable.
• Purposeful behaviors that can reduce stress:
– exercising, relaxing strategies – taking a break
– setting reasonable limits – letting oneself be silly
– practicing flexibility – venting to trusted others
– prioritizing tasks – creatively solving problems
– breaking big tasks down into little ones
– actively collaborating/working with/playing with others
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

11. Family Partnerships
• Helping families to understand that the teacher accepts
them can be evidenced in how parent-teacher
conferences are conducted:
– Choosing a setting that is comfortable for the family member
– Using the language of the family member (be wary of jargon, use
interpreter as needed)
– Work to understand the family’s rules, principles, and beliefs
– Monitor your own level of discomfort and how you’re responding
– Try to build a collaborative system
– Invite the family to be partners and share suggestions, notice
behaviors, etc.
– Use listening strategies
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.