Oklahoma Collaboration Model Presented By: Deborah Ihrig

Oklahoma Collaboration Model Presented By: Deborah Ihrig Mind in the Making – OK Project Director Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa 16 East 16th Street Tulsa, Ok 74119 dihrig@mindinthemakingok.org, www.mindinthemakingok.org

What Is Mind in the Making? • Mind in the Making (MITM), an early learning initiative developed by Families and Work Institute and New Screen Concepts, is an unprecedented and unparalleled collaborative effort to communicate the science of early learning to adults caring for young children, families, teachers, and the general public.

What is Mind in the Making? The Learning Modules for Early Childhood Teachers are one component of Mind in the Making (MITM). The goal of the campaign is to share the best knowledge of how developing minds learn. The far-reaching and penetrating potential of Mind in the Making is in its multi-dimensional approach, including: • television series; • family videos; • radio public service announcement; • tip sheets; • web-based information; and • learning Modules for Early Childhood Teachers.

FWI & MITM: Making History 1991 – 1994 A coalition of scientists and policy makers was convened by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to focus on meeting the needs of young children. The work of this task force led to the publication of its seminal report, Starting Points, in 1994.

FWI & MITM: Making History 1995 Families and Work Institute partnered with Carnegie Corporation and other foundations to develop a widespread early learning outreach and communication campaign. 1996 Carnegie awarded two-year grants totaling more than $3 million to 16 states and cities to implement recommendations from Starting Points. FWI and Carnegie hosted a conference at the University of Chicago on the science of early brain development..

FWI & MITM: Making History 1996 – 1997 FWI works with the I Am Your Child Campaign by assembling cross-disciplinary state and local coalitions and developing outreach materials, including PSAs, videos for families, tip sheets, a website, how-to booklets on community mobilization for policy makers and more. White House Conference on Early Development, 1996.

FWI & MITM: Making History 1997 – 2000 With the launch of I Am Your Child and other initiatives, early child development becomes increasingly recognized as a public issue. National Governors’ Association hosts policy forums on the early years Newsweek, in partnership with Johnson & Johnson, publishes two special editions on the first three years in 1997 and 2000. National polling conducted in 2000 shows increasing public awareness of child development issues, but there is confusion about what early learning means.

FWI & MITM: Making History 2001 – 2006 FWI and New Screen Concepts developed the Mind in the Making: The Science of Early Learning, a comprehensive and rigorous research-based early child development communication and education campaign. 2007 Mind in the Making is launched. • Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

Underlying Principles of MITM The design of the MITM Early Learning Modules is based on the research-based principles that; • Teaching and care-giving practice improves when adults are engaged in understanding their own and children's learning • When adults become more mindful of their own practice in promoting children's learning. • When adults become more engaged as learners about teaching and learning. • And when adults have a better grasp of the best knowledge in child development and how to translate that core knowledge into their teaching/care-giving practice.

MITM Core Principles The Modules engage teachers/adults in a process of self-reflection and self-discovery. Studies have found that "intentional" teachers are better teachers and that teachers goals are instrumental in shaping their practice; thus teachers are encouraged to see themselves as learners to reconnect with the excitement of what it means to be a learner, understanding how they take in information and how they change as a prelude to understanding children's learning.

Core Principle: Teachers Using the Modules work with Learning Partners and Learning Groups Studies also reveal the importance of social learning. • Working with learning partners and learning groups help teachers understand their own learning. • It also provides opportunities for teachers to reflect on the experiences of other adults and the commonalities and differences in how they and others learn. • Through this process, teachers are better equipped to understand the different ways that children learn and to understand through experience the importance of integrating social, emotional, and intellectual learning.

Core Principle: The Modules are not training, but rather a facilitated learning process Because the Modules engage teachers in a process of self-discovery aimed at improving teaching practice, they are not a traditional training in which an expert shares what she or he knows. The Modules are facilitated by Learning Facilitators who have completed Learning Facilitator Preparation Institutes.

Core Principle: Videos are used to capture research on early development and learning and to depict day-to-day interactions between children and adults Researchers are presented as learners themselves, allowing teachers to understand how "the experts" develop the questions they ask and the hypotheses they pose to understand how young children learn and the process they use to try to find answers. Researchers present concrete information on early development in concrete and visually memorable ways to enrich teachers' practice. Video segments depict "real life" experiences with children in early childhood settings and provide opportunities for teachers to observe both best practice and ambiguous practice and to consider changes in their own teaching practice by applying what they are learning from the research.

Core Principle: The Modules are intended to complement and/or enhance existing curricula and training materials. The Modules are used as pre-service, in-service, continuing education, and college education offered by a variety of sponsors covering all of the early years. Sponsors include: • CCR&R Agencies • Public Schools • Colleges and Universities • State Departments of Education or Human Services • State Professional Development Systems

The Modules begin with a brief introduction video that provides an overview the cutting edge research that is at the core of the Early Learning Modules. Each Module features: Research Summaries/Review Learning Goals and Objectives Tasks & Outcomes For Teachers/Caregivers Get Ready! Did You Know? What Do You Think? What Do You See? What Can You Do? Quotes Moving On and Doing More MITM Components

OK MITM Model Benefits • Develops collaborative relationships between child care programs, elementary school professionals, parents, and community leaders; • Shares research in an accessible manner; • Addresses the gap between research and practice; • Inspires new insights and teaching behavior; • Keeps the "fires of learning" alive for caregivers and provides inspiration to seek higher levels of education; • Professional Development Credit 2.4 CEUs (24 Clock Hours). Gives children the opportunity to be with adults who understand that social, emotional, and intellectual development are inextricably linked.

Oklahoma Model • The Oklahoma MITM Initiative believes the parent is truly the child’s first teacher and seeks to facilitate the Early Learning Modules to all adults throughout the community who interact with children on a daily basis. • Focuses support and module implementation with adults in these areas: Parents, Health Community, Child Care Providers, Tribal Services, Higher Education, and Public Schools. • Believes in bridging relationships and innovative networking to benefit the members of the MITM community (locally and nationally) to further school readiness initiatives for children.

Module One: Beginning A Learning Adventure • Teachers will understand that what they do with children can have a lifelong impact. They will also understand that teachers who continue to learn about teaching, who see themselves as learners, and who understand the learning process are best able to foster learning in others.

Module Two: Essential Connections • Teachers will understand that human connections are essential to learning and that the process of moving in and out of synchrony (synch) with others is the foundation of human relationships. When adults are in synch with children, children are more likely to feel known and understood and are more likely to be open to learning.

Module Three: How Learning Begins • Teachers will understand how learning begins. They will understand that children are naturally drawn to others and that learning begins when children are able to control their attention, behavior, and emotions enough to focus on other people. Researchers call this state regulation.

Module Four: SEI Together: Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Learning are Inextricably Linked Teachers will understand and act on the knowledge that social, emotional, and intellectual learning are inextricably linked. Children learn best when they are connected to others and when they are engaged emotionally and intellectually

Module Five: SEI Together: Understanding Temperament • Teachers will understand that effective teaching requires becoming increasingly aware of the role that temperament plays in child and adult behavior and learning. They will also become more aware of the importance of a goodness of fit with the children they teach.

Module Six: SEI Together: Building Confidence and Competence • Teachers will understand that children receive powerful messages about themselves from the ways that adults respond to and interact with them. Research shows that children’s developing sense of self and their feelings of competence are greatly influenced by the quality of relationships they have with others.

Module Seven: SEI Together: How We Learn to Know Others' Thoughts and Feelings • Teachers will understand that one of the most important building blocks in early learning and school readiness is for children to become able to take the perspectives of others – to learn that what they think and feel and what others think and feel can be different. Researchers call this theory of mind.

Module Eight: SEI Together:How to Use Language and Literacy Skills to Create Meaning in Experience Teachers will understand how to use language to promote language and literacy skills in children. Teachers will become better at providing an environment that is rich in language experiences from infancy on – including a great deal of talking, story-telling, singing, and reading books.

Module Nine: SEI Together:Encouraging Curiosity and Problem Solving • Teachers will understand that children are motivated by inborn curiosity and an innate drive to solve problems and figure out how the word works. One of the major tasks of teaching young children is to value, foster, and model curiosity and problem solving.

Module Ten: SEI Together: Memory and Learning • Participants will understand the role of memory in early learning. Teachers will become better at promoting children’s ability to remember by recalling shared experiences with children, describing these experiences in detailed and rich language, encouraging children to talk about their experiences, and giving children meaningful opportunities to practice the skills they are learning.

Module Eleven: SEI Together: Stress and Learning • Stress can affect children’s growth and development and teachers learn how to help children learn to manage stress. • Teachers will become better at reading children’s cues and trying to understand what they are thinking, feeling, and experiencing. • Teachers will become better at responding in ways that help children learn to regulate themselves and helping children use appropriate words to express what they are thinking, feeling, and experiencing.

Module Twelve: SEI Together: Creating Communities of Learners • Participants will understand the importance of teaching others what they have learned and of being connected to people, organizations, and resources that help them continue to learn about teaching. Teachers will understand the importance of being part of communities where learning and teaching are valued and commonplace. Teachers will also promote learning with children and families in their programs and among their friends, neighbors, colleagues, and the larger community.

Dr. Carolee Howes (UCLA) Dr. Suzanne Carothers (NYU) Dr. Ed Tronick (Harvard) Dr. T. Berry Brazelton (Harvard, emeritus) Dr. Charles A. Nelson (University of Minnesota) Dr. Andrew N. Meltzoff (University of Washington) Dr. Daniel Stern (Universite de Geneve) Dr. Joseph Campos (UC-Berkeley Dr. Felton Earls (Harvard) Dr. Jerome Kagan (Harvard, emeritus) Dr. Megan Gunnar (University of Minnesota) Dr. Alison Gopnik (UC-Berkeley) Dr. Ross Thompson (UC-Davis) Dr. Catherine Snow (Harvard) Dr. Patricia Kuhl (University of Washington) Dr. Patricia Bauer (University of Minnesota) Dr. Heidelese Als (Harvard) Researchers

Be a Part of History, Join Us! For More Information – Stay Connected! If you are a local, state or national leader who would like to receive additional information about how to bring Mind in the Making to your community, join the Mind in the Making Communications Network. • To receive and share research information, participate in planned conference calls, learn about Mind in the Making and other opportunities, please send an email to: shuang@familiesandwork.org. • Write “subscribe” in the subject line and provide your: Name, Title, Organization or Coalition Name, Address, Phone and Fax, Email address and website, if applicable. • You will receive an email confirming your successful registration as a member of the Mind in the Making Communications Network.

Contact Information Sharon Huang National Project Manager Families and Work Institute, New York, New York 212-465-2044 shuang@familiesandwork.org www.mindinthemaking.org Deborah Ihrig Mind in the Making – OK Project Director Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa dihrig@mindinthemakingok.org www.mindinthemakingok.org

Oklahoma Collaboration Model Presented By: Deborah Ihrig