How Modeling Teaches

Albert Bandura developed Social Cognitive Theory of Human Functioning

Concluded that most human behavior is learned from observing the models of others

How Modeling Teaches

Lev Vygotsky developed his Sociocultural Theory of Development including the zone of proximal development

discusses that imitative learning is one of three ways that social interaction leads to changes in children's thought and behavior. (other two - instructed learning and collaborative learning)

How Modeling Teaches

Bandura and Vygotsky - similarity

emphasized that imitation of role models was only part of the cognitive process and that people construct their own personal knowledge and understanding.

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

• Teachers with a positive disposition tend to show more respect for children's autonomy and provide higher-quality instruction
• A teacher who speaks in a kind and respectful tone to students tend to have a classroom where children speak more kindly and respectful to one another.

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS 

• Children notice when adults consider children's ideas and feelings respectfully.
• Teachers who exhibit very controlling behaviors set an example of demanding their own way without regard for others.

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Caring for Others

• The brain is wired to mirror actions and emotions
• The mirror neurons in the brain plays an important role social cognition.

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Caring for Others 

Modeling Acceptance

• Tolerance is appreciating that there are differences and learning to respect the opinions and ways of people who are different from you.
• Utilize teachable moments
• Teach a social studies curriculum

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Caring for Others 

Modeling Kindness

• Children need to learn at the concrete level - in their own environment and through their own experiences
• Make time for interpersonal relationship skills
• Affects children's ability both to feel safe and learn

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Caring for Others

Modeling Kindness Cont'd

• Take a proactive approach to bullying.
• Create a classroom climate that fosters cooperation
• Whenever you work at meeting children's needs and at creating a caring classroom, you are combating bullying.

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Caring for Others

Expressing Feelings

• Suppressed emotions eventually surface and can cause debilitating emotional and physical problems
• Culture often determines how emotions are expressed
• Adults who learned to accept and work with their own emotions can be a beneficial model for children

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Caring for Others

Letting it Show

• Children learn about the consequences of their actions by observing the actions of others
• By listening and observing, children begin to understand what feelings are, situations likely to create which feelings, and how to express them

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Caring for Others

Letting it Show Cont'd

• Hyson, "...Competent, thoughtful professionals consciously decide what emotions and emotion-related behavior to model
• Cooling off periods by teachers to handle their own stresses serves as a model for children when they are stressed.

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Caring for Others

Apologizing

• Even if teachers get overwhelmed and lose control, it can provide a teaching opportunity to model apologizing and expressing/explaining their own emotions

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Accepting Feelings

• When teachers asknowledge and express their feelings appropriately, they teach that feelings are not wrong.
• When adults deny children's negative feelings children may learn their feelings are wrong and feel guilty. Guilt may result in repressed feelings and negative behavior

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Accepting Feelings

Use Your Words

• A teacher can help a child clarify feelings by modeling more appropriate words.
• Children who experience empathy for their feelings begin to learn empathy for others as well

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Accepting Feelings

Acknowledging and Listening

• Children who perceive social support from teachers display an increase in motivation toward academic and prosocial goals.
• Listening is one of the most powerful sources of support we can offer children.

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Accepting Feelings

Gender and Emotion

• Providing children with opportunities to learn about emotions from both male and female role models is valuable for children's development.

MODELING DESIRABLE INTERACTIONS

Accepting Feelings

Cultural Differences

• Some children get different messages from home and school about how to express emotions
• differences between home and school emphasize the importance of getting to know parents and coming to mutual agreements on behalf of children

MODELING DESIRABLE BEHAVIORS

Taking Responsibility

Helping with Cleanup

• Young children need to be taught how to clean up a mess.
• Seeing teachers help clean up sends the message that it's worth doing. 

MODELING DESIRABLE BEHAVIORS

Taking Responsibility

Keeping Your Promises

• Trustworthiness is associated with children's healthy development, their adjustment in school, their formation of friendships and their academic competence

MODELING DESIRABLE BEHAVIORS

Taking Responsibility

Keeping Your Promises Cont'd

• Following through with a plan or promise is important in building trust and responsibility.

MODELING DESIRABLE BEHAVIORS

Taking Resposibility

Caring for Property

• Dedicating a significant amount of time to teaching children how to use materials responsibly can prevent undesirable behavior

MODELING DESIRABLE BEHAVIORS

Taking Responsibility

Keeping Physically Safe

• Modeling safe practices is more important and effective than following rules

MODELING DESIRABLE BEHAVIORS

Taking Inellectual Risks

Why Bother?

• teaching autonomy, rather than conformity, through risk taking, makes guidance and discipline easier
• work on fear or failure or mistakes
• model not belittling yourself for failings, but acceptance of them

MODELING DESIRABLE BEHAVIORS

Taking Intellectual Risks

Risk Taking and Academics

• Emergent literacy research indicates that children learn about letters and their sounds best when they work on their own hypostheses about writing and spelling.

• The fearless ones produce pages and pages of scribbles.
• Children who are afraid of failure may be hampered in their learning.

MODELING DESIRABLE BEHAVIORS

Effective Role Models

Someone Similar

• The ability to identify with role models is important to all ages.
• Teachers can emhasize similarities with children through interests.

Effective Role Models

Someone Admired

• being fun and pleasant
• having a positive relationship with the children
• they want to be like you because they like you

Effective Role Models

Media Models

• Children want to be like sports stars, tv characters, and super heroes.
• increasingly, advertising is aimed at children
• Children may pick up whole behavior patterns by emulating the models they see in media

Effective Role Models

Models of Violence

• When children see violence, they often bring it into their play
• opportunity to discuss reality vs. fantasy
• opportunity to discuss true heroism
• openness to discuss violence may help a child who is tormented by fear, or who is in real danger.

Working with Families to Combat Media Impact

• When parents supervise children's media activities, they can help them make sense of what they see.
• media takes away from time spent in actual play or interaction with adults.
• Infants and toddlers should have no screen time
• Young children should have 30 minutes a week.