the critical role of practice in the early childhood curriculum gerald mahoney mandel school of...

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF PRACTICE IN THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM

Gerald MahoneyMandel School of Applied Social SciencesCase Western Reserve University,Cleveland, Ohio

Developmental Proficiency

One goal of early intervention is to help children improve their proficiency in the use of developmental skills and behaviors– Developmental Proficiency

Use the developmental skill or behaviors spontaneously without thinking

– MEANINGFULLY– APPROPRIATE CONTEXTS– WITH FAMILIAR AND UNFAMILIAR PEOPLE


Does not mean that– child has learned response to criteria (8 out 10

prompted responses) Often associated with problems of maintenance and

generalization

– child’s behavior is an approximation of the desired response

– child spontaneously uses behavior only on occasions


Analogous to reading proficiency– Accuracy– Fluency– Comprehension– Constant Improvement

Keys to reading proficiency– Instruction– Practice

Instruction alone is insufficient!!!!!!

Motor Development Proficiency

What changes in infant walking and why?– Karen Adolph et. al., (2003) Child Development, Vol 74 (2),

475-497 Compared how children’s body dimensions, age and walking

experience influence their walking proficiency (n=210 infants n=15 kindergartners).

– WHAT CHANGES: As children become bigger, older and more experienced their steps become longer, narrower, straighter and more consistent

– WHAT CAUSES THESE CHANGES: When measures of body dimension, age and experience are used to predict level of walking skill- (e.g., Step length dynamic base, foot rotation)

THE AMOUNT OF CHILDREN’S EXPERIENCE WALKING is the only significant predictor

What Motor Experience entails?

“infants’ everyday experiences with locomotion occur in truly massive doses, reminiscent of the immense amounts of daily practice that promote expert performance in world class musicians and athletes.”

“Walking infants practice keeping balance in upright stance and locomotion for more than six accumulated hours per day.”

What Motor Experience Entails?

“They average between 500 and 1500 walking steps per hour so that by the end of each day, they may have taken 9,000 walking steps and traveled the length of 29 football fields” .

What Motor Experience Entails?

“infants everyday walking experiences occur in a wide variety of events, places and surfaces. … the variety of everyday walking experience resembles variable and random practice schedules …. (that) lead to a process of continually generating solutions anew.”

“THE MAGNITUDE, DISTRIBUTED NATURE, AND VARIABILITY OF INFANTS’ WALKING EXPERIENCE

MAY LIE AT THE HEART OF DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGE.”

Keys to Proficiency

Ability – those with the greatest ability are most likely to achieve highest levels of proficiency

– However, those with limited ability can become proficient Opportunities to Learn

– Context (tennis courts, basketballs)– Instruction, Coaching

Practice– Motivation

Intrinsic– Promoted through:

Fun, Encouragement, Success, Being Valued Extrinsic

Practice and Developmental Proficiency

“DOES THE – MAGNITUDE, – DISTRIBUTED NATURE, – AND VARIABILITY

OF INFANTS’ PLAY EXPERIENCE LIE AT THE HEART OF DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGE?

2 Children with Down Syndrome

Children’s play may be the key to understanding the role of practice Developmental Learning

Meghan

12 months old DA = 6 months Toys

– bucket, soft doll, rattles, a ball, snap beads, soft cloth form, play xylophone with pull string and a mallet, a peg board and hammer, a book

5 ½ minute observation– mouthing (N=2)– shaking/waving (N=9)– patting/clapping/banging (N=7)– vocal play (N=2– throwing/dropping (N=4). – used hands for vocal play (N=3) and

clapping (N=2).

William

24 months old DA = 13 months Toys

– play telephone with pull string and receiver, undressed doll with a bib, a bucket with plastic blocks or shapes, a shape sorter, a soft-cushion ball, a pull toy shaped like an insect with wire antennas and wheels, shape sorter, empty plastic box, plastic cylinder

5 minute observation– touching/manipulating the details of

objects (N=5) e.g., turning the wheels on the telephone

– used objects according to their intended function

e.g., hold the toy telephone to his ear (N=2); – activated the wire antenna to produce an

effect (N=2); – use bib on the doll, and strings and

appendages to lift objects (N=6)

5 minute observation (continued)– object permanence activities (N=4)

• peek-a-boo with doll – “in-and-out” activities (N=6)

•in and out of a container • transferring objects from one container to another

General Observations About Children’s Play

Children played continually with toys without prompting

Most dominant feature of play is practice or repetition of actions

Children’s play is typical for their developmental age level

Differences in play reflect differences in children’s thinking and understanding more than differences in their skill at using objects

Typically developing children engage in massive amounts of practice before learning new developmental behaviors

Banging, Waving, Throwing, Mouthing Typically Developing Child

Chronological Age Range to Transition from Banging, Waving, Throwing, Mouthing

4-8 months

Months to Transition from Banging, Waving, Throwing, Mouthing

4 months

Banging, Waving, Throwing, Mouthing acts Per Month 2 per minute X 4 hours

(500/day)

15,000

Total Banging, Waving, Throwing, Mouthing Acts to Transition the set of Developmental Behaviors 60,000

Assimilative v Accommodative Learning

Assimilation – Children incorporate the world into their existing

modes of perceiving, thinking and acting. During assimilation children

– become increasingly proficient with their current modes of thinking, perceiving, and acting.

– learn how their behaviors can be used across a wide range of toys and materials in a variety of contexts.

– Learn the limitation of perceptions, cognitions and behaviors Assimilation = Practice Developmental Skills and

Concepts


Accommodation– children develop new ways of perceiving thinking and

acting – motivated both by children’s dissatisfaction with the

adequacy of current forms of thinking, perceiving and acting as well as by their discovering different ways of thinking, perceiving and acting.

– dependent on children’s willingness to give up old ways of perceiving, thinking and acting as it is on their discovering new ways of perceiving, thinking and doing

Accommodation = Learning New Developmental Skills


The overwhelming majority of children’s self initiated experience is assimilative learning

– The 60,000 BWMT repetitions typically developing children do before accommodating or transitioning to the next stage of development

– May be the amount of assimilative learning experiences (PRACTICE) children need to:

LEARN THE USES OF NEW BEHAVIORS LEARN THE LIMITATIONS OF BEHAVIORS DISCOVER NEW WAYS OF PERCEIVING, THINKING AND

ACTING

Developmental Learning in Children with DS

Children with Down syndrome– Engage in same types of behaviors – Same sequence of behaviors

Children with DS are delayed because of – Learning inefficiencies

Compromised neurological system Require more experience to learn the same amount

as children who do not have compromised learning systems

Learning Efficiency Model Repetitions Needed to Transition Through Banging, Waving, Throwing and Mouthing

Typically Developing Child

Meghan

Developmental Quotient (DQ)

(% Delay)

100

(0%)

50

(50%)

Chronological Age Range to Transition from Banging, Waving, Throwing, Mouthing

4-8 months 8-16 months

Developmental Age Range of Banging, Waving, Throwing, Mouthing Activities

4-8 months 4-8 months


4 months 8 months

Banging, Waving, Throwing, Mouthing acts Per Month

15,000 (500/day) 15,000 (500/day)

Total Banging, Waving, Throwing, Mouthing Acts to Transition

60,000 120,000

Developmental Delay

Developmental delay = the amount of practice children need to learn and get to the next level of development

– 50% delay 2 times more practice than a typically developing child

– 25% delay 1 time more practice than a typically developing child

Children who have above average developmental quotients need less practice to learn than typically developing children

– DQ = 125 – Child learns with 25% less practice than the average child

Does not apply to children with delays that are related to lack of opportunities for learning

Two Kinds of Developmental Practice

Accommodation Practice– Dependent on parent or other adult directing the

child Such as in IBI

Assimilation Practice– Child playing alone

or – Child playing with parent or other adults

Accommodation Practice

Hard to implement– Children resist

Manifested by– Passivity– Fatigue– Acting out/ Behavior problems

Too much emphasis on accommodation practice may interfere with or impede children from engaging in assimilative practice

– Parent’s must devote time in excess of the daily routine interactions they have with their child

Little evidence that this promotes development – However, may explain the effects that ABA/IBI has on

children’s development

Parent Responsiveness Promotes Assimilation Practice (Pivotal Behaviors) (Mahoney, Kim & Linn, 2007. Infants and Young Children)

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Low Responsive High Responsive

The development of children with disabilities is related to the rate they engage in assimilative practice (N =45) (Mahoney, Kim & Linn, 2007)

12.64

14.7313.55

16.91

14.45 14.18

12.59

10.23 10.82

16.04

20.35

18.17

22.3

19.1720.04

17.04

15.39

17.57

0

5

10

15

20

25

Vineland Play Based Assessment

Develo

pm

enta

l A

ge (m

onth

s)

Low Pivotal Behavior High Pivotal Behavior

Developmental Learning in Children with Developmental Delays

The more we can encourage children with Developmental Delays to practice his/her current developmental skills the quicker they will get to the next stage of development.

Learning Efficiency Model If we could increase Megan’s rate of practice by 20% a day

Meghan 20% increased

Practice

Developmental Quotient (DQ)

(% Delay)

50

(50%)

Banging, Waving, Throwing, Mouthing acts Per Month

15,000 (500/day) 18,000 (600/day)

Total Banging, Waving, Throwing, Mouthing Acts to Transition

120,000 120,000


8 months 6.6 months

Rate of development during intervention .50

(50% delay)

.60

(40 % delay)

Improvement from expected 0% 20%

Parents engage in massive amounts of one to one interactions with their children during daily routines

Teacher Therapist Parent

If we can enhance parents’ responsiveness with their children

We could – Increase children’s rate of practicing their existing

behaviors with their parents During the course of the 2 – 300,000 interactions they

have with their parents in daily activities and routines.

– Help children develop the habit of spontaneously practicing and repeating their current developmental behaviors

While playing alone While interacting with others

This might increase their rate of development

How responsive mothers become was related increase children’s practice (Mahoney & Macdonald, 2007)

0.7

1.22

0.11

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

No Change Moderate Change High Change

Responsiveness Change

Changes

in C

hild

ren's P

ivota

l

Beheavi

or

Increases in Children’s Cognitive & Communication Development was related to increase in their rate of practicing pivotal behaviors

1

814 15

2319

28

58

20

10

20

30

40

50

60

Object Use Symbolic Behavior Expressive Language

% D

evel

opm

enta

l Inc

reas

e

No PB Change Moderate PB Change High PB Change

The Role of Practice in Early InterventionRI Strategies

Increase AdultResponsive Interaction

Increase Child Pivotal Behavior

Increase Rate Of Practice of Existing Developmental Skills(Assimilative Learning Acts)

Reduce Time To AttainRepetitions Child Needs to Transition

To Next Developmental Behaviors

Increase Rate of Developmental Functioning

Role of Engagement

Pivotal developmental behaviors– Behaviors that are central to wide area of functioning,

such that a change in a pivotal behavior results in changes in several other behaviors (Koegel & Colleagues)

Learning Processes Learning Habits

Koegel has promoted children’s pivotal behavior (Pivotal Response Training) as a method for increasing the effectiveness of Discrete Trial Training with children with ASD

the critical role of practice in the early childhood curriculum gerald mahoney mandel school of...

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