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Related Resources
November 2006
Do Problem Behaviors Live inside Young Children? Or Do We Create Problems through Our Program Design?
Dale Borman Fink, Ph.D.
Online Resources
- Learning to Learn, Pre-kindergarten–Kindergarten Design Implications
This issue brief from the Council of Educational Facility Planners discusses four basic elements in the design of the early learning environment: movement, comfort, competence, and control.
http://www.cefpi.org/pdf/issuetrak0506.pdf - Early Childhood Facilities Design
This resource list from the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities contains Internet sites, books, and journal articles on preschool learning environments, including design guidelines, quality indicators, and safety requirements.
http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/earlychildcenters.cfm - Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior
The Center Web site includes handouts and training materials for teachers to help them meet the needs of young children who have, or are at risk for, challenging behavior.
http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu - Preventing Challenging Behavior in Young Children: Effective Practices
This article discusses three strategies to reduce challenging behavior: arranging the environment, scheduling, and setting appropriate rules and routines.
http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/handouts_presentations/preventing_challenging_behavior.pdf - Environmental Arrangement
This Early Childhood Behavior Project Web site contains information on how the organization of physical features, schedules, transitions, staffing patterns, and instruction in the early childhood classroom can affect child behavior.
http://education.umn.edu/ceed/projects/preschoolbehavior/strategies/environm.htm - Merging Developmentally Appropriate Practices with Early Childhood Special Education: Environmental Arrangement
The Teaching Research Child Development Center Web site provides some simple guidelines for organizing and arranging the classroom, noting that a well-organized classroom can encourage learning and social interactions between children, while a poorly designed classroom can discourage both learning and interaction.
http://www.tr.wou.edu/train/cdcbest.htm#ENVARR - Using Environmental Strategies to Promote Positive Social Interactions
This What Works Brief from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning discusses how changes and adaptations can be made to a classroom’s physical environment and schedule to encourage positive social interactions between children in the classroom.
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/briefs/wwb6.html - The Importance of Order
An orderly environment encourages children’s learning and allows them to anticipate their days. Order is not a goal in itself but provides a framework for the goals of learning and better care.
http://www.childcareexchange.com/resources/view_article.php?article_id=5017053&keyword_id=122&page=1 - Adjustments in Classroom Management
This article on the LD Online Web site discusses how careful classroom management can prevent the LD/ADD student from becoming a disruptive influence.
http://www.ldonline.org/article/5924 - Project Approach Resources
A project is an in-depth investigation of a topic undertaken by a class, a group of children, or an individual child in an early childhood classroom or at home.
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/project-approach.htm
Illinois Early Learning Tip Sheets
- Dealing with Distraction
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/distraction.htm - Young Children Need to Play!
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/importanceofplay.htm - Cooperation in the Preschool Classrooms: Class Discussions
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/coop-meetings.htm - Encouraging Child to Child Conversation
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/conversation.htm - Helping Children Learn to Get Along
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/conflict.htm - Helping the Often-Angry Child
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/angry.htm - Kids Who Care
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/kidscare.htm
Organizations
- National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
National Institute of Building Sciences
1090 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005-4905
Telephone: 202-289-7800
Toll-Free: 888-552-0624
Fax: 202-289-1092
Email: ncef@nibs.org
http://www.edfacilities.org - Council of Educational Facility Planners (CEFPI)
9180 E. Desert Cove, Suite 104
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Telephone: 480-391-0840
Fax: 480-391-0940
Email: contact@cefpi.org
http://www.cefpi.org
ERIC Database: Selected Records
To search the ERIC database for resources on this topic, use this search strategy: search on descriptors young children or preschool children or preschool education or early childhood education. Combine with descriptors classroom environment or classroom design. Combine with behavior or behavior disorders or hyperactivity or attention deficit disorders.
How to Obtain ERIC Documents and Journal Articles:
References identified with an ED (ERIC document)or EJ (ERIC journal) are cited in the ERIC database. ERIC Documents (citations identified by an ED number) may be available in full text from ERIC at no cost at the ERIC Web site: http://www.eric.ed.gov. Journal articles are available from the original journal, interlibrary loan services, or article reproduction clearinghouses.
If you would like to conduct your own free ERIC database searches via the Internet, go directly to http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=advanced
- ERIC Journal No.: EJ604982
Examining the Role of the Classroom Environment in the Prevention of Problem Behaviors
Author(s): Lawry, Judy; Danko, Cassandra D.; Strain, Phillip S.
Source: Young Exceptional Children, v3 n2 p11-19 2000
Publication Date: 2000
Abstract: This article uses a question-and-answer format to provide early childhood educators with specific strategies for organizing both the physical classroom environment and the instructional environment to prevent challenging behaviors such as running, fighting, getting distracted, or difficulty with transitions. - ERIC Journal No.: EJ697037
The Contribution of Classroom Setting and Quality of Instruction to Children's Behavior in Kindergarten Classrooms
Author(s): Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E.; La Paro, Karen M.; Downer, Jason T.; Pianta, Robert C.
Source: Elementary School Journal, v105 n4 p377 Mar 2005
Publication Date: March 2005
Abstract: This article examines two questions about the relationship between kindergarten classroom processes (setting and quality) and children's engagement in activities, compliance with teachers' requests, and interactions with peers. First, how do children's engagement, compliance, and cooperation vary as a function of teachers' use of classroom settings, and, second, how does classroom quality moderate the co-occurrence between teachers' choice of classroom settings and children's behaviors. - ERIC Journal No.: EJ641676
Classroom Basics: How Environments Affect Young Children
Author(s): Warner, Laverne
Source: Texas Child Care, v25 n2 p2-9 Fall 2001
Publication Date: 2001
Abstract: This article highlights the importance of classroom design and organization to early childhood learning environments and addresses design considerations such as working around fixed features, maximizing learning through organization, and safety. The article also examines learning considerations such as environment, daily schedules, and support of positive behavior. - ERIC Journal No.: EJ645784
Rethinking Our Environments. Ideas for Training Staff
Author(s): Carter, Margie
Source: Child Care Information Exchange, n142 p54-56 Nov-Dec 2001
Publication Date: 2001
Abstract: This article suggests strategies for rethinking the early childhood program environment. It recommends reflecting program values throughout the environment, understanding how different elements influence behavior, and considering the role of schedules, routines, and rituals. - ERIC Document No.: ED472328
Changing the Classroom Environment: Meeting the Needs of All Children
Author(s): Johnson, Celia E.; Templeton, Rosalyn Anstine
Publication Date: 2002
Availability: Full text available: search by ED number at http://www.eric.ed.gov
Abstract: This qualitative study examined a preschool classroom serving a child considered to be at-risk (i.e., with indications of prenatal drug exposure). The purpose of the recommended adaptations was to create a more conducive learning environment for children exhibiting characteristics of drug exposure or who are easily overstimulated.
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