team building in early childhood programs: teachers, parents, support staff, and community ellen...

Team Building in Early Childhood Programs:Teachers, Parents, Support Staff, and Community

Ellen Marshall, Ph.D. & Cathy McAuliffe-Dickerson, Ph.D.

Questions to think about:

Why is this a relevant topic? What is the definition of a

team? What are the characteristics

of quality teams?


Effective teams result in…

Better quality of work Increased

productivity More positive morale Better attendance An increased feeling

of autonomy

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1stQtr

2ndQtr

3rdQtr

4thQtr

East

West

North


Teams are a group of people who…

Possess a variety of backgrounds, abilities, and skills (Who are we?)

Share a common goal (What do we want to accomplish?)

Work together to achieve a goal (shared power, planning, and cooperation) What is our team structure?

Communicate well (How will we operate?) Celebrate together! (Let’s continue to

improve!)


Your Turn

Read the handout titled, Team Building Tips

Discuss the handout at your table

Make a list of three to five ideas that your group particularly likes


I. Who are we?

Birthplace, previous places lived Education Hobbies and interests Work experiences Unique expertise and skills Best and worst prior team experience What you want to accomplish in this team


2. What do we want to accomplish?

Develop a list of goals Each person rate the

importance of each Determine the results,

negotiate, and establish the initial team goals


3. How can we structure ourselves to meet the goals?

List the goals Decide what needs to be done to meet each goal

(specific tasks) Working backwards from final deadline, construct a

timeline for when each task must be completed Decide who is responsible for each task (decide who

has primary responsibility and who is supportive) Realize that time needs to be built in for problems and

other issues that may arise Celebrate as tasks are completed!


Facilitator’s Role:

Keep the team on target toward the tasks and goals

Elicit input from each team member

Deal directly with any personal attacks that may occur

Make suggestions to get the team moving in case of a stall

Clearly summarize all team decisions


Bright ideas:

Stay as neutral as possible Stick to a specified time frame Articulate out loud what you

hear happening (“everyone seems to be tense about what Jan said”)

Be willing to confront problems in an open manner

Listen carefully Allow people to remain silent if

they really don’t want to contribute


How will we operate?Plan the meeting agenda

Distribute the agenda before the meeting (follow it but allow for some flexibility)

Make sure there is a time-keeperThe first item of business asks each

team member to tell what is most on their mind

Allow time at the end to talk about the team process


How will we operate?Brainstorming

Clearly specify the item that needs to be brainstormed

Ask each team member to first write responses individually

All ideas are O.K.; ask people to call out their suggestions

Write them down Allow plenty of time for

discussion


How will we operate?The best idea

Each person votes on their top four choices of ideas

Closely examine the top three-five (positives and negatives)

Combine ideas if possibleEach person vote again on the top two

priorities


Bright ideas

Acknowledge the different cultures that may be represented on the teams

Make sure disruptions are minimized

Avoid complex language Distribute meeting notes Provide optimal amount of

time for the meeting


How can we improve?

Assess how the team is doing at the end of each meeting (a three-minute check-out)

Periodically evaluate the team process (use a structured team assessment)


The “Glue” for Team-Building

The deep-rooted value of respect and appreciation

You must be a model


Cognitive StyleWhat is it?

The way someone approaches problems and challenges

One’s perspective Part of one’s personality Helps us organize thoughts

and actions


Why is it important?

There are bound to be differences in the workplace

Interactions will run more smoothly if one understands cognitive styles

Multiple perspectives are beneficialMultiple perspectives must be

understood in order to be integratedIt can help us respect others


Let’s Do It!

Now you will get a chance to determine your cognitive style!

When you finish, compare yourself to others at your table


Beware!

Avoid stereotyping Cognitive style is only one

small part of personality We can’t predict behavior

based on cognitive style information


Quote

“Be careful how you judge others… As Scottish author J.M. Barrie said, ‘Never ascribe to (another) motives meaner than your own…’ We tend to judge others based on their behavior, and ourselves based on our intent. In almost all situations, we would do well to recognize the possibility – even probability – of good intent in others… sometimes despite their observable behavior. Steven M.R. Covey


CommunicationHow do you respond?

An early childhood teacher in your pre-k unit says to you, “You know, I’ve looked at the ECERS and I don’t think it applies to my classroom. My focus is academics, and all of that room environment information just doesn’t fit with what I’m all about.”


Active Listening (revisited)

Be approachable and open

Listen and watch for clues All feelings are acceptable Realize that anger is often

masking an underlying feeling


Active Listening

The listener reflects back what she thinks the other person is feeling

The active listener uses a non-judgmental, neutral voice tone

The goal is to help the person identify how they are feeling and work through it


Example

You “ know, I’ve looked at the ECERS and I don’t think it applies to my classroom. My focus is academics, and all of that room environment information just doesn’t fit with what I’m all about.”

“It sounds like you are frustrated about being asked to use the ECERS.”


You try! A teacher, staff member or parent says to you…

“Rachel’s mother is in denial. She just won’t face up to the fact that her daughter needs medication to calm her down.”

“These 3-year-olds are driving me crazy. They won’t sit still to do the language arts activities I plan.

“I think that you need to do more academic work with your class. They seem to get too much time to do whatever they want.”


You try! A teacher, staff member or parent says to you…

“I can’t stand it when we have parent volunteers in our class. I end up supervising them as well as the children!”

“As usual the administration is making decisions about our curriculum without giving us enough input.”

“Some of the primary teachers make me so mad because they just don’t understand early childhood classrooms!”


team building in early childhood programs: teachers, parents, support staff, and community ellen...

Documents

team ellen marshall

cathy mcauliffedickerson

team decisions ellen

team process ellen marshall

community ellen marshall

team structure

team member deal

team building tips