Pintando un cuadro positivo: El manejo del comportamien [Spanish] [Painting A Positive Picture: Proactive Behavior Management] [Video]
Christi Szakaly-Meredith, Resa Matlock, Ball State University
Part of a series of 16 broadcasts, this videotape is designed to teach child day care workers how to help each child learn self control while supporting the child's self esteem through positive behavior guidance. It begins by discussing the messages children are giving through their behavior, including a desire to escape, a need for attention, an interest in a tangible object, or fulfillment of a sensory need. Comprehensive proactive behavior strategies that are child centered, activity centered and behavior centered are then described. The difference between discipline and punishment is also explained. Actual child care providers then recommend their own strategies for behavior management. The videotape is presented in Spanish.
Christi Szakaly-Meredith, Resa Matlock, Ball State University. Pintando un cuadro positivo: El manejo del comportamien [Spanish] [Painting A Positive Picture: Proactive Behavior Management] [Video] (1995). Ball State University: Muncie, IN.
Sponsoring Agency: Ball State University
Language: Spanish
Reading Level: Average
Formats Available: Printed Material, Videotape
(The accompanying print guide is titled "Reflections on Practice: A Companion Guide to
Indiana's Child Care Collection" - contact producer regarding price)
Ball State University
The Child Care Collection
c/o Christi Szakaly-Meredith
BSU TC 1008
Muncie, IN
46306
Phone: (877) 550-4455
Fax: (765) 285-4045
Email: cszakaly@bsu.edu
Languages Available: English, Spanish
Intended User Audience:
Early childhood care and education professionals can use this material, including child care providers, preschool personnel, K-3rd grade teachers, preservice students in ECE, ECSE, and those working toward CDA (Child Development Associate) certification.
Product Development:
Two co-directors oversee development of the videos in this collection. Both have backgrounds in early childhood education and one of the co-directors is bilingual in Spanish and English.
Each video is developed using a multi-step process. First, state level personnel decide on the content areas for new videos (once each year). Second, a team of experts is gathered representing higher education faculty (mostly in-state), state personnel, child care providers from home and center-based settings, and other disciplines as needed for specific topics (e.g., physical therapist). Based on input from the team, a script is developed. Then in-state sites are chosen for filming. A production crew and members of the expert team as well as state level personnel often accompany staff to the sites. Edits to the scripts and video segments are done as a group. The process takes approximately six months to complete.
While the cultural and linguistic diversity portrayed in each video is primarily European-American and English-speaking, an effort is made to film at sites representing diversity in both children and staff (e.g., home child care, preschool center in the inner city, university lab schools).
Product Evaluation:
As noted above, informal evaluation is done during the development of each video. The team reviews the script and footage in an ongoing manner. There are plans for focus groups and surveys to collect data concerning the effectiveness of the videos (presentation and content).
The complete set of videos (N =23) are also used as part of CDA certification in Indiana.
Product Dissemination:
As of December 1999, 50 copies of Bienvenidos a todos los ninos: Cuidado inclusivo, 300 copies of Welcoming all children: Creating inclusive child care, 1436 copies of Cooing, crying, cuddling: Infant brain development, 1473 copies of Toddler brain development, and 534 copies of The B.U.S.I.N.E.S.S. of family child care have been disseminated throughout the United States.
Additional dissemination figures:
Developmental Infant Care = 1129 copies;
Dilemas Diarios Manejando Difficultades = 200;
Pintando un Cuardo...= 200;
Daily Dilemmas - coping with challenges = 1166;
Planeando dias apropiados = 200;
El Desarrollo del cuidado... = 200;
Quality Family Child Care = 1357;
Designing developmentally appropriate days = 1980;
Painting a positive picture...= 2720;
Cuidado de calidad para los ninos..= 200
Review #1
About the reviewer:
The reviewer has worked with people with disabilities and the
programs that serve them in many roles and settings, from
direct service in rehabilitation centers and schools to program
development and training at community colleges and universities.
She has worked extensively with Latino populations as well as
the White Mountain Apache, the Navajo nation and Hopi.
She specializes in linguistic and cultural issues that impact
people with disabilities.
Audience:
The state of Indiana and Indiana's Child Care Collection produced the video Pintando un Cuadro Positivo: El Manejo del Comportamiento. Inservice and preservice educational professionals, including preschool-third grade teachers, child care providers, and students working toward certification as a child development associate can use the material. The producers do not specify a Latino population, which might benefit from the Spanish language version of the video. A companion guide entitled Reflections on Practice features chapters that correspond topically to the training video series.
Strengths of the Material:
The video highlights key strategies for helping children manage or learn to manage their own behavior. These strategies, many of which are environmental modifications that help children behave by allowing them to be children appropriately, include a discussion of common causes for misbehavior and child development. They also provide recommendations for how to meet a child's needs in the educational setting, thus decreasing the chances that the child will act out.
The reader for the Spanish language version sounds like a native speaker of unknown provenance. His script is appropriately timed to the footage, which depicts diversity reasonably well in terms of gender, ethnicity and disability.
Limitations of the Material:
While the content of the video reflects sound educational practices, there are mechanical problems with the Spanish language version that taken together diminish the overall quality of the training tape. The narrator's delivery suggests that he is reading a translated script, because he occasionally pauses at what would be unnatural breaks for a narrator providing commentary. Many adults do not seem to enjoy being read to for training purposes, even when the reader's voice is a pleasant one.
The Spanish language text displayed in the video is fraught with spelling errors, and at least one major grammatical error that stands out because it gives the narrator noticeable pause as he is reading. These errors are noted in this review only because they devalue the Spanish language as a viable language for professional development.
Pintando un Cuadro Positivo is available in the video format only. The corresponding chapter in the companion guide has not been translated. Therefore, trainees who would need to receive behavior management training in Spanish would not have the same opportunity to reflect on their practice in this regard in the same way the participants would using English language materials.
Adaptations:
It is recommended that the trainer who plans on using the video for a workshop take the time to create Spanish language handouts for his/her workshop participants. Taking the extra step to provide quality training materials printed in Spanish would increase the trainer's credibility and rapport with a Spanish-speaking audience in spite of the mechanical errors in the video.
Trainers may easily create a set of training notes in Spanish in two ways to accompany the video: One way could be accomplished by simply translating the headings and subheadings from the "Painting a Positive Picture" chapter. Alternatively, the trainer could copy down the Spanish text displayed in the video and create handouts by correcting the spelling/grammar errors or seeking editorial assistance to achieve the same effect. Facilitating group discussion to flesh out the details under each point may lend itself well to an interactive training session.
Generalizability:
This video may be valued in states like Indiana that have relatively small Spanish-speaking communities and where access to Spanish materials in print is more limited than it is in other states like California, Florida, New York or Texas, to name a few.
Spanish-speaking inhabitants of Indiana may be appreciative of such an attempt to produce a video in their language. A Spanish-speaking audience in other areas of the country may not be so generous in their estimation of the video.
Recommendations:
Recommended with the aforementioned adaptations, and only for training situations in which access to Spanish language training materials is extremely limited.
Producer's Response:
Not available at this time.
Review #2
About the reviewer:
The reviewer has been professionally involved in minority education
for over 25 years. She has a doctorate in bilingual and special education
with background in early childhood. She directs a bilingual preschool
for Hispanic children with disabilities. Her areas of expertise include
bilingual special education, assessment, and parent involvement.
Audience:
The developers do not include a description of the intended audience; however, the companion guide appears to be directed toward the early interventionist/teacher. It would appear that the Spanish version has a broader intended audience; otherwise it would not have been necessary to provide a translation. It seems that this material has been translated so that it can also be used for Spanish-speaking parents.
As a training material, the video and accompanying guide can be used with beginner or advanced audiences. It seems to be applicable to individuals in the disciplines of bilingual education, early childhood education, early intervention/early childhood special education, ancillary staff, and special education.
Strengths of the Material:
The material covers well the primary topic of behavior management. It establishes a tone of providing the child with the most positive experience possible, and setting up proactive interactions with children so that discipline problems can be avoided. The video presentation allows the audience to observe modeling of interactions that are positive and child-centered. The companion guide reiterates the major points established in the video and augments the video presentation.
The directions clearly implement the child guidance and discipline strategies for providers. The materials encourage providers to focus on the function of the behavior exhibited by the child. The approaches used are understandable to anyone viewing the video. One of the most positive aspects of the video is its ability to offer several alternative strategies for responding to problem behavior, beginning with the least intrusive and then moving to gradually more intrusive.
The developers attempt to make the material accessible to Spanish-speaking groups, and they deserve to be commended for their efforts. The materials are suitable for interdisciplinary teams, including Spanish-speaking families.
Limitations of the Material:
A video is included in both English and Spanish; however, the companion guide is only in English. The Spanish version of the video does not have the introduction that is included in the English version. This leaves Spanish speakers without information shared with English speakers on the reasons for the development of the video and its purpose.
The Spanish video uses a formal register, and the terminology used would require a higher education level. It might take individuals who are less educated more than one viewing to fully understand the meaning of information conveyed. The voice overlay used on the Spanish version makes the video less interesting than the English version. It is apparent that the translator is reading from a text. The reading is dry, monotone, and provides little voice inflection to stress points or make the content interesting. In some instances, the translator's reading rate speeds up and the information is presented too quickly and is sometimes unclear. The picture does not always match the content. The voice overlay interferes with the inclusion of natural classroom sounds. While the language ability of the translator is quite good, the nature of the translation and voice overlay lowers the usefulness of the Spanish version.
Family and cross-cultural interactions are not addressed or considered by the developers. Children may be confused by home and center differences if interventionists are not made aware of cultural differences in discipline and adult/child interactions. While the video attempts to be inclusive through the translation, cultural issues -- just as important in working with Spanish-speaking children -- are not considered.
Adaptations:
One of the easiest adaptations is to provide a Spanish companion guide to accompany the Spanish video. The companion guide should provide a little more in-depth information than the English version. Some of the information presented would be new to many Spanish-speaking families, and a text that would allow the user to understand some of the recommendations that may differ from their own cultural perspectives on discipline would be an important addition. If the Spanish version was created because providers are working with Spanish-speaking children, it becomes important to also develop augmentative materials that can bridge cross-cultural understanding of behavior management.
Generalizability:
This material could be useful with the Mexican-American families with whom the reviewer works; however, additional information and discussion would need to be presented before and after viewing the video in order to make the video culturally and linguistically relevant. The video could not be used as a stand-alone training material.
Recommendations:
Recommend with adaptations.
Producer's Response:
Not available at this time.
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