Part 5 Module: Opportunities for Practice and Policy 

Participants learn why language training and awareness are essential at the practice and policy levels. The objective is to guide participants toward strategies on how to apply language as a well-being indicator at the individual and decision-making levels by learning how to initiate policy and practices discussions, including how to guide decision-making toward sustainable implementation through implementation science.

PRACTICE AND POLICY LEVELS

Decisions about educational practices and policies are often made in a vacuum where typical ways of thinking lead to missed opportunities to engagement children of all ages and adults in learning. Thinking differently opens many new venues of practice and policy that can lead to solutions and sustainable positive outcomes for children and increased feelings of efficacy with teachers and anyone who works with children. At the practice and policy levels, employing practices that apply language as a well-being indicator will include:

ü  Reviewing and updating existing policies, procedures, and practices so that we create the conditions for our children to communicate effectively and be actively engaged.

ü  Providing ongoing training using the toolkit tools to strengthen the capacity of practitioners across all sectors to NOTICE language development with the Language Indicators of Well-Being Tool.

ü  Equipping one or more individuals to train the toolkit strategies to MONITOR engagement within whole group and individual settings. This will prevent the need for universal screening, while enhancing awareness of mismatches between the child’s current language indicators of well-being and the supports available to that child interpersonally and in the environment.

ü  Identifying responsible individuals and providing training and access to tools to SCREEN language development, when indicated.

ü  Supporting practitioners to ENHANCE opportunities for engagement by prioritizing mentorship that aligns with adult learning styles using the SEE-KS Six-Step Mentorship framework and equipping them to mentor one another. When an individual is supported in this mentorship framework, they will have the knowledge and skills to support their peers to engage in this process. This sustainability is essential for creating a culture where discussing engagement and language development is part of the culture of a given setting.

Think of a policy or practice that could include an awareness of language. How could that policy positively impact children? 

The Opportunity: Infants and Toddlers

→  By mentoring caregivers to engage in language-rich social interactions, we create an opportunity for infants and toddlers to feel socially connected, understand routines, and express themselves through body language, gestures, play, and words.

→  When infants fall in love with the social world, the social brain becomes wired to learn language, which sets the stage for later social and academic success.

After viewing the video, what engagement enhancement you think worked best with the child?

The Opportunity: Early Childhood

→  Provide training for early childhood educators to enhance opportunities for engagement to help all children feel socially connected, understand social routines, and communicate to others what they have learned.

→  When children are engaged, their use of language is frequent, functional, socially oriented, and fluid across settings.

After viewing the video, how did the children respond to the teacher that showed their  level of engagement?

The Opportunity: Elementary & Secondary School-Aged Children

→  We can support language development by universally strengthening engagement in the environment using multimodal instruction to stimulate interest and motivation with hands-on materials, support an understanding of social routines through peer role models and visuals, and provide options and opportunities to convey one’s thoughts and feelings.

→      When language is enhanced, the risk for behavior challenges and mental health concerns can be mitigated.

→      Language is vital to the development of an inner dialogue, which is required to effectively reason, regulate emotions, and cope with problems. This has a demonstrated protective effect on children’s mental health.

The Opportunity: Child Welfare

→  When caregivers, educators, health providers, and court staff enhance their practices and environments to foster children’s engagement at home, in school, and other routine settings, more positive social, academic, and mental health outcomes can be achieved.

After viewing the video, how did the children respond to the teacher that showed their  level of engagement?

The Opportunity: Juvenile Justice

→  If we educate juvenile court and juvenile justice staff to notice a child’s language development upon intake, we have the opportunity to enhance our practices and environments in accordance with a child’s ability to understand judicial proceedings and processes, express remorse, and effectively communicate thoughts and feelings.

→  This opportunity can also be extended beyond intake by mentoring those interacting with children in juvenile justice facilities to strengthen the environment by promoting language use and understanding through multimodal strategies, such as visual supports for understanding, hands-on materials, and role play or rehearsal. For example, remorse is developed within reflective discourse and with the role models of caregivers.

After viewing the video, describe what investment means to you. Put your answer here.