Methods for Teaching in Early Education

Jennifer Ledford is Assistant Professor of Special Education at Vanderbilt University, USAJustin D. Lane is Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of Kentucky, USAErin E. Barton is Associate Professor of Special Education at Vanderbilt University, USA

"This text by Ledford, Lane, and Barton fills a big void in resources for students studying young children with disabilities. This volume combines what we know about effective instruction, child development, data-based decision making, and inclusive education into a volume that is going to be an instant classic. I can’t wait to add it to my book shelf and my required reading lists." — Ilene Schwartz, University of Washington, USA"Ledford, Lane, and Barton have produced a text that successfully infuses behavior analytic practice into the early childhood context and offers a wealth of evidence-based procedures using easy to read and example-rich descriptions. This is a powerful and pragmatic text for both teachers and the children they serve. Well done!" — Robert Pennington, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, USA"Ledford, Lane, and Barton have filled a gap in the instructional literature with this text by providing readers with contemporary research on skill acquisition alongside clear, detailed explanations of how to implement procedures. This will be a foundational text for behavior analytic courses in skill acquisition for young children because of the clarity and thoroughness of the authors." — Kevin M. Ayres, The University of Georgia, USA."Methods for Teaching in Early Education is an invaluable resource for anyone working with young children, and especially young children with special needs. The systematic presentation of material mirrored by the equally systematic instructional methods will enhance practitioners’ understanding of recommended and developmentally appropriate practice, leading to improved outcomes for all children with whom they interact." — Brian Reichow, University of Florida, USA"Ledford, Lane and Barton have produced the proverbial ‘lightning in a bottle’ with Methods for Teaching in Early Education. This volume is an elegant, coherent and accessible collection of evidence-based practices in action. If I had one choice for a text in teacher preparation in EC and ECSE this would be the clear winner." — Phillip Strain, University of Denver, USA

• Chapter 1: Theoretical Approaches and General Guidance in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special EducationChapter 2: Considerations for Selecting Behaviors for InstructionChapter 3: Reinforcement, Rewards, and PraiseChapter 4: Introduction to Teaching and LearningChapter 5: Planning and MonitoringChapter 6: Environmental Arrangement StrategiesChapter 7: Child-Directed StrategiesChapter 8: Introduction to Prompting Procedures and Time DelayChapter 9: Other Single Prompt StrategiesChapter 10: Introduction to Prompting Hierarchies and the System of Least PromptsChapter 11: Other Prompting Procedures and Determining which Procedure to UseChapter 12: Procedural Variations for Increasing LearningChapter 13: Behavior Reduction StrategiesChapter 14: Teaching throughout the School DayChapter 15: Working with Professionals in Early ChildhoodChapter 16: Specific Considerations for Coaching Families