num_pages: 240
description: Field-tested and shaped by feedback from directors of Early Head Start, child care organizations, and early intervention programs, The Visit is an essential professional development tool for supervisors to use with direct care practitioners who work with young children and their families. For use in homes, clinics, or group care settings, this tool guides supervisors through structured, 1-hour meetings that strengthen parent/professional relationships and capture an accurate picture of the child's development. As supervisors and direct care practitioners work as a team to uncover the child's strengths and challenges and relate them to the strengths and challenges of the family, direct care practitioners obtain professional skill. During the visit, the parent chooses whether they would like to begin with a parent interview or tasks for the child. The practitioner may interact with the child while the supervisor conducts a parent interview to gather key insights about family supports, separation issues, cultural values, attitudes toward parenting, and caregiving needs. Then the supervisor and parent offer the child age-appropriate tasks selected from standardized assessment instruments. The team takes no notes; instead, they focus on the family and gather observations. After the visit, the supervisor and direct care practitioner share their observations in a co-review session and compare the child to others in the same age range. Reflecting together, they synthesize their own observations with information gathered from the parent. They write a letter for the parent, illustrated with observations, that summarizes what they learned and suggests next steps. To help make meetings successful and efficient, The Visit includes Observation, Reflection, Synthesis guides — one for each of eight age ranges from 2 to 36 months. Each guide includes photocopiable record forms with clear instructions, reflective parent interview questions, a list of age-appropriate tasks and required materials, a developmental characteristics chart, and pages to complete at the co-review session. For easy printing of unlimited quantities, all photocopiable materials are also on an included CD-ROM. With this comprehensive tool, framed by the nonlinear dynamic systems theory of development and based on the principle of reflective supervision, supervisors will have everything they need to train direct care practitioners. The 1-inch blocks, which are a necessary component of The Visit, are available , or
language: English
title: The Visit: Observation, Reflection, Synthesis for Training and Relationship Building
titlecomplete: The Visit: Observation, Reflection, Synthesis for Training and Relationship Building
publisher: Brookes Publishing