1. family and parenting
2. children

TPOT:
THE TEACHING PYRAMID OBSERVATION
TOOL
Presented by:
Kelly Wilson
KJ Consulting, LLC.
The Pyramid Model: Promoting Social Emotional
Competence in Infants and Young Children
Few
Children
All
Children
[Assessment-based
interventions result in
individualized behavior
support plans.]
PURPOSE:
• Assess teacher’s
implementation of universal
and targeted Pyramid
Model practices and
teachers’ capacity to
implement tertiary
practices.
Using the new TPOT
 Observation - Minimum of 2 hours
 Must observe:
 centers/free play
 At least one teacher directed activity
 All transitions between activities
 Focus on lead teacher, but consider all adults
 Interview
 Be sure to schedule this time
TPOT
 Developed to measure the extent teaching pyramid practices
are being implemented within classrooms
 Provide information to identify training needs of teachers
 Provide information for program-wide training needs
 Track growth within professional development goals
 Strength-based
Items
 Items 1-14 Multiple indicators
 Rate yes or no
 Only N/O when indicated
 1-8 Observation only
 9-11 Observation and Interview
 12-14 Interview
 Items 15-31 Red Flags
 Same as previous version
 Item 32
 3 indicators
 Score yes or no
 Only score of challenging behavior is observed
14 Key Practices: 1-8
Must Be Observed
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Schedules, Routines, and Activities – SR
Transitions Between Activities Are Appropriate – TR
Teachers Engage in Supportive Conversations with Children – SC
Promoting Children’s Engagement – ENG
Providing Directions – PD
Collaborative Teaming – CT
Teaching Behavior Expectations – TBE
Teaching Social Skills and Emotional Competencies – TSC
Reported/Observed
 If you observe the practice – Yes Observed
 If teacher reports using practice and you see it – Yes
Reported Observed
 If teacher reports and you observed opportunity but the
teacher did not use practice – No
 If the teacher reports using a practice then you observe
the contrary – No
 If the teacher reports a practice and there is no
opportunity to observe - Reported
14 Key Practices: 9-11
Observed/Reported
9. Teaching Friendship Skills - FR
10. Teaching Children to Express Emotion – TEE
11. Teaching Problem Solving – TPS
14 Key Practices: 12-14
Interview
12. Interventions for Children with Persistent
Challenging Behavior - PCB
13. Connecting With Families - COM
14. Supporting Family Use of the Pyramid Model
Practices - INF
New Feature…
Schedule Page
• Record start and end times of every activity
• Do not record outside time or any time outside the classroom
• Do not record mealtimes
• Make notes and record time if there are any pauses in the
observation time
SEQUENCE OF OBSERVATION
1. Obtain copy of teacher/caregiver’s daily schedule.
2. Email teacher/caregiver – determine the time you will arrive
and list the activities you need to observe.
3. Plan for 2 hours to complete your observation.
4. Plan to observe one teacher-directed and one child-directed
activity.
5. Arrange a time when you can interview the teacher in private
(about 15-30 minutes).
6. Set up a follow up/summary meeting ahead of time.
7. After the observation, leave a note or a treat.
EXAMINING THE TPOT
Manual
Additions
• Description of tiers
of Support
• History of TPOT
and pilot
• Description of Key
Practices
• Key Definitions
expanded
• Description of every
indicator
• Scoring sheets
• Scoring program
• Case examples
• Technical features of
TPOT
Key Definitions Outlined in Manual







Descriptive praise
Engagement
Visuals
Teacher directed activity
Child directed activity
Logical consequences
Functional assessment
Importance of
Fidelity
Schedule
CLEAR BEGINNING, MIDDLE, END
 Children must be able to answer these 4
questions:




what am I supposed to be doing?
how do I know I’m making progress?
how do I know I’m finished?
what do I do next?
Interview Questions
1. Activity
2. Pair up with your buddy
3. Practice the following interview questions
Item 32
Challenging Behavior
•
•
•
•
Score only if challenging behavior is observed
Record and describe type of behavior in incident box
Record each behavior if multiple occur
For each incident, score all three indicators
Scoring Item 32
Final score - is all or nothing
• If all indicators in all incidents are yes – score yes
• If any indicators are no in any incident – score no
Additional Strategies do not count on scoring
• Are used for guidance for coaching
SUMMARIZE RESULTS
 View paper scoring option
 Open up spreadsheet
COACHING AND PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT PLANS
A COACHING PROCESS
 Teaching on topic
 Rationale
 Description of strategy
 Modeling and behavior rehearsal
 Coach demonstrates what the strategy looks like
 Coach and coachee practice the strategy without children
present
 Coaching in classroom
 Coach and coachee decide how to begin implementation
 How and when to provide feedback
 Follow up
 Brief meeting to discuss how it went
COACHING SESSIONS SHOULD INVOLVE:
 Preparation
 Get baseline TPOT
 Gather data and previous meeting notes
 Observation
•
 Target specific areas
 Look for what went well
 Look for what to work on next
 Meeting Time
 Debrief and discuss with teacher
 Provide strength-based feedback – what went well
 Discuss next extension for professional growth
 Create action plan
 Follow-Up
Coaching Differences:




Manual is more in-depth
Score will be more pleasant for teachers
Hierarchy of importance less obvious
Need to develop one-pager for teachers as
option
 Red flags outline needs updating
 More scoring options
 All adults are part of scoring
QUESTIONS??
[email protected]