Facing the Challenge: Training Trainers

In 2006 a group of experts came together to create a program for helping early childhood educators address challenging behavior. Initiated and funded by the Devereux Early Childhood Initiative (DECI) and based on our book, Challenging Behavior in Young Children , it was called “Facing the Challenge.”

I was excited to contribute to the development of the program’s three DVDs  and later to collaborate with DECI trainer Karen Cairone, who also works on special projects, on a 2½-day training module that would teach others how to use these excellent materials. Since that time we have offered the Training of Trainers workshop to groups all over the U.S., and I have had the honor of presenting it with Karen, Rachel Sperry, and Nefertiti Bruce, who are all wonderful and inspiring presenters.

Special Training

Last week, after Karen and I led a training session at the Devereux site in Villanova, PA, I smiled all the way home, through two planes and five hours’ worth of air and land travel.

Barbara working with the participants at the Facing the Challenge Training of Trainers, Villanova, PA

What made this training so special? There were many factors, but perhaps the most important was the group itself. All the participants were mental health and early childhood development specialists who are also experienced trainers, and they work with teachers, children with and without disabilities, and migrant populations. Some live close enough to Villanova to get there by car; others flew in from the West Coast. All brought their enthusiasm, experience, sense of humor, and intelligence with them. I can proudly say that over the 2½ days I did not see a single droopy eyelid.

First Karen and I presented the program’s content, covering all eight modules of the “Facing the Challenge” DVDs, from “What Is Challenging Behavior?” to “Intervention Strategies.” We used the planned presentation notes, our own styles, and of course the DVDs’ video clips, which are so full of learning opportunities.

Digging In

Then the participants dug into the material themselves, learning more about Power Point, timer slides, and embedding videos. They all seemed to enjoy making the material their own and presenting it to the group.

One small group invented a culture and language of their own (which they dubbed “WaWa”) to illustrate how families who come from a different culture and speak a different language often feel left out, especially if they have a child with challenging behavior.

Another small group had us pretend that a balloon was a child and charged us with keeping it afloat so that it would come to no harm. They enabled us to realize how our work with children requires a team with common goals.

Over our days together, we talked about how important it is to reflect upon the good, the bad, and the ugly so that we can learn from our successes as well as our mistakes. What this experience ultimately reinforced for me is that the more energy we put into an experience the more we get out of it.

I want to thank the members of the group for all their energy and for helping Karen and me to provide a training filled not only with useful content and materials but also with laughter.

PS. I wasn’t the only person invigorated by this training. I just received this note from participant Susan Pollack: “The October 10-12 training has been on my mind ever since the ride back to Virginia. I can honestly say that this was one of the best sessions I have attended in my more than 30 years in the early childhood field. I am looking forward to implementing the modules with my staff.
Thank you for a wonderful experience.  It was an honor to be a participant.”