Pyramid Model
The Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children is a framework designed to assist early childhood educators, caregivers, and parents in nurturing the emotional and social development of young children, particularly those facing developmental challenges. Developed by the Center on Social Emotional Foundations of Early Learning at Vanderbilt University, the model is structured into four layers, each representing a different level of support and intervention. The bottom two layers emphasize universal promotion, focusing on nurturing relationships and creating supportive environments for all children, while the third layer addresses secondary promotion, targeting those who may require additional guidance in emotional regulation and social skills. The top layer, tertiary intervention, provides specialized support for children whose needs remain unmet by previous interventions.
The model is inspired by public health principles, advocating for a systematic approach to identifying and addressing developmental delays. Implementation requires well-trained staff and consistent assessment of practices to ensure fidelity to the model. It highlights the importance of comprehensive support systems, including collaboration with families, to foster an inclusive and effective learning environment. The Pyramid Model ultimately seeks to create a nurturing atmosphere where all children can thrive, fostering resilience and social competence from an early age.
Pyramid Model
Abstract
The Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children, commonly called the pyramid model, was created by the the Center on Social Emotional Foundations of Early Learning, which is housed at Vanderbilt University. The purpose of the pyramid model is to provide a framework for early childhood educators, care providers, and parents of infants and young children, based on research and evidence based practices, so that they can support the development of the children in their care, especially those with developmental issues.
Overview
The pyramid model is used because it provides a simple, graphical representation of the theoretical approach used by early childhood professionals to identify and meet the needs of the children in their care, particularly those with developmental delays or those who have been identified as being at risk for developmental delays. The pyramid has four layers. The bottom two layers fit within the category of universal promotion, meaning that they describe elements of care that are needed by all children with or at risk of developmental delay. The third layer is in the category of secondary promotion, and the fourth, topmost layer is in the category of tertiary promotion. As one moves up the pyramid, the elements described become more and more specific to the needs of children with more severe developmental issues. Part of the inspiration for the pyramid model was the public health model, which divides activities into promotion, prevention, and intervention (Snyder et al., 2013).
The bottom layer is the first part of the universal promotion category, and is meant to symbolize nurturing and responsive relationships. These are important for all young children, because when children are very young, the relationships they have to their parents, teachers, and caregivers form a kind of nest which shelters them and gives them a space in which they can grow and develop. When this space is not present or not reliable, then children may be reluctant to explore their world or develop new skills through discovery, because they will feel unsafe taking such risks.
The second layer, also included within universal promotion, represents the need for a supportive environment of high quality. This level of the pyramid serves as a reminder to parents and caregivers that young children need safe and predictable routines that provide adequate stimulation and opportunity for exploration, and it instructs early childhood educators as to the need for their classrooms to be inclusive and diverse, to be physically safe yet exciting places to discover, and for there to be a variety of activities that encourage children to engage with one another and with their learning environment (Reddy, 2011).
The third layer of the pyramid, which is also the category of secondary promotion, represents the fact that all children need time and modeling as they learn how to regulate and express their own emotions. Doing this requires that children begin to develop social skills to help them manage their interactions with other people, and these social skills are also advanced through practice and modeling. While all children need guidance from their teachers and caregivers to develop socially and emotionally, it is common at this stage for some children to need more intense assistance than others. As these children are identified, early childhood professionals can work with parents to develop strategies tailored to the individual needs of each child.
The fourth layer, or top of the pyramid, is the category of tertiary intervention. Children whose developmental needs have not been met by the lower levels of the pyramid will receive more intense combinations of skill development and problem solving training in an effort to resolve the issues that are preventing them from progressing further. This often involves the use of what is known as positive behavior support. A team of professionals work with the parents or caregivers to create a behavior support plan. The behavior support plan is designed to identify challenging behaviors and the stimuli that are triggering them, and to then provide alternative behaviors to replace the challenging ones, while also trying to avoid triggers (Hyson, 2014).
Further Insights
The best way of making sure that an early childhood program’s staff are properly performing the appropriate duties according to the pyramid model is to use one of two available assessment tools. Deciding which test to use in a particular early childhood setting depends upon the age of the children being assisted in the program (Cook, 2015). For children who are newborn up until the age of two, the appropriate test to use is called the Teaching Pyramid Infant Toddler Observation Scale. For children who are older than two but still young enough for preschool, the assessment that is proper to use is called the Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool.
These tests are administered by an observer periodically, and the observer indicates whether the early childhood education staff are performing the tasks specified in the pyramid model in the appropriate manner and with the necessary frequency. It is the responsibility of the facility’s administration to make sure that these tests are performed at consistent intervals and that the results are then analyzed to determine if staff are performing adequately.
If areas needing improvement are identified, then the administration will usually arrange for additional staff training to address the skills that staff need to work on (Shavinina, 2013). This training should ideally be performed by experienced instructors, but in some cases it can also be conducted by other teachers at the facility acting as mentors to the newer instructors.
The pyramid model demands the collection of a large amount of data, and it requires early childhood staff to study and analyze that data so they can determine whether or not the interventions being performed under the model are producing the results that they are intended to. This is necessary because the pyramid model is evidence based. Administrators at facilities using the pyramid model must be well versed in two classes of data: fidelity data and outcomes data. Fidelity data is used to determine whether the staff at the facility is adhering to the pyramid model (Snyder, Hemmeter, Fox, Bishop & Miller, 2013), while outcomes data is used to determine whether the interventions specified under the pyramid model are producing tangible benefits for the children who are being cared for at the facility.
Viewpoints
One of the most challenging aspects of implementing the pyramid model is having access to a well-trained, effective workforce to implement its recommendations. In fact, the availability of such a workforce is often included in illustrations of the pyramid model, as a foundation block upon which the pyramid rests. The reason that it is problematic to find an adequate workforce is that teaching, child care, and particularly the education and care of infants and very young children, remain some of the poorest paid professions in the entire economy.
Social scientists largely agree that this is due primarily to the fact that education and any field related to children are still considered to be "women’s work," and compensation for women in almost every type of work still lags far behind the pay that men receive (Fox & Hemmeter, 2011). Becoming a qualified teacher of young children requires many years of education, with the most skilled early childhood specialists requiring at least one master’s degree, yet early childhood educators can expect to earn tens of thousands of dollars less per year than people in other fields with the same number of years of preparation. Many of those who enter the profession have fewer qualifications and often have fewer expectations regarding the demands of the job. Thus, the first hurdle to be overcome when implementing the pyramid model is often that of bringing together and talented workforce (Gartrell, 2014).
Just as important as an engaged and well-trained workforce is having administrators at the early childhood facility who understand how important the pyramid model is and how crucial it is for them to perform their roles appropriately. If the administration is not on board with the pyramid model, then it is likely that the model will not be able to serve children and their families as effectively as it might. The act of making sure that an early childhood program’s use of appropriate intervention modalities remains faithful to the ideals specified in the pyramid model is referred to in the literature of education as "intervention fidelity," because it requires the program personnel to not only understand what they should be doing but to also do it consistently.
Most early childhood professionals agree that the process of fully implementing the pyramid model at a site requires at least two years. This is because the administrator of the site must train staff, establish policies that support the pyramid model and make sure these are written down and accessible. The administration must also work with parents to explain the pyramid model to them and to guide them as they learn what their role in the pyramid model will be; this can be especially challenging for families who are at risk or otherwise dealing with poverty, unemployment, addiction, or some combination of these challenges (Ostrosky, Sandall, & Council for Exceptional Children, 2013).
All of this work is made that much harder by staff turnover at the facility. Because of the relatively low pay received by early childhood educators, many staff do not stay long in one position, but transfer to other centers where they can earn more or have better prospects for advancing into an administrative role (Bredekamp, 2014). Each time this happens, the center administrator must go through a hiring process and hope to locate a replacement familiar with the pyramid model, then train that person and guide them until they are accustomed to their new role. This often becomes a continuous process, with a few new teachers always on board and learning to fit in, a few veteran teachers acting as their mentors and trainers, and a few "short timers" who are preparing to leave, either to retire or to work elsewhere (Hemmeter, Fox, & Snyder, 2013).
Terms & Concepts
Inclusion: Inclusion is an educational philosophy that emphasizes the importance of including children with disabilities, such as social and emotional control difficulties, in the regular classroom. Proponents of inclusion feel that having students of varying ability levels in the same group prevents those children with disabilities from feeling stigmatized, and helps the other children understand that differences in ability are normal.
Intervention: Within the context of education, an intervention is a response by a teacher or a school to an issue being experienced by a student. If a student is experiencing difficulty with reading, for example, the teacher might try to provide extra tutoring to that student, as a form of intervention. If the tutoring proved ineffective, then the teacher might explore additional interventions, such as having the child tested to determine if some type of learning disability is interfering with the student’s reading ability. A crucial component of interventions is that they must be measurable so that it can be determined whether they accomplished the purpose they were designed for.
Response to Intervention: Response to Intervention is an educational and developmental approach that tries to help students succeed regardless of their ability or disability, by conducting various forms of screening on all students in order to identify those with learning challenges that might require some form of outside assistance. Students so identified can then be approached with interventions designed to address their particular learning difficulties.
Universal Promotion: Universal promotion is an idea used to describe the bottom layer of the pyramid model. It refers to the fact that young children in early childhood settings and at home who are at risk for developmental delays all need certain basic elements of care to be in place, regardless of any variations in the children’s developmental progress. Some of these elements include the presence of caregivers who can respond to the child’s needs in a timely and caring way, encouraging children to explore and develop new skills, and a stable and consistent environment in which to develop.
Bibliography
Bredekamp, S. (2014). Effective practices in early childhood education: Building a foundation. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Cook, R. E. (2015). Adapting early childhood curricula for children with special needs + enhanced pearson etext... access card. S.l.: Prentice Hall.
Fox, L., & Hemmeter, M. L. (2011). Coaching early educators to implement effective practices: Using the pyramid model to promote social-emotional development. Zero to Three (J), 32(2), 18–24. Retrieved January 12, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=69649994&site=ehost-live
Gartrell, D. (2014). Guidance approach for the encouraging classroom. Belmont: Wadsworth.
Hemmeter, M. L., Fox, L., & Snyder, P. (2013). Teaching pyramid observation tool (TPOT) for preschool classrooms manual. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
Hemmeter, M. L., Hardy, J. K., Schnitz, A. G., Adams, J. M., & Kinder, K. A. (2015). Effects of training and coaching with performance feedback on teachers’ use of pyramid model practices. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 35(3), 144–156. Retrieved January 12, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=110506534&site=ehost-live
Hyson, M. (2014). The early years matter: Education, care, and the well-being of children, birth to 8. New York, NY: Teachers College.
Ostrosky, M., Sandall, S. R., & Council for Exceptional Children. (2013). Addressing young children's challenging behaviors. Los Angeles, CA: Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Reddy, L. A. (2011). Group play interventions for children: Strategies for teaching prosocial skills. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Shavinina, L. V. (2013). The Routledge international handbook of innovation education. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Snyder, P. A., Hemmeter, M. L., Fox, L., Bishop, C. C., & Miller, M. D. (2013). Developing and gathering psychometric evidence for a fidelity instrument: The teaching pyramid observation tool—pilot version. Journal of Early Intervention, 35(2), 150–172. Retrieved January 12, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=93390136&site=ehost-live
Suggested Reading
Artman-Meeker, K., Hemmeter, M. L., & Snyder, P. (2014). Effects of distance coaching on teachers’ use of pyramid model practices. Infants & Young Children: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Early Childhood Intervention, 27(4), 325–344. Retrieved January 12, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=98423902&site=ehost-live
Branson, D., & Demchak, M. (2011). Toddler teachers’ use of teaching pyramid practices. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 30(4), 196–208. Retrieved January 12, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=57205108&site=ehost-live
Fox, L., Carta, J., Strain, P. S., Dunlap, G., & Hemmeter, M. L. (2010). Response to intervention and the pyramid model. Infants & Young Children: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Early Childhood Intervention, 23(1), 3–13. Retrieved January 12, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=47725300&site=ehost-live
Hurley, J. J., Saini, S., Warren, R. A., & Carberry, A. J. (2013). Use of the pyramid model for supporting preschool refugees. Early Child Development & Care, 183(1), 75–91. Retrieved January 12, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=84423272&site=ehost-live
SCEI's Higher Education Research (Workshop), Georgia, & Project SCEIs. (2013). Bringing the pyramid model home: Promoting the social emotional competence of very young children. Savannah, GA: Georgia Department of Public Health.