Professor to Present Workshops on Children's Challenging Behaviors

Published 02.24.2005

News
Faculty & Staff

Billie A. CoffmanBillie A. Coffman, associate professor of early childhood education at Pennsylvania College of Technology, was selected by Family Communications Inc., the producers of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," to be a trainer in Pennsylvania for teachers, child-care providers and parents who work with children with challenging behaviors.

The two-day training she received, which was offered at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College, is based on two video series produced by Family Communications Inc. "What Do You Do With the Mad That You Feel?" and "Challenging Behaviors: Where Do We Begin?"

The "What Do You Do With the Mad That You Feel?" training workshop explores anger, where it comes from and how young children can gradually learn the self-control necessary to manage their anger and channel it into productive activity.

The "Challenging Behaviors: Where Do We Begin?" workshop expands upon the award-winning original. It was developed in response to teachers, including those for preschool and early elementary grades, who report seeing more children with significant difficulty in managing conflict, frustration and anger.

Family Communications, which was founded by Fred Rogers to produce the popular PBS TV series "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to deliver the early-intervention training for child-care providers. The Project MAPS (Managing Anger, Promoting Safety) initiative trains early childhood educators to help young children who have difficulty with self-control learn the techniques to deal with anger more effectively. Additional funding has been provided by the state Department of Public Welfare and the Grable Foundation.

Coffman will present the workshops across the state as two separate three-hour sessions.

More information about the workshops is available here.

For more information about the Early Childhood Education major at Penn College, call the School of Integrated Studies at (570) 327-4521, send e-mail or visit online.