Chapter 15 Scenario: Infant Feeding Orientation

Objective and scenario

To develop and evaluate a staff orientation plan.

It is January, and you are preparing for the arrival of a new group of early childhood student volunteers from a nearby college. Because this is their first experience working in a center, you assign them to classrooms with the youngest infants (2 to 6 months) where they will assist the teachers during bottle-feeding times. Several infants have a history of repeated ear infections, so it will be important that the students adhere to strict protocol during bottle preparation and feedings. It is your responsibility, as the director of this large early childhood center, to provide the orientation and pre-service training for these students.

F0cus assignment

1. For the first step of your staff orientation plan, prepare a review of the developmental milestones, including eating behaviors, for typically developing infants at 2, 4, and 6 months of age. Next, develop a step-by-step outline for bottle preparation and feeding procedures that the students must follow.
2. Be sure to read the REFLECTION section below to guide your thinking. Write your reflection response after you have completed your orientation plan.

Self-evaluation

. For each item in your staff orientation plan:
     a. Explain how this item addresses the issues in the scenario.

2. Describe and justify how your staff orientation plan would improve teaching and learning in the scenario.