Educating Young Children Volume 2 - Fall 2026 | Page 33

After the lesson, the mentor and teacher should meet to talk through what happened. Beatriz named what Ms. Rivera had done— paused, listened, scaffolded— so that Ms. Rivera could see her own growth explicitly. Similarly, mentors can ask teachers to describe what they noticed, what felt different, and what was harder than expected. Then it is the mentor’ s turn to add their perspective. If the interaction was recorded, watching a short clip together can be especially powerful. It’ s much easier to see the moment of choice when the teacher is not in the middle of it. Naming it matters: Teachers who can articulate what they did differently are more likely to do it again.

The debrief is the pivot point of the entire cycle. It is where the teacher’ s observations become explicit and where the mentor can reinforce the strategies that open space for the child’ s thinking. It also leads to the educator’ s growth as a professional. The cycle then begins again with new material.

This listening framework is not meant to be a checklist. In practice, the steps loop back on each other. For example, a debrief surfaces a new mismatch, a rehearsal reveals a gap in sensemaking, or an interaction with a child opens up a question that leads the teacher and mentor to another exploration. Each part of the cycle is an opportunity for the educator to reflect on their approach to teaching as well as for the mentor to support the educator’ s career trajectory.

Photographs: © Getty Images. Copyright © 2026 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See permissions and reprints online at NAEYC. org / resources / permissions.

› As someone who supports and guides educators, how do you build space for cycles of reflection with a teacher?

› Which part of the process do you think will be most challenging for the teachers you work with, and why?

› How do you work with educators to consider children’ s home and community contexts? What is an instance when you helped an educator move from a misunderstanding to understanding?

› Where in your existing coaching or professional development structure could this cycle fit? What would need to change to make space for it?

Zachary Price, PhD, is an assistant professor in the early childhood education department at Towson University in Towson, Maryland.

Stephanie M. Moody, PhD, is an associate professor of early childhood education at Towson University in Towson, Maryland.

This article supports the following NAEYC Early Learning Programs standards and topics.

Standard 8: Professionalism

Demonstrating Professionalism as Early Childhood Educators

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