1. family and parenting
2. children

TPITOS:
The Pyramid Infant-Toddler
Observation Scale
Presented By:
Kelly J Wilson
KJ Consulting, LLC.
PURPOSE
 Measure fidelity of
implementation of
Pyramid Model practices
– teacher professional
development
 Implement classroom
prevention and
intervention strategies to
promote social-emotional
development and prevent
challenging behavior
ORIGIN OF THE TPITOS
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Developed by Judith Carta
Measure fidelity of the Teaching Pyramid Model
Designed for infant-toddler settings
Score is based on observation & interview
TPITOS
o Developed to measure the extent teaching pyramid practices
are being implemented within classrooms
o Provide information to identify training needs of teachers
o Provide information for program-wide training needs
o Track growth within professional development goals
o Strength-based
Evolution of TPITOS
• Page 7 - Added suggestions about how observers can
incorporate program-specific priorities or needs into
observation notes. Specifically, we describe how to incorporate
a program’s focus on promoting one-on-one interactions
throughout interactions with children.
• Item 1 - CBR7: edited to include all children, and is not limited
to toddlers.
• Item 2 - DWR5: clarified to indicate the focus of the indicator
is on greeting and acknowledging children upon arrival and
when they enter a new activity or area.
Con’t
• Item 3 - We no longer omit physical care routines within
the peer interaction item.
• Item 4 - We no longer omit physical care routines within
the active engagement item.
• Item 11
• TCP5: edited to focus more on communication and sharing
of information with allied professionals and parents
• TCP6: edited to focus on teachers’ use of communications
with other professionals in informing classroom practices.
USING THE TPITOS
o Observations
o Conducted for a minimum of 2 hours
o Observe free play, structured group activity, and at least one teacherdirected activity
o Focus on lead teacher
o At least 3 children, at least 3 routines
o Interviews
o Target those practices that cannot be observed in 2 hour observation
TIPS IN USING THE TPITOS
Be objective & write exactly what you see
Make notes/justify answers
All items must be filled in on the assessment
Score every item every time
Write the early childhood setting schedule down
Note irregularities in schedule or day (i.e., substitute assistant,
upcoming field trip, late breakfast…)
Do you distribute the observation tool to teachers?
Do you give the teachers the scores of the TPITOS?
SEQUENCE OF OBSERVATION
1. Obtain copy of teacher/caregiver’s daily schedule.
2. Email teacher/caregiver – determine the time you will arrive
and list the activities you need to observe.
3. Plan for 2 hours to complete your observation.
4. Plan to observe one teacher-directed and one child-directed
activity.
5. Arrange a time when you can interview the teacher in private
(about 15-30 minutes).
6. Set up a follow up/summary meeting ahead of time.
7. After the observation, leave a note or a treat.
FORMAT OF TPITOS
Types of “Yes/No” items
Items (1-7)
 Observation across multiple routines
Items (8-10)
 Based on observation in any routine
Item 11
 Observation or interview
Items 12 & 13
 Interview
Items 1-11
 Red flags
GETTING READY!
• Thoroughly study the TPITOS manual
• Practice with a partner
• Write on manual or tool and develop codes
EXAMINING THE TPITOS
Manual & Assessment Tool
TPITOS MANUAL
• Provides further clarification and increases reliability
of observers
• Provides explanation for many indicators within the
items (clarified items in the manual are noted in the
section immediately following assessment – called
elaborations)
• Offers both examples and non-examples when
necessary
ITEMS 1-7
Across Routines
1. Provides opportunities for communication & relationship
building
2. Demonstrates warmth & responsively to individual children
3. Promotes positive peer interactions
4. Promotes children’s active engagement
5. Responsive to children’s expression of emotion & teaches
about feelings
6. Communicates & provides feedback about developmentally
appropriate expectations
7. Responds to children in distress & manages challenging
behavior
Items 8-10
Observation In Any Routine
 Uses specific strategies or modifications for
children with disabilities/delays, or who are
dual-language learners
 Conveys predictability through carefully planned
schedule, routines, and transitions
 Environment is arranged to foster socialemotional development
CLEAR BEGINNING, MIDDLE, END
 Must be able to answer these 4 questions:
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what am I supposed to be doing?
how do I know I’m making progress?
how do I know I’m finished?
what do I do next?
Item 11
• Collaborates with his/her peers to support
children’s social emotional development
• Other teachers
• Mental health providers
• Other staff
Item 12 & 13
• Effective strategies for engaging parents in
supporting their child’s social emotional
development
• Effective strategies for communicating with
families and promoting family involvement
ROLE PLAYING
1. Activity
2. Pair up with your buddy
3. Practice the following interview questions
Red Flags
• Responsive to individual children
• Promoting emotional expression and social
interaction
• Responds to children’s distress and challenging
behavior
• Environmental support for social engagement
SCORING TPITOS
1. For each item, determine the number of indicators scored
“yes”
2. Determine the total number scored “no”
3. Divide “yes” by the total number scored to get percentage
4. Use summary score table on page 22 & 23 to calculate data
5. Enter scores on excel sheet – graphing file
6. See attached graphing file instructions & features
N/A (only for indicators or entire items when “N/A permitted” is
shown on the scale and score sheet – not counted when
determining rating for item and items scored. NAs are not
counted when calculating subscale and total scale scores
Important Tips for scoring
• Score as soon as you are done
with your observation - NOT in
the classroom
• Score on your paper copy first (P.
22 & 23)
• Input results into your Excel
Spreadsheet
• Leave unscored items blank – do
not use “0”
• Click “refresh all” under the data
tab any time you add or edit data
SUMMARIZE RESULTS
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Item summary and graph
Red flag summary and graph
Global – has both items & red flags
Individual/multiple teachers
Isolated/multiple time periods
WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED
 It takes coaching to get teachers to
fidelity levels of pyramid practices
 Teachers need help knowing where to start
 Teachers need help accessing and
developing materials
 Focusing on the bottom of the pyramid can be difficult
 Assessment tools are not reflective or directive – these are
behaviors demonstrated by people
 Effective coaches are necessary
COACHING AND PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT PLANS
COACHING INVOLVES
 Working together
 Relationship Building
 Goal Setting
 Observation
 Feedback
 Creating Action Plan
 Problem Solving
 Monitoring Progress
COACHING SESSIONS SHOULD
INCLUDE…
 Preparation
 Get baseline TPITOS
 Gather data and previous meeting notes
 Observation
 Target specific areas
 Look for what went well
 Look for what to work on next
 Meeting Time
 Debrief and discuss with teacher
 Provide strength-based feedback – what went well
 Discuss next extension for professional growth
 Create action plan
 Follow-Up
A COACHING PROCESS
 Teaching on topic
 Rationale
 Description of strategy
 Modeling and behavior rehearsal
 Coach demonstrates what the strategy looks like
 Coach and coachee practice the strategy without children
present
 Coaching in classroom
 Coach and coachee decide how to begin implementation
 How and when to provide feedback
 Follow up
 Brief meeting to discuss how it went
DEVELOPING AN ACTION PLAN
and/or Professional Development
Plan
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS
SHOULD INCLUDE
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Reference to TPITOS items
Strategy to be implemented
Detailed plan for exactly how to implement & when
Steps for Coaching
Materials needed
 Person responsible
 Completion date
 Date to begin implementation
 Measure to show progress
Using TPITOS data to create
professional plans
 Red flags need to be addressed first
 Identify professional needs from TPITOS
scores
 Encourage teachers & coaches to start from the
lower levels of the pyramid – it will have a
bigger impact
 Use the anchors on the TPITOS to help develop
strategies
 Build on what is already going well
TIPS FOR DEVELOPING AN ACTION PLAN
Follow structure of teaching pyramid
Build strategies for developing positive
relationships
Address schedules and routines
Use the TPITOS anchors to drive strategies
Use strength-based approach
Involve coachee in developing action and
implementation plans
RESOURCES
 TPITOS manual
 TPITOS Excel Scoring Sheet
 TPITOS team – Juniper Gardens Children’s Project,
University of Kansas
 Instructional Video for Data File – contact Kathy
Bigelow kbigelow@ku.edu
QUESTIONS??
kellyjo664@gmail.com