Governor’s Office of Early Childhood
Teacher-Child Interactions in Early Childhood Settings
CLASS is in session:
What is CLASS?
ClassroomAssessment andScoringSystem
What is CLASS?
• Designed by TeachStone• Based on research from University of
Virginia’s Curry School of Education• Data supports teachers’ unique
professional development needs• focuses on effective teaching• helps teachers recognize and
understand the power of their interactions with students
• works across age levels and subjects
• Assesses classroom quality• Tool designed for many age groups
Who can use CLASS?
The CLASS™ tool is used by teachers, administrators, researchers, and data collectors for a variety of purposes, including
•Teacher preparation•Teacher performance assessment•Professional development•Program monitoring•Research and evaluation
Scoring with CLASS
Scoring Matrix
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
LOW
MID
-RA
NG
EH
IGH
Domains of CLASS
CLASSROOM QUALITY
Emotional SupportClassroom
OrganizationInstructional
Support
Domains of CLASS
CLASSROOM QUALITY
Emotional Support
• Positive Climate• Negative Climate• Teacher Sensitivity• Regard for Student Perspective
Classroom Organization
Instructional Support
Emotional Support
Positive Climate – The emotional connection, respect and enjoyment demonstrated between teachers and students and among students
Negative Climate – The level of expressed negativity such as anger, hostility, or aggression exhibited by teachers and/or students in the classroom
Teacher Sensitivity – Teachers’ awareness of and response to students’ academic and emotional concerns
Regard for Student Perspective – The degree to which teachers’ interactions with students and classroom activities place an emphasis on the students’ interests, motivations and points of view
Domains of CLASS
CLASSROOM QUALITY
Emotional Support Classroom Organization
• Behavior Management
• Productivity• Instructional Learning Formats
Instructional Support
Classroom Organization
Behavior Management – How effectively teachers monitor, prevent and redirect behavior
Productivity – How well the classroom runs with respect to routines and the degree to which teachers organize activities and directions so that the maximum time can be spent on learning activities
Instructional Learning Formats – How teachers facilitate activities and provide interesting materials so that students are engaged and learning opportunities are maximized
Domains of CLASS
CLASSROOM QUALITY
Emotional SupportClassroom
Organization
Instructional Support
• Concept Development
• Quality of Feedback
• Language Modeling
Instructional Support
Concept Development – How teachers use instructional discussion and activities to promote students’ higher-order thinking skills in contrast to a focus on rote instruction
Quality of Feedback – How teachers extend students’ learning through their responses to students’ ideas, comments and work
Language Modeling – The extent to which teachers facilitate and encourage students’ language
CLASS SCORING
Frequency of Scoring•Four to six twenty minute observations
•Ten minutes of scoring after each observation periods
•Observers score all ten dimensions each time
•Cumulative score is the average of all observations
Other Considerations•Observations can be made during any organized activities (including lunch and transitions)
•Not to be used for outdoor play•Observations must be conducted in one day
•Includes all adults in the setting•Should reflect the average classroom experience
CLASS SCORING
National Averages
Emotional Support
Classroom Organization
Instructional Support
CLASS SCORINGInter-rater Reliability
• Introductory training (2 Days)•Online Test (must maintain 80% reliability)
•Scores are “reliable” if they fall within one (plus or minus) of a master coder
•Reliability must be renewed annually (re-test)
Maintaining Inter-rater Reliability•Organizations are encouraged to engage in inter-rater reliability exercises throughout the year
•Video tape environments•Score jointly to check results•Develop strategies to integrate lessons learned
•Integrate CLASS scores into PD system
Resources
Resources and Links•TeachStone website http://www.teachstone.com
•Teachstone Implementation Guide (http://http://www.teachstone.org/about-the-class/)
•Early Childhood Knowledge and Learning Center http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc
•Head Start Training and Technical Assistance (http://www.khsa.org/t&ta.asp)
•Your local Head Start (http://www.khsa.org)
Thank You