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