What to KnowSince Teachstone is a relatively new organization, it’s important to take a moment to introduce Teachstone to participants. The Teachstone mission is to improve the effectiveness of education through the dissemination of evidence-based teaching and learning tools that improve outcomes for teachers and students.Teachstone provides CLASS Trainings, CLASS Observer and Trainer Certification, and CLASS-based Professional Development programs.Teachstone’s focus on evidence-based tools helps assure that programs support children’s learning and social development. What to Say and Do Provide a brief description of Teachstone.
What to Say and DoExplain that The CLASS helps structure classroom observations by providing a common lens—the CLASS lens.The CLASSprovides a common language when discussing effective teaching.Explain that sharing a lens Allows teachers and administrators to participate in a shared dialogue about what contributes to the most effective teaching practices using a common language. Allows all observers to look for the same teacher-student interactions when they conduct a CLASS observation, so that all classrooms are assessed fairly and consistently.Ask participants to discuss any differences that emerged during the discussion of effective classrooms. How do these differences reflect varied lenses among participants?
What to KnowThis slide is included in the participant guide notes.What to Say and DoExplain that CLASS data can be used in many ways:CLASS data can be used to support teacher preparation/education and professional development (PD):The CLASS focuses on what teachers are doing as they implement lessons to maximize students’ ability to learn.PD efforts using the CLASS focus on teachers’ interactions with students.PD informed by the CLASS helps teachers increase the emotional, organizational, and instructional support they provide to students.Research shows that small improvements in effective interactions have practical implications: Differences in just one point on the CLASS scale translate into improved achievement and social-skill development for students.CLASS data can be used to monitor programs:Data from the CLASS can be used as one component of monitoring systems to help programs develop a clear, individualized understanding of the PD needs of their classrooms. Programs can compare the effectiveness of interactions in their classrooms to national averages to help frame program-wide improvement goals.Programs and school districts can use the CLASS to measure the effectiveness of PD programs.CLASS data can be used in research and evaluation:The CLASS has been used extensively as a research tool, helping educators to observe, describe, categorize, and understand the types of interactions that occur in classrooms.
What to KnowThis slide is included in the participant guide notes.The general protocol for CLASS observations may vary depending on the project or program goals.CLASS interactions will be described in detail when you introduce the 10 dimensions.What to Say and DoExplain that CLASS observations are used to collect data and help observers understand what is happening in classrooms. Share the general protocol for CLASS observations:All observers are required to attend an intensive training and pass a rigorous reliability test. Observers look for and code only interactions that are part of the CLASS lens.During an observation cycle, observers take notes for 20 minutes and then pause to assign codes for 10 minutes. The number of observation cycles completed varies by the goals of the observation. Four observation cycles are generally recommended to gain a clear picture of an individual classroom’s interactions. After a CLASS observation, the codes may be used toSet professional development goals at the classroom, program, school, or agency level.Provide data used in research, program monitoring, or evaluation.Feel free to share your own experience observing classrooms if appropriate.
What to Say and DoExplain that the CLASS is aligned with evidence-based professional development programs that are effective, research-based, and scientific. Invite participants to visit teachstone.com for more information about CLASS-based professional development programs.
What to KnowAudiences for this program may include teachers, coaches, researchers, administrators, policymakers, and others who need to observe and understand classroom interactions.What to Say and DoAsk a participant to read the quote aloud.Let participants know that at the end of the program you will be asking them to think about one way the CLASS might affect their work.
What to Say and DoExplain that research has revealed that classroom interactions fall into one of three broad categories or domains:Emotional Support measures positive relationships among teachers and children, and teachers’ abilities to support social and emotional functioning in the classroom.Classroom Organization describes well-managed classrooms that provide children with frequent, engaging learning activities. Instructional Support measures interactions that promote higher-order thinking, provide ongoing feedback and support, and facilitate language development.Tell participants that each domain includes multiple dimensions of effective interactions known to contribute to children’s success in school.
What to KnowThroughout the training, be sure that you use the specific language related to the CLASS (i.e., dimension, indicator, behavioral marker) instead of nonspecific language (i.e.,area or part).Using consistent terms will model and help participants learn how best to use the CLASS in a systematic manner.What to Say and DoExplain that participants now will look at the organization of the CLASS in more detail, starting with the three domains: Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support.
What to Say and DoExplain that within these domains, there are 10 distinct dimensions that capture the different aspects of each.
What to Say and DoExplain that within dimensions there are indicators that define the dimension.
What to KnowThis slide is included in the participant guide training notes.What to Say and DoExplain that multiple behavioral markers define each indicator.Ask participants to look at the positive climate page in their Pre-K CLASSDimensions Guide.Discuss this page, emphasizing that a behavioral marker is something concrete that can be seen and heard (as opposed to something more abstract).
What to KnowThis table is based on NCEDL data on over 2000 children in about 700 Pre-K classrooms. It shows levels of effective interactions, as measured by the CLASS, related to children’s learning gains over the Pre-K year.This data is based on an early version of the CLASS that only included the Emotional and Instructional Support domains, so information related to Classroom Organization is not included as a separate domain in these analyses.What to Say and DoThis graph shows that researchers foundthat the CLASS Instructional Support dimensions in particular were associated with children’s language learning in these preschool classrooms. As classrooms provided more effective interactions in the Instructional Support dimensions of the CLASS, children gained more receptive and expressive language skills over the course of the year, and they developed more early literacy skills (rhyming, letter naming) skills. In addition, children developed early math skills. We also found that when classrooms were characterized by interactions that provided more effective emotional support, children’s social competence increased more over the course of the Pre-K year.
What to KnowThis slide is included in the participant guide training notes.The next few slides present some of the research findings associated with the CLASS, effective interactions, and students’ social and academic development. This information is important to share with participants so that they better understand the importance of using the CLASS in educational settings as a measure of teacher effectiveness.What to Say and DoExplain that this graph shows how much classroom processes and effective interactions vary.Explain that based on CLASS data collected from observing several thousand Pre-K to third-grade classrooms throughout the country, researchers know thatStudents tend to experience all, but mostly moderate to high, levels of effective interactions for Emotional Support and Classroom Organization.Most students attend Pre-K to third-grade classrooms characterized by low levels of Instructional Support.Researchers have collected data in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and first and third grades, and the profiles for each are remarkably similar.
What to KnowRecall that participants may include teachers, coaches, researchers, administrators, policymakers, and others who need to observe and understand classroom interactions.What to Say and DoRemind participants of the quote shared earlier.Encourage participants to reflect on their role as a teacher, coach, researcher, administrator, policymaker, etc., and consider how the CLASS connects with their work. Ask for volunteers to share one way that the CLASSmight affect their work.
