This month, I had a chance to interview MMCI Instructor, Shawn Kaplan. In her time as an MMCI Instructor so far, she has facilitated an impressive number of teacher cohorts, impacted CLASS scores, and has some insightful reflections for new instructors.
Tell me a little about yourself and your background in Early Childhood Education.
I have been in the ECE field for 21 years--that's a long time! My professional journey has provided me with a range of opportunities from classroom teacher up through directorship for an infant through pre-K program. The highlight of my career, by far, has been getting introduced to CLASS and using this knowledge to coach teachers in a variety of programs across California.
Tell me about your experience with MMCI and your journey in becoming a certified instructor.
As with much of life, I was in the right place at the right time and had an opportunity to attend MMCI training with Jacquelynn, from Teachstone. At the time, I wasn’t sure what I had signed up for; however, the colleague who told me about it had me at "CLASS." I didn’t even understand that the training would prepare me to become an instructor until the end of my first training day! Once I completed the training, I was more in love with CLASS than ever before. I was also at a great loss: How was I going to ever find enough teachers to train to achieve my certification? Thankfully, it all worked out, and then some.
What are some of the challenges you faced facilitating MMCI and how did you overcome them?
My first challenge was figuring out the content, slides, and pacing of the teacher training I had to deliver. Session one went well over time and I quickly realized I needed to pick up the pacing and make detailed notes by the minute. Another challenging aspect was that I started off conducting four MMCI cohorts per week; one on Wednesday and three on Friday. This meant I had just one day in between to reflect and smooth out any bumps. Because of my schedule, I overcame these challenges through trial and error. When a session went well, I learned to repeat the same flow for the next groups later in the week. And when I had to adjust on the spot, I did!
Can you tell me a success you have seen as a result of MMCI? A specific “ah ha” moment from a teacher?
I have seen several successes over the course of delivering ten MMCI-teacher cohorts. Here of some of my favorite responses to MMCI:
I am also incredibly proud to have been part of a larger project that included MMCI and has received data showing that the teachers who completed my cohorts impacted score changes, raising the bar on the national average across all CLASS domains.
What is your biggest takeaway from facilitating MMCI?
My biggest takeaway from facilitating MMCI (so far) is the powerful impact you can make as a facilitator on your teachers. By engaging in parallel process and adjusting each session to meet the specific needs of your group through relatable examples--you can make a huge difference in their teaching practices and in the lives of the children in their classrooms.
Perhaps your school is already fully in person or using hybrid instruction. Or maybe you, like nearly half of the participants in our recent webinar Three Keys to Building a Blueprint for Reopening, are still completely virtual and looking ahead to when staff and students can be together again.
Since 2018, over 10,000 educators and counting have enrolled in a CDA with CLASS® program. That’s a milestone in and of itself. But when you zoom out, it means that tens of thousands of children are now cared for by these professionals. And, when you think of the number of meaningful, high-quality interactions that happen each and every day? It’s not unreasonable to think that there are a hundred thousand or more brain-building moments that happen daily because learners have enrolled in a CDA with CLASS program.
The 2021 InterAct CLASS Summit brought together incredible speakers and practitioners from across the globe. It energized us, emboldened us, and excited us about new opportunities - like myCoach Connect.
myCoach Connect, developed in partnership with Torsh Inc., will transform how you view, receive, and deliver practice-based coaching to teachers in your program. It brings together innovative technology from Torsh with Teachstone’s staff of expert, certified CLASS® coaches to drive program improvement, classroom quality, and student outcomes.
How can we as leaders ensure that our early childhood programs are providing the highest quality care to our children?
Even before the pandemic, we asked ourselves this question often. Our search for a way to support teachers and continuously improve the quality of our programs led us on a journey culminating in the implementation of The Essential 0-5 Survey in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.