Imagine sitting down beside a music student as he practices a new song. As a mentor, your role is to provide feedback to the student on how well he’s interpreted the piece, translated the notations into an audible melody, and literally used his fingers to create music as dictated by the sheet music.
Now consider this: How successful would you be as a mentor if you did not know how to read music?
It seems like an absurd proposition, but we hear about it everyday: coaches mentoring teachers on the CLASS that do not have formal training on using the observation tool. How often is this happening? Our State of CLASS report has good news and bad news on that front:
The Good News: 74% of coach respondents reported receiving CLASS Observation Training. This is more than we thought, and it shows the investment the field is willing to make in developing competent coaches.
The Bad News: 84% of teachers receive feedback after their classroom is observed with CLASS. To be fair, this isn’t really bad news—CLASS was developed as a professional development tool, and in an ideal world, 100% of teachers would receive feedback. The concern here is related to the unknown quality of feedback teachers receive—especially when we know that many teachers are given CLASS-based feedback on their scores by people who aren't trained to understand what those scores really mean.
Feedback, especially on something as personal as the way you interact with children, is usually challenging to receive; but without proper context, it can be detrimental.
If you’ve ever wondered whether sending coaches to CLASS Observation Training (even if they are not responsible for conducting formal observations) is “worth it,” you can stop wondering. Here are just a few competencies coaches develop when they become Certified CLASS Observers:
I don’t know about you, but if I were receiving mentorship, I’d expect my coach to deeply understand the complexities of my craft and be able to recognize and objectively assess my progress.
What’s your stance on coaches becoming CLASS reliable observers? Tell us in the comments below!
Since 2018, over 10,500 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.
As you jump in to help your teacher, working side by side as a collaborator, everything seems clear at the beginning. There are some obvious areas to address and both you and your teacher have tons of energy, ready to change the world. After a few visits, however, an unsettling feeling begins to creep up on you.