As the Marketing and Communications Director for Teachstone, I read everything I can get my hands on. I always want to know what is going on in the field, what the market’s saying, and what the latest policy debates are. Since I scan pretty much all the early ed newsletters and blogs, I thought it might be helpful to share a bit about what I’m reading each month. I’m always looking for new material, so I hope you’ll share what you’re reading or your thoughts on what I’m reading by adding a comment below.
From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (National Academies Press)
So, this selection is a result of me being way too overeager. As you likely know, Teachstone is planning to roll out the Infant CLASS Observation Training in summer 2014, and we’re thinking through professional development that will be useful for infant teachers and care providers. Since I don’t have children and have never worked closely with infants, I asked Rebecca Berlin if she had any good reading on infant development. One hour later, I got this book, dog-eared and ready for reading. Be careful what you ask for!
"Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught?" (The New York Times)
I found this article while on the treadmill this morning (yes, I love running and walking, and when it’s too dark to go outside, I multitask and get my reading done while I’m at it). I’m only halfway through, but I thought it was an interesting look into how our education system is approaching social and emotional learning. Do you think this is just a fad or does this social-emotional learning theory have legs?
"Teaching the Whole Child" (American Institutes for Research)
Building on the social-emotional learning theme, a new paper from the American Institutes for Research explores how teacher evaluation systems help teachers develop social-emotional competencies. This paper looks at which instructional practices promote social-emotional learning and then crosswalks the CLASS system, the Danielson Framework for Teaching, and the Marzano Observation and Feedback Protocol to show how each evaluation system influences both academic and social-emotional learning.