We all want what’s best for our children. There are hundreds of aspects to measure: nutrition, exercise, curriculum, community involvement...the list could go on.

There’s one aspect that you may not know is measurable—that’s the interactions between teachers and students. This is where the CLASS tool comes in.

The aim of instructional support is to provide teachers with instructional strategies that assist and improve child-teacher interactions. Why? Because research shows that interactions between students and adults are a primary mechanism for promoting student development and learning. 

Children are used to having a daily routine at school. While your day doesn’t have to follow their school schedule exactly, it’s important to establish predictable activities and routines so they know what to expect. Preparing your child for the day brings normalcy to their life and can help curb anxiety as they won’t feel uncertain about what is coming next.

Throughout October, we saw a number of excellent posts from educators about National Bullying Prevention Month. While people tend to think of bullying as something that happens exclusively with older children, StopBullying.gov points out that peer aggression happens among children as young as 12 months. Across early childhood and K-12 alike, it’s important for educators to take bullying seriously to keep students safe. How can we do this in a CLASSy way?

I’m often asked how teachers can improve the quality of their interactions around Instructional Support. That’s good! What’s not “good” is that we can’t just focus on one thing. We should consider how ALL the CLASS dimensions need to be in place in order to really provide effective interactions for Instructional Support.

Summer is winding down, and every teacher has plans in the works as they look forward to the new school year. Whether you work in a public school, private school, or a child care facility, it’s time to make some plans to get your classrooms ready!

We’ve all had kids in the classroom who push limits, can’t manage their feelings, constantly demand attention. Believe it or not, they are sending you a message. When kids misbehave, they are operating based on mistaken learning. With time, patience, and planning you can help them relearn! If you reframe your thinking about children’s behavior and recognize that misbehavior is usually based on mistaken learning, you are well on your way to helping your kids.

In this vlog, you'll hear an overview of Teacher Sensitivity and Facilitated Exploration at the Infant level. Mary-Margaret introduces Responsive Caregiving and how to improve interactions by looking at an infant's cues that the child may be trying to communicate a need as well as ways to support an infant's exploration. 

Over the last few weeks, I’ve interacted with teachers, coaches, and administrators as the “new” year begins for the adults and children in their care. What I am hearing has a common theme—frustration, disappointment, hope. What is going on?  Well, maybe we can use the CLASS to think this through.

So, you're already a pro at conducting a CLASS Observation Training, but providing reliability support to trainees during the testing period can be challenging. Watch the video to learn about group reports, individual reports, and interpreting the score report on the CLASS Affiliate Trainer panel.