InterAct: A CLASS Summit returns on April 24-25, 2017 to Austin, Texas. For those of who don’t know, InterAct is Teachstone’s annual CLASS-user summit. It’s a place where education leaders can gather to network and discuss the challenges, successes, and stories about using the CLASS tool across the world.

I had to get CLASS certified for my job, but I’m not really doing anything with it. Is there anything else I can do with my certification?

What a great question. It’s one I’ve heard a few times in the field—an observer was asked to get certified to code once, and then she doesn’t get another opportunity to use her CLASS skills. The good news is that there are paying opportunities for reliable observers.

One of my favorite parts of InterAct: A CLASS Summit is always talking with people who represent so many different organizations that use CLASS. I was especially excited to sit down with Andrea Zabel of the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood Development, Office of Child Care, Maryland EXCELS branch. Maryland EXCELS is using the CLASS tool in a way that allows programs to truly focus on improvement—not only on their scores. 

I’ll be the first to admit it: The word “blogging” seems so ... dated. When I graduated college my brothers joked me that I would get a job as a professional blogger—an idea that seemed downright ridiculous. And here I am—managing the Teachstone Blog!  So what the heck does that mean? And what does this all have to do with you?

In short, my role is to find great authors who can talk about an array of topics. How boring would this blog be if I wrote each post? You’d probably hate it because I would write too much about my brothers teasing me. Or my cats.

So here’s my open-letter to you—why you are the best thing that can happen to our blog.

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me to explain what my company does. I get so excited and I start off with something like this: “Oh, we create professional development programs for teachers that are based around this assessment tool called CLASS (the Classroom Assessment Scoring System), which is all about observing how teachers interact with the students in their classrooms. You know, like, are the teachers maintaining a positive climate? Are they really clear in how they want their students to behave?”

. . . and I’ve just gotten a glazed-over look from whomever I'm speaking with. My excitement for CLASS results in too much information being thrown at them way too fast.

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me to explain what my company does. I get so excited and I start off with something like this: “Oh, we create professional development programs for teachers that are based around this assessment tool called CLASS (the Classroom Assessment Scoring System), which is all about observing how teachers interact with the students in their classrooms. You know, like, are the teachers maintaining a positive climate? Are they really clear in how they want their students to behave?”

. . . and I’ve just gotten a glazed-over look from whomever I'm speaking with. My excitement for CLASS results in too much information being thrown at them way too fast.

• Observers, which one do you love to observe and code? 
• Teachers, which one do you excel in? 
• Coaches, which one's your favorite to provide support in? 

I was so excited to talk to our October Featured Teacher, Kerry Melancon, after getting such a wonderful recommendation from Nicole Angelle, the Early Childhood Supervisor in her parish. Nicole wrote, “Kerry consistently reflects upon the dimensions of the CLASS tool to strengthen her interactions with the students in her classroom … Children feel safe to take risks and explore life knowing they have support for the adults within the classroom. She would be a great example of what a CLASS teacher should be.”

As summer comes to an end, students, teachers, principals, parents, bus drivers, and more are gearing up for the new school year. My Pinterest feed is full of teacher tips, classroom management tips, and bulletin board ideas. But there aren’t as many “listicles” out there for instructional coaches. So, coaches, here is a top 10 list for you! Teachstone bloggers’ top tips for coaching teachers:  

We asked our staff and certified CLASS observers about specific methods they have seen used to support quality interactions. So without further ado, here’s our list of 10 top effective teaching strategies.