Nikki earned her BA in Psychology and Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia. She has been using the CLASS tool since 2010, when she worked as a Pre-K CLASS coder and research assistant at the Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning. She is now the Observer Support Manager at Teachstone and loves being able to support others in conducting classroom observations with fidelity. Her expertise is in live and videotaped CLASS coding, and she is certified on all age levels of the CLASS tool, Infant through Secondary.
In her free time, Nikki likes going to the movies and wine tasting with her friends and family. She also enjoys yoga, puzzles, and playing with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Neo.
We often talk about CLASS observers and observation data as being reliable. But, what does reliable really mean? And, why do we make such a big deal about it?
Whether you’re a new CLASS observer or you’ve observed in hundreds of classrooms, you may wonder about or struggle with where to position yourself in the classroom during an observation. There’s no straight answer to this conundrum since every classroom and each day is different, but it’s all about finding a delicate balance between being as non-obtrusive as possible (we at Teachstone like to call this being “a fly on the wall”) and still being able to see and hear what’s going on.
Ever wondered about the master coding process at Teachstone? How does it work? Who is involved? How do master coders become master coders? If so, look no further than this blog post for exclusive behind-the-scenes access to information that will unveil the magic and mystery that is master coding.