I once read that educators make an average of 1,500 instructional decisions a day. There is a lot to manage day in and day out when it comes to planning lessons, adjusting lessons in the moment, managing feelings, and more—all in the same minute.
Educators must also teach or follow specific procedures, both logistic and academic. For example, in early childhood settings, educators must adhere to diapering steps and demonstrate handwashing procedures. In elementary school, educators might introduce letter blends or help children follow a certain math formula.
There is evidence behind these procedures. Effective handwashing cuts down on disease spread, and teaching phonics is a necessary component of developing literacy. Still, these procedures can sometimes feel like they conflict with effective interactions, especially those found in the Instructional Support domain.
But they don’t have to be.
Even structured, step-by-step procedures can be made more relevant to children by helping them understand the hows and whys behind them through your interactions together.
Before we look at some examples of how educators can weave Instructional Support interactions into these kinds of procedures, here are a few principles to keep in mind.
Key Elements of Instructional Support Interactions
Following procedures and using higher-order thinking aren’t mutually exclusive.
If you think about a pilot flying a plane or a surgeon operating, they both follow specific checklists and procedures AND are observing, analyzing, and problem-solving as they go. This is especially true when learning the procedures or when applying that learning to a different situation.
School procedures are similar (except maybe a little less anxiety-producing). When first teaching handwashing or subtraction, there may be more back-and-forth exchanges or scaffolding than there is once the learning has been established. But that doesn’t mean that each time you follow or apply the procedure, other things won’t come up. A child might forget a handwashing step because they were so upset about their clothes getting wet. Or a student might struggle with the subtraction steps when using two-digit numbers instead of one-digit numbers. These are great times to use the feedback loops from teaching the procedure or find ways to connect the steps to previous learning.
Additionally, when learning is play-based or project-based and includes hands-on engagement and various formats, there are often more opportunities to use higher-order thinking while teaching procedures. Educators may work with smaller groups to teach a procedure to allow for scaffolding conversations while other children are engaged in independent learning projects.
The procedure is often just one component of interactions happening during the CLASS® observation
Remember that a CLASS observation is looking at all of the interactions happening in the setting across several 20-minute cycles. I know scores matter in real ways, and I don’t want to ignore the stress that educators or programs can feel. But, it may help to remember that the observers are looking at interactions across adults and peers for the course of the morning. And that the dimension scores get averaged across cycles. There can be consistent evidence for an indicator or dimensions, even if an educator needs to spend a few minutes completing rote steps. And with older children, peer interactions count as a part of instructional support. Children's problem-solving, providing feedback, or sustaining conversation are all evidence of effective interactions.
Similarly, observers look at several indicators in each dimension. A dimension can still score a 5 or 6 if some indicators are in the mid-range rather than the high range, depending on the evidence observed. Finally, observers are also looking for the depth of the interaction, not only frequency. For instance, having a longer social conversation during a routine or helping children connect to new vocabulary in concrete ways while teaching a procedure all count as effective evidence in Language Modeling.
Now, let’s look at some examples of effective interactions that can be infused into regular routines or procedures happening in the classroom.
|
Procedure |
Dimension / Indicator |
Example |
|
Diapering/toileting |
Language Modeling/Repetition and Extension |
The child points to the wipe and says, “Wipe.” The teacher says, “Yes, wipe. We use the wipe to get you all nice and clean.” |
|
Handwashing |
Concept Development/ Analysis and Reasoning Concept Development/ Quality of Feedback/ |
When introducing: Why do you think it’s important for us to wash our hands? When are some times of day that might be most important to wash our hands? When reminding: Child unsure of what to do after washing. The educator points at the picture on the chart that shows the paper towel and asks, “What do we need to do after we wash?” |
|
Meal prep or clean-up |
Concept Development / Analysis and Reasoning |
How do you know that we need six napkins? How can we make sure that everyone has enough peaches? (in family-style meals) What should we do to clean up the spill? What would happen if we left the food on the floor? |
|
Letter sounds |
Concept Development/ Concept Development/ |
When introducing: connecting letter sounds to children’s names in the classroom In subsequent lessons: What are some other words that begin with the _ sound? |
|
Writing letters |
Quality of Feedback/ Quality of Feedback/ |
When introducing, the Child says, “I don’t know F.” The educator uses hand motions and describes it as “a long line down and two short lines that come off from the top of it.” In subsequent lessons: You are so close to getting that letter. I see you trying so hard! I bet if you keep going, you’re going to get it. |
|
Using a number line |
Language Modeling/ Quality of Feedback/ |
When introducing: A number line is horizontal line. It’s straight and goes across the paper from side to side. In subsequent lessons: How did you use the number line to get to that answer? |
It all comes down to intentionality and understanding each child’s needs. Plan ahead for ways to incorporate Instructional Support strategies into the procedures you know you do daily with children. Look for those in-the-moment opportunities that arise throughout the day. Engaging children through open-ended prompts, hands-on activities, conversations, and purposeful feedback deepens learning in meaningful ways for children during every part of the day.
Looking for more Instructional Support ideas? Be sure to subscribe to our podcast, Teaching with CLASS, for short, tactical ideas for improving interactions to support children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. Listen or read the transcript from these recent episodes:
- Using Art to Manage Big Feelings
- Strategies for Navigating Challenging Behaviors
- Concept Development during Science and Beyond
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Vicki Kintner-Duffy started her education career as a preschool teacher in Shreveport, Louisiana before attending graduate school in North Carolina. Her research focused on supporting educators through teacher education and professional development. Vicki has been at Teachstone for 12 years in a variety of roles: coach, trainer, project manager, and now as the Senior Research & Evaluation Specialist. Her latest projects have been writing and validating CLASS 2nd Edition tools so that all educators and children are better represented and receive effective interactions.
Dorothy Fredrick has been in the field of education since 1996 and received her master’s degree from the University of Colorado. She worked with Head Start in Colorado Springs for over 25 years as a teacher, coach, and curriculum and training coordinator before joining Teachstone as a CLASS Specialist. Dorothy is passionate about providing meaningful services to help improve the ways teachers interact with their students.