There's a new and exciting way to contact Teachstone's Customer Support team - by text! You can text us at (866) 998-8352 between the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. The service is also available for Spanish users from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST. Use texting for all of your Customer Support needs (it's faster and easier).
Here are three ways our new texting service benefits you!
In the summer of 2018, we began a company-wide conversation to organize the various activities, discussions, and small steps undertaken by many across Teachstone since our earliest days, to address issues of equity, cultural sensitivity, and bias. We recognized that even within our organization, a group of well-intentioned and motivated people, we had not made a formal, structured commitment to equity work.
Exciting news! Teacher materials are now available in Spanish for Infant/Toddler and Pre-K CLASS Group Coaching. Both videos below discuss what is included, when cohorts can begin, and the process behind preparing and translating these materials. The first video is in English and features Campbell Buie and Richard Aguilar. The second video is in Spanish and features Sofia Rodriguez and Richard Aguilar.
So, it’s June and you have just wrapped up the year with your students. They have made tremendous progress over the course of the year. The routine of the day flows naturally, the expectations about what is and isn’t appropriate behavior is fairly clear to all of them (and to you), and you leave the school year feeling confident that they are ready for the new challenges that lie ahead. You go into the summer months looking forward to a much needed break, but also looking forward to your new group of students in the fall.
Now that school is in session again, you're probably wondering about how you can connect with your students in the classroom and during lessons. The answer? Open-ended questions!
As a Certified CLASS Affiliate Trainer, I enjoy reading the discussion posts and responses in the CLASS Learning Community. It gives me further insight into the areas that teachers have questions about, and the responses and techniques that members of the community are sharing with others. Usually I just sit back, read along, and take it all in.
Then recently someone posted, “I'd love some great examples of what Quality of Feedback looks like when you're working with less verbal children. For instance... creating an effective feedback loop off of what a child does more so than what he or she says.”
Many teachers will agree that their first year of teaching can be one of the most grueling, challenging, and stressful experiences for them as they take on the task of educating our youth. In my first year of teaching, I was not familiar with the CLASS tool and its impact in the classroom. I was not aware of the dimensions, indicators, and the tremendous power of interactions. Looking back, I recognize the many ways the CLASS tool was reflected in my classroom, but I also see the value in how familiarity with the CLASS tool could have benefitted my classroom. Although many external forces impacted my role as a high school Spanish teacher, the CLASS tool’s invaluable purpose could have made a profound impact on my first year teaching.
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!
In construction, a scaffold is a temporary structure used by workers to access heights and areas that are hard to get to. This is exactly what educators are doing when they scaffold for students. A student is having a hard time reaching a new height—understanding a concept, answering a question, or completing an activity—and the teacher provides just enough support to allow the student to succeed.
Children love playing shadow tag, catching and stepping on each other’s shadows. We teachers need to keep an eye on our shadows too...metaphorically speaking, that is. We’re big in children’s eyes, and we have a lot of power over how they spend their day. If we slip into taking over their explorations and answering our own questions, we subtly let children know that their ideas and interests aren’t as important as ours. But if we want our children to develop independence and feel engaged in our classroom, then we have to show we value their ideas and support their independence.
