Can we talk about structure? When CLASS entered my life, I was 20 years into my career in the field of early childhood education. What I remember most about that initial training, besides the nervousness about an impending reliability test, was a sense of relief. Structure, including State and program standards, curriculum, materials in the classroom, and approaches to childcare and pedagogy, had dominated my working hours. CLASS was a lot to learn, but for me, it was a breath of fresh air. Observing with CLASS meant I could set aside my obsession with all things structural – which encompassed my thoughts every time I walked into an early childhood classroom.
Teachstone is celebrating Week of the Young Child hosted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). We'll be posting articles, videos, activities, and more all week on Facebook and Twitter.
For Tasty Tuesday, we've found a few healthy recipes for every mealtime, including dessert. These recipes are easy to assemble and make, and your early learners can help out as well. What are your favorite healthy recipes?
Group coaching has been proven to be effective at improving the quality of teaching. In group settings, teachers can motivate each other and learn from one another’s experiences. Coaches have a unique opportunity of building rapport within their cohort of teachers and supporting their growth.
Have you ever wondered how CLASS fits the culture of your program? There are three areas that will support your quest of ensuring that your program is taking full advantage of CLASS in your classrooms to support child outcomes and enhance effective teaching practices.
On a hot summer day in July 2016, I had the good fortune of being the one not on vacation on our small policy and research team. Instead, I went to DC to serve as Teachstone’s representative for a convening of policymakers, researchers, and ECE practitioners. They were gathering to discuss if and how exemplary Head Start grantees might be identified for Leading by Exemplar, an initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and led by Bellwether Education Partners.
Decades of evidence indicate that high-quality early childhood education positively affects children. Yet studies reveal that too few programs implement high-quality programming. To date, improvement efforts have primarily focused on what occurs within the classroom. The Ounce of Prevention Fund (Ounce), in partnership with the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research (UChicago Consortium), strives to broaden the focus of improvement efforts beyond the classroom to organizationalconditions that support teachers and the relationships among staff, children, and families.
If you’ve been following the news lately, a lot is going on in North Carolina for young children and families! Leaders across the state—from businesses to state government to county municipalities—are leveraging partnerships that use research-based assessment and professional development models (like CLASS) to guarantee more of the state’s youngest residents have access to the high quality care they need and deserve.
I have a confession to make—I'm a social media junkie. I had to go through a 12-step program to cure my Facebook habit. I had a short relapse, but I was able to kick it again. I tried Twitter years ago, but that just wasn't for me. Pinterest is just straight up evil. I've planned two weddings, a total remodel of a home, and a trip to Hawaii.None of these things is ever going to happen, but Pinterest has robbed me of about 400 hours of time that I put into these nonexistent projects.Instagram is one of those things that I can take or leave.
Education is certainly my calling. When choosing my path as a teacher, the Montessori philosophy captivated me more than most. It was peaceful, harmonious, respectful to the child, reflexive, and intentional.
