Are you an Affiliate Trainer for the Toddler CLASS? The Toddler Observation PowerPoint was recently updated with a few minor changes; most of these include minor updates to the look and feel of the PPT and will not affect your training delivery.
However, there is one change we would like to explain related to the “Points to Consider” slide and corresponding presenter’s notes for the “Facilitation of Learning and Development” dimension.
Let’s review the changes:
- Previously the "Points to Consider" slide stated:
"Children's active engagement needs to be in response to something the teacher is doing to involve them."
The revised slide now states:
"Children’s active engagement tends to be a reflection of the teacher’s facilitation." - Previously the presenter's notes said:
"Point out that if the children are simply engrossed in an activity without any encouragement or support from the teacher, this is not counted as evidence of Facilitation of Learning and Development."
The revised notes now state:
"Point out that toddlers are active and busy learners and may be engrossed in an activity simply because of the novelty of materials without any encouragement or support from the teacher. In such a case, the children's active engagement indicator may be high but the other two indicators would be lower and the overall code for the dimension would be lower. When high-range FLD is present, you will see each of these indicators as connected and building on each other."
Why did we make these changes?
These changes more accurately represent what the dimension is capturing. Toddlers are often active and busy learners and may be engaged because of the novelty of materials, or their interest in the routine at hand. That alone will not mean that the teacher has actively supported their learning and developmental opportunities. In this dimension, the indicators all work together to help us decide a score. As an example, some of our training videos reflect that a teacher could have mid-range active facilitation, and high-range children’s engagement, such as in Kyle is 5 and That Hurt. It is always important to encourage your participants to keep the definition and the intent of the dimension in mind when coding.
We hope you will find these updates supportive in your efforts to train the “Facilitation of Learning and Development” dimension.
It’s always a good idea to download the most up-to-date PPT from your myCLASS Trainer Panel prior to any training you are certified to present. Happy training, and if you have any questions, send an email to contact@teachstone.org, or post them below!
