If you missed our webinar, “What is Data-Driven Professional Development and Why Does It Work”, you can watch the full recording here. Rebecca Berlin, Scott Siegfried, and Padma Rajan covered how they use data to improve child outcomes.
It’s (relatively) easy to collect observation and assessment data. But data isn’t enough. You have to learn what data is fundamental for improvement, and how to create meaningful reports around that data.
Take the work Scott Siegfried is doing with Miami Valley Child Development Centers (MVCDC), for example. He's collected data on child assessment, mentoring programs, and even an end-of-the-year opportunity for staff to reflect on the PD process. By knowing what data is most important for reaching their goals, MVCDC has kept an eye on trends and targets, as well as created new outlets for professional development.
We all know that when coaches can leverage data, professional development works better.
In Duval County, Florida, Padma Rajan knows that what gets measured gets improved. CLASS-reliable coaches used observation data as a part of their mentoring process, and in turn, Instructional Support scores went from an average of 2.00 to 2.38.
With data in hand, coaches can create individualized PD plans; teachers can more easily reflect on their strengths and weaknesses to make informed changes; and administrators can have visibility across what is taking place in their organizations and lead more effectively.
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New research from the nonprofit, LENA, suggests that babies born since the pandemic started are talking less and experiencing fewer conversational turns than babies born before COVID. This supports other studies that show that COVID-era babies are experiencing developmental delays and may impact their school readiness as as they get older. So, what does this mean for educators? And, how can we support these infants and toddlers with their language development?
In our recent webinar, Making the Move to CLASS® 2nd Edition, we shared how programs and individuals can begin to experience and use the enhanced Pre-K–3rd CLASS® tool. And, in this recent blog post we took a closer look at what these enhancements mean for certified observers.
To engage in continuous quality improvement, effective coaching is key. With effective coaching structures and programs in place, organizations can drive quality improvements that support children's development and learning. And, with CLASS® and CLASS coaching certifications, organizations can focus their improvements on research-proven educator-child interactions.
What’s the best way to teach empathy to an infant, toddler, or preschool aged child?
Joanna Parker joins the Teaching with CLASS® podcast to answer that question. Joanna has spent her entire career in early care and education. She’s worked with Head Start, Early Head Start, child care, early intervention, public PreK, and home visitation programs at the local, community, state, and national levels.
Joanna explains that defining empathy in early childhood is all about understanding social-emotional development. Children will not display empathy the way adults do because they are still developing social-emotional skills. But educators can instill foundational skills for children to build upon as they mature.
Social emotional learning (SEL) is a critical component of school readiness and later academic and social success. Did you know that high-quality interactions play an essential role in supporting children’s SEL learning? Our new brief breaks down the research behind the connections between teacher-child interactions and important social emotional skills.