1. Making Early Education Opportunities Work for Kids and Teachers: Professional Development and Classroom Observation Robert C. Pianta, Ph.D. University of Virginia CASTL Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning

2. Large-scale observations of relationships and interactions in classrooms What is the experience of children in early childhood/elementary settings? In what ways do these interactions and experiences matter for children? How can the richness and quality of experiences in classrooms be improved through observing relationships and interactions?

3. Large-scale observational studies National-level studies  National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL)  NICHD Study of Early Child Care Up to 1,000 settings observed at preschool, K, 1, 3, 5 ― more than 4,000 classrooms Large set of systematic standardized classroom observation in U.S. schools All teachers credentialed/certified

4. Describing classroom interactions: Discrete behaviors, activities, practices Vast majority of interaction/activity is whole group or individual seatwork Few, if any, social or instructional interactions between teacher and individual child Mostly literacy activities Exceptional variation within and across grades Consistent patterns from pre-k to 5 th grade

5. High levels (30%) of “business/routine” activity  pk-5: managing materials, routines High levels of “basic skills” focus  7:1 in pk-1; 14:1 in 3-5 Ratio of listening, sitting, watching: Doing  10:1 in pk-5 (NICHD ECCRN 2002, 2004) How do children spend time?

6. Global ratings: What is the CLASS? Focus on how teachers and students interact What the teacher is doing to promote the positive emotional, social, and academic development of students in the classroom Factor analysis of CLASS (and other) scales indicate three broad constructs:  Emotional Support  Organization / Management  Instructional Support

7. Classroom ratings: CLASS Positive climate Negative climate Teacher sensitivity Regard for student perspectives Effective behavior management Learning formats/engagement Productivity Concept development Evaluative feedback Language modeling Emotional Support Instructional Support Organization/ Management

8. Curry School of Education, University of Virginia Emotional support Positive Climate: How does the teacher create a pleasant environment in which adults and students are enthusiastic about learning and respectful? Negative Climate: Does the teacher display anger, sarcasm, frustration, aggression, and/or harshness during her interactions with students and/or is there a high degree of peer negativity? Teacher Sensitivity: Is there evidence that the teacher notices and attends to the individual needs of students, creating an environment in which they feel safe to actively explore and learn? Regard for Student Perspectives: Does the teacher emphasize students’ interests and points of view?

9. Curry School of Education, University of Virginia Instructional support Concept Development: Is the teacher using strategies that encourage students to problem-solve, integrate information, and utilize higher order thinking skills? Quality of Feedback: To what extent does the teacher’s feedback maintain the child’s engagement and focus on expanding learning and understanding? Language Modeling: How does the teacher stimulate and scaffold opportunities for language growth?

10. Curry School of Education, University of Virginia Organization and management Productivity: How does the teacher manage time so that students can be learning and not waiting or wandering around? Instructional Learning Formats: What does the teacher do to maximize students’ ability to learn and their engagement? Behavior Management: Does the teacher take steps to proactively prevent and redirect students’ misbehavior, thereby reducing the amount of instructional time lost to behavior management?

11. Positive emotional climate Productivity Quality of feedback 12345671234567 1234567 What is the quality of the classroom setting?

12. Profiles of classroom quality: PreK Mildly positive Positive instructional quality Mildly positive Low instructional quality Highly negative Low instructional quality Positive emotional climate Positive instructional High overall Quality 18%21%20%27%14% 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Emotional Instructional

13. Profiles of classroom quality: First grade Quality Positive emotional climate Low academic demand Very positive emotional climate High instructional quality Mediocre, Low academic demand Negative emotional climate, Low instructional quality 31%23%29%17% 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Emotional Instructional

14. Pre-k quality and growth in child outcomes Where should regulation focus attention? Changes in achievement during preK  Structural features (teacher ed., curriculum, etc.)  Observed interactions (ECERs, CLASS) Results  No association of structure with outcome, singly or in combination (e.g., NIEER index) CLASS predicts positive changes in literacy, language, and math skills

15. Predicting gains in PK: Process quality Instructional Climate (CLASS)  Rec. language PPVT d =.17***  Exp. language OWLS d =.11*  Rhyming WJ d = 13*  Teacher ratings of literacy d =.20*** Emotional Climate (CLASS)  Rec. language PPVT d =.08**

16. Kindergarten follow-up PK CLASS Instructional Climate  Receptive language d =.07 *  Expressive language d =.07 *  Phonemic awareness d =.10 ** PK CLASS Emotional Climate  Social competence d =.06 *  Behavior Problems d = -.07 *

17. Gains in Gr. 1 achievement in instructionally supportive classrooms Standardized tests of achievement adjusted LowModerateHigh 1 st Grade Instructional Support 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 High educ. Low educ.

18. Gains in Gr. 1 achievement in emotionally supportive classrooms Standardized tests of achievement adjusted LowModerate High 1 st Grade Emotional Support Kindergarten adjustment problems 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 No problems Multiple problems

19. Implications Focus regulation and training on teachers’ interactions with children, not structural features Strive toward moving instructional dimensions and implementation “up” the scale of quality interactions More uniform, consistent exposure to high quality for children Resources aimed at supporting teachers/caregivers and high quality interactions Create gap-closing classrooms

20. Standardized observation: Support for high quality interactions Professional development/ training Resource allocation Evaluation Curriculum Social and academic outcomes for children Improved teacher outcomes CLASS P-3 Instructional Organization Social Observational Assessment

21. Summer/Fall 2005 myteachingpartner.net

22. Summer/Fall 2005 myteachingpartner.net Professional development Provide professional development focused on implementing activities related to:  Early literacy and oral language  Social relationship / self-regulation skills  Focus on implementation as the key to the developmental value of activities Support high-quality teacher-child interactions as the central part of the activities Use web-based, Internet technology as the means for delivering ongoing professional development at a statewide level of scale

23. Summer/Fall 2005 myteachingpartner.net Focus on quality Teacher-child interactions and relationships are the means by which the curricula are implemented Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)  Developed to assess classroom interactions and relationships as measured by three major components: Emotional support Organization / management Instructional support MTP uses CLASS as the basis for defining high-quality implementation and as the target/focus of professional development

24. Summer/Fall 2005 myteachingpartner.net MTP support for teachers Student growth in language, literacy and social relationships Teacher-child interactions and relationships: CLASS Two forms of web-based support for quality implementation MTP Activities

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29. Summer/Fall 2005 myteachingpartner.net Quality teaching videos

30. Summer/Fall 2005 myteachingpartner.net CLASS examples

31. Summer/Fall 2004myteachingpartner.net Observation and the Consultancy Observation provides a link from knowledge, expertise and support to actual teaching practices The MTP Consultancy is designed to support observation skills and improve quality of interactions Classroom Observation Teaching Practice Knowledge Expertise Support

32. Summer/Fall 2005 myteachingpartner.net MTP consultancy cycle Classroom video recording at an established time 1 Teacher reviews clips and reflects on practice 3 Consultant reviews and edits video clips 2 Teacher and consultant meet and discuss teaching practices 4

33. Summer/Fall 2005 myteachingpartner.net Prompts “This clip is a nice demonstration of concept development. You ask the children why the girl in the book is happy. You receive one answer and then go on and get ideas from two other children. What other strategies do you use to promote concept development?” Intended to identify positive aspect of teacher’s instruction in relation to a class dimension

34. Summer/Fall 2005 myteachingpartner.net Prompts “Here you quickly and effectively redirect the children back to the story. As you watch this clip, tell me what you are doing to help the children remember the rules.” Intended to help a teacher identify CLASS dimensions and examples in her teaching interactions

35. Summer/Fall 2005 myteachingpartner.net Prompts “Some of the other children are not engaged in this lesson. What kinds of learning formats might you have used to draw all of the children in?” Feedback on how the teacher implements MTP lessons

36. Summer/Fall 2005 myteachingpartner.net Teacher comments “I would say that this is the best professional development opportunity that I have had in my 23 years of teaching.” “It gives me the opportunity to have someone else look at my practices, and comment on them, and then lets me do the same. It is nice to be recognized for some things that come naturally and to reflect on some things that you are questioned about.” “I was speaking with a previous administrator and told her all about my participation with MTP. I told her that I felt this was a breakthrough in teacher training and could have a huge impact.”

37. myteachingpartner.net

38. Effects of MTP support: Preliminary results Teachers receiving consultation show greater increases in quality of instructional interactions When teachers participate in consultation, children show greater gains in tests of early literacy Early career teachers who view CLASS videos show gains in interactions with children When teachers participate in consultation, they report lower levels of problem behavior for target children

39. Lessons learned and future directions Observations of teacher-child interactions are the best metric for “quality” Observation can be the basis of professional development to increase quality and child outcomes Implications for accountability systems, teacher quality policies, professional development and teacher education