Jason T. Downer

A Course on Effective Teacher-Child Interactions: Effects on Teacher Beliefs, Knowledge, and Observed Practice

Among 440 early childhood teachers, half were randomly assigned to take a 14-week course on effective teacher-child interactions. This course used the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) as the basis to organize, describe, and demonstrate effective teacher-child interactions. Compared to teachers in a control condition, those exposed to the course reported more intentional teaching beliefs and demonstrated greater knowledge of and skills in detecting effective interactions. Furthermore, teachers who took the course were observed to demonstrate more effective emotional and instructional interactions. The course was equally effective across teachers with less than an associate’s degree as well as those with advanced degrees. Results have implications for efforts to improve the quality of early childhood programs through the higher education system.

The Contribution of Classroom Setting and Quality of Instruction to Children’s Behavior in Kindergarten Classrooms

The present article examined 2 questions about the relation between kindergarten classroom processes (setting and quality) and children’s engagement in activities, compliance with teachers’ requests, and interactions with peers. First, how do children’s engagement, compliance, and cooperation vary as a function of teachers’ use of classroom settings, and second, how does classroom quality moderate the co‐occurrence between teachers’ choice of classroom settings and children’s behaviors? The classrooms of 250 kindergarten children were observed once for approximately 3 hours each. Data on classroom setting (e.g., whole class or small group) and children’s behaviors (e.g., engagement, compliance with the teachers’ requests) were gathered using a time‐sampled method. Classroom quality was assessed using global ratings. Results showed that children’s on‐task and off‐task behavior and aggression toward peers varied as a function of the teachers’ choice of classroom setting. However, compliance with teachers’ requests did not vary as a function of setting. As classroom quality increased, the occurrence of problem behaviors (noncompliance with teacher requests, off‐task behavior) was reduced in structured teacher‐directed and whole‐class settings, and the rate of children’s social conversation and cooperation with peers was greater in small‐group settings. These findings are discussed in relation to the types of classroom settings that pose challenges to teachers’ management and children’s self‐regulatory abilities.

Teacher and Classroom Characteristics Associated with Teachers' Ratings of Prekindergartners' Relationships and Behaviors.

Teachers’ ratings of children’s competencies may in part reflect characteristics and perspectives of teachers who assigned the ratings, which compromises their validity as a measure of child attributes. The purposes of this study were to use multilevel modeling to (a) estimate between-rater variance in teachers’ ratings of children’s social behaviors and relationships with teachers and (b) examine characteristics of teachers and classrooms associated with teachers’ perceptions of these social competencies. Ratings of 711 children completed by 210 prekindergarten teachers indicated that between 15% and 33% of the total variance in teachers’ ratings was attributed to mean differences between raters. After controlling for characteristics of children and their families, teachers’ ratings of positive relationships and behaviors were associated with fewer years of experience, higher self-efficacy, non-White race/ethnicity, shorter length programs, better child-teacher ratios, and programs located within school settings. Implications are discussed for interpreting and analyzing teachers’ ratings of children’s competencies.

Teaching through interactions: Testing a developmental framework of teacher effectiveness in over 4,000 classrooms

This is a copy of an article published in the Elementary School Journal

Teacher–Child Interactions in the Classroom: Toward a Theory of Within- and Cross-Domain Links to Children's Developmental Outcomes

Research Findings: Effective teaching in early childhood (EC) care and education settings requires skillful combinations of explicit instruction, sensitive and warm interactions, responsive feedback, and verbal engagement intentionally directed to ensure childrens learning and embedded within a classroom environment that is not overly structured or regimented. These aspects of instruction and interaction uniquely predict gains in young childrens literacy, language, and social development, effectively contributing to closing gaps in performance between low- and high-risk children. Less clear is an articulation of the ways in which various types of teacher–child interactions within EC settings independently and in combination contribute to childrens development. Practice or Policy: In this article, we argue that conceptualizing this system of contextual inputs and developmental outputs in a purely aligned way (e.g., social inputs ⇉ social development; instructional inputs ⇉ academic development) constrains understanding of both the pathways through which educational experience may influence development as well as the basic processes that may integrate developmental change in what appear to be phenotypically different outcome domains (e.g., social, self-regulatory, academic).

Children's Engagement Within the Preschool Classroom and Their Development of Self-Regulation

This study used an observational measure to examine how individual childrens engagement with teachers, peers, and tasks was associated with gains in self-regulation. A sample of 341 preschoolers was observed, and direct assessments and teacher reports of self-regulation were obtained in the fall and spring of the preschool year. Research Findings: Childrens positive engagement with teachers was related to gains in compliance/executive function, and childrens active engagement with tasks was associated with gains in emotion regulation across the year. Engaging positively with teachers or peers was especially supportive of childrens gains in task orientation and reductions in dysregulation. Practice or Policy: Results are discussed in relation to Vygotskys developmental theory, emphasizing that psychological processes are developed in the context of socially embedded interactions. Systematically observing how a child interacts with peers, teachers, and learning tasks in the preschool classroom has the potential to inform the creation of professional development aimed at supporting teachers in fostering individual childrens development within the early education environment.

African American father involvement and preschool children’s school readiness

A developmental ecological model was used to identify child attributes, father characteristics, and familial factors associated with multidimensional father involvement with preschool children enrolled in Head Start. The relations between father involvement and childrens school readiness were also investigated. Eighty-five African American fathers and father figures were surveyed about their involvement in child care, home-based educational and school-based educational activities. Childrens school readiness competencies were evaluated via teacher report or direct assessment. Father involvement in child care and home-based educational activities were predicted by different contextual factors and child attributes. Fathers were more involved in child care activities when they lived in a childs home and when a child was highly emotional. Fathers who perceived the existence of a strong parenting alliance reported more involvement in home-based educational activities. Father involvement in child care and home-based educational activities was associated with higher levels of childrens emotion regulation. Findings are consistent with a contextual, multidimensional perspective of African American fathering and hold policy implications for fatherhood initiatives in the early childhood education field. Efforts to increase father involvement may be most effective when addressing the multitude of influences on fathering behavior and focusing on father-child activities that occur outside of the preschool setting.

Father Involvement and Children’s Early Learning: A Critical Review of Published Empirical Work from the Past 15 Years

ABSTRACT Parent involvement research predominantly focuses on the involvement of mothers in childrens educational experiences, and rarely speaks to the role of the “other” parent – fathers. Yet, there is building interest in the role that fathers play in childrens development, and how this role may be especially salient during early childhood and the transition into formal schooling. This review critically evaluates father involvement literature from 1990 to 2005 within this early childhood population. In particular, it provides systematic evidence that to some degree researchers have been responsive to recent critiques, and lays out a path of sampling, methodological and conceptual challenges still left to be tackled.

Observations of Children's Interactions with Teachers, Peers, and Tasks across Preschool Classroom Activity Settings.

Research Findings: This descriptive study examined classroom activity settings in relation to childrens observed behavior during classroom interactions, child gender, and basic teacher behavior within the preschool classroom. A total of 145 children were observed for an average of 80 min during 8 occasions across 2 days using the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System, an observational measure that conceptualizes behavior into teacher, peer, task, and conflict interactions. Findings indicated that on average childrens interactions with teachers were higher in teacher-structured settings, such as large group. On average, childrens interactions with peers and tasks were more positive in child-directed settings, such as free choice. Children experienced more conflict during recess and routines/transitions. Finally, gender differences were observed within small group and meals. Practice or Policy: These findings might encourage teachers to be thoughtful and intentional about what types of support and resources are provided so children can successfully navigate the demands of particular settings. These findings are not meant to discourage certain teacher behaviors or imply the value of certain classroom settings; instead, by providing an evidence-based picture of the conditions under which children display the most positive interactions, they can make teachers more aware of choices within these settings and assist powerfully in professional development and interventions.

Promoting Young Children's Social Competence through the Preschool PATHS Curriculum and MyTeachingPartner Professional Development Resources

Research Findings: Childrens (n = 980) social competence during prekindergarten was assessed as a function of their teachers’ (n = 233) exposure to the Preschool Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum and 2 levels of support through MyTeachingPartner, a Web-based approach to professional development. Children in classrooms that implemented PATHS had increased levels of teacher-reported social competence over the course of the year. There were no associations between the use of PATHS and reductions in teacher-reported social problems. The results also suggested that teachers who used the MyTeachingPartner website more often reported greater gains in childrens social competence. Practice or Policy: These findings have implications for the development and dissemination of social-emotional learning curricula and the provision of effective implementation supports for teachers. Continued work on the best ways to integrate technology into the professional development of teachers, both in service and preservice, is likely to enhance the accessibility and quality of supports for teachers.