Karen M. La Paro

The Classroom Assessment Scoring System: Findings from the Prekindergarten Year

Research on teacher-child relationships, classroom environments, and teaching practices provided the rationale for constructing a system for observing and assessing emotional and instructional elements of quality in early childhood educational environments: the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). The CLASS provides a framework for observing key dimensions of classroom processes, such as emotional and instructional support, that contribute to quality of the classroom setting from preschool through third grade. This article provides information about the development, field testing, and use of this instrument in prekindergarten. Data from a national sample of 224 prekindergarten classrooms in 6 states are presented to provide reliability and validity information. The full range of the scale was used for the majority of ratings. Ratings reflected generally positive impressions of the classroom environment and teacher-child interactions. Factor scores from the CLASS were related to the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (ECERS) total score and most strongly related to the ECERS interactions and language-reasoning subscales. Implications for policy and professional development from prekindergarten to third grade are discussed.

Predicting Children's Competence in the Early School Years: A Meta-Analytic Review

School readiness screenings are prevalent throughout the United States. Although readiness encompasses a multitude of components, readiness assessments generally focus on measuring and predicting childrens pre-academic skills and behaviors and are often the basis for placement and programming decisions. However, no quantitative estimates of effect sizes exist for the relations between preschool or kindergarten academic/cognitive and social/behavioral assessments and early school outcomes. This review presents the results of a meta-analysis of cross-time relations of academic/cognitive and social/behavioral assessments from preschool to second grade. Results from 70 longitudinal studies that reported correlations between academic/cognitive and social/behavioral measures administered in preschool or kindergarten and similar measures administered in first and second grade were included in the analysis. Academic/cognitive assessments predicting similar outcomes showed moderate effect sizes across both time spans; effect sizes were small for social/behavioral predictors of early school social outcomes. Effect sizes varied considerably across individual studies and samples. Findings are discussed in terms of assessment and conceptualization of school readiness, the role of school and classroom experiences in contributing to individual differences in school outcomes, and the importance of a quantitative estimate of effect size for early education policy and practice.

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.

Quality in kindergarten classrooms: Observational evidence for the need to increase children's learning opportunities in early education classrooms.

Research Findings: Using observational data gathered in 730 kindergarten classrooms in 6 states, the present study focuses on the quality of childrens learning opportunities in kindergarten classrooms. Findings show that overall, children experience moderate to low levels of quality in the areas of classroom organization and instructional support in kindergarten. Results are also presented in comparison to childrens experiences in the pre-kindergarten year. These comparisons indicate that kindergarten children spend a greater proportion of the school day in language arts, math, and whole-group instruction and less time in centers than they do in pre-kindergarten. An examination of predictors of kindergarten classroom quality indicated that program characteristics (i.e., adult–child ratio, length of school day) and teacher psychological variables (i.e., beliefs and depressive symptoms) were stronger predictors of classroom quality than were teacher experience and educational background. Practice or Policy: Findings are discussed in terms of implications for childrens academic and social development in kindergarten as well as for kindergarten teacher preparation and development.

Measuring the Quality of Teacher–Child Interactions in Toddler Child Care

Research Findings: The toddler stage is a unique developmental period of early childhood. During this stage, children are developing autonomy, self-regulation, and language capabilities through interactions with significant adults in their lives. Increasing numbers of toddlers are being enrolled in child care. This article focuses on the need to assess quality in child care classrooms serving children ages 15 to 36 months based on the developmental needs of toddlers. It suggests and provides preliminary validation information for a measure of teaching behaviors centered on teacher–child interactions adapted from the Classroom Assessment Scoring System and discusses results from observations in 30 toddler classrooms. Practice or Policy: Findings are discussed in terms of policy implications for toddler child care and future directions for research.

Improving the Sensitivity and Responsivity of Preservice Teachers Toward Young Children with Disabilities

Research in developmental and educational psychology points to the importance of sensitive interactions between adult and children in order to promote childrens social, emotional, and academic learning. Despite this evidence, there are many conceptual and programmatic challenges that have prevented this emphasis in early childhood special education (ECSE). This article provides a definition of and theoretical framework for teacher sensitivity and responsiveness; describes the evidence that supports this focus; and delineates the research, interventions, and challenges that bear upon the enhancement of teacher—child sensitivity and responsivity in ECSE. This article also discusses and critiques a pilot program for facilitating the development of sensitive teacher—child interactions.

Kindergarten to 1st Grade: Classroom Characteristics and the Stability and Change of Children's Classroom Experiences

Abstract This study examines the classroom experiences of 192 children followed longitudinally from kindergarten to 1st grade. Time-sampled observations of children were conducted to compare learning formats, teaching activities, and childrens engagement in activities between kindergarten and 1st grade. Classroom observations also were conducted to examine differences in classroom quality; specifically, teacher sensitivity and instructional and emotional support for learning. Results from paired t-tests show that instructional activities become more teacher-directed and structured in 1st grade, children in 1st grade are exposed to less academic instruction than children in kindergarten, but children in 1st grade are more actively engaged in activities than children in kindergarten. With respect to classroom quality, kindergarten and 1st-grade classrooms were similar in terms of teacher sensitivity and emotional support for learning. Instructional support for learning, including instructional conversations, evaluative feedback, and child responsibility, decreased from kindergarten to 1st grade. These findings point to both stability and change in childrens classroom experiences across kindergarten and 1st grade and are discussed in terms of the ways in which instructional activities in the classroom and childrens achievement can be enhanced in early childhood classrooms.

Implementing an Early Childhood Professional Development Course Across 10 Sites and 15 Sections: Lessons Learned

In this article we describe the design and implementation of the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Educations (NCRECEs) college-level course and its delivery to teachers across 10 settings and 15 instructional sections. This professional development intervention, found effective in changing teachers’ beliefs, knowledge, and actual classroom practices (Hamre, et al., in press), has the potential to be scalable through existing delivery systems for teacher preparation (i.e., higher education) and may also address a critical gap created by policies requiring early childhood educators to earn a college degree. Specifically, we describe challenges associated with conducting an experiment of this kind, strategies and supports necessary to implement the NCRECE course well across multiple settings, and evidence regarding course instructors’ implementation of the course as intended.

Assessing Beliefs of Preservice Early Childhood Education Teachers Using Q-Sort Methodology

The purpose of this study was to assess the beliefs of students and faculty in a 4-year birth–kindergarten teacher preparation program using the Teacher Belief Q-Sort (TBQ). Data were collected over one academic year from a total of 63 students, 35 students at the beginning of their coursework and 28 students at the end of their program, completing their student teaching experience. The faculty (n = 8) in the program completed the TBQ to provide a criterion sort as well as to assess the consistency in philosophy across faculty members who teach preservice teachers. Compilations of rankings are presented to describe beliefs related to children, discipline, and teaching practices held by students who are at different points in their education program. Criterion comparison results indicate that student teachers at the end of their education program report beliefs more similar to faculty beliefs than students at the beginning of their education program. However, findings suggest that the student teaching experience does not appear to significantly alter beliefs about children, discipline and teaching practices. These results are discussed in terms of child-directed versus teacher-directed styles of preservice teachers and implications of assessing beliefs for teacher preparation programs.

Teachers’ Language in Interactions: An Exploratory Examination of Mental State Talk in Early Childhood Education Classrooms

Research Findings: This study examined 34 Head Start teachers’ use of four categories of mental state talk (verbalizations of mental processes using emotion terms, cognition terms, desire terms, and perception terms) during naturally occurring classroom interactions. Transcriptions from classroom videos were coded for mental state talk category, sentence type in which the mental state term was used, and referent of the mental state term. Results indicated that teachers used varying amounts of mental state talk (perception terms were used most frequently and emotion terms least frequently) and that categories of mental state talk differed by sentence type and referent; emotion and cognition terms were used in statements more than questions, and, when using emotion terms, teachers were more likely to refer to their own emotions than children’s emotions. Differences in teachers’ mental state talk were associated with teachers’ years of experience and observed classroom quality as assessed by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Practice or Policy: Teachers’ mental state talk may be a mechanism through which teachers’ use of verbal language contributes to positive and sensitive teacher–child interactions. Further examination of mental state talk within teacher–child interactions has the potential to contribute to understanding aspects of effective teaching in early childhood classrooms.