Professional Development for Your Teachers Starting with CLASS: Improve Quality, Raise Your CLASS Scores, Achieve Excellence

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1 Professional Development for Your Teachers Starting with CLASS: Improve Quality, Raise Your CLASS Scores, Achieve Excellence CHSA Conference, Riverside CA February 24, 2:00-3:30 pm Learn strategies for investing in your teachers to develop their skills using the CLASS through intensive, long term professional development. Moving beyond CLASS scores, this session will focus on how to achieve high quality using the CLASS through on-going training, coaching, practicums, technical assistance, and curriculum. Join us, and learn how to become a highly effective program that embraces CLASS Outcomes: - Participants will understand how to provide comprehensive professional development that results in high quality classroom environments, classroom implementation of the CLASS Instructional Support indicators, and the implementation of projects and studies as a context for achieving excellence and raising your CLASS scores. - Participants will be able to use strategies for embedding Analysis and Reasoning into Head Start classrooms. Achieving Complex Change Agenda Professional Development on CLASS o Long-term, in-depth professional development o Focus on concrete CLASS strategies o Practicum assignments o Coaching and technical assistance o Curriculum context Case Study: Community Action Partnership of Madera County Creating High Quality Environments as a Context for Implementing CLASS Implementation of CLASS: Analysis and Reasoning Projects as a Curriculum Context for CLASS: The Cars Project Presenters: - John Gunnarson, Consultant, Early Care and Education, johngunnarson@gmail.com - Norma Blanco, Education Manager, Community Action Partnership of Madera County, nblanco@maderacap.org - Croshoun Austin, Education Manager, Community Action Partnership of Madera County, caustin@maderacap.org - Julie Gowin, Teacher, Community Action Partnership of Madera County, julieandthegowinboys@comcast.net Professional Development for Your Teachers Starting with CLASS: Improve Quality, Raise Your CLASS Scores, Achieve Excellence

2 Achieving Complex Change Vision --- Skills --- Incentives --- Resources --- Action Plan Vision --- Skills --- Incentives --- Resources --- Action Plan Change Skills --- Incentives --- Resources --- Action Plan Confusion Vision Incentives --- Resources --- Action Plan Anxiety Vision --- Skills Resources --- Action Plan Gradual Change Vision --- Skills --- Incentives Action Plan Frustration Vision --- Skills --- Incentives --- Resources False Starts Reprinted with permission from the American Productivity and Quality Center Consulting Group, Houston, Texas Professional Development for Your Teachers Starting with CLASS: Improve Quality, Raise Your CLASS Scores, Achieve Excellence

3 Professional Development on CLASS Long-term, in-depth professional development: - Provide a series of half-day seminars, once a month, for 4-8 months. - Structure in-depth professional development to focus on two or three CLASS indicators per month. - Teachers enroll in the professional development series as a team. Individual teachers are not eligible. Supervisors are expected to also attend seminars together with their teachers. Focus on concrete CLASS strategies: - Focus on specific CLASS indicators instead of an entire domain or dimension. For example, focus on: o Self and Parallel Talk o Open-ended Questions o Advanced Language - Provide clear definitions and examples of each indicator. - Model, explain, and provide opportunities for teachers to role play each indicator within specific contexts: o Circle Time o Storytime o Meal Time o On-the-spot interactions Practicum assignments: - Teachers are given a practicum assignment to practice each indicator during the month between seminars. - Preparation, planning, and/or a role play on the practicum assignment is included within the seminar agenda. - Materials for implementing the practicum assignment may be provided. For example, o Storybooks with rare words for practicing Advanced Language during Storytime. o Wood ramps and tubes for asking Analysis and Reasoning questions. Coaching and technical assistance: - Follow-up coaching, mentoring, and/or technical assistance is provided after each seminar by either the supervisor, a mentor, or the consultant. - Coaching and technical assistance strategies include modeling, co-teaching, observation with feedback, planning, video-taping, and problem-solving implementation issues. Curriculum context: CLASS strategies can be effectively implemented within the context of - A meaningful curriculum that engages children and provides a framework for using both early academic skills and higher level thinking skills. An emergent curriculum using project work provides this context. - An inviting classroom environment that is well organized with materials that intellectually engage children. - Intentional opportunities for children to develop their language skills and use advanced language together with concept development. John Gunnarson, 2016, johngunnarson@gmail.com

4 Professional Development for Your Teachers Starting with CLASS: Improve Quality, Raise Your CLASS Scores, Achieve Excellence Analysis and Reasoning Analysis and Reasoning is a strategy in which the teacher often uses discussion and activities that encourage analysis and reasoning. Analysis means to examine something deeply, and reasoning means to use experiences and information to think through situations and problems. This includes asking why and how questions, problem solving, prediction, experimentation, classification, comparison, and evaluation. Instead of simply learning facts, analysis and reasoning enables the child to gain usable knowledge---learning how facts are interconnected, organized and conditioned on one another. Usable knowledge is more important than learning facts when it comen to cognitive development because it is a skill that can be transferred to a variety of situations. Prompting thought processes asks the child to explain her thinking. Why do you think this? Analysis and reasoning takes this one step further, helping the child to make connections and develop her abilities to think further and connect the dots. Specific strategies for analysis and reasoning include: ---Low Levels of Analysis and Reasoning--- Asking why and how questions When reading a story about bears, the teacher asks, What do you see on this page? What food are the bears storing (which can be seen in the pictures)? Problem solving The teacher puts on a short puppet show with two puppets who fight over who gets to use a truck; then they decide to take turns. Was this is a good solution? This is how we should solve our problems with our friends instead of fighting. Classification and Comparison Children go on a walk to look at trees. The teacher asks, What color are the leaves? What do you call this? [the trunk] What do you call this? [a branch] Who might live in this tree? Later, back in the classroom, the children paste pre-cut parts of a tree onto a piece of construction paper. When reading a book about farm animals, the teacher asks, What sounds does a cow make? What sounds does a pig make? What color is a pig? ---High Levels of Analysis and Reasoning--- The teacher asks Why do you think the bears had to store food for the winter? What might happen if they did not have food over the winter? Teacher stops when the puppets are fighting over the truck. How could the puppets solve their problem? A child proposes they play together. How do you think that solution would work? Why might it work? Why might it not work? What s another possible solution? The children collect a variety of tree leaves on their walk, and each child makes an observational drawing of one leaf. Later, in small groups, the children investigate the leaves. The teacher asks, How are the leaves the same? How are they different? What leaves could we put together in groups? What do all the leaves in this group have in common? The teacher asks, How are a cow and a pig alike? How are they different? How are a cow and a goat alike? How are a cow and a dinosaur alike? How are they different?

5 ---Low Levels of Analysis and Reasoning--- Prediction and Experimentation The teacher gives each child one bean seed, a paper towel to moisten, and a Ziploc bag. Each child adds water to the paper towel, places it in the bag with the seed, and hangs it on the window sill to see what happens. Evaluation After a small group activity in which children experiment with mixing together red, blue, and yellow paint, the teacher asks the children if they had fun with the activity. ---High Levels of Analysis and Reasoning--- After talking about what scientists do, the teacher tells the children that they will be doing an experiment on how seeds and plants grow. The teachers provides a variety of liquids (apple juice, milk, dish soap, colored water, plain water). Each child chooses two different liquids to moisten paper towels and combine with seeds in a Ziploc bag. The children are asked to make predictions about which liquid will make the seed grow faster and why they think so. At the end of the activity, each child talks about what she did, what she discovered, and what she would investigate next time. Analysis and Reasoning is an appropriate strategy to use with children who are highly verbal and able to describe their thoughts. Talking about your thinking is an abstract process. Children need both strong verbal skills and strong thinking skills to engage in analysis and reasoning. Model your own thought processes. Use self talk to describe your analysis and reasoning processes in order to help children begin to understand this process. After reading The Hungry Caterpillar, I m wondering where the butterfly will go next. Since she was just born, I bet she wants to be in the sun, and maybe she s hungry, too. I think she will find a big beautiful flower to fly to. She might rest on its petals and then lick some of the flower s sweet pollen. Ask questions to develop the analysis and reasoning skills of highly verbal children. Questions that encourage analysis and reasoning include: - Why do you think that? - How do you think that happened? - How are they the same? - How are they different? - What did you learn? - What will you do next? For Dual Language Learners, use Analysis and Reasoning in the child s home language. Analysis and Reasoning is a high level strategy requiring high levels of language. Asking a child to explain her thinking using her home language enables the child to further develop her higher level home language skills. This will later result in higher level English skills. Do not use Analysis and Reasoning in English with a dual language learner unless that child has high level English skills. Pianta, Robert C,, La Paro, Karen M., & Hamre, Bridget K. (2008) Classroom Assessment Scoring System Manual Pre-K, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co, Baltimore, MD. John Gunnarson, 2016, johngunnarson@gmail.com

6 Professional Development for Your Teachers Starting with CLASS: Improve Quality, Raise Your CLASS Scores, Achieve Excellence Analysis and Reasoning: Fingerplays Twinkle,Twinkle Little Star Why/How questions: The Wheels on the Bus Why/How questions: Why are all the stars in the sky little? Why do you think the stars twinkle? Problem Solving questions: Problem Solving questions: If I wanted to visit a star, how could I get there? [Children will probably answer In a rocketship. ] If I don t have a rocket ship, who else could I get to a star? Classification/Comparison questions: Classification/Comparison questions: How are the stars and the moon the same? How are they different? Prediction/Experimentation questions: Prediction/Experimentation questions: What do you think happens to the stars during the daytime when the sun is out? Evaluation/Summarizing questions: Evaluation/Summarizing questions: What do you think of this song? Do you think it s a great song? Why? John Gunnarson, 2016, johngunnarson@gmail.com

7 Professional Development for Your Teachers Starting with CLASS: Improve Quality, Raise Your CLASS Scores, Achieve Excellence Model 1: Intentional Teaching Using the CLASS Community Action Partnership of Madera County Half-day seminars focusing on three CLASS seminars per seminar, for example: - Self-Talk and Parallel Talk, Repetition and Extension, Open-ended Questions - Analysis and Reasoning, Prompting Thought Processes, Advanced Language - Connections to the Real World, Providing Information, Scaffolding - Positive Climate, Responsiveness, Support for Autonomy and Leadership Follow-up half day and full-day seminars focusing on specific topics needed to achieve excellence: - Implementing in-depth Projects and Studies - Working with Dual Language Learners - Positive Guidance and Discipline Practicum assignments: Teachers were provided with specific guidance to practice each CLASS strategy in the classroom with their children. For example: - Select one non-verbal child. Use Parallel Talk with this child 3-4 times per day for a week. - Attach the open-ended questions prompt card to the table where your sit. Use the prompts to ask open-ended questions to your children during meal times and during small group time. - Before starting an in-depth project with your children, intentionally them how to make observational drawings and how to conduct a simple survey. Coaching and technical assistance: - T.A. provided by the consultant to change classrooms from standard, catalog-driven environments to environments that engage and intellectually challenge the children as a context for implementing the CLASS strategies. - Onsite mentoring and T.A. provided to implement the CLASS strategies discussed in the seminar: role playing, problem-solving, how to use materials such as storybooks and props such as table cards with open-ended question prompts. - Specific planning for implementing the practicum assignment. - Follow-up mentoring provided by CAPMC and grantee staff, including monitoring, onsite side to side mentoring, modeling, assistance with implementation of strategies, and serving as Visiting Experts to support the implementation of projects. Changes in CLASS scores, - Emotional Support: Pre Post Classroom Organization: Pre 5.89 Post Instructional Support: Pre Post 3.89 Reflections from staff: - The behavior of children is calmer with the new environment, and children are more engaged. - Children now are coming out with ideas, and they work together. - Our children are becoming adapted at interviewing our visiting experts. Their thought process is expanding and becoming more complex. - During our opening event on bikes, we brought in an old bicycle in pieces. Children were amazed and ready to put all the parts together. Right away they started grabbing their clipboards to do observational drawings, and they were measuring all pieces without us asking them to do it.

8 Professional Development for Your Teachers Starting with CLASS: Improve Quality, Raise Your CLASS Scores, Achieve Excellence Model 2: Intentional Teaching Using the Project Approach United Way of Miami Center for Excellence in Early Education, Educare Two full-day seminars on specific strategies for implementing the Project Approach, including observational drawings, surveying, field studies, visiting experts, classroom investigations, and developing questions to guide the project work. Four follow-up full-day seminars held monthly on three CLASS indicators per seminar. Practicum assignments: Teachers implemented a 3-4 month project on a specific topic and embedded the CLASS instructional support strategies within their project implementation. Year 1 project topics included The Restaurant Project, The Lizard Project, The Museum Project, The Babies Project, The Leaves Project, and a play written and produced by the children on Oscar going on a journey to Orlando. Coaching and technical assistance: Teaching teams were provided technical assistance to identify a project topic, brainstorm a web, and develop an action plan for implementing their project. Follow-up consultation and technical assistance was provided monthly during the implementation of the project. Teaching teams presented their projects to peers using Powerpoint during a year-end culminating event. Model 3: Institute for Intentional Teaching First 5 San Francisco, Preschool for All Four half-day seminars held monthly on two-to-three CLASS indicators per seminar. Session 1: Self Talk and Parallel Talk, Repetition and Extension, Feedback Loops Session 2: Open-ended Questions, Advanced Language, Prompting Thought Processes Session 3: Analysis and Reasoning, Providing Information, Scaffolding Session 4: Creating, Integration, Connections to the Rea World Practicum assignments: Teachers were provided with specific guidance to practice each CLASS strategy in the classroom with their children. Coaching and technical assistance: A coach was assigned to each teaching team and attended the seminars together with the teachers. The coach then provided on-site follow-up with the teachers to support their implementation of the CLASS indicators. Coaches used modeling, co-teaching, observation with feedback, planning, video-taping, and problem-solving implementation issues. After completing the four seminars on the CLASS Instructional Support indicators, teaching teams had the option to participate in two full-day seminars on projects with follow-up support and coaching to implement an in-depth project. At the end of the school year, teaching teams presented their projects to peers using Powerpoint during a year-end celebration and culminating event for the Institute. Changes in CLASS Instructional Support scores: - Concept Development: Pre Post Quality of Feedback: Pre 2.54 Post Language Modeling Pre 3.40 Post 4.38 John Gunnarson, 2016, johngunnarson@gmail.com