Developing Teachers' Classroom Interactions: A Description of a Video Review Process for Early Childhood Education Students

Abstract: This article describes a video review process for providing feedback to students and documents students' teaching practices using the CLASS in a practicum course and student teaching. Students videotaped themselves in their field-based settings and then met with the course instructors and classmates in small groups to review strengths and challenges of their teaching using the CLASS framework of teacher-child interactions. These videos were also coded by trained CLASS observers across 10 dimensions in the areas of emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. Results from preservice teachers' CLASS ratings indicate a pattern similar to national data sets using the CLASS, higher scores in the emotional support and classroom organization domains than in the domain of instructional support. Also, findings from the current study revealed that CLASS scores declined from students' practicum placement to the end of student teaching in the domain of emotional support and specifically in the dimensions of regard for student perspectives and behavior management. The process of using videos for providing feedback in field-based experiences is discussed as well as implications for teacher development in light of students' CLASS scores and changes in CLASS scores. Keywords: Teacher education | Preservice teachers | Student teaching | Early childhood education | Instruction | Video review process | Observation Article: Preparing teachers is a complex process, particularly in teacher preparation programs that seek to prepare students to work with very young children. Early childhood teachers must be knowledgeable of child development, learning theory, content areas, and early childhood pedagogy. At the same time, they must understand how to apply what they have learned throug

Factor Analysis of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Replicates the Three Domain Structure and Reveals no Support for the Bifactor Model in German Preschools

The quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) is important for children’s development. One instrument that was developed to assess an aspect of ECEC quality is the Classroom Assessment Scoring System for pre-kindergarten children (CLASS Pre-K). We examined the factorial validity of the instrument using data from 177 German preschool classrooms. The three-factor teaching through interaction model (Hamre et al., 2013) was contrasted to a one-factor, a two-factor, and a bifactor model as proposed by Hamre et al. (2014). Our results indicated that the three-factor structure with the domains of emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support fit the data best. The fit of the teaching through interaction model was satisfying after adding a cross-loading of the dimension language modeling on emotional support, and two correlated residuals. Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity are provided. In terms of factor structure and pattern score comparisons, the results were similar to previous United States and German studies. The discussion concerns the justifiability of the factor model revisions and draws directions for further research. We concluded that our study offers further evidence of the applicability of the CLASS Pre-K for the assessment of teacher–child interaction quality in the German context

An epigenetic mechanism mediates developmental nicotine effects on neuronal structure and behavior

Developmental nicotine exposure causes persistent changes in cortical neuron morphology and in behavior. We used microarray screening to identify master transcriptional or epigenetic regulators mediating these effects of nicotine and discovered increases in Ash2lmRNA, encoding a component of a histone methyltransferase complex. We therefore examined genome-wide changes in trimethylation of histone H3 on Lys4 (H3K4me3), a mark induced by the Ash2l complex associated with increased gene transcription. A large proportion of regulated promoter sites were involved in synapse maintenance. We found that Mef2c interacts with Ash2l and mediates changes in H3K4me3. Knockdown of Ash2l or Mef2c abolished nicotine-mediated alterations of dendritic complexity in vitro and in vivo, and attenuated nicotine-dependent changes in passive avoidance behavior. In contrast, overexpression mimicked nicotine-mediated alterations of neuronal structure and passive avoidance behavior. These studies identify Ash2l as a target induced by nicotinic stimulation that couples developmental nicotine exposure to changes in brain epigenetic marks, neuronal structure and behavior

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\u27 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\u27s emotions. Differences in teachers\u27 mental state talk were associated with teachers\u27 years of experience and observed classroom quality as assessed by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Practice or Policy: Teachers\u27 mental state talk may be a mechanism through which teachers\u27 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

Teachers\u27 Commitment to the Field and Teacher-Child Interactions in Center-Based Child Care for Toddlers and Three-Year-Olds

Defining teacher characteristics that are associated with effective teaching continues to be a challenging task for the field of early care and education. Much of the research examining classroom quality has focused solely on teacher characteristics such as education and experience; However, teachers\u27 commitment to the field of early care and education defined as including job satisfaction, perception of the job as a long-term career, education level, years of experience, and membership in a professional organization may be an important characteristic to consider in teachers\u27 interactions with children in the classroom, especially teachers of very young children. Using the NICHD Study of Early Child Care data at 15, 24, and 36 months, the present paper examines characteristics of early childhood teachers\u27 commitment to the field and the assessed quality of teacher-child interactions in the classroom. Results indicate that overall, these characteristics significantly predict the quality of teachers\u27 emotional and cognitive support provided to children as measured by the Observational Record of the Caregiving Environment (ORCE). Characteristics of commitment to the field were stronger predictors of the cognitive support than the emotional support teachers\u27 provide in classrooms. The current work provides important information to consider in discussions of how characteristics of early childhood teachers influence their interactions with children in classrooms. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Semana de la juventud contra el paro : U.J.M

5 al 12 de Marzo : partido de fútbol-mitin contra el par

Semana de la juventud contra el paro : U.J.M

5 al 12 de Marzo : partido de fútbol-mitin contra el par