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Prekindergarten classroom organization: Variation across children in the same classroom and relations to learning gains

Thu, April 8, 1:10 to 2:40pm EDT (1:10 to 2:40pm EDT), Virtual

Abstract

An organized prekindergarten classroom helps children develop internal supports for their behavior and academic performance. Higher levels of classroom organization—as measured with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)—predict moderate gains in preschoolers’ executive functioning (EF) development and academic achievement (Choi et al., 2016; Hamre et al., 2014; Hatfield et al., 2016). It is unclear, however, which specific facets of teachers’ classroom organization techniques matter most for gains in these outcomes, and whether a child’s experience of organization differs from that of their peers.
In the current study we adapted an existing observation system (Individualizing Student Instruction (ISI); Connor et al., 2009) to examine individual prekindergarteners’ experiences of classroom organization. We 1) explored the prevalence of different specific teacher organizational strategies (i.e., giving directions, behavior management; see Table 1 for full list) and 2) investigated which specific teacher organizational strategies predicted gains in child EF, language, and math outcomes.
As part of a broader project in the Boston Public Schools, 263 children (19 schools, 39 classrooms) were videotaped on two school days mid-year (total of 3.58 hours). Videos were coded using the ISI and the CLASS observation system (Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008). Prekindergarteners were assessed on language (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test IV), math (Woodcock-Johnson Applied Problems), and EF skills (Digit Span) in the fall and spring. We fit multi-level models with random intercepts for schools and classrooms and controlled for children’s baseline scores, additional classroom experiences, and covariates at the child and parent level.
For aim 1, students were exposed to an average of 24 minutes (13% of observation time), in teacher organization, with the majority of time in verbal directions. There was substantial variation in time students spent in different organizational strategies which illustrates the utility of capturing children’s individual exposure to organization. Within-classroom differences accounted for 27% of the variation of time spent in total organizational strategies, 30% of verbal directions, 14% of modeling, 11% of behavior management, and 5% of rituals & routine cues.
For aim 2, an increase of 1% of class time spent in ritual and routine cues (2 minutes) was associated with a 0.09 standard deviation decrease in receptive vocabulary (Table 2, Column 1). Additionally, a 1% increase of class time spent (2 minutes) in modeling was associated with a 0.06 standard deviation increase in math (Table 2, Column 3). Statistically significant findings in aim 2 were also robust to adding the CLASS global classroom organization measure (Table 4, Columns 2 and 4).
Our exploratory study offers novel evidence on prekindergarten classroom organization at the child level and suggests that some teacher strategies (e.g., modeling directions before an activity/transition) may be more supportive of gains in children’s academic skills than others (e.g., clapping sequences or other cues to orient children). Our findings represent a step forward in meeting calls in the field for new measures that can pinpoint the specific practices in prekindergarten that promote children’s gains (Weiland, 2018; Zaslow, Burchinal, Tarullo, & Martinez-Beck, 2016).

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