Take Two: Supporting Head Start Teacher Engagement With Instructional Support Practices

• In Event: 16.060 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 16.060-12 - Early Childhood Teachers' Professional Development

Abstract

We report on a new professional development (PD) approach focused on engaging Head Start teachers in paired study of their classroom practices to improve their Instructional Support practices as defined by the Pre-K CLASS measures of classroom quality (Pianta, La Paro & Hamre, 2008). Seven teachers joined us in joint-study of observational fieldnotes taken in their classroom. Findings from our mixed-method study indicate significant effects on the participating teachers’ Instructional Support scores between pre and posttest. However, the teachers struggled to make sense of what they perceived as an intensification of teacher-directed experiences, and an increased accountability for their daily work with children.

Authors

• Katherine Kresin Delaney, University of Toledo

• Karen Krepps, University of Toledo