Negative Climate Reflects the overall level of expressed negativity in the classroom: the frequency, quality and intensity of teacher and peer negativity are measured. Negative affect Irritability, anger, harsh voice, peer aggression, disconnected or escalating negativity *Negative climate is scaled in the opposite direction of the other CLASS dimensions. Higher negativity indicates lower quality. E-8 Child Guidance Contractor’s guidance policy must prohibit any person on the premises from using: 19. Corporal punishment, including any means of inflicting physical pain or causing bodily harm to a child. Met Not Met 20. Holding, grabbing or moving the child in an aggressive manner to cause them to comply. Met Not Met 21. Verbal abuse, such as yelling, shouting, name calling, shaming, making derogatory remarks about a child or the child’s family, or using language that threatens, humiliates or frightens a child. Met Not Met Punitive control Yelling, threats, physical control, harsh punishment Sarcasm/disrespect Sarcastic voice/statement, teasing, humiliation Severe negativity Victimization, bullying, physical punishment Teacher Sensitivity The teacher’s awareness of and responsivity to students’ academic and emotional needs. Awareness Anticipates problems and plans appropriately, notices lack of understanding and/or difficulties E-4 Curriculum 3. Choice, decision-making and problem solving. Met Not Met E-7 Adult-Child Interactions 3. Validate children’s feelings. Met Not Met 4. Respond to children’s requests and questions. Met Not Met 7. Pay attention to children to learn about their individual interests, ideas, questions and theories. Met Not Met E-8 Child Guidance 4. Supervising children’s activities. Met Not Met 6. Modeling and teaching social skills, such as turn-taking, cooperation, waiting, treating others kindly and conflict resolution. Met Not Met Responsiveness Acknowledges emotions, provides comfort and assistance, provides individualized support Addresses problems Helps in an effective and timely manner, helps resolve problems Student Comfort Seeks support and guidance, freely participates, takes risks
Regard for Student Perspectives Focuses on the teacher’s interactions with students and classroom activities place an emphasis on students’ interests, motivations, and points of view and encourage student responsibility and autonomy. Flexibility and student focus Shows flexibility, incorporates students’ ideas, follows students’ lead E-3 Daily routine 3. Be predictable, yet flexible and responsive to meet the interests and needs of the children. Met Not Met 4. Allow periods of quiet and of activity, responding to children’s needs. Met Not Met E-4 Curriculum 3. Choice, decision-making and problem solving. Met Not Met 4. Topics and materials related to children’s emergent interests. Met Not Met 5. Opportunities for children to direct their own learning, minimizing activities. Met Not Met E-7 Adult-Child Interactions 10. Demonstrate the belief that children are capable by letting them try out their ideas, take safe risks, and do things at their own pace, in their own way. Met Not Met 11. Actively seeking and incorporating child-generated ideas. Met Not Met 15. Coaching children to express their ideas. Met Not Met E-8 Child Guidance 10. Offering choices. Met Not Met Support for autonomy and leadership Allows choice, allows students to lead lessons, gives students responsibility Student expression Encourages student talk, elicits ideas and/or perspectives Restriction of movement Allows movement, is not rigid
This domain describes specific teaching behaviors that help children develop skills to regulate their own behavior, get the most learning out of each day, and maintain interest in learning activities. Dimension Indicators and Behavioral Markers Feedback Statements Missed Opportunities ECEAP Standard Met/ Not Met Behavior Management The teacher’s ability to provide clear behavioral expectations and use effective methods to prevent and redirect misbehavior. Clear behavior expectations Clear expectations, consistency, clarity of rules E-8 Child Guidance 3. Establishing consistent, reasonable expectations. Met Not Met 5. Foreshadowing events and expectations by letting children know what will happen next. Met Not Met 8. Involving children in defining simple, clear classroom limits. Met Not Met 9. Coaching appropriate behavior. Met Not Met 11. Redirecting to an activity that matches the child’s energy level. Met Not Met Proactive Anticipates problem behavior or escalation, low reactivity, monitors Redirection of misbehavior Effective reduction of misbehavior, attention to the positive, uses subtle cues to redirect, efficient redirection Student behavior Frequent compliance, little aggression and defiance Productivity How well the teacher manages instructional time and routines and provides activities for students so they have the opportunity to be involved in learning activities. Maximizing learning time Provision of activities, choice when finished, few disruptions, effective completion of managerial tasks, pacing E-3 Daily Routine 2. Offer ample time for unrushed activities and transitions. Met Not Met 3. Minimize the number of transitions so that there is more productive time and less waiting. Met Not Met Routines Students know what to do, clear instructions, little wandering Transitions Brief, explicit learning opportunities within Preparation Materials ready and accessible, knows lessons
Instructional Learning Formats Ways in which the teacher maximizes students’ interest, engagement, and ability to learn from lessons and activities. Effective facilitation Teacher involvement, effective questioning, expanding children’s involvement E-4 Curriculum 1. Active, play-based, multi-sensory learning experiences. Met Not Met 4. Topics and materials related to children’s emergent interests. Met Not Met E-7 Adult-Child Interactions 12. Using a variety of teaching strategies to address children’s learning styles, abilities, developmental levels and temperament. Met Not Met 14. Providing materials to enrich children’s explorations. Met Not Met Variety of modalities and materials Range of auditory, visual, and movement opportunities, interesting and creative materials, hands-on opportunities Student interest Active participation, listening, focused attention Clarity of learning objectives Advanced organizers, summaries, reorientation statements Domain: Instructional Support This domain refers to specific teaching behaviors that support children’s cognitive development and language growth. Dimension Indicators and Behavioral Markers Feedback Statements Missed Opportunities ECEAP Standard Met/ Not Met Concept Development Measures the teacher’s use of instructional discussions and activities to promote students’ higher-order thinking skills and cognition and the teacher’s focus on understanding rather than on rote instruction. Analysis and reasoning Why and/or how questions, problem solving, prediction/experimentation, classification/comparison, evaluation E-3 Daily Routine 5. A large block of free choice time, at least 45 minutes. During free choice, children initiate their own activities and engage in play-based learning. Staff converse with children to support decision-making, problem solving and higher order thinking. Met Not Met E-4 Curriculum 2. First-hand exploration and investigation of real-life materials, people and events. Met Not Met 3. Choice, decision-making and problem solving. Met Not Met Creating Brainstorming, planning, producing Integration Connects concepts, integrates with previous knowledge
E-7 Adult-Child Interactions 21. Describing and discussing children’s learning processes rather than focusing on products. Met Not Met Connections to the real world Real-world applications, related to students’ lives Quality of Feedback Assesses the degree to which the teacher provides feedback that expands learning and understanding and encourages continued participation. Scaffolding Hints, assistance E-7 Adult-Child Interactions 5. Show tolerance for mistakes and teach that mistakes are for learning. Met Not Met 6. Give descriptive feedback instead of generalized praise or criticism. Met Not Met 13. Helping children enter into and sustain play. Met Not Met 16. Engaging in extended conversations with children to build on their ideas. Met Not Met 18. Leading discussions and activities during daily routines, such as meals, tooth brushing and transitions. Met Not Met 19. Noticing and responding to teachable moments. Met Not Met 20. Posing problems and open-ended questions to stimulate higher-order thinking. Met Not Met Feedback loops Back-and-forth exchanges, persistence by teacher, follow-up questions Prompting thought processes Asks students to explain thinking, queries responses and actions Providing information Expansion, clarification, specific feedback Encouragement and affirmation Recognition, reinforcement, student persistence Language Modeling Highlights the quality and amount of the teacher’s use of language-stimulation and techniques. Frequent conversation Back-and-forth exchanges, contingent responding, peer conversations E-3 Daily Schedule 5. A large block of free choice time, at least 45 minutes. During free choice, children initiate their own activities and engage in play-based learning. Staff converse with children to support decision making, problem solving, and higher-order thinking. Met Not Met E-7 Adult-Child Interactions Open-ended questions Questions require more than one-word response, students respond
9. Listen reflectively, staying on the child’s topic and paraphrasing their ideas. Met Not Met 16. Engaging in extended conversations with children to build on their ideas. Met Not Met 17. Using varied vocabulary. Met Not Met 18. Leading discussions and activities during daily routines, such as meals, tooth brushing and transitions. Met Not Met 20. Posing problems and open-ended questions to stimulate higher-order thinking. Met Not Met Repetition and extension Repeats, extends/elaborates Self-and parallel talk Maps own actions with language, maps student action with language Advanced language Variety of words, connected to familiar words and/or ideas Summary: