Instructional coaching, informed by observation tools that measure teachers' practices, has been effective in improving teaching quality in early learning programs. However, existing measurement tools limit teachers' abilities to implement this type of instructional coaching at scale. To address this challenge, a team at SRI Education, along with…

Pedagogical documentation has been regarded as an important practice in early childhood education (ECE) settings because it provides an opportunity to observe children's learning and help teachers plan for learning experiences. This article focuses on teachers' use of information and communication technology (ICT) in pedagogical documentation in…

We evaluated the score stability of the Framework for Teaching (FFT), a prominent observation instrument used for teacher evaluation. Three raters each scored 200 reading and mathematics lessons taught by 20 kindergarten teachers. Using Generalizability theory analyses, we decomposed the FFT's Classroom Environment, Instruction, and Total scores…

Observation is one of the central elements of kindergarten teachers' education and the profession. Through a survey in Norway, in which 1311 in-service teachers, kindergarten managers, and pedagogy teachers participated (response rate 39.9%), this study examines how the use of and rationale for observation in kindergarten practice and kindergarten…

Knowledge and skills in observation form part of the qualifications a kindergarten teacher needs to become a professional. In this article, I will focus on the theme of observation in kindergarten teacher education (KTE) in Norway. One of the largest educational institutions in the country is used as reference for this study. By means of document…

Phenomenography is internationally well-known for its use in studying learning and teaching in educational settings. This paper begins with the discussion of two approaches reported in the literature to study classroom teaching in the phenomenography tradition. The paper goes on to put forward a third approach that is in essence to return to the…

Observation scales for measuring teaching skills were developed for both elementary education and kindergarten. Based on 500 observations, we found that both scales meet the requirements of the dichotomous Rasch model. These observation scales can help in finding the zone of proximal development of teachers in elementary education and…

We used multilevel analysis to examine the predictive validity of scores from the Framework for Teaching (FFT), the observation measure used most often to evaluate teachers' instruction. We investigated how well 81 kindergarten teachers' FFT scores for eight reading and eight mathematics lessons observed throughout the year predicted students'…

Kindergarten education is changing. Current reforms have increased accountability structures requiring teachers to integrate assessments throughout their instruction to support academic learning while retaining developmentally appropriate pedagogies such as play-based learning. Despite these reforms, comparatively little research has been…

Children enjoy water play, and kindergarten children can learn about the water cycle. Teachers are already introducing elements of the water cycle when discussing weather and bodies of water. The water cycle also can be a springboard for teaching children about plants and animals and the importance of water for sustaining life and shaping our…

Research Findings: Research has demonstrated the developmental and educational benefits of play. Despite these benefits, teacher-directed academic instruction is prominent in kindergarten. There is increasing acknowledgment in curricula and policies of the challenges presented by a lack of play in classrooms and the need to support academic…

This case study explores how opportunities for critical, place-based education can be eclipsed by the decontextualized curricula and pedagogies inherent in neoliberal, standards-based early education reforms such as universal pre-kindergarten that contain some progressive elements. Following Schwab (1973), we explore the roles of teachers and…

This study investigated the extent to which preschool teachers and children (ages 4-6) used literal and inferential language within the context of whole-group instruction in four kindergarten classrooms in Hong Kong. A total of 20 sessions of videotaped classroom observations of linguistic interactions between teachers and children were…

Intercultural competence among educators has long been recognised as important, especially in contexts characterised by growing and shifting cultural diversity such as Australia. However, the capacity to be interculturally competent has only recently been enshrined in teacher standards in Australia, and research into this field among early…

The Caterpillar Game is a classroom management system that is aligned with School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports standards. A single-case, multiple-baseline design was used to evaluate the effects of the Caterpillar Game on disruptive student behavior and teacher praise. Three classrooms were included in the study (preschool,…