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The Role of Scheduling in Observing Teacher–Child Interactions
Anne H. Cash, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research focuses on (a) measurement of teachers' practice of effective teacher–student interactions through observations that are reliable and valid, (b) measurement of teachers' knowledge of effective interactions related to observed teacher practice and to student outcomes, and (c) identification of processes that improve teachers' practice and knowledge of effective teacher–student interactions in school contexts.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
and Robert C. PiantaRobert C. Pianta, PhD, is the Dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. He also holds positions as the Novartis Professor of Education, Founding Director of the Curry School's Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia College of Arts & Sciences, and Director of the National Center for Research in Early Childhood Education. His research and policy interests focus on the measurement and production of effective teaching in classrooms from preschool to high school.
University of Virginia
| Abstract. |
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Observational assessment is being used on a large scale to evaluate the quality of interactions between teachers and children in classroom environments. When one performs observations at scale, features of the protocol such as the scheduling of observations can potentially influence observed scores. In this study interactions were observed for 88 teachers across 814 videos. The associations between observed scores using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System and characteristics of the protocol, specifically the day of the week, month of the year, and duration of an observation cycle in minutes, were examined through multilevel modeling. Preliminary evidence indicates few significant associations. The quality of instructional support interactions peaked in the months of December and January, and the quality of classroom organization peaked in February through April. Observation cycles that were shorter in duration were rated more positively regarding classroom organization. Future opportunities for research are discussed.
Received: March 28, 2013; Accepted: September 23, 2014;
