Deeper into the CLASS

Deeper into the CLASS

At our April Reflective Practice group, we went deeper into the CLASS assessment.  As you observe the interactions in your program through the CLASS lens, here are a few key things to remember:

1.        Frequency.    As you look for the CLASS behavioral markers, think about the words you would use to describe the frequency.  If you would use words like, “seldom, rarely, infrequently” this behavior would likely score in the low range.  If you find you would use works like, “sometimes, occasionally, partly” this behavior would likely score in the middle range.  If you identify the frequency with words like, “mostly, often, usually” the behavior may score in the high range.

2.       Quality.  As you find evidence of the behavioral markers, also look at the quality of those behaviors.  Even if the frequency is high, interactions that are of low quality may place them lower in scoring.  Perhaps a teacher asks a lot of questions, but none are open-ended.  This would be of a lower quality than open-ended questions.

3.       Effectiveness.  As with quality, ineffectiveness could lower the score of the interaction.  If a teacher asks a lot of open-ended questions, but never actually waits for an answer, they would be ineffective.

4.       Let go of your own values.  Only look for the behavioral markers for CLASS.  Sometimes it can be hard not to think about ways the teacher could have been better, or the way you would have handled a situation, but let those values go and look only through the lens of the CLASS tool.