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Teaching Practices

Effective, nurturing, and responsive teaching practices and interactions are key for all learning in early childhood settings. They foster trust and emotional security; are communication and language rich; and promote critical thinking and problem-solving. They also support social, emotional, behavioral, and language development; provide supportive feedback for learning; and motivate continued effort. Teaching practices and interactions are responsive to and build on each child’s pattern of development and learning. They can be measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®) and other adult-child interaction tools. These observations may then be used to support professional development. Teaching practices also include how schedules and routines are carried out, how settings are managed, and how children’s challenging behaviors are addressed.

Thick and Thin Conversations, Birth to Five

"Thick" conversations are the extended back-and-forth exchanges between a teacher and a child. This in-service suite describes teaching practices to engage infants, toddlers, and prescholers in "thick" conversations.

Novel Words, Birth to Five

Conversations help children develop varied vocabularies. Find out how to use everyday talks with children to help them learn more vocabulary words.

Expansions, Birth to Five

Expansions are ways to expand on what a child says or does during a conversation. This in-service suite describes how to use expansions to extend conversations with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers to promote their language development.

Let's Talk About Routines

Find out how predictable routines help infants and toddlers build a sense of trust and security. Learn tips for creating meaningful routines.

Bringing Science into the Classroom

This webinar focuses on using the scientific method to support children’s cognitive and language development. It also addresses how education managers can support teachers to infuse science throughout the day.