CLASS in Action: Measuring What Really Matters The Interactions in a Classroom …And How CLASS Supports Teachers Research has long confirmed what many educators know in their hearts: the interactions between children and their teachers play a direct and powerful role in children’s learning and development. The CLASS tool (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) was developed to measure these critical […]
Why Interactions Matter: From Graduate Research to the CLASS Tool While earning my master’s degree in Child Development, I had the privilege of being advised and taught by Dr. Lynda Stone—an expert in teacher-child interactions with decades of research in the field. Her work inspired me to conduct my own research on how teachers interact […]
What Is Considered a Small Class Size, Anyway? When I think of a small class size, I think of thirteen students. In my experience, this number creates the ideal setting for quality learning to take place. Research backs this up. A well-known study from Tennessee conducted in the 1980s found that smaller class sizes led […]
At American River Montessori, we practice multi-year teaching. This is done through a process called “looping.” Looping refers to when a group of children stays with the same teacher or teachers for at least two or three years. There are many benefits to looping that affect children, parents, and teachers. In this blog post, we […]