All Things CLASS

I am a former ECSE teacher and current ECSE CLASS observer in Virginia.  I was so happy to see more videos and specific guidance from Teachstone regarding CLASS observations in settings with children with disabilities Children with Disabilities - Teachstone  and to learn that more are on the way!

I facilitate Learning Communities with ECSE teachers and observers and here are some requests or areas of need that we identified:
1. Requests for videos and specific guidance for teachers on Concept Development in ECSE settings. Analysis & reasoning is the indicator that is most difficult, especially when the majority of children are non-speaking or have significant developmental delays. The Observer Training does not cover this.
2. Requests for videos and specific guidance on Regard for Child Perspectives in ECSE settings. One challenging aspect is when there are children with low social/task initiation and verbal expression. There may be more teacher-led and teacher-initiated play/tasks in order to promote joint attention and expand a child's areas of interest. Another consideration is use of assigned and specialized seating. Children may have more structured environments as a result of IEP/BIP goals, modifications, or supports. In classrooms specifically serving children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, the environment may be more highly-structured.
3. Requests for videos and more written examples of feedback loops with children who use assistive technology or other non-speaking means of communication.
4. Requests for videos demonstrating Instructional Support in the high range in ECSE settings. Specifically, teachers want to learn how they can incorporate more higher-order thinking and open-ended questions with children with speech/language and/or cognitive delays.

Another thing I'd like to discuss is the new guidance on which tool to use in observations.  I appreciate the Pros and Cons format, as it is a complex decision to make with a lot of moving parts.  I am working in Virginia where the Department of Education currently follows previous Teachstone guidance that children should be assessed using the tool that best matches their chronological age.  Has Teachstone followed up on the use of the other proposed options, and has any data or research been accumulated?  We have many self-contained settings in our state, some with age groups 2-5, some with children with multiple disabilities or global developmental delays (impacting most or all areas of development). I would love to see a study comparing use of Toddler and Pre-K tool in similar environments, perhaps with Master Coders or External Observers. 

I know this is loaded with questions and I appreciate your time!