All Things CLASS

Tips on making a good score in a observation when your kids are nonverbal but you get scored on the talking some kind of way.

If possible, maybe you can try to request an assessor that has experience observing classrooms with children that have special needs. If the assessor is skilled in that area, they would be more able to hone in on the non-verbal cues of children. 

Tips on making a good score in a observation when your kids are nonverbal but you get scored on the talking some kind of way.

Tips on making a good score in a observation when your kids are nonverbal but you get scored on the talking some kind of way.

Hi Cindy,

I recommend that you engage and include any non-verbal students in the same way as your verbal students. Some students could be non-verbal due to special needs, while others due to being English Language Learners (ELLs). I would recommend the use of visuals for your non-verbal students; however, this does not mean that you would stop speaking to them. Use the visuals and speak to them as you would to your other non-verbal students. As part of Quality of Feedback you could read their non-verbal cues and put them to words, such as "I noticed you are showing ..." and still ask follow-up questions, based on their responses. You could describe their facial expressions or other body language actions and/or responses as part of Language Modeling's parallel talk. In Concept Development, you could ask these non-verbal students to point to show their choices or to raise their hand to vote on contents of a chart being created from students' brainstorming and planning efforts. High quality interactions that include non-verbal students are possible throughout the diverse  dimensions of the CLASS tool.

All the best on future CLASS observations!

Daniel

Tips on making a good score in a observation when your kids are nonverbal but you get scored on the talking some kind of way.