Child-directed speech (CDS), which can help children learn new words, has been rigorously studied among infants and parents in home settings. Yet, far less is known about the CDS that teachers use in classrooms with toddlers and children's responses, an important question because many toddlers, particularly in high-need communities, attend…

Using data from six urban school districts, we examine the relationship between the quality of interactions in the classroom (measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System [CLASS] framework) and the racial match or mismatch between teachers and the students in their classes. We find that White teachers have lower scores on the CLASS…

It is widely understood that preschool should provide children the mathematical foundational skills necessary for later success. This study examines seven preschool teachers and their use of a variety of pedagogical strategies to develop foundational mathematics concepts. Using a qualitative research design, this study uses the CLassroom…

A sample of 496 early childhood teachers was assigned randomly in two phases to a series of professional development (PD) interventions. Phase I intervention was a 14-week course on effective teacher-child interactions. Participants were then re-randomized into Phase II intervention, which consisted of individual, interactions-focused coaching.…

The common features attributed to face-to-face classroom are rather difficult to emulate in a virtual learning environment. This is because participants may not feel obligated to participate when they do not see each other physically. This study examined the instructors' strategies in fostering interaction in their online classes. Using the…

In response to executive order mandates from states and governors, many early care and education (ECE) settings closed or transitioned to providing virtual services to children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. For ECE coaches, these closures resulted in the need for rapid adjustments in the way they provided coaching services. These…

The current study reports on a large-scale quantitative analysis of classroom talk practices and links to different measures of reading achievement within upper elementary classrooms. Data involving 745 fourth- and fifth-grade teachers and 18,844 students from the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) study were used. Talk was quantified via…

Employing a social capital framework, this study investigates teachers' role in influencing the peer dynamics between English learners (ELs) and their non-EL peers. Participants include 713 students (211 EL students). Observed teacher-student interaction quality and teacher self-reports of their peer network management were used to operationalize…

Research Findings: This study of kindergarten monolingual and Dual Language Learners (DLLs) (N=263; mean age = 63.40 months) and their teachers (N=27) found significant mean differences in the observed quality of language interactions in classrooms with differing proportions of DLLs. Teachers instructing in classrooms with higher numbers of DLLs…