Providing technical assistance to teachers may sometimes feel overwhelming. Where is the best place to begin? How should development issues be prioritized? What is the best way to offer meaningful professional development to teachers? This trainer’s manual is organized to help trainers guide teachers in supporting language and literacy development. Guidance from a trainer or mentor enables teachers to better understand strategies which foster language and literacy development in early childhood. This manual is designed to do the following:

• Help identify and address specific teacher needs
• Provide an array of training ideas and strategies from which to choose
• Offer useful resources related to language and literacy development from both California Department of Education (CDE) documents and outside sources

GUIDED OBSERVATION

The first section of the manual, Guided Observation, simplifies the observation process by using content from the California Preschool Curriculum Framework (CDE, 2010) to outline practices in the classroom that support children’s language and literacy development. Each section offers concrete examples of what the practice might look like in a preschool classroom; for example, the observation that a teacher provides a language and literacy rich environment, might be reflected in a classroom where teachers place information books in all areas of the classroom.

It is important to note that the examples listed are simply examples for each of the practices and that a teacher might demonstrate each practice in a multitude of ways. The guided observation is not intended to be used as a classroom or teacher assessment, but rather a guide to assist efforts in supporting teacher practice. References are provided following each example. The abbreviations refer to the resources listed in the CDE Resources section of this trainer’s manual. The cited references are as follows:

• Preschool Curriculum Framework (PCF)
• Preschool Learning Foundations (PLF)
• Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS)
• Preschool English Learners Resource Guide (PEL)
• Desired Results Developmental Profile© (DRDP©)
• Learning and Development Guidelines

TOOLBOX

Once a trainer observes the teacher and environment using the Guided Observation in the trainer’s manual, he/she will have a general idea as to which areas a teacher might need additional support and/or coaching. The Professional Development Toolbox section offers professional development strategies and ideas for each of the practices listed in the Preschool Curriculum Framework. It is recommended, however, that before using the toolbox, teachers be given the opportunity to conduct a self-evaluation using the Guided Observation.

From the self-evaluation process, teachers will identify their strengths and one or two areas requiring assistance. Given the information from the self-evaluation in addition to classroom observations, the trainer will be able to best identify which coaching strategies/ideas from the toolbox might be most beneficial to the teacher. 

Below is an example of the process of collecting data, the type of data which may be collected, and possible course of action.

Information Gathered from Observation
The trainer observes that the writing center is well-stocked and the library area displays a nice variety of books, however the rest of the classroom environment offers little evidence of print.

Information Gathered from Teacher’s Self-Evaluation
According to the information in the self-evaluation, the teacher feels that she integrates language and literacy strategies throughout the program day, especially during large group activities and transition times. She provides a wide collection of books in both English and the children’s home language, and stocks the writing center with many materials donated by families and local businesses.  

Using a strengths-based approach, the trainer may share observations that the library and writing centers are inviting and that the teacher uses various language and literacy activities at large group and for transitions. The trainer might probe by asking, “Thinking about what you already do, let’s discuss next steps. What area(s) would you want to enhance?” The teacher might share that she would like some ideas on how to infuse literacy in other areas throughout the classroom.

Gathering information from conversations and interactions with the teacher, the guided observation tool, and the teacher self-evaluation process, will help the trainer determine which strategies from the toolbox might be most beneficial. In this scenario, the information reflects that the teacher may need support in understanding how to create invitations for language and literacy throughout the entire classroom environment, both indoors and out.  Though starting with one or two strategies may be most effective, the toolbox offers several ideas that address this area.

This tip from the Toolbox offers a strategy
to add environmental print to the classroom. 

RESOURCES

The Trainer’s Manual has two resource sections. The first section provides a list of CDE resources including the California Preschool Learning Foundations, the California Preschool Curriculum Framework, the Desired Results Developmental Profile© (DRDP©), and Preschool English Learners: Principles and Practices for Promoting Language, Literacy and Learning as well as outside resources such as, the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS). For each resource listed, the sections and/or pages that refer to language and literacy development in young children are listed below the resource description.

The second section includes additional resources such as websites and articles that address language and literacy development in early childhood.

Utilizing and referencing these resources will help teachers become more aware of the research available in the area of language and literacy development in early childhood. Moreover, it is highly recommended that teachers read the California Preschool Learning Foundations to better understand typical language and literacy development during the preschool years. Additionally, The California Preschool Curriculum Framework will provide teachers with guidance for planning experiences and classroom environments that not only align with the foundations but also are meaningful for young children, developmentally appropriate, and inclusive of children who speak a language other than English in the home and children with disabilities or other special needs.