Creating Positive PreK Classroom Environments and Meaningful Interactions

Presented by Dr. Tricia Zucker, Co-Director, Children’s Learning Institute at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Heidi Veal, Early Childhood Literacy and Programs Administrator, LISD Learning and Teaching; and Dr. Deborah Bergeron, Deputy Director of Engagement and Innovation, National Head Start Association
Moderated by Dr. Amanda Alexander, Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic Education Solutions

Sponsored by Scholastic Education Solutions

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Research tells us that teacher/student interactions have a significant impact on student outcomes. PreK children need positive and engaging instructional experiences and educators need support on how to meet objectives like creating a positive climate, ensuring regard for student perspectives, and providing instruction support for language modeling, quality of feedback and content understanding. This edLeader Panel provides techniques for rich experiences educators can use in early learning classrooms that drive learning and development during Circle Time, Story Time, and small-group and independent centers.

View this session to get strategies on:

• Understanding what quality teacher/student interactions look like
• Using research-backed techniques to yield academic gains
• Creating a positive learning environment
• Engaging children while building language development and background knowledge
• Providing support for teacher wellbeing

This recorded edLeader Panel is of interest to PreK-3 teachers and school and district leaders.

About the Presenters

Dr. Tricia Zucker is the co-director of the Children’s Learning Institute at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She is also the lead researcher behind Developing Talkers and Hablemos Juntos, groundbreaking oral language development programs proven to significantly expand children’s receptive and expressive vocabulary skills. The research-proven intervention strategies have been incorporated and expanded upon in the language module of Scholastic’s new PreK curriculum.

Heidi Veal is the early childhood programs administrator in Lewisville ISD, supporting over 64 PreK classes at 19 campuses. She helped pioneer LISD’s tuition-based Discovery Academy PreK program and oversees all aspects of LISD’s early childhood programs from teacher professional learning and early childhood summer school to PreK curriculum design and implementing all aspects of Texas High-Quality Prekindergarten components. Prior to her current role, she served as the assistant principal at Lawson Early Childhood School in McKinney ISD. As a connected educator, she co-founded #ECEchat, an international Twitter chat for all early childhood educators, and has served on the ISTE Early Learning Network Leadership Team and as a co-organizer for EdCamp Dallas.

Dr. Deborah Bergeron has spent over 30 years working to support the growth and development of children. January, 2021, Dr. B joined the National Head Start Association as the Deputy Director of Community Engagement and Innovation. Here, she aims to bring the Head Start and Early Head Start community together, provide the necessary support to ensure high quality programming and be a constant reminder to the folks on the ground that THEY are the backbone of Head Start and Early Head Start. Dr. B holds a B.S.Ed. from Texas State University, a Master’s Degree in Education Leadership and a PhD in Education Policy and Education Psychology from George Mason University.

About the Moderator

Dr. Amanda Alexander is Scholastic’s Chief Academic Officer and brings more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience in the field of education. Dr. Alexander began her career as a kindergarten teacher and has served as an assistant principal in the New York City Department of Education and as a principal in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). She later joined the DCPS central office in a variety of roles with an emphasis on principal supervision. Over the course of her time as a central office administrator, Dr. Alexander also led literacy initiatives and a districtwide task force to identify and implement evidence-based practices in reading and learning to improve student performance.

Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.

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Scholastic Education Solutions provides teachers, families, and communities with the tools they need to support each and every child with print and technology-based learning programs for pre-K to grade 12, expert professional development, family and community engagement, and learning supports.