The Supervisor's Role in Building a Solid Foundation for Engaging Interactions

AIAN Education Manager Webinar Series: November 2012

Vanessa Maanao-French: Good afternoon, and welcome to our AI/AN Education Manager Webinar Series. So, as a way to get started, we wanted to share a little bit with you about ourselves and introduce ourselves, so, you can see our faces and not just hear these voices floating over the airwaves. So, my name is Vanessa Maanao-French, and I'm the Program Manager here for our AI/AN project. And the little kiddo is my heart and soul. Her name is Cecelia, and she'll be two next month. And by way of greeting a bit more formally, from my island of Guam, "hafa adai."

Sher'ee Maxwell: Hihana Was'te. My name is Sher'ee Maxwell. I'm the Tribal Liaison, here at NCQTL. I am Dakota and a member of the Fort Peck tribe in Montana. My Indian name is Mahpiya Inajin Win, which is Standing Cloud Woman. And I am really proud to introduce my 98-year-old mother-in-law, Lillian, who is very much a close part of my life. She is a very strong female role model for me, and she supports the work that I'm doing now, and whenever I talk to her, she wants to know what's happening in Indian country So, welcome. We're happy to be here with you today, and thank you for joining us.

Vanessa: And there are two other women that we really must acknowledge, right, Sher'ee?

Sher'ee: Absolutely.

Vanessa: Without these two, this webinar would not be happening. They really are our behind-the- scenes heroes, helping us from start to finish. So, I'd like for them to introduce themselves as well.

Dawn Williams: Hi, everyone. This is Dawn Williams. I'm one of the Curriculum Specialists on the NCQTL team and the Project Manager for the webinars. And those are my two little girls. This picture's about a year old now, so they're bigger. But at that point they were one and three, and now they're two and four. My name is Susan Stewart, and I am a Consultant with the National Center for Quality Teaching and Learning. And I am supporting behind the scenes, so, if you have any needs or questions, go ahead and pop those in the questions box and I'll get back to you and take care of you.

Vanessa: Great. Thank you, so much, Susan and Dawn. So, as a way to get started, just kind of a nice – to kind of come back to why we're all here, and it's about school readiness for all children. And the Office of Head Start has organized national centers around specific things in Head Start. Because as we all know, that children are -- they exist in the context of families and communities. And also, that we embrace the whole child approach. So, we're just going to quickly list through the national centers.

Sher'ee: The first one is the National Center on Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness.

Vanessa: Next, is the Early Head Start National Resource Center.

Sher'ee: Next, we have the...

Vanessa: Parent, Family and Community Engagement. And then the National Center on Program Management and Fiscal Operatons, which people often call PMFO.

Sher'ee: The next one is the National Center on Health.

Vanessa: And then, finally, my favorite national center and, hopefully, yours as well, the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning. And really our charge is to raise the quality of really what it says, teaching and learning in the classroom, focused, specifically, on Head Start. We are located, here, in Seattle, of the University of Washington and our primary partners are the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University. And as I look at this beautiful ring with these national centers, it reminds me that there's a lot of resources out there. We are now resource-rich, which is a gift and, then also a challenge. I know from being and working in Head Start that there was a time when I wanted resources, I wanted things, and now we have everything we wanted and more. And so it can be a bit overwhelming.

And the goal for us in these webinars is to provide some space to take a serving-sized portion of the resources that are related to the work of NCQTL put them into context -- so, working in classrooms, and, specifically, your role as an education manager, and find ways for you to apply what we learn in these webinars the very next day. So, we want it to be usable, practical, and real life.

Sher'ee: Thank you, Vanessa. So, speaking of research, we know that research tells us that there's a significant achievement gap, between low-income children and their more affluent peers at kindergarten entry. What can you tell us about this research?

Vanessa: Well, I think that's why Head Start matters so much. And there's so much research about the achievement gap, and I think really the take-away for us, today, and during our time together is that, on average, the average cognitive scores for our nation's most affluent children is about 60 percent higher than those of our poorest children, before they enter kindergarten. And then, even more stark, and dramatic is that, once our kids start behind, they stay behind, and that's something we need to remedy, so that our kids are coming in on par with their affluent peers.

Which then brings us to our next slide, and many of you may be familiar with this slide or heard the term "30 Million Word Gap," but it's from the Hart and Risley study, and we're just going to use this again to emphasize the points I'll make later in the webinar. So, what they found is that, by and large, all children enter the world with about the same potential for learning and development. But it's those interactions that they have with their caregivers, those people who love them most, that make a profound difference on the trajectory of their learning and development. And what they found is that the words spoken by their caregivers had an impact and that they were different, between the different socioeconomic bands that I'll share with you now. So, for low-income parents, on average, these children hear about 600 words an hour. Working-class parents say words to their children, on average, 1,200 words an hour. So, already we're seeing some difference. And then, finally, for our professional level or college-educated parents; they're speaking over 2,000 words to their children.

So, doing the math and looking at children, between the age of 16 months and three years, there's that 30 million word gap. That's where the math comes in. But really, for us, we want to look at the impact. How do those words spoken to a child translate into what that child knows and is able to express? And I think this chart really says it, without me putting exact numbers on it. You can see that there is a gap, and this gap exists, before they even come through your doors of your Head Start program.

So, all this to say that: Our early interactions with children, those conversations we have, make a huge difference. This is the time when they're building that muscle that I call their brain, and that exercise they have makes a tremendous difference. Any muscle in your body, the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. It's able to do things with greater ease, the stronger that it is. Same thing with the brain. The more the children are engaged in interactions and conversations, there are connections being built in their brain. Those synapses are being connected and firing faster and faster, becoming more efficient and stronger.

But the opposite is also true. If a child is ignored, or if there are no interactions, or very, very weak or few interactions, those connections become weaker or even the connections in those brains become lost. Because, if you don't exercise it, it atrophies. Same with any muscle. And so we think about the impact of relationship. It can physically change a brain. And to me that really does underscore how important our work really is, in these early years. And my simple way about thinking about how brain development happens, especially when developing language, is thinking back -- to all of you who are parents out there, aunts and uncles -- the time when your child learned to speak their very first word.

And for me that wasn't so long ago, with my little one being only almost two. The first time she said anything closely, remembering -- saying "mommy." Of course, that was the first words she said. And I will admit there was lots and lots of coaching that went into that. I will admit to hovering over her crib and singing "mommy" songs. They were only the words "mommy." But when she was able to put her little lips together and make that "mm" sound, and it was followed by a sound that sounded like "Ma." And then it was a "ma-ma."

I mean, that was the time when we celebrated; we danced in the kitchen; we laughed; we giggled; we reinforced it. And that's how she knew that that combination of sounds that she'd been listening to had meaning, and that beyond that, those words connected us. And so, it's the same as children learn the older they get. When those sounds, those words they put together, the ideas that they share with us are shown to have meaning, they are encouraged and they are excited about learning.

And they take risks. When we celebrate what children can do, they show us more. And the potential is there. And so just a couple more slides on brain development, because I really feel we need to hold true to this being our time truly to make a difference. And this graph shows us the time when the synapses in the brain are being connected and when children are really blossoming the potential that they will have, now and forever. We continue to build these synapses, but never again at this rate. And so, it's time to take advantage, full advantage of it.

What I've highlighted now in yellow, for you, are those Early Head Start years, so prenatal to age three. And you see, I mean, things are happening. And then I'm going to highlight, again, another little spot, and that's for Head Start. And part of the reason why Early Head Start looks like it's much bigger is because, of course, it's marked out in months, first, and then, in years. But this is the time where kids figure out which are those connections in my brain that I keep and which do I not need and I can let go. So, now, is the time to really exercise those brain muscles, make them stronger, faster, more efficient, and full of potential.

Sher'ee: Thank you, Vanessa. Thank you, for that, the words on the brain development. I would like for us to have just a few moments of reflection time now, to think about how can we, as leaders, use what we know to change what research might predict for our children, our families, and our community? At the very end of our webinar, you'll have my email address, and if there's some specific information that you'd like to have, please let me know.

So, what we know is that quality early learning and parent engagement does make a difference. How will we as leaders make the most of this critical time in the lives of our children?

Vanessa: And it really comes down to, if not now, when? After we just looked at all that brain development, we really know that Early Head Start and Head Start is situated in a place where this is our time to make a difference, and it means engaging with families; it means having as high a quality as we can in our Head Start classrooms. And so, the "if not now, when" really is just our motivator every day. And I found a quote that I really love that always brings me back to the "why" of our work. And this is one of the few slides that we'll actually read word for word, because, I feel like every word is important. So here goes.

Early childhood is "…a period of momentous significance. By the time this period is over, children will have formed conceptions of themselves as social beings, as thinkers, and as language users, and they will have reached certain important decisions about their own abilities and their own worth."

Sher'ee: I like that. That's beautiful. Vanessa, where did you first hear about this quote?

Vanessa: This quote I found actually several years ago, almost, 10 years ago, now, when I was looking at different curriculum. And it actually comes -- is the intro page to the Te Whāriki, which is the curriculum used on New Zealand. And although it comes from a different research project and paper, they found that this was what motivated their work moving forward and really does guide them in thinking about, again, why this time is so important.

Sher'ee: That's very powerful. Well, speaking of our time together, what we want to share is that our goal in working with you through the webinars is to really collaborate and learn how we can best support you and partner with you. And this includes time to reflect on the importance of effective teacher-child interactions and to offer you resources to support the work that you are already doing, the awesome work you're doing in your programs. And also, to learn from each other, drawing on your knowledge and your experience, your experiences. And we're hoping to take what we're doing now with the webinars and increase that a way to really collaborate and interact more than we are able to, today.

Vanessa: Which brings us…

Sher'ee: Do you want to talk more about that, Vanessa?

Vanessa: Yeah, absolutely. Which brings us to the face slide for really the heart of our presentation. And I think what Sher'ee was mentioning is that we want to move from this online platform to another one that would allow us to be more interactive. And we appreciate all of you using that question box to chat with us. And we're reading every single word, so keep it coming. But what we want to do is move us probably in the new year to the Blackboard online platform, which would allow you to be more interactive with us. And that's important. But, really, really what's more important is that it allows us to have you be more interactive in communicating with one another.

Ultimately, this webinar series is a place where we are wanting to co-create with you a learning community of professionals. We have some content knowledge, and we would love to share with you. QTL has done some work over the past couple of years to pull together some resources based on research, based on evidence-based practice.

But truly it comes down to peer to peer, education manager to education manager, talking about what works and really encouraging each other throughout the process. Head Start is not easy, but it's worthy work. And we think that people learn best when they're learning from their -- someone who's in the trenches, so to speak. And so that's what we'd like to move to.

But for today, and possibly for our webinar in December, as well, we'll be using this platform. But again, I'm happy to see that people are interacting as much as we can using this platform. So, today we're going to be focusing on your role in building a solid foundation for engaging interactions. And I think with the brain slides, we talked a bit about the "why" that's so important, but we're going to go a little bit deeper. You're going to see this slide, every single webinar. And I hope you love it as much as I do

I'm looking at Dawn, and she's giggling, because she loves it, too. It's the framework for effective practice. And this really is the frame upon which NCQTL has developed and designed our resources. And so we'll be pulling apart this house and putting it back together, because it's all interrelated. And today, we're going to be focusing on engaging interactions and environments. But, at some point, we'll touch on ongoing assessment; we'll touch on curriculum and teaching practice and look at highly individualized teaching and learning. They're all interrelated. But today, we're really going to focus on that foundation. And within that foundation we're going to focus on instructional interactions.

Sher'ee: Thank you, Vanessa. So, I love this photo that we just put up on the presentation of the man engaging with the young child. And we know that development, it turns out, occurs through just those relationships. When somebody is really crazy about you, the process of progressively more complex exchange between a child and someone else makes a difference. And I know Vanessa shared earlier a little bit personal about herself with her daughter, and I'd like to do the same here. Because, when I first saw this photograph, it reminded me of my relationship with my father. I was raised by an aunt and an uncle and definitely had a special relationship with my father. He was crazy about me. He thought I was awesome and that everything I did was perfect and amazing. And I will never forget how much that impacted me, as a very small preschool-age child, because there was somebody in the world that thought that I was great. And so, I carried that through my whole life, and I can draw upon that when I need it. And it's just very powerful. And so, this photo reminds me of that unconditional love and attention that can make all the difference in a child's life. And also, just looking at the photograph and thinking of this, as just a male role model and teacher, I think that's so powerful and just really applaud all the male teachers out there and the men that are in the lives of our children.

Vanessa: Beautifully said. Thanks, Sher'ee. So, as we move forward, it's good for us to have a shared definition of what we mean by instructional interactions and what makes an interaction engaging and what makes it more powerful, what helps it exercise those brain muscles. And so, when we talk about interactions, we're referring to the back-and-forth exchanges among teachers and children

Sher'ee: And in engaging interactions: These classroom interactions are both between teachers and children and children with their peers.

Vanessa: And then also to remember that these interactions happen all throughout the day, whether it's lunchtime, or during routines or free play or the 10 seconds you have with the child, while you're wiping their nose because they've got a cold, tying their shoe, passing the breakfast bowl. I mean, we need to really milk every moment. Because, if I think about part-day Head Start world that I came from, we really don't have a lot of time with these kids, and making the most of every moment matters. And to do that, teachers need to be intentional, going in with a plan about why they're saying what they're saying, the questions they're asking. What's the purpose behind it? Not just the answer they're looking for, but that it's building those brains; it's getting kids to think higher, stronger, and faster. Building muscle.

Sher'ee: And, Vanessa, I really want to emphasize, I like what you said about every moment of the day. Because for me, as a parent, that's what I strive for is to be present every moment of the day, when I'm engaging with my children. Because, I know that every moment there are those opportunities, as you mentioned, to make a difference and to connect with that child and influence that child. So, now, I know we're moving on to a deeper level of conversation about talking with and engaging with children. And there's this idea about having "thick" conversations. So, what can you tell me about having a thick conversation? What exactly does that mean?

Vanessa: I love thick conversations. And for those of you that are not on the West coast, I used this excuse yesterday, but it's a good one. When I think about thick conversations, I think about the difference in soup. And I'm not really all that hungry today, as I was yesterday, but I think of thick conversations like a hearty stew. You know, just thick and meaty and full of vegetables, and you eat it and you feel nurtured; you feel sustained; you feel like you can keep going for a long time, because, you've got that energy in you now. And a thin conversation, which would be the opposite of a thick conversation, is kind of like a broth. You know, it's like the start of something. You can have it, but, then, you're going to be hungry almost right away. So, to me thick -- when I think "thick," that's kind of what I think about.

Sher'ee: I like that.

Vanessa: But I have better definitions than that; it's not just soup. So, and here's kind of how we would talk about the key elements of a thick conversation. That children use and hear a variety of language. That it's two-way. It's not, unfortunately, like this webinar, where I'm just talking a lot and the child doesn't get a chance to talk back. There really is a balanced conversation, and it's two-way. That it's grounded in the interests and the ideas that come from the children. Because, anyone who's worked in a classroom, or has had small children of their own know, if you open the door to a conversation about something a child's interested in, they will run for miles and miles. My nephew will have an hour-long conversation with me about dinosaurs, because that's his newest thing, right now. And it's an amazing and rich and deep conversation. And finally, it promotes that higher level of thinking. We really want to exercise these brain muscles.

Sher'ee: Yes. And so, that tells me that it also includes explaining, connecting, comparing, and imagining possibilities. Which is very exciting.

Vanessa: Absolutely. And I love all four of these, and I think yesterday, I mentioned to the group that the imagining possibilities one is the one that I love. I mean, that's early childhood, right there. That's the four-year-old in a nutshell, imagining the possibilities. But in contrast, do you want to talk about this?

Sher'ee: Yes. Well, okay. So, can I just say that when my daughter was in preschool and she was imagining, one day she wanted to be a cashier clerk, just like her nana. Then, in the next week, she wanted to be a rock star.

Vanessa: Okay.

Sher'ee: So, I'm just telling you, those conversations are important, because now I can remind her that she actually wanted to do those things. So, in contrast to thick conversations, the opposite would be what we are calling "thin" conversation. Children use and hear limited language. Questions only require one-word answers. And thin conversations also stops thinking process.

Vanessa: And I think, perhaps, the best way to illustrate that would be to do a little role-play for you. Are you ready Sher'ee?

Sher'ee: I'm ready.

Vanessa: So, we're going to first demonstrate a thin conversation, and, then, by contrast, a thick conversation. But the context for what's happening with this little guy here with his little paper airplane, I'll give to you now. So, it'll help things make a bit more sense. So, these conversations happen in a Head Start classroom during a free play time, where this little guy has been spending about 20 minutes in the drawing and writing center. During this time, he drew a design on a piece of paper using five different colored markers, and he very carefully folded the paper several times. Making the final fold, he gets up, and from the table he's smiling and he's coming to approach the teacher now. I will be teacher.

Vanessa as Teacher: What did you make?

Sher'ee as Child: A plane.

Vanessa as Teacher: Does it fly?

Sher'ee as Child: Yes.

Vanessa: That's thin. Let's give you the contrast.

Vanessa as Teacher: What was your favorite part about creating this piece of art?

Sher'ee as Child: I liked making the plane.

Vanessa as Teacher: Oh, you made an airplane. Tell me how you made this airplane.

Sher'ee as Child: I drew on the paper and folded it up.

Vanessa as Teacher: I see. You drew your design on the paper with markers and then folded the paper into an airplane. What is your next big plan going to be?

Sher'ee as Child: I'm going to fly it in the sky.

Vanessa as Teacher: Very interesting. How do you know that your plane will fly?

Sher'ee as Child: Because, I made these wings.

Vanessa as Teacher: Oh, I see. So, you think that the wings will help the airplane fly. I think that is an excellent hypothesis. How will you test your idea that the wings will make your plane fly?

Sher'ee: I will throw it. Yay, I did it!

Vanessa as Teacher: Yes, your plane soared across the table. How do you think you could make your airplane fly higher?

Sher'ee as Child: I will make it another wing.

Vanessa: Okay. Thick and thin. I mean, obviously, just looking at the blue boxes, one is much bigger than the other. But Sher'ee's going to do a little summary between the two about the number of words and that kind of a thing.

Sher'ee: Yes. So, with a thin conversation, just to summarize: A child hears seven words and a child speaks three words. The child has two opportunities to practice language skills. Versus in a thick conversation, the child hears 113 words, the child will speak 41 words, and the child has six opportunities to practice language. The child is encouraged to share information and fully engage in the conversation in a thick conversation. And a child brings some information and ideas to the conversation.

Vanessa: So, I'm going to ask us all to have a quick flashback to that Hart and Risley graph that I showed at the very beginning, the 30 million word gap, and think about the number of words that were spoken. And as Sher'ee said, there were 113 words spoken and it's really brief, I mean, what, 30 seconds in the thick conversation exchange between teacher and child, the impact. And really the impact again is that back-and-forth exchange and that the child is being called on to participate more fully. And I can feel his

little brain muscle exercising. Whereas, a thin conversation -- this is almost like the teacher's walking across the room. And that happens. I get that. But the investment of a two-second conversation versus a 30-second conversation has profound impact. It really, truly does. And so, as a way to, again, summarize this little section is that classroom effective interactions don't look like this: Teacher says something, child responds -- we're done. Or do they look like this: Teacher-child-teacher, and then we're done. Really, it's more like this: That it's back and forth, back and forth. We call that serve and return.

And the longer the volley back and forth, the more opportunity there is for that child to exercise that brain, use their language skills, really pull up that higher order thinking. And to me, I always go back to thinking about the conversations I have with a stranger that I would probably devote about five seconds to, and the conversations I have with my very best friend. And the way that I listen differently, the way that I comment differently. I know just what questions to ask. I know just how to show her that I am right there with her. And that's what our kids need as well, to feel like someone who cares deeply, what was it, crazy about them, is listening that deeply and in that way.

Sher'ee: Yes. Thank you. So, classroom interactions: Why we do it. Children are rapidly learning new words and how to communicate more effectively, during their preschool years. Engaging in conversation supports children's development. In terms of language development, it's vocabulary growth, how to communicate more clearly and accurately. Cognitively, cognitive development is learn and understand new concepts and skills. Social-emotional development includes as language expands, children can express their ideas and feelings more easily. It also helps with -- conversations build relationships.

Children learn in context of those relationships, as we've been discussing.

Vanessa: And there are some benefits for teachers, too, right, Sher'ee?

Sher'ee: Yes. So, one of the benefits is "Inform teachers of children's interests and depth of understanding and knowledge."

Vanessa: Right, and along with that, you know, this is how teachers learn about their kids. And when you learn about your kids, you know how to plan for them. And so it helps us to really shape the curriculum, not just for the child you're having that individual one-on-one conversation with. That definitely happens. But then also how do you plan for the entire classroom? And these conversations really do help.

Sher'ee: Yes. And also build relationships with children, based on one-on-one interactions. It all comes back to those relationships.

Vanessa: It really does. And it really comes down to also, investing in the time. And our next slide is all about time, and the challenge of changing a teacher's approach, really trying to build-in those thick conversations whenever they can. It's not an easy thing to do. It really does take intention; it takes practice, and it takes support. And above all, it takes time. And my brother's favorite saying that he uses with me all too often -- he's my little brother, so, sometimes I don't like it. He says, "All things in time, and time takes time." And that to me says you can't rush the process and that the more teachers feel supported and feel confident in their skills, the more it becomes like, when I was a teacher, it was like breathing to do these things. It was just what I do.

Sher'ee: Yes, and you know, you're making me think also about the importance of this just being about respect. And the process is so important. To take that time and show that respect, so that you are individualizing with each relationship, with each interaction.

Vanessa: And, of course, when we're talking about the challenge of change, it's not just that teachers are having to change. It's calling upon education managers to do something differently, too. And so, it may mean focusing in on those thick and thin conversations being in the classroom to give them that kind of feedback. And we're going to talk a little bit more about that process. But first and foremost, it's important that we take those bite-size chunks out of it. We all are in this new era of CLASS and really thinking about instructional support being one that's on everyone's minds. I think I haven't heard a program anywhere, in my travels that has not been really anxious and wanting to improve instructional support. So, we can't go to a teacher and say, "You know, you've got to pull up your instructional support scores." It's really difficult. That's way too much. But if a teacher heard, "You know, we're going to have to concentrate on building those thick conversations. "That touches on Quality of Feedback; that touches on Language Modeling. So, that falls into Concept Development. There's so many ways in which focusing on specific skills will give you the biggest bang for your buck.

Sher'ee: I like that. So, to just summarize: We're looking at a four-step process for fostering effective interactions. Step 1 is: Plan. Step 2: Observe. Step 3: Analyze. And step 4: Assess. And I know you may already recognize these steps in working with curriculum. Vanessa, would you like to say more about this?

Vanessa: Sure. You know, you probably have seen these steps in different formats. Sometimes, it's three steps; sometimes it's eight. But, essentially, it really is having those sit-down times with your teachers, to say, let's really co-create some goals together. We want to improve practice. Everybody has something they can improve upon. Let's figure out what that is together, create some ideas about strategies to try in the classroom. Step 2 is me coming in to observe, looking at just what we agreed upon in our planning time, to help you know, yeah, you're getting there, you're getting there; but I'm going to give you some feedback, when we sit down to analyze and assess about different ways to approach it, maybe a different strategy to try. Or maybe you've got this one. We need something else to challenge you.

So, this four-step process you may have seen in different ways. And this may be one way you've seen it put on paper, or maybe you've done something very similar yourself. But these are really the four steps put on paper. And paper's nice. It makes sure everybody is on the same page. And you can see it's the same approach. You have an action plan goal that's co-created. You have those action steps that are really clear. And then there's the materials and resources needed, which I love that this is here. Too often plans are created and people march into their classrooms and look, "I'm not ready for this. I don't have what I need." But it's there. And finally, in the notes section, there's a place to really capture, when the observation time comes in, this is what I'm going to do. But also at that step 3 and 4 place, when are we're going to come and touch base? How am I going to know when I've got there? So, this is just one way to look at it. And, an option for those -- you know, we offered this last session, as well. If this is -- if looking at these four steps in a more detailed way, looking at action plans like this would be helpful, at the end of our webinar, we'll be asking you for ideas for topics for the future. So, just keep note of this if this is something you'd like to see again, but with much more detail.

Sher'ee: Well, and I like that it's visual, too. And it can be shared so quickly, if you don't have time to actually have a conversa-- have a thick conversation, you can look at the written plan.

Vanessa: And as promised in the beginning, Sher'ee mentioned that we were going to structure our time by having some time to reflect on the importance of those early interactions, that we were going to offer you resources and that we were going to draw on your experiences. Well, this is the part where I get to offer you some resources. And this, for us, is the time where I want to be sure that you all out there know about, in particular at this time, the NCQTL in-service suites. And these can be found on the ECLKC -- or "e-click," depending on what part of the country we're in -- website. And if you were to click on the Quality Teaching and Learning little link, you'll get to a page that looks like this. And what's nice about our newly designed front page is that you'll see a little box that says "15-minute in-services" on that lower right-hand side. And if you clicked on that, you'd see a little something that looks like this.

And right now there are four in-service suites that are currently available online, but more are coming. So, please come back again and again to see what's been added. For right now, though, we'll kind of focus on engaging children in conversation. But before I leave this page, I'm going to move my little arrow over here. Hopefully, you guys will see it soon. There it is. But there is a trainer version available. And this is where you would find it, right here. Okay? And so, clicking on this you'll see this is kind of why it's been nicknamed a 15-minute in-service suite. We have a video that you can click on and watch. And then there are these downloadable materials for teachers and for supervisors that allow for you to take away the information, figure out ways you want to try out, to practice this in your own classroom.

So, that 15 minutes is about watching the video, downloading these materials, and figuring out something to do. However, in the trainer version, you can pull this out and create an hour-long, two hours long, depending -- whatever you'd like. You can combine in-services as they make sense to you and your program and your teachers. But within the trainer version, you get a PowerPoint that has videos embedded. And these videos are of real Head Start teachers. You know, really doing the do. And these are teachers that we have found across the country that have exemplary practice. And by the way, we're still out there; so, if we come knocking on your door to film you; that's why. Because we want it to be real. We want it to be Head Start. And so, again, there are videos in that PowerPoint. But we're not going to leave you hanging.

We will also have for you the presenter's notes. And these are detailed notes about what to say, what to emphasize and some of those key questions to draw out as you're moving through the presentation.

There are learning activities embedded. So, again, this is why you can really pull it out and make it much longer. And these learning activities get teachers talking, which is so important. Get them thinking about, how am I going to apply this? This is great content, but what would it look like in my room?

Finally, those tips for teachers.

These are takeaways so that they can remember and hold onto. Some of them I really love, because you can post them in your classroom, and they're beautiful to post. But they're active reminders for teachers about what they're really trying to focus on. Finally, there's some helpful resources, if you want to go farther and deeper. We've already done the legwork for you. And finally, tools for you. And one of the tools for you is that four-step action plan that we just went through a few slides back. That's one of those tools. And, we can unpack more of those throughout this webinar series for you, but I wanted you to know that these are there for you, now online and also, through your ECE Specialist.

And this list, this lovely list, is quite a view. But these are the ones that are just focused on instructional support. And we're creating suites for every part of that effective practice house. So, as you go back to our website again and again, you'll see that it's going to become full. And that whole exchange that

Sher'ee and I did on thick and thin conversations is right here. It's part of the Engaging Children in Conversation Series. And truly the role-play we did, there's our videos also in the presentation come from this thick and thin presentation and that training suite.

Sher'ee: Thank you, Vanessa. So, once again, just in summary, and we're almost finished here with our webinar, we want to just talk about our goals, which is to learn from each other, drawing on your knowledge and experiences; to offer tools as resources to support the work you are already doing; and to reflect on the importance of effective teacher-child interactions. We're going to switch to our last slide only because it has the email addresses for both Sher'ee and myself. Should you have a question you'd like to ask us later on, maybe you'll think about it after the webinar is closed. So, we want to be sure you have a way to get in touch with us. Si Yu’us Maase, or thank you, for being with us. And we'll see you soon. Thank you.

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