Current Initiatives 

PK-3 Teach Lead Grow Project
McCormick Foundation
Staffing: Lisa Hood, Pamela Rosa, Pam Hillyard and Emilie Shoop

The PK3 Teach Lead Grow Project is a video library with over 70 professional development videos in PreK, Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd Grade classrooms with an emphasis on diverse children and teachers (including race, culture, geography, language, and ability). The videos promote the professional growth of early childhood teachers and administrators in their knowledge of developmentally appropriate classroom practices. The videos can also be used as a benchmarking tool for school leaders to ensure more valid teacher evaluation processes in their schools. At this writing, eleven teachers are highlighted on the website, and their videos are organized into “sets” that include six or seven video components that capture the various elements of instructional practice.

The video website is organized around the 2013 Danielson Framework for Teaching clusters and Early Learning Best Practices. The video library is housed at PK-3 Teach Lead Grow website and includes a newsletter, resources, and classroom artifacts that teachers and principals can use to be effective early childhood educators. Each teacher’s videos include lesson planning, instruction, and reflection, as well as any accompanying artifacts.

These videos include:

• A pre-planning segment with the teacher and administrator discussing the lesson plan and how it connects to the needs of students and the alignment to curriculum, standards, and developmentally appropriate practices.
• An observation of the lesson itself to highlight classroom practices in the teaching and learning clusters that focus on student-focused classroom management, classroom culture, effective instruction (including play-based learning), and assessment.
• Post-conference debriefing with the teacher, reflecting on the effectiveness of the classroom practice in terms of what worked, what could have been improved, and where the teacher will go next; and,
• Supplemental content that shows the teacher interacting with families, a classroom tour, and teachers leading meetings with support staff (e.g., teacher assistants, occupational and speech therapists).