Reliability and validity of the Classroom Observations of Student–Teacher Interactions (COSTI) for kindergarten reading instruction

Smolkowski, Keith; Gunn, Barbara

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.09.004

Cited by 59 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In other observational studies, researchers have analyzed data from two or three timepoints and have found this number to be adequate for capturing typical classroom instruction (e.g., Connor et al., ; Connor, Morrison, & Petrella, ; Wasik & Bond, ). In fact, recent research suggests that teacher instruction is fairly stable across time (Al Otaiba et al., ; Smolkowski & Gunn, ). Of the scheduled observations, 3% were missed due to scheduling conflicts (e.g., maternity leave) and technical issues (e.g., the audio recorder stopped working).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers' Instruction and Students' Vocabulary and Comprehension: An Exploratory Study With English Monolingual and Spanish-English Bilingual Students in Grades 3-5

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The primary aim of this study was to explore the relationship between teachers' instruction and students' vocabulary and comprehension in grades 3–5. The secondary aim of this study was to investigate whether this relationship differed for English monolingual and Spanish–English bilingual students. To meet these aims, we observed and recorded reading/language arts instruction in 33 classrooms at three points during an academic year, and we assessed 274 students on vocabulary and comprehension at the beginning and end of the year. Using field notes and student utterances to understand the context, we coded teacher utterances (e.g., questions, comments, prompts) as vocabulary instruction, comprehension instruction, other instruction, or noninstruction. We then identified five types of vocabulary‐related instruction and five types of comprehension‐related instruction. Using latent difference modeling, we investigated how the frequency of different types of instruction was associated with change in students' vocabulary and comprehension across the school year. Teachers' instruction related to definitions, word relations, and morphosyntax was positively associated with change in vocabulary; teachers' instruction related to application across contexts and literal comprehension was negatively associated with change in vocabulary; and teachers' instruction related to inferential comprehension was positively associated with change in comprehension. The findings also revealed an interaction between language status and teachers' instruction, such that instruction that attended to comprehension strategies was associated with greater positive change in comprehension for bilingual (but not for monolingual) students.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers' Instruction and Students' Vocabulary and Comprehension: An Exploratory Study With English Monolingual and Spanish-English Bilingual Students in Grades 3-5

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, we hypothesized that ECRI would increase intensity of Tier I instruction as measured by the Classroom Observations of Student-Teacher Interactions (COSTI) instrument (Smolkowski & Gunn, 2012). The COSTI tool is used to record the frequency of teacher models, group practice opportunities, individual practice opportunities, student errors, and corrective feedback.…”

Section: Purpose Of the Study And Research Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The COSTI is used to record four types of student-teacher interactions, including teacher demonstrations, teacher corrective feedback, student independent practice opportunities, and student errors (see Smolkowski & Gunn, 2012, for definitions of these behaviors), along with several contextual variables (e.g., group size, primary content focus of the instructional activity, start and stop times for the activity). Research on the use of the COSTI indicates it is a valid and reliable measure of teacher initiated behavior in early reading (Smolkowski & Gunn, 2012). Research on the use of the COSTI indicates it is a valid and reliable measure of teacher initiated behavior in early reading (Smolkowski & Gunn, 2012).…”

Section: Costimentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Effects of a Systemic Intervention on First-Grade Teachers’ Explicit Reading Instruction

Nelson-Walker

Fien

Kosty

et al. 2013

Learning Disability Quarterly

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article examines the efficacy of a multitiered systemic reading intervention for increasing the intensity and quality of explicit literacy instruction that teachers provide in first-grade classrooms. Schools (j = 16) were randomly assigned to the treatment or comparison condition. In both conditions, teachers (i = 42) provided 90 min of Tier I reading instruction to first-grade students (n = 883). In the treatment condition, Tier I classroom teachers were trained to enhance their core reading instruction by making instruction more explicit and intensive through standardized protocols and ongoing coaching support. At-risk treatment students (n = 240) also received an additional 30 min of Tier II supplemental reading intervention that was highly aligned with Tier I instruction. The focus of this study is on the Tier I portion of the multitiered intervention and the impact of the Tier I Enhancing Core Reading Instruction intervention on teacher practices. Results indicate positive effects of the Tier I intervention on the quality of explicit instruction and the frequency and accuracy of group practice opportunities provided to students.

show abstract

“…Instruments focused on teacher-student relationships suggest more moderate within-year stability, with cross-lesson correlations in the 0.5 to 0.9 range (Pianta, Mashburn, Downer, Hamre, & Justice, 2008;Smolkowski & Gunn, 2012). Other studies suggest that classroom management is the most stable instructional practice across a range of different protocols Polikoff, 2015).…”

Section: Information Needed For Accurate Measurementioning

confidence: 99%

Building a More Complete Understanding of Teacher Evaluation Using Classroom Observations

Cohen

Goldhaber

2016

Educational Researcher

150

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Improving teacher evaluation is one of the most pressing but also contested areas of educational policy. Value-added measures have received much of the attention in new evaluation systems, but they can only be used to evaluate a fraction of teachers. Classroom observations are almost universally used to assess teachers, yet their statistical properties have received far less empirical scrutiny, in particular in consequential evaluation systems. In this essay, we highlight some conceptual and empirical challenges that are similar across these different measures of teacher quality. Based on a review of empirical research, we argue that we need much more research focused on observations as performance measures. We conclude by sketching out an agenda for future research in this area.Keywords: accountability; classroom research; educational policy; policy analysis; teacher assessment REVIEWS/ESSAySAUgUST/SEpTEMBER 2016 379Interestingly, given their prevalent use, we know surprisingly little about the statistical properties of classroom observations in consequential personnel decisions. Indeed, much of what we know is derived from extensive research of a large-scale research study-the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) Project (cf. Kane & Staiger, 2012)-and it is unclear how these findings might translate when evaluation reform is put into practice (Goldhaber, 2015). Will real-world classroom observations differentiate among teachers? Will they be reliable? Will teachers receive actionable feedback, leading them to seek and receive high-quality professional development? The answers to questions like these are key to understanding how the use of observational measures of performance will affect the quality of the teacher workforce.In this article, we highlight some conceptual and empirical challenges that are similar across different measures of teacher performance. We focus on the existing validity evidence around classroom observations as evaluation measures, much of which is derived from research studies as opposed to real-world evaluation systems. We highlight what we know about the stability of observational measures across raters and educational contexts. We speculate on the implications of the extant literature, and we ask what additional kinds of evidence we would need about observations to feel confident observations could be featured in fair and useful evaluation systems. We attempt to answer some of these questions while describing the conceptual issues that arise when measuring teachers' classroom performance based on observations. Based on a review of empirical research, we argue that we need more research focused on observations as performance measures, particularly from authentic settings where observational performance measures are used in consequential evaluation systems, and we sketch out an agenda for future research. Given space constraints, our goal is not to provide a comprehensive synthesis of the extant literature around classroom observations. Such a review would be helpful but goes beyond th...

show abstract

Reliability and validity of the Classroom Observations of Student–Teacher Interactions (COSTI) for kindergarten reading instruction

Cited by 59 publications

References 52 publications

Teachers' Instruction and Students' Vocabulary and Comprehension: An Exploratory Study With English Monolingual and Spanish-English Bilingual Students in Grades 3-5

Teachers' Instruction and Students' Vocabulary and Comprehension: An Exploratory Study With English Monolingual and Spanish-English Bilingual Students in Grades 3-5

Evaluating the Effects of a Systemic Intervention on First-Grade Teachers’ Explicit Reading Instruction

Building a More Complete Understanding of Teacher Evaluation Using Classroom Observations

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About