ABSTRACT
Research consistently shows that the interactions early childhood teachers have with young children affect their social, behavioral, and cognitive development and learning. Through interactions, teachers support relationships, convey information, enhance children’s language, and foster learning and thinking skills. As teachers work with individual children, small groups, or whole groups, teachers can engage in exchanges that support and enhance relationships or that discourage further interaction. They can engage in content and concept rich exchanges or low-level non-significant interactions. This chapter reviews the research on teacher-child interactions, discusses instruments such as CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) that measures interactions, and reviews multiple interaction techniques that teachers can use to build relationships and to enhance young children’s learning.
