The Circle Continuous Quality Improvement System (CQI) includes a series of tools that support observation and goal-setting for key teaching and caregiving competencies that result in high-quality learning experiences for young children.
The Circle CQI System includes both digital tools and downloadable resources from CLI Engage. Designed for specialists to document teachers’ demonstration of each competency through classroom observation, the data from these tools supports setting professional development goals with their teaching staff. They can also be used by teachers directly to self-assess their skills, set goals for improvement, and track their progress over time.
CLI Engage now includes these tools for two age groups: Infant & Toddler and Prekindergarten! Please note, the Circle CQI tools were previously known as the Classroom Observation Tools (COT).
This version includes high-quality caregiving and instructional behaviors that support language and communication, early literacy, cognitive skills, social and emotional development, and physical development for infants and toddlers. Teachers can work toward the implementation of these behaviors with the support of the Circle Infant & Toddler Teacher Training: Play with Me professional development series (free for all teachers).
The online CQI Tool includes extensive goal-setting features.
The Circle CQI Tool for Infant-Toddler Teachers requires eligibility. Find out if you are eligible, and then follow instructions after clicking Sign Up at the top right.
The Observation and Notetaking Form is best used by coaches and specialists when conducting observations as it provides space to record specific evidence that can be used in communications with the teacher. The Goal-Setting Form can be used by coaches, specialists, and teachers and includes columns to record when goals are set and met.
The Administrator’s Classroom Observation Tool (A-COT) is an abridged version of the Classroom Observation Tool (COT).
The Administrator’s Classroom Observation Tool (A-COT) is an abridged version of the Classroom Observation Tool (COT). The A-COT is a 43-item checklist of teacher behaviors that have been linked across multiple studies with gains in language and literacy, social skills, and early math and science. Learn more about using the A-COT in the eCircle Leading School-wide Improvement online course.
COT Item 190 - Uses intentional and efficient methods for transitioning from one activity to the next (e.g., song to clean up, phonological awareness game to transition to centers, etc.).
COT Item 14 - Uses specific praise, encouragement, or positive feedback that provides children explicit information regarding what they are doing well (e.g., “You did a great job writing your name.”...).
COT Item 30 - Explains function/cause and effect (e.g., “A blender cuts things up very, very tiny.” or “When you turn on a blender, the blades chop things up very finely.”).
Researchers at CLI examined psychometric characteristics of the COT in a study of 193 coaches working with 3,909 preK teachers in a statewide professional development program. Included below are some key findings:
Survey Responses: 88.96% of coaches felt that the COT was helpful or very helpful for establishing goals with teachers, and 76.60% felt the technology-based, goal-setting and tracking system was helpful or very helpful for improving teacher implementation of evidence-based practices.
Reliability: We found evidence of acceptable internal consistency with alphas ranging from .73 to .87. Consistency in our subdomain and domain structure suggests that, even across our relatively large number of items, coaches are able to make meaningful distinctions among closely linked domains of instruction and, by extension, set highly targeted goals for improvement.
Construct Validity: We found promising evidence of construct validity for the COT in that the factor structure for eight domains across language, literacy, and math instruction conformed to our theoretical conceptions.
Predictive Validity: We found promising evidence that several COT language and literacy domains relate significantly to growth in children’s literacy outcomes for letter knowledge in English (.21–.43) and Spanish (.32–.40), as well as phonological awareness in English (.18 –.36). This demonstrates predictive validity between theoretically related teacher behaviors and child skills.
Crawford, April D., Zucker, Tricia A., Williams, Jeffrey M., Bhavsar, Vibhuti, & Landry, Susan H. (2013). Initial validation of the prekindergarten classroom observation tool and goal setting system for data-based coaching. School Psychology Quarterly (4), pp. 277-300.
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