Expert on teacher-child interactions to talk at UNL April 29

The Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will present Robert Pianta, dean of the Curry School of Education at University of Virginia, at a talk 7 p.m. April 29 at the Nebraska Union, 1400 R St.

Pianta's talk, part of the Creating Connections series, is "Opportunity in Early Education: Improving the Quality of Teacher-Child Interactions Through Classroom Observation and Professional Development." The lecture is free and open to the public but seating is limited. Attendees are asked to contact Holly Sexton at hsexton1@unl.edu to register.

In addition to being dean of the Curry School, Pianta is Novartis U.S. Foundation professor of education and a professor in psychology. He also serves as the director for both the National Center for Research in Early Childhood Education and the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning. Pianta's focuses on the predictors of child outcomes and school readiness, particularly adult-child relationships, and the transition to kindergarten. His recent work has focused on understanding the nature of teacher-child interactions, classroom quality and child competence, through standardized observational assessment.

Pianta has conducted research on professional development, both at the pre-service and in-service levels. He has published more than 300 scholarly papers and is lead author on several influential books related to early childhood and elementary education. Pianta earned bachelor's and master's degrees in special education at the University of Connecticut, and a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Minnesota. He began his career as a special education teacher.