Diane Trister Dodge

In this Early Learning Nation Studio conversation, Chris Riback interviews Diane Trister Dodge, the founder of Teaching Strategies and one of the most influential figures in American early childhood education. Dodge traces her path from wanting simply 'to become the best teacher possible' to accidentally becoming a publisher: she trained Head Start teachers in 1966 Mississippi, made her own materials on a mimeograph machine, and self-published a filmstrip about classroom arrangement when no publisher would take it. That first effort grew into The Creative Curriculum and the Teaching Strategies GOLD assessment system, tools that shaped early learning nationwide. She reflects on what high-quality classrooms look like, the persistent inequities facing at-risk children and early childhood teachers, and her current work giving back through the Dodge Family Fund.