Potential for play in a primary literacy curriculum

Abstract

The benefits of play in the learning and development of young children has long been recognized by researchers and early childhood educators. As new teachers face the challenges of increasingly diverse classrooms, in an increasingly demanding political climate, the potential of play has implications for teacher educators who prepare those new teachers. This study investigated literacy use during play in the researcher's culturally diverse first grade classroom, finding that children applied various functions of print, practiced skills, and explored concepts that had been introduced in the formal curriculum. These observations reinforce the notion that play encompasses many of the conditions necessary for literacy development and is a useful means of extending and supporting the formal literacy curriculum. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.     

Impacts of Teacher–Child Managed Whole-Group Language and Literacy Instruction on the Depth of Preschoolers’ Social Interaction

Research Findings: This study examined the potential impacts of ongoing participation (twice weekly for 30 weeks) in teacher–child managed whole-group language and literacy instruction on prekindergarten children’s social interaction with classmates. Teacher–child managed whole-group instruction that provides children with opportunities to engage with all of their classmates regularly may potentially deepen the social depth within a classroom (i.e., the frequency with which children regularly interact with each other). Provision of this type of instruction occurred via teachers’ implementation of a whole-class literacy curriculum twice weekly. Participants were 119 preschoolers who received an experimental literacy curriculum in 26 classrooms and 76 children in 17 business-as-usual control classrooms. Condition predicted the strength of children’s social interaction, suggesting that children in experimental classrooms had relatively stronger social ties with peers than children in control classrooms. Practice or Policy: The findings suggest that participation in ongoing teacher–child managed whole-group instruction could facilitate stronger social connections among preschool children.     

Implementation fidelity of MyTeachingPartner literacy and language activities: Association with preschoolers’ language and literacy growth

There is surprisingly little empirical research examining issues of fidelity of implementation within the early childhood education literature. In the MyTeachingPartner project, 154 teachers were provided with materials to implement a supplemental classroom curriculum addressing six aspects of literacy and language development. The present study examines the degree of variability in three aspects of implementation fidelity – dosage, adherence, and quality of delivery – and whether these components of fidelity were associated with children's growth in language and literacy skills across the preschool year. Findings indicate that teachers reported using the curriculum fairly often (dosage) and that they were observed to generally follow curricular lesson plans (adherence). In contrast, the quality of delivery, defined as the use of evidence-based teacher–child interactions for teaching literacy and language, was much lower. Children in classrooms in which activities were observed to last for longer (dosage) and in which teachers exhibited higher quality of delivery of literacy lessons made significantly greater gains in early literacy skills across the preschool year. Also, teachers’ use of higher quality language interactions was associated with gains for children who did not speak English at home. Results have implications for teacher professional development and the supports provided to ensure that curricula are delivered most effectively.     

Scaling Up the Implementation of a Pre-Kindergarten Mathematics Curriculum: Teaching for Understanding With Trajectories and Technologies

Abstract

This study used a randomized field trial design to evaluate the efficacy of a research-based model for scaling up an intervention focused on preschool mathematics. Although the successes of research-based educational practices have been documented, equally well known is the paucity of successful efforts to bring these practices to scale. The same research corpus provides guidelines to scale up successful interventions. We designed an intervention model based on that research, including mathematics curricula with an emphasis on teaching for understanding following developmental guidelines, or learning trajectories, and using technology at multiple levels. We then implemented that model and evaluated the implementation with a limited scale up study. Within a design involving 25 classrooms serving children at risk for later school failure, we examined the impact of the model, using measures of fidelity of implementation, classroom observations of mathematics environment and teaching, and child outcomes. High levels of fidelity of implementation resulted in consistently higher scores in the intervention, compared to control, classes on the observation instrument and significantly and substantially greater gains in children's mathematics achievement in the intervention, compared to the control, children (effect size = .62).     

Effects of a Brief Tiered Language Intervention for Prekindergartners at Risk

Research Findings: Multitiered instructional frameworks are becoming a recommended approach for enhancing prevention and intervention efforts targeting early literacy and language skills. However, few studies to date have studied the feasibility of tiered oral language interventions before kindergarten; therefore, this pilot study explored the effectiveness of such an approach in prekindergarten. Teachers in 39 classrooms were randomly assigned to an experimental or comparison condition that contrasted the implementation of an intervention that had both Tier 1 (whole group) and Tier 2 (small group for at-risk children) components. The pilot study included only 4 weeks of teacher-administered intervention. Despite this short duration, a significant and large effect size (d = .81) was observed for the experimental group on a receptive target vocabulary assessment. No significant changes were found on measures of vocabulary fluency, expressive target vocabulary, or listening comprehension. It is important to note that teachers’ fidelity in implementing the intervention as designed was a significant predictor of children's learning. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest the potential promise of the multitiered instructional framework, especially when teachers can be supported in ways that ensure adequate fidelity of implementation. Implications for use in prekindergarten response-to-intervention models are discussed.     

Editorials

ABSTRACT

To address students’ poor literacy outcomes, an intervention using a computer-based literacy tool, ABRACADABRA, was implemented in 6 Northern Australia primary schools. A pretest, posttest parallel group, single blind multisite randomized controlled trial was conducted with 308 students between the ages of 4 and 8 years old (M age = 5.8 years, SD = 0.8 years). Findings suggested that computer-based instruction under controlled conditions can improve student literacy, especially for Indigenous students at risk of reading difficulties. The authors examine the fidelity with which the computer-based literacy tool was implemented and the impact of implementation fidelity measures on student outcomes. Student exposure to and use of the literacy tool, and quality of instruction and lesson delivery, were analyzed for their influence on students’ literacy outcomes. Implementation fidelity measures accounted for between 1.8% and 15% of the variance of intervention students’ scores.     

Field-Based Evaluation of Two-Tiered Instruction for Enhancing Kindergarten Phonological Awareness

Research Findings: This study reports on the outcomes of a multisite, two-tiered, response-to-intervention instructional model for delivering phonological awareness instruction and intervention to kindergartners. Fifty-seven kindergartners from 3 classrooms participated in a supplemental phonological awareness program, and 56 kindergartners from 3 classrooms received the prevailing school-adopted literacy curriculum. All children in the supplemental condition received supplemental classroom-based phonological awareness instruction in addition to the adopted literacy curriculum. At mid-year, 6 low literacy achievers were identified in each supplemental classroom (n = 18) to participate in an additional 12-week small-group intervention. The classroom-based supplemental curriculum did not produce statistically significant gains for typically achieving children on measures of letter–sound knowledge, word recognition, or developmental spelling. However, an add-on tier of supplemental instruction exerted a substantial advantage for low-achieving children on a measure of developmental spelling. Practice or Policy: Results suggest that a 2-tiered intervention model provides an effective means for improving the literacy outcomes of low-achieving kindergarten children.     

Quality of Language and Literacy Instruction in Preschool Classrooms Serving At-Risk Pupils

Policy-makers, administrators, researchers, and teachers are increasingly vested in ensuring the quality of preschool instruction, particularly in the areas of language and literacy. This research was conducted to characterize the quality of language and literacy instruction in 135 publicly-funded preschool classrooms serving at-risk pupils. As all teachers in these classrooms were implementing the same language and literacy curriculum, we also studied the interrelationships among procedural fidelity to a prescribed curriculum and the quality of language and literacy instruction, determining whether procedural fidelity is associated or disassociated with quality instruction. Results showed that the quality of language and literacy instruction in classrooms was low, with few teachers delivering high quality instruction. Although teachers were able to implement a prescribed language and literacy curriculum with a high degree of procedural fidelity, this was not associated with quality instruction. Few structural characteristics of classrooms of teachers were systematically associated with quality of instruction. Findings have important implications for professional development of teachers by suggesting a need for a sustained and coherent focus on the process of instruction to elevate instructional quality in language and literacy.     

An evaluation of curriculum, setting, and mentoring on the performance of children enrolled in pre-kindergarten

An alarming number of American pre-school children lack sufficient language and literacy skills to succeed in kindergarten. The type of curriculum that is available within pre-kindergarten settings can impact children's academic readiness. This work presents results from an evaluation of two language and literacy curricula (i.e., Let's Begin with the Letter People and Doors to Discovery) from a random assignment study that occurred within three settings (i.e., Head Start, Title 1, and universal pre-kindergarten) and included a control group. The design included a mentoring and non- mentoring condition that was balanced across sites in either curriculum condition. A pre and post-test design was utilized in the analyses, with children (n = 603) tested before the intervention and at the end of the year. Multilevel growth curve modeling, where the child outcomes (dependent measures) are modeled as a function of the child's level of performance and rate of growth between pre and post-testing, was used for all analyses. Results indicated that in many key language/literacy areas, the skills of children in classrooms using either one of the target curricula grew at greater rates than children in control classrooms. This was especially true in the Head Start programs. The findings from this study indicate that at-risk children can benefit from a well-specified curriculum. Additionally, findings demonstrate that a well-detailed curriculum appeared to be less important for children from higher income families. The impact of mentoring was less clear and seemed dependent on the type of skill being measured and type of program.     

Educational effects of the Tools of the Mind curriculum: A randomized trial

The effectiveness of the Tools of the Mind (Tools) curriculum in improving the education of 3- and 4-year-old children was evaluated by means of a randomized trial. The Tools curriculum, based on the work of Vygotsky, focuses on the development of self-regulation at the same time as teaching literacy and mathematics skills in a way that is socially mediated by peers and teachers and with a focus on play. The control group experienced an established district-created model described as a “balanced literacy curriculum with themes.” Teachers and students were randomly assigned to either treatment or control classrooms. Children (88 Tools and 122 control) were compared on social behavior, language, and literacy growth. The Tools curriculum was found to improve classroom quality and children's executive function as indicated by lower scores on a problem behavior scale. There were indications that Tools also improved children's language development, but these effects were smaller and did not reach conventional levels of statistical significance in multi-level models or after adjustments for multiple comparisons. Our findings indicate that a developmentally appropriate curriculum with a strong emphasis on play can enhance learning and development so as to improve both the social and academic success of young children. Moreover, it is suggested that to the extent child care commonly increases behavior problems this outcome may be reversed through the use of more appropriate curricula that actually enhance self-regulation.     

Developing Energy Literacy in US Middle-Level Students Using the Geospatial Curriculum Approach

This quantitative study examined the effectiveness of a geospatial curriculum approach to promote energy literacy in an urban school district and examined factors that may account for energy content knowledge achievement. An energy literacy measure was administered to 1,044 eighth-grade students (ages 13–15) in an urban school district in Pennsylvania, USA. One group of students received instruction with a geospatial curriculum approach (geospatial technologies (GT)) and another group of students received ‘business as usual’ (BAU) curriculum instruction. For the GT students, findings revealed statistically significant gains from pretest to posttest (p?<?0.001) on knowledge of energy resource acquisition, energy generation, storage and transport, and energy consumption and conservation. The GT students had year-end energy content knowledge scores significantly higher than those who learned with the BAU curriculum (p?<?0.001; effect size being large). A multiple regression found that prior energy content knowledge was the only significant predictor to the year-end energy content knowledge achievement for the GT students (p?<?0.001). The findings support that the implementation of a geospatial curriculum approach that employs learning activities that focus on the spatial nature of energy resources can improve the energy literacy of urban middle-level education students.     

Two-way and monolingual English immersion in preschool education: An experimental comparison

An experimental study was conducted comparing the effects of dual language, or two-way immersion (TWI) and monolingual English immersion (EI) preschool education programs on children's learning. Three-and four-year old children were randomly assigned by lottery to either a newly established TWI Spanish/English program or a monolingual English program in the same district. Children in the study were from both Spanish and English home language backgrounds. All classrooms in the study used the High/Scope curriculum, and all met high standards for teacher qualifications, ratio, and class size. The TWI program alternated between English and Spanish weekly by rotating children between two classrooms (and teachers) each week. Programs were compared on measures of children's growth in language, emergent literacy, and mathematics. Children in both types of classrooms experienced substantial gains in language, literacy, and mathematics. No significant differences between treatment groups were found on English language measures. Among the native Spanish speakers, the TWI program produced large gains in Spanish vocabulary compared to the EI program. Both TWI and EI approaches boosted the learning and development of children including ELL students, as judged by standard score gains. TWI also improved the Spanish language development of English language learners (ELL) and native English speaking children without losses in English language learning.     

Distinctions Without a Difference? Preschool Curricula and Children’s Development

Abstract

Public preschool programs require the use of a research-based, whole-child curriculum, yet limited research examines whether curricula influence classroom experiences and children’s development. We use five samples of preschool children to examine differences in classroom processes and children’s school readiness by classroom curricular status (curriculum/no curriculum), and across classrooms using different curricular packages. When a teacher reports using a curriculum, their classroom processes are indistinguishable from classrooms where teachers report using no curriculum. Some differences in classroom activities emerged across classrooms using different curricula; however, substantial variability exists across classrooms using the same curriculum. Head Start program fixed effects models and meta-analytic regressions reveal few associations between curricula and children's skills. Findings question whether preschool curricular policy benefit child development.     

Efficacy of an evidence-based literacy preparation program for young children beginning school

Abstract

This study aimed to provide evidence regarding the efficacy of an early literacy preparation program, PreLit, designed to improve the skills of young Australian children. Participants comprised 240 children in eight schools attending their first year of schooling. Children in the four experimental group schools received instruction in the program while children in the four comparison group schools continued with typical literacy activities in their classrooms. All children were assessed on measures of emergent literacy and language skills prior to and following intervention. It was found that 91% of students were in the bottom quartile for phonological awareness at pre-test. While neither the children nor their schools were randomly allocated to groups, the mean scores for the two groups were very similar at pre-test on all measures. Analyses showed that although the means for the two groups were not statistically different on any of the measures at post-test, significantly fewer students in experimental schools remained in the bottom quartile and more moved into the top quartile for phonological awareness skills, compared with students in the comparison schools. Fine grain analyses, taking into account additional qualitative data about the schools, helped to clarify these findings.     

Implementing a Primary Prevention Social Skills Intervention in Urban Preschools: Factors Associated with Quality and Fidelity

Research Findings: Preschool behavior problems are of increasing concern to early childhood educators. Preventive interventions are being developed, but implementation in underresourced child care programs is challenging. This study describes the implementation of an adapted Second Step curriculum to increase children's social skills and decrease behavior problems in preschool classrooms. Teacher training/coaching, organizational supports, and procedures for sustainability are described. Measures included baseline classroom characteristics, lesson completion and fidelity, and teacher satisfaction. Teachers completed 88% of the lessons across 2 years. Follow-up monitoring in Year 3, once all training was terminated, found that 95% of lessons were delivered with higher fidelity than in the first 2 years. Teachers were satisfied with the training, felt that the curriculum improved children's social skills, and stated that they would continue to use the curriculum. Lesson completion and fidelity were associated with various teacher characteristics, training attendance, classroom characteristics, teacher and child turnover, and the percentage of children with developmental delays in the classroom. Practice or Policy: The results support the implementation strategy and suggest that paying attention to teacher morale, general skill development, and a period of ongoing support for training is important and will lead to sustainable and high implementation rates.     

A cautionary tale: digital resources in literacy classrooms

ABSTRACT

Supportive digital resources are key to supporting educators’ pedagogic practices in teaching children to be literate. But locating suitable resources can be confusing, with as claims about products being educational, aligned with curriculum outcomes, and even as ‘silver bullets’. In Australia, a lack of specificity in national and state curriculum guidelines about resource selection creates inconsistencies within and across schools. We investigate how teacher-selected digital resources are used in early childhood classrooms to support literacy learning. Drawing on three independent Australian classroom-based studies, we share three examples of children engaging with digital resources. Together, they show that not all digital resources promote active and engaged literacy learning in meaningful and socially interactive contexts. We propose principles for selecting digital resources to promote playful, scaffolded, and exploratory literacy learning.     

Ready to Learn: Teaching Kindergarten Students School Success Skills

Abstract

Studies have indicated that children have difficulty learning when they do not demonstrate certain prerequisite learning skills that involve attention, listening comprehension, and social skills. The authors evaluated the Ready To Learn (RTL) curriculum for its effectiveness in improving the prerequisite learning skills in 12 kindergarten classes (260 students) in 3 demographically similar elementary schools. Teachers in target classrooms were trained to deliver the RTL curriculum and 5 specific teaching strategies for use throughout the day. Students who received the intervention in those classrooms scored significantly higher than did comparison students on a listening comprehension measure and a student behavior rating scale. These findings may be an indicator that entire classrooms of students can be taught prerequisite learning skills as part of the daily curriculum and, as a result, show increases in school success behaviors.     

课程地图:幼儿园园本课程建设的新视角

课程地图既是一种课程理念,也是一种课程实施技术。它在可视化、资源整合和课程管理功能的基础上强调儿童在课程实践中的中心地位,是提升课程实施质量和儿童学习结果的重要途径。利用课程地图建设园本课程,就是要基于儿童的立场建构和实施课程,依据儿童学习规律和未来社会的发展需要促进儿童的自主学习与核心素养的形成。基于课程地图建设园本课程时,可以把民间文化和生活实践作为课程的基本内容与实施手段,通过创设自主参与的课程学习环境,支持儿童良好学习品质的发展。     

The impacts of an early mathematics curriculum on oral language and literacy

Competence in early mathematics is crucial for later school success. Although research indicates that early mathematics curricula improve children's mathematics skill, such curricula's impacts on oral language and early literacy skills are not known. This project is the first to investigate the effects of an intensive pre-kindergarten mathematics curriculum, Building Blocks, on the oral language and letter recognition of children participating in a large-scale cluster randomized trial project. Results showed no evidence that children who were taught mathematics using the curriculum performed differently than control children who received the typical district mathematics instruction on measures of letter recognition, and on two of the oral language (story retell) subtests, sentence length and inferential reasoning (emotive content). However, children in the Building Blocks group outperformed children in the control group on four oral language subtests: ability to recall key words, use of complex utterances, willingness to reproduce narratives independently, and inferential reasoning (practical content).