Hemispheric object naming and interhemispheric transfer functions in reading disordered subjects

This study measured unilateral, tachistoscopic naming reaction times of normal and reading disordered children to objects representing two levels of picture vocabulary age. Results of an ANCOVA procedure on the latency data showed main effects for group and stimuli, but not visual field. The latency results suggested parallel, central picture naming operations for each group, with the reading disordered children evidencing significantly longer naming reaction times to each level of stimuli. Arc Sine transformed error data were submitted to an analysis of co-variance procedure and showed a significant stimuli x group interaction. Post hoc tests showed accelerated error rates following right hemispheric stimulation, suggesting anomalous interhemispheric transfer of visual images in the present group of reading disordered children. In addition, left hemispheric stimulations produced significantly more naming errors for the reading disordered subjects as compared to the normal children. Such findings may suggest that a group of higher-ordered processing operations may accompany reading disorders.     

Preschool teachers’ literal and inferential questions and children's responses during whole-class shared reading

This study examined the extent to which preschool teachers used literal and inferential questions during classroom-based shared reading. Specific foci included (a) investigating the association among the level of literal or inferential language in the text, teachers’ text-related questions, and children's responses using sequential analysis, and (b) examining the relation between teachers’ inferential questioning and children's vocabulary outcomes. Participants included 25 preschool teachers and 159 four-year-old children. Teachers videotaped their whole-class shared reading of an informational narrative text. Teachers and children's extratextual talk was analyzed and children completed standardized vocabulary assessments in fall and spring of the academic year. When reading this informational narrative text, teachers posed, on average, slightly more inferential questions than literal questions. Significant sequential associations were observed between the level of teachers’ questions and child responses, with inferential questions consistently eliciting inferential child responses. Few characteristics of teachers’ questions were associated with children's vocabulary outcomes. Results suggest that preschool teachers can use inferential questioning to encourage children to participate in conversation at complex, inferential levels; informational texts appear to provide a successful context for this inferential discourse. Implications for teachers and allied professionals are discussed.     

A standardized tool for assessing the quality of classroom-based shared reading: Systematic Assessment of Book Reading (SABR)

Participation in shared-reading experiences is associated with children's language and literacy outcomes, yet few standardized assessments of shared-reading quality exist. The purpose of this study was to describe the psychometric characteristics of the Systematic Assessment of Book Reading (SABR), an observational tool designed to characterize the quality of classroom-based shared-reading sessions in early childhood settings. Participants included 105 preschool teachers. The quality of teachers’ videotaped, whole-class shared-reading sessions was examined using the SABR. Reliability levels for each of the SABRs five constructs were examined, as well as delayed alternate-form reliability and inter-rater reliability. The tools’ factor structure and construct validity were also assessed. Findings provide initial validation and preliminary evidence that the SABR is a reliable and valid tool. Potential uses for early childhood researchers, teachers, and allied professionals are described.     

Relations among home literacy environment,child characteristics and print knowledge for preschool children with language impairment

To contribute to the modest body of work examining the home literacy environment (HLE) and emergent literacy outcomes for children with disabilities, this study addressed two aims: (a) to determine the unique contributions of the HLE on print knowledge of preschool children with language impairment and (b) to identify whether specific child characteristics (oral language ability, print interest) moderated these relations. The sample consisted of 119 preschool children with language impairment. HLE was conceptualised as frequency of storybook reading and literacy teaching during book reading. Frequency of storybook reading was a unique predictor of print knowledge, which is consistent with research on children with typical language. Literacy teaching did not predict print knowledge, which diverges from research on children with typical language. No interactions between the HLE and child characteristics were significant, but language ability and print interest play a role in understanding individual differences in literacy development.     

Validity of the children's orientation to book reading rating scale

The present study investigates the validity of a 4‐point rating scale used to measure the level of preschool children's orientation to literacy during shared book reading. Validity was explored by (a) comparing the children's level of literacy orientation as measured with the Children's Orientation to Book Reading Rating Scale (COB) with a teacher's rating of a child's level of attention and effortful control on the Children's Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ), and (b) computing the predictive validity of a child's COB rating with overall levels of emergent literacy at the end of the preschool school year. This study involved 46 preschool children from low‐income backgrounds; children's literacy orientation was rated during a group teacher‐led book reading. Children's ratings of literacy orientation during shared book reading using the global 4‐point COB scale were significantly correlated with teacher ratings of a child's attention and effortful control as measured on the CBQ. Hierarchical regression results indicated children's literacy orientation significantly predicted children's end‐of‐year alphabet knowledge and overall emergent reading skills above and beyond the variance contributed by children's language skills and family income. The validity of a global rating for indexing children's level of literacy orientation was supported. Educational implications and recommendations for the COB as a component of early literacy assessment are discussed.     

The literacy environment of preschool classrooms: contributions to children's emergent literacy growth

This study examined the relations among features of the classroom physical literacy environment (book materials, literacy area and writing materials) and psychological literacy environment (instructional support), and preschool children's gains in two areas of emergent literacy over an academic year. Results showed that features of the physical literacy environment had little direct association with children's gains in emergent literacy, with the exception of quality of literacy area being a positive and significant predictor of children's gains in alphabet knowledge (but not name‐writing ability). Rather, the physical and psychological literacy environment seem to be interdependent, particularly with respect to provision of writing materials. Specifically, presence of writing materials is positively and significantly associated with children's growth in alphabet knowledge and name‐writing ability only within the context of high‐quality, instructionally supportive classrooms. Educational implications are discussed.     

Preschool Teachers' Sense of Community,Instructional Quality,and Children's Language and Literacy Gains

Research Findings: This study investigated relations among preschool teachers' (n = 75) sense of community, classroom language and literacy instructional quality, and children's (n = 398) gains in vocabulary and print concept knowledge during an academic year. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results indicated that teachers' language and literacy instructional quality significantly predicted children's gains in print concept knowledge. Also, HLM results revealed significant interactions among teachers' sense of community, language and literacy instructional quality, and vocabulary and print concept knowledge gains. Higher levels of teachers' sense of community were associated with greater gains in children's vocabulary and print concept knowledge when children were in classrooms with higher quality language and literacy instruction. Practice or Policy: Findings underscore the importance of evaluating both language and literacy instructional quality and teachers' sense of community when considering high-quality preschool education.     

Does intensity matter? Preschoolers’ print knowledge development within a classroom-based intervention

The present study examined the extent to which two dimensions of intervention intensity, (dose frequency and dose) of a 30-week print-referencing intervention related to the print knowledge development of 367 randomly selected children from 55 preschool classrooms. Dose frequency refers to the number of intervention sessions implemented per week; teachers were randomly assigned to either the high-dose frequency condition (four intervention sessions per week) or the low-dose frequency condition (two intervention sessions per week). Dose refers to number of print-referencing teaching strategies used per intervention session and was a naturally varying variable across classrooms. Structural models of children's spring print knowledge showed a significant interaction of dose and dose frequency in relation to children's outcomes. Follow-up analyses showed that the benefit of providing four versus two print-referencing sessions per week disappeared when teachers were providing a relatively intense number teaching strategies within sessions (i.e., the dose was high). Considered differently, findings also show that increasing the number of print referencing teaching strategies within a session (i.e., the dose) related positively to children's print knowledge development, but only when the weekly number of intervention sessions were low (i.e., two intervention sessions weekly). Overall, findings show that there is a benefit to increasing the dose or dose frequency of the print referencing intervention, but increasing both aspects of intervention intensity appeared to have a diminishing benefit to children's learning. Findings empirically support the multi-dimensional nature of intervention intensity and implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Text features and preschool teachers’ use of print referencing

Storybook features, such as linguistic richness and print salience, potentially influence how a teacher references print. This study addressed two research questions: (1) to what extent does the linguistic richness and print salience of children's storybooks relate to teachers’ use of print referencing? and (2) to what extent is there an interplay between storybooks’ linguistic richness and print salience when predicting teachers’ use of print referencing? Fifty‐seven teachers participated in a whole‐group read‐aloud intervention while including print‐referencing behaviours. Researchers analysed teacher videos in order to (1) document teachers’ use of print referencing and (2) document the storybook's linguistic features and print salience. Results indicated that print salience is highly positively related to teachers’ use of print referencing. Also, the constructs of Print Salience Metric (PSM) and total words predicted teachers’ use of print referencing, and the interaction between PSM and mean length of sentence was significant for storybooks with moderate and high PSM scores.     

Relations among preschool teachers' self-efficacy,classroom quality,and children's language and literacy gains

This study examined the relations among preschool teachers' self-efficacy (n = 67), classroom quality (instructional and emotional support), and children's (n = 328) gains in print awareness and vocabulary knowledge over an academic year in the US. Results indicated that teachers' self-efficacy and classroom quality served as significant and positive predictors of children's gains in print awareness but not vocabulary knowledge. However, results also showed a significant interaction among teachers' self-efficacy, classroom quality, and vocabulary gains: for children of teachers with higher levels of self-efficacy, higher levels of classroom quality (emotional support) were associated with higher vocabulary gains.