"MyTeachingPartner--Math/Science" Pre-Kindergarten Curricula and Teacher Supports: Associations with Children's Mathematics and Science Learning [MyTeachingPartner—Math/Science vs. business as usual (HighScope)]
Kinzie, Mable B.; Whittaker, Jessica Vick; Williford, Amanda P.; DeCoster, Jamie; McGuire, Patrick; Lee, Youngju; Kilday, Carolyn R. (2014). Early Childhood Research Quarterly v29 p586-599. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED577452
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examining211Students, gradePK
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: June 2022
- Practice Guide (findings for MyTeachingPartner—Math/Science)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it is a cluster randomized controlled trial with high cluster-level attrition, but the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Life Science Assessment |
MyTeachingPartner—Math/Science vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample of students in the Basic version of My TeachingPartner-Math/Science group and those in BAU group;
|
42.81 |
43.55 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 49%
Male: 52% -
Urban
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Race Black 67% Other or unknown 8% White 25%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in 16 full-day preschools in a single school district that served low-income families living in a large mid-Atlantic city. The study’s authors state that two of the preschools were subsequently dropped from the study due to lack of posttest data, thus leaving the total at 14 schools. A majority of the children were from low-income families, and the study operated within Title I schools, but specific percentages of free/reduced priced lunch are not provided.
Study sample
Students were excluded from the study if they were reported by their teachers to have an individualized education plan (IEP) for severe developmental delay or learning disorder or limited English proficiency. The weighted average of students in the intervention and the comparison conditions included 66.7% Black, 24.9% White, and 8.4% Other.
Intervention Group
The MyTeachingPartner-Mathematics/Science (MTP-M/S) curricula includes 66 activities. Each activity lasts about 15–20 minutes and can be delivered in either a whole-group or small-group format. In this study, intervention was delivered in whole-group format. Two activities are completed each week, for 33 weeks across the school year. MyTeachingPartner-Math/Science are curricula for pre-kindergarten instruction that make use of student-centered, structured inquiry in math and science. Topics addressed in the curricula include numbers, operations, geometry, measurement, life science, earth science, and physical science. Teachers were expected to offer two activities each week from the MyTeachingPartner-Math curriculum and two activities from the MyTeachingPartner-Science curriculum. Classroom activities were supplemented with activity manipulatives and with preschool-appropriate books that highlighted math and science topics.
Comparison Group
The teachers in the comparison group of schools followed business-as-usual (BAU) by using the district’s regular curriculum—HighScope.
Support for implementation
The intervention group received the MTP-M/S curricula and the teaching materials needed to implement the activities. The teaching materials provided strategies and models for teacher open-ended questions, activity scripts, activity extensions, and strategies to differentiate activities for different student ability levels.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).