Project Activities
Through ongoing collaboration with local infant-toddler programs such as Part C and Early Head Start, the MMS will be developed and tested across four phases. In Phases 1–3, the team will develop, test, and refine the system based on feedback from service providers and their families through usability and feasibility testing. In Phase 4, they will pilot test custom MODs deployed to infant-toddler agencies using a small-scale randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of the system on service providers' data-based decision-making practices and infant-toddler growth in cognitive problem-solving skills.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The research will take place in center- and home-based infant-toddler programs that serve children with identified disabilities (Part C programs) or are mandated to serve a proportion of children with disabilities (Early Head Start) in Kansas.
Sample
The target population will be center-based staff in Early Head Start or Part C programs and the infants and toddlers in their classrooms with or at risk for a disability. For usability testing, there will be an estimated 9 administrators, 16 service providers, and 6 parents. For feasibility testing, there will be an estimated 12 administrators, 18 service providers, and 18 child-parent dyads. For pilot testing, there will be an estimated 22 classrooms participating with 3 eligible children per classroom, leading to a total of 44 service providers and 66 child-parent dyads.
The MMS will be a web-based system to develop custom MODs informed by child outcome data from the Infant-Toddler IGDIs (Early Problem Solving Indicator, Early Movement Indicator, Early Communication Indicator, or Early Social Indicator) to make recommendations for intervention/curriculum decisions for individual children. These IGDIs are 6-minute play-based assessments normed for children aged 6-42 months. The recommendations provided by MODs developed through the MMS will be driven by each child's assessment scores across the sub-domains of each IGDI. For example, the EPSI sub-domains include Looking, Exploring, Functions, and Solutions. The MMS will have the ability to be customized to each agency's service-delivery model and curriculum.
Research design and methods
During the first 3 years of the project, the research team will use design-based research methods to develop and test iterations of the MMS using feedback and usability data from center-based infant-toddler staff, interventionists, administrators, and parents. During the fourth year, the team will conduct a randomized controlled trial pilot study, assigning classrooms within center-based programs to the treatment or control condition. The pilot study will focus on one domain of development – problem solving – to assess the impact of the MODs deployed through the MMS on educators' knowledge and self-efficacy in using data to make curriculum decisions, their data-based decision-making practices, and children's growth in cognitive problem solving.
Control condition
Classrooms assigned to the comparison condition will assess children's problem-solving skills quarterly with the EPSI and use their existing curriculum, similar to the experimental group; however, the control group will not have data-based decision-making support from the MOD.
Key measures
During iterative development, the research team will measure usability, feasibility, and fidelity of the system using researcher-developed surveys and direct observation protocols, including think-aloud procedures. Early educator progress monitoring and decision-making practices will be measured using the Examining Data Informing Teaching measure. Knowledge and self-efficacy of data-based decision-making practices will be measured with researcher-developed surveys. Child growth in problem solving will be measured using the EPSI. Moderators include classroom quality (measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System) and child demographics.
Data analytic strategy
Usability and feasibility data will be analyzed descriptively. The research team will address limitations on the system based on the severity, frequency, and consistency of problems encountered by users. For the randomized controlled trial, multivariate analyses and growth curve modeling will be used to examine educator outcomes and children's problem-solving skills. Cohen's d will be used to estimate the effect sizes of statistically significant differences between the experimental and comparison groups.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
Products: This project will result in a fully developed version of web-based MMS to rapidly develop and deploy MODs customized to an agency, district, or state's program based on the curriculum or services currently being used by a program. Products will also include peer-reviewed publications and presentations.
Project website:
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Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
