Grant Closed

Efficacy of Read It Again! In Rural Preschool Settings

NCER
Program: Education Research Grants
Program topic(s): Early Learning Programs and Policies
Award amount: $3,073,485
Principal investigator: Laura Justice
Awardee:
Ohio State University
Year: 2008
Project type:
Efficacy
Award number: R305A080459

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to test the efficacy of a fully developed language and literacy curricular supplement for preschoolers participating in need-based programs in rural communities. Read It Again! targets a systematic and explicit progression of high-priority skills in four language/literacy domains (narrative ability, vocabulary knowledge, phonological awareness, and print knowledge). These learning domains represent high-priority instructional targets as they are consistently linked to later developments in word recognition and reading comprehension, are likely to be under-developed among at-risk pupils during the preschool years, and are amenable to improvement within the context of high-quality instruction.

Project Activities

The research team will examine the efficacy of Read It Again!, a 30-week, 60-lesson program that targets a systematic and explicit progression of high-priority skills in four language/literacy domains (narrative ability, vocabulary knowledge, phonological awareness, and print knowledge). Read It Again! was conceived for low-cost at-scale use by preschool educators working in rural settings in an iterative design process designed to bridge the research-to-practice gaps that negatively impact the scalability of many current programs into rural settings. Specifically, Read It Again! was designed for both reliability, whereby preschool educators can implement it with high fidelity regardless of background knowledge, prior educational training, and program configuration, and accessibility, whereby preschool educators can fully access the program at no cost and need few additional materials or professional development supports for its implementation.

Structured Abstract

Setting

The participating preschool programs are located in rural Appalachian communities in a four-state region.

Sample

In total, 90 preschool teachers and an estimated 450 four-year-old children within their classrooms will participate.
Intervention
Read It Again! is a 30-week, 60-lesson program that targets a systematic and explicit progression of high-priority skills in four language/literacy domains (narrative ability, vocabulary knowledge, phonological awareness, and print knowledge). Read It Again! was conceived for low-cost at-scale use by preschool educators working in rural settings.

Research design and methods

With classroom as the level of analysis, teachers are randomly assigned to one of three conditions. In the Read It Again!: Traditional Professional Development condition, 30 teachers implement Read It Again! with their pupils for 30 weeks following a traditional one-day 12-hr introductory workshop; teachers receive the Read It Again! manual containing 60 lesson plans and all instructional supplies needed to fully implement Read It Again!. In the Read It Again!: Technology-Facilitated Professional Development condition, 30 teachers adhere to the same activities as the Traditional condition but they also complete self-study video-based lessons on quality implementation (15 20-min video-based professional development lessons over 30 weeks) .

Control condition

In the comparison condition, 30 teachers implement their business as usual classroom programs and practices.

Key measures

The frequency and quality of language and literacy instruction in each classroom will be studied over the academic year using systematic observational procedures. Additionally, in the fall and spring of the preschool year and in the fall of kindergarten, five children randomly selected from each classroom complete a standardized battery of language and literacy measures to determine intervention effects. For language ability, three subtests (Sentence Structure, Word Structure, and Expressive Vocabulary) of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Preschool:2 (CELF-P:2) will be administered to children. A narrative sample of a fictional story will be elicited from each child, videotaped, and coded using the Narrative Assessment Protocol. For literacy outcomes, two subtests (Print Knowledge and Phonological Awareness) of the Test of Preschool Early Literacy (TOPEL) will be administered to participating children.

Data analytic strategy

To investigate program effects, the research team will use a variety of statistical analyses ranging from basic descriptive analyses to multi-level modeling of children's language and literacy growth over time.

People and institutions involved

IES program contact(s)

Elizabeth Albro

Elizabeth Albro

Commissioner of Education Research
NCER

Products and publications

Products: Products from this project include published reports of the efficacy of a supplemental literacy curriculum for high-risk preschoolers in rural communities.

Journal article, monograph, or newsletter

Justice, L.M., Jiang, H., Khan, K.S., and Dynia, J.M. (2017). Kindergarten Readiness Profiles of Rural, Appalachian Children From Low-Income Households. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 50, 1v14.

Khan, K.S., Purtell, K.M., Logan, J., Ansari, A., and Justice, L.M. (2017). Association Between Television Viewing and Parent-Child Reading in the Early Home Environment. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 38(7), 521-527.

Lin, T.J., Justice, L.M., Paul, N., and Mashburn, A.J. (2016). Peer Interaction in Rural Preschool Classrooms: Contributions of Children's Learning-Related Behaviors, Language and Literacy Skills, and Problem Behaviors. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 37, 106-117.

Mashburn, A., Justice, L., McGinty, A., and Slocum, L. (2016). The Impacts of a Scalable Intervention on the Language and Literacy Development of Rural Pre-Kindergartners. Applied Developmental Science, 20(1): 61-78.

Myrtil, M.J., Justice, L.M., and Jiang, H. (2019). Home-literacy Environment of Low-Income Rural Families: Association With Child- and Caregiver-Level Characteristics. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 60, 1-10.

Pentimonti, J.M., and Justice, L.M. (2010). Teachers' Use of Scaffolding Strategies During Read-Alouds in the Preschool Classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37(4): 241-248.

Pentimonti, J.M., Justice, L.M., Yeomans-Maldonado, G., McGinty, A.S., Slocum, L., and O'Connell, A. (2017). Teachers' use of High- and Low-Support Scaffolding Strategies to Differentiate Language Instruction in High-Risk/Economically Disadvantaged Settings. Journal of Early Intervention, 39(2), 125-146.

Piasta, S., Justice, L., McGinty, A., Mashburn, A., and Slocum, L. (2015). A Comprehensive Examination of Preschool Teachers' Implementation Fidelity When Using a Supplemental Language and Literacy Curriculum. Child and Youth Care Forum, 44(5): 731-755.

Rhoad-Drogalis, A., and Justice, L.M. (2018). Absenteeism in Appalachian Preschool Classrooms and Children's Academic Achievement. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 58, 1-8.

Turnbull, K., Bowles, R.P., Skibbe, L.E., Justice, L.M., and Wiggins, A.K. (2010). Theoretical Explanations for Preschoolers' Lowercase Alphabet Knowledge. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 53(6): 1757-1768.

Questions about this project?

To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.

 

Questions about this project?

To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.

 

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