Children and Teachers Together (CHATT) is being funded through the Institute of Education Sciences - Field-Initiated Evaluations of Education Innovations (CFDA 84.305F). The research is a rigorous randomized clinical trial to test an innovative approach to improving instructional quality in the preschool classroom to promote children’s early language, literacy, and social competencies, which may in turn ease their transition to kindergarten. The implemented approach is scientifically sound and reflects the current state of scientific knowledge concerning the role of teacher responsiveness and sensitivity as a critical process in preschool education (e.g., National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network, 2000).
Sit Together and Read (STAR) is being funded through the Institute of Education Sciences. This randomized clinical trial is examining the short- and long-term effects of a 30-week book reading program conducted in 90 preK classrooms serving at-risk preschoolers. Teachers in all classrooms are provided 30 storybooks to read with their pupils either two or four times weekly; we are tracking children’s development in literacy and language over the preK year with plans for longitudinal study through first grade. We are examining not only the influence of shared-reading frequency on children’s language and literacy growth, but also quality of storybook reading and additional classroom-level characteristics as potential moderators.
The Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research (PCER) Program is a 4-year scientific evaluation of the efficacy of currently available preschool curricula. The Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has funded 12 grantees nationwide to implement and evaluate one or more preschool curricula. Each grantee will randomly assign children or classrooms to the experimental condition of the tested preschool curriculum or to a control condition using the existing classroom curriculum. Two National Coordinators were selected by IES will coordinate data collection and analysis across all grantees. As a funded grantee, Dr. Laura Justice, and the University of Virginia are evaluating the efficacy of The Language Focused Curriculum (Bunce, 1995).
ELI This randomized clinical trial is examining the effects of home-based parent-child storybook reading on the literacy development of preschoolers with language impairment. Parent-child dyads are randomly assigned to one of several conditions, and complete 48 storybook reading sessions over a 12-week period. We are investigating the effects of various approaches to storybook reading on children’s literacy gains.
