Improving the Language Skills of Pre-kindergarten Students: Preliminary Impacts of the Let’s Know! Experimental Curriculum

A Pilot Study of the Impact of Double-Dose Robust Vocabulary Instruction on Children's Vocabulary Growth

“…To compensate for the small psychometric sample, we implemented methods known to compensate for data limitations. For instance, the linear equating method for linking was implemented (Kolen & Brennan, 2004), and the Kenward-Roger approximation for the degrees of freedom (Kenward & Roger, 1997) was used in the multilevel models.…”

“…To create linkages among the pretest, posttest, and three unit measures of targeted vocabulary per grade, the linear equating method (Kolen & Brennan, 2004) for linking was used to rescale measures to their corresponding pretest score scale. First, for the three anchor item sets contained within the pretest, a check was conducted to determine whether these anchor item sets were of equal difficulty.…”

Let’s Know! Proximal Impacts on Prekindergarten through Grade 3 Students’ Comprehension-Related Skills

“…may achieve its intended purpose. Although initial, small-scale pilot testing indicated potential positive impacts for PK students (LARRC, Johanson, & Arthur, 2016), the current study expands this work to examine impacts for all grade levels targeted (PK through G3) using a randomized controlled trial. The current study also adds to the extant literature by providing insights into the extent to which these comprehension-related skills may be affected by classroom instruction during the PK and elementary years, heretofore almost exclusively examined in the later grades.…”

Inside-Outside Circle Instructional Strategies with Image Media to Enhance Children Language Skills

“…Regardless of the approach, interest in improving the oral language skills of young children stems from an established relationship between children's early language skills and future academic achievement, especially in reading comprehension. If children's language skills can be improved during the pre-K year, it stands to reason that this might have a positive effect on the children's future academic performance as a result (Johanson & Arthur, 2016).…”