Teaching Together: Pilot study of a tiered language and literacy intervention with Head Start teachers and linguistically diverse families

Zucker, Tricia A.; Cabell, Sonia Q.; Petscher, Yaacov; Mui, Heather Z.; Landry, Susan H.; Tock, Jamie L.

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.09.001

Cited by 14 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Adherence and dosage represent structural fidelity features -linked to the structure of the curriculum -whereas responsiveness and quality represent process fidelity (Hill & Erickson, 2019). Our initial Developing Talkers studies reported adherence, dosage, and teacher responsiveness (Zucker, Cabell et al, 2021;Zucker, Carlo et al, in press). Adherence refers to the level to which teachers deliver a curriculum following the guidelines.…”

Section: Teacher Fidelity Of Implementing Curriculamentioning

confidence: 97%

“…A series of past-randomized-controlled trials examined the impact of a supplemental curricula, Developing Talkers, designed for use in pre-k and kindergarten classrooms (Zucker, Cabell et al, 2021;Zucker, Carlo et al, in press). The curriculum targets academic language skills that include the ability to use sophisticated vocabulary and inferential language, representing formal language registers privileged in school and textbooks (Foorman et al, 2016).…”

Section: Focal Curricular Intervention and Implementation Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring Barriers to Early Childhood Teachers’ Implementation of a Supplemental Academic Language Curriculum

Zucker

Jacbos

Cabell

2021

Early Education and Development

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Research Findings: This study used the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to examine barriers to teachersâ€™ implementation of a supplemental academic language curricula. Despite high satisfaction with this scripted curriculum, three past studies indicated heterogeneity in teachersâ€™ fidelity of implementing the curriculum as well as difficulty going off script. Thus, our goal was to identify barriers to fidelity of implementation and map these onto possible behavior change techniques. Participants included 175 teachers from pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms. We used mixedmethod approaches that included surveys, focus groups, and interviews with teachers and their coaches. The most salient barriers to fidelitious implementation were: competing priorities for instructional time as well as limited teacher knowledge and skills. For some teachers, other barriers included difficulty changing habits, challenges with memory and attention processes, or lack of fit when the curriculum was used with populations beyond the designed scope. Practice or Policy: To understand why teachers may not consistently implement evidence-based curricula with fidelity, we explain steps other education researchers can use to apply the TDF and insights from the field of implementation sciences. We provide sample TDF survey questions and suggestions to help educators and researchers systematically revise the theory of change for curricular interventions.Increasingly, experts argue that curricula are one potentially effective method for education reform (Chingos & Whitehurst, 2012;Whitehurst, 2009). However, when evidence-based curricula are provided, teachers do not always implement curricula in their classrooms as intended (Clements, 2007;Justice et al., 2009;Piasta et al., 2015). That is, there is either a gap between what curriculum developers intend and what classroom teachers actually execute with students (Mihalic et al., 2004) or there are individual or school factors that influence implementation (Domitrovich et al., 2015;Ransford et al., 2009). This is typically conceptualized as fidelity of implementation (FOI; Dane & Schneider, 1998;Dusenbury et al., 2003), meaning the extent to which an intervention is implemented in accordance with the original program design (O'Donnell, 2008). It is imperative that researchers study factors that influence FOI, as multiple studies have found better child outcomes when their teachers implemented evidence-based curricula with higher fidelity (

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Section: Teacher Fidelity Of Implementing Curriculamentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Focal Curricular Intervention and Implementation Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Barriers to Early Childhood Teachers’ Implementation of a Supplemental Academic Language Curriculum

Zucker

Jacbos

Cabell

2021

Early Education and Development

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Original definition Coach feedback Likewise, another prekindergarten teacher, Mr. Tompkin, used a superhero-themed stick puppet named PJ Pig who wanted to fill his "word bank" because his "word power" was his superpower. Children put a penny in a piggy bank each time they used an amazing word (Zucker et al, 2020). An advanced tracking system Ms. Asher used when studying baby animals (e.g., mice and rabbits) not only included stickers to collect word nuts for Scout the squirrel but also served as a visual word web.…”

Section: Vocabulary Wordmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, we originally developed English and Spanish versions of a vocabulary curriculum called Developing Talkers and Hablemos Juntos, respectively, to be used in a statewide preschool professional development program in Texas (Zucker et al, 2019; Zucker, Solari, Landry, White, et al, 2013). We have further studied this curriculum in other contexts (e.g., Zucker, Carlo, Montroy, & Landry, 2018; Zucker et al, 2020). This curriculum provides both professional development and supplemental lessons to support teachers in more effective vocabulary instruction.…”

Section: Putting It Together: Improving the Quantity And Quality Of Vmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this article, we explain why early vocabulary development is critical to later reading success and describe strategies for high‐quality vocabulary instruction. Throughout, we share examples of effective vocabulary instruction observed through our research in early childhood classrooms (e.g., Zucker et al, 2019, 2020). We conclude with evidence that early childhood teachers can improve both the quantity and the quality of their academic vocabulary instruction with these instructional strategies.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Going Nuts for Words: Recommendations for Teaching Young Students Academic Vocabulary

Zucker¹,

Cabell²,

Pico³

2021

The Reading Teacher

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Teachers of young children can consider how to directly teach academic vocabulary and motivate their prekindergarten to grade 1 students to be interested in using these words. A Comprehensive Vocabulary Approach What does a complete vocabulary program for young children include? Graves, Schneider, and Ringstaff (2018) have long argued that a comprehensive vocabulary program for in upper elementary includes four components: wide reading, direct instruction for

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Research to practice to research: Examining who, how, what, when, and where for early literacy interventions within tiered frameworks

Stuckey

Albritton

Cruz

2022

Psychology in the Schools

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Tiered frameworks, such as Response to Intervention (RtI), have become a primary approach within K‐12 settings for identifying children who may need additional intervention. Recent literature suggests RtI is also occurring in many early childhood programs, and early literacy is often an area of focus. While there are data indicating improved outcomes for children who received early literacy intervention, we had many unanswered questions regarding the characteristics of early literacy interventions implemented with young children within RtI frameworks. Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analyses guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to understand who the studies were about, how the researchers identified children in need of higher tiers of support, what content was emphasized through which intervention methods, and where and when the interventions occurred. Our findings indicate that intervention studies overwhelmingly occurred with young children from racially and ethnically minoritized communities and economically marginalized backgrounds. Interventions focused on early literacy skill areas related to later reading achievement and were often delivered by members of research teams. We discuss implications for practitioners striving to implement research‐based interventions in their classrooms. We also discuss implications for researchers seeking to design and implement early literacy intervention studies with practical applicability.

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Teaching Together: Pilot study of a tiered language and literacy intervention with Head Start teachers and linguistically diverse families

Cited by 14 publications

References 75 publications

Exploring Barriers to Early Childhood Teachers’ Implementation of a Supplemental Academic Language Curriculum

Exploring Barriers to Early Childhood Teachers’ Implementation of a Supplemental Academic Language Curriculum

Going Nuts for Words: Recommendations for Teaching Young Students Academic Vocabulary

Research to practice to research: Examining who, how, what, when, and where for early literacy interventions within tiered frameworks

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