Join the Military Families Learning Network Early Intervention team on Wednesday, December 14 from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm ET for an interactive discussion related to the webinar Strategies to Support Families Experiencing Difficult Circumstances held on December 8. We want to hear your thoughts, opinions, and experiences related to interactions you have had with families of young children with disabilities and how those interactions strengthen the family’s ability to support their child’s learning. You can share with us verbally** or via the chat pod! (***login using a mic-enabled headset ten minutes before the session begins) Not able to attend the related webinar on December 8? No worries! We would still love to hear from you! And if you want, you can go to the archived webinar (posted by December 10) and listen to it before the Lunch & Learn. Come share your expertise and learn from others during this interactive forum. The cover image by StockSnap for this webinar is licensed CC0 Public Domain.

The early childhood education (ECE) workforce provides care and education to young children, birth to age five. Little research examines how teachers are trained to interact with and support families. Policy is identified as a way to increase qualification attainment, however, how policy may best support qualification attainment is widely unstudied. The current study seeks to fill this gap to understand how states differ in order to best support policy advancement. This involves a qualitative policy analysis using emergent techniques for all 50 states. Policies regulating ECE teacher qualification attainment, specifically mentioning family engagement are examined. Results demonstrate that policies regulating family engagement in qualification attainment for the ECE are overall, minimal. Only 30 states include mention of family engagement in policy. This research provides insight into how family engagement is supported in the workforce at a national level, and subsequently, how family engagement is supported throughout individual states.

This thesis examined the relationship between classroom quality, approaches-to-learning, and early academic skills among 384 Latino dual language learners (DLLs) enrolled in Florida Head Start programs. The children were living in low-income homes where Spanish was the primary language spoken by at least one parent. The study analyzed the extent to which approaches-to-learning behaviors moderate early literacy and numeracy skills in Head Start classrooms of varying quality. During the spring of their prek-4 year, the children were administered the English and Spanish Letter-Word Identification and Applied Problems subtests of the WJ-III (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001) and the Batería III (Muñoz-Sandoval, Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2005) Tests of Achievement. General features of classroom quality were measured using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008). Multilevel models indicated that there is a negative association between a classroom's level of emotional support and early English Literacy Skills, a positive association between Attention/Persistence Learning Behaviors and early English Literacy Skills, and a positive association between Competence Motivation Learning Behaviors and early English Numeracy Skills. Approaches-to-learning behaviors did not moderate the relationship between classroom quality and early academic skills. Results are consistent with previous research that has found that general measures of classroom quality may not capture the cultural and linguistic factors that influence a DLL's early academic skills. The current findings are consistent with previous literature on the positive influence of approaches-to-learning behaviors on early academic skills. Implications for practice include using culturally responsive teaching practices, creating a positive classroom environment, and supporting the development of Attention/Persistence and Competence Motivation Learning Behaviors. Implications for research include strengths-based research examining the promotive role of approaches-to-learning in DLL development and using culturally sensitive measures of classroom quality.

The purpose of this study was to explore Turkish kindergarten early career stage teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs towards technology and their technology integration practices in their classrooms by answering: What are self-efficacy beliefs of Turkish kindergarten early career stage teachers towards technology? How do Turkish kindergarten early career teachers integrate technology into their classrooms’ instructions? The study was designed as a qualitative multiple case study and guided by Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory and Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) TPACK conceptual framework. I conducted this study in Istanbul, where is the most crowded and metropolitan city in Turkey. The schools were chosen by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) after the permissions were received from IRB and MoNE, and the participants were assigned by the directors of schools based on research criteria. Participants were chosen purposefully, and there were four female kindergarten teachers in their early career stages, which were identified based on Steffy, Wolfe, Pasch and Enz (2000)’ stages: novice teacher and apprentice teacher, teaching five-year-old students at technologically well-equipped classrooms, and who had a bachelor’s degree in preschool teaching. Data was collected from three sessions of semi-structured interviews and two sessions of observation based on TIM-O. Data was coded and analyzed based on Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) to make sense teachers’ technology self-efficacy beliefs towards technology and Technology Integration Matrix (TIM)’s to understand their technology practice into classroom instructions.

This study compared the effects of high-tech (e.g., clickers) and low-tech (e.g., response cards) active responding strategies during whole-group English language arts in two first-grade classrooms serving students with and without disabilities. The authors combined an ABAB reversal design with an alternating treatments design to compare the impact of using high-tech (clickers) and low-tech (response cards and hand raising) modalities on academic engagement, accuracy of responding, and disruptive behavior across four teacher-nominated students in two first-grade classrooms. During baseline, the teacher conducted her lesson as planned by having the students raise his/her hand to answer questions. In the intervention phase, students alternated between using preprinted response cards and clickers each session to answer the teacher’s questions. When using the pre-printed response cards or clickers, the students were instructed to hold up the index card with the correct answer or click the correct answer on his/her remote after the teacher read the question. The results of the study indicate that both active responding strategy (ARS) modalities were equally effective in increasing student academic engagement and decreasing disruptive behavior.

Young children’s emergent literacy skills, particularly phonological awareness (PA) and alphabet knowledge (AK), are two of the strongest predictors of future reading skill. There is limited research evaluating the effectiveness of emergent literacy interventions on the dual language PA and AK skills of at-risk Latino preschoolers who are Dual Language Learners (DLLs). The bulk of existing interventions are conducted only in English. There is preliminary evidence supporting that DLL Latino children benefit from Spanish PA and AK instruction; however, few studies include preschool-aged children. This study applied a multiple probe design across units of instruction to evaluate the effects of a supplemental PA and AK intervention delivered in Spanish that explicitly teaches transfer of these skills to English. The aims of the study were to determine: 1) whether children receiving this intervention would make gains in their Spanish PA skills following the intervention; 2) whether they would apply the PA skills they learned from Spanish to English; 3) whether they would make gains in their Spanish AK skills; and lastly; 4) whether they would apply these Spanish AK skills to English. Four Latino preschoolers with limited emergent literacy skills in Spanish and English participated in this study. Bilingual researchers delivered scripted lessons targeting PA and AK skills. The results indicated that children made large gains in their Spanish PA skills and small to moderate gains in their AK skills. Children also applied the skills they learned in Spanish to English. These findings provide preliminary evidence Latino preschoolers who are DLL benefit from emergent literacy instruction that promotes their bilingual and biliterate development.

Although early mathematics instruction is predictive of future mathematics achievement, the effects of STEM-based mathematics instruction on mathematics gains in elementary school have been largely unexplored. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether mathematics scores from third grade student state-mandated standardized mathematics test differ between students who were enrolled in STEM schools and students who were enrolled in non-STEM schools in the largest school district located in a Southwestern state in the United States. Polya's problem-solving heuristics formed the theoretical framework because of their relevance to concepts on the third grade mathematics test. Two research questions focused on intraindividual changes and interindividual changes over time in standardized mathematics test scores of third grade students who were enrolled in 18 STEM and 18 non-STEM schools. Analyses included growth curve modeling and a one-way random effect ANOVA to determine individual growth trajectories of mathematics test scores from individual schools over time from 2012 through 2017. The results indicated that there were no intraindividual differences in growth over time within schools, and there were interindividual changes in growth over time between schools, but the changes could not be explained by the independent variables, STEM and non-STEM schools. Findings were not consistent with the literature, which indicated early STEM-based mathematics instruction is more beneficial than traditional instruction. This study offers implications for positive social change by demonstrating equivalent results of STEM to non-STEM instruction, which may encourage more hands-on, inquiry-based learning for all children.

No description available.

One in 4 children in the United States lives in a family impacted by the chronic, heritable disease of substance use disorder (SUD), also known as alcoholism or addiction. Recent research has demonstrated that resilience is a key protective factor against developing the disease in adolescence and adulthood and that the neurological roots of resilience lie in the child's experiences in early childhood. In spite of this, few resources related to family SUD or current models of resilience are included in preservice teacher preparation for early childhood educators. This study examined whether key components of Masten's model of resilience are found in fairytales, a form of literature commonly used in early childhood teacher preparation programs. A qualitative, descriptive, deductive content analysis was conducted on 24 fairytales from 22 different cultures, using a tool derived from Propp's morphology of fairytales and Masten's model of resilience. Results indicated that the texts of 96% of these stories contained multiple specific references to the 3 dominant evidence-based factors for resilience: attachment/relationships, initiative, and self-regulation. When broken into the 7 subcategories of these 3 protective factors, as identified by Masten, 9 fairytales contained examples of all 7 protective factors; 9 had examples of 6, and another 5 had examples of 5. The results of this study may be used to provide teacher educators with resources to better prepare preservice early childhood teachers to understand and nurture resilience in children, while addressing existing mandated learning objectives related to emergent literacy. This will benefit all children the teachers will work with, but especially those who are impacted by SUD and other forms of trauma.

In response to social trends whereby children are spending less time outside, school administrators have developed certified Nature Explore Outdoor Classrooms (NEOCs) intentionally designed to support whole-child learning within a natural environment. Despite the documented benefits of nature-based education, the literature and NEOC sites report challenges in facilitating this type of space. The purpose of this study was to investigate what prevents teachers in a certified NEOC from facilitating student/teacher engagement with the natural outdoor environment. Kolb's, Piaget's, and Vygotsky's theories of constructivism served as the study's framework to explore the problem from the teachers' perspectives. A qualitative case study was used to gain insight into the potential barriers to facilitating a NEOC. Eight teachers were recruited using purposeful sampling. Participant criteria included (a) >18 years of age, (b) >3 years early childhood teaching experience, (c) >1 year experience in selected NEOC, (d) prior NEOC training, and (e) willingness to share experiences. Data collection included classroom observation, individual interviewing, and review of relevant documents. All data were analyzed using comparative and inductive analysis and coded into 5 emergent themes. Identified barriers included teacher involvement, rules and regulations, volunteers, materials, and weather. By creating a 3-day professional development program that supports the benefits of nature-based learning environments and introduces strategies to overcome identified barriers, this study may promote positive social change in nature-based education. Children, families, and communities may expand their nature-based knowledge and interaction skills to pass to future generations.