Evidence-Based Practices for Promoting the Literacy Development of Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

Rebecca Holland-Coviello, Ph.D.

American Institutes for ResearchWashington, DC

Anya Robyak, M.Ed.

Orelena Hawks Puckett InstituteAsheville and Morganton, NC

Presentation made at the West Virginia Celebrating Connections ConferenceCharleston, West Virginia February 20, 2008

Purposes of the Presentation

• Describe the major goals of the Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL)

• Describe early literacy development in children birth to five

• Provide materials on how to implement evidence-based practices supporting the early literacy development of children with developmental delays and disabilities. 

• Discuss ways CELL Practice Guides can be disseminated and used by parents, practitioners and technical assistance providers.

The Center for Early Literacy Learning

• Funded by the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs

• Partners:• Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute www.puckett.org

• American Institutes for Research www.air.org

• PACER Center www.pacercenter.org

• AJ Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities www.uconnucedd.org

CELL website: www.earlyliteracylearning.orgWhat you’ll find there:

• CELLpapers are articles that provide background information about the conceptual frameworks used to guide Center for Early Literacy Learning activities and the results of evaluation and research studies conducted by CELL staff.

• CELLreviews are practice-based research syntheses of early communication, language, and literacy development. These syntheses involve systematic analysis and integration of small bodies of research that have investigated the same or similar practices having the same or similar outcomes.

• CELLnotes are one- to two-page summaries of the findings from practice-based research syntheses. These summaries, written in a user-friendly format, are designed specifically for practitioners and parents.

• CELL Practice guides and CELL Toolkits as they become available.

CELL Aims

• Synthesize research evidence on effective early literacy learning practices and interventions

• Develop evidence-based practices from the findings of this research

• Implement and evaluate the use of evidence-based practice guides

• Conduct general and specialized technical assistance promoting the adoption and use of evidence-based early literacy learning practices

• Phonological Awareness

• Oral Language

• Print Awareness

• Listening Comprehension

• Written Language

• Alphabet Knowledge

• Text Comprehension

Domains of Early Literacy

Alphabet Knowledge

Listening Comprehension

Oral Language

Phonological Awareness

Print Awareness

Text Comprehension

Written Language

Early Factors Influencing Literacy Learning

Literacy-RichEnvironments

InstructionalPractices

Child Interests

LiteracySkills

Cycle of Mastery

Mastery

Interest

Engagement

Competence

LiteracyActivities

Hierarchy of Early Literacy Learning Early Childhood Intervention Practices

SpecializedPractices

Instructional Practices

Literacy-Rich Learning Opportunities

Status of Early Literacy Learning Practices in Part C Early Intervention and Part B(619)

Preschool Special Education Programs

• National survey of the desired and actual use of early literacy learning practices

• Study participants

230 parents of preschool children in Part C and Part B(619) programs

508 Part C and Part B(619) practitioners

140 Part C and Part B(619) technical assistance providers/trainers

Parents

Literacy IsImportant

ECSEPractices

IEP/IFSP Objectives

PERCENT STRONGLY AGREEING WITH EACH STATEMENT

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Desired Practices Actual Practices

Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education Practitioners

Literacy IsImportant

EarlyIntervention

Practices

IEP/IFSPOutcomes

PERCENT STRONGLY AGREEING WITH EACH STATEMENT

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Desired Practices Actual Practices

Procedure forLinking Research to Practice

Practice-Based Research Syntheses

Isolating the Practice

Characteristics That Matter Most

Evidence-Based Practice Guides

Framework for DevelopingEvidence-Based Practice Guides

Print-Related Abilities

INTERVENOR

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STAGE OF LITERACY LEARNING

Linguistic Processing

Abilities

Preliteracy Emergent Literacy Early Literacy

Practitioner

Parent

CELL Practice Guide Interventions

• Promote literacy-rich learning opportunities that are contexts for skill acquisition.

• Contain the instructional practices that can be used to promote early literacy learning.

• Include adapted practices that support the literacy learning of children with disabilities or learning difficulties who require more specialized interventions.

Categorization Scheme of CELL’s Instructional Practices

Informal Formal

Implicit Instruction Explicit Instruction

Caregiver Responsiveness Contingent Responsiveness

Responsive Teaching Incidental Teaching

Response Elaboration Embedded Instruction

Imitation Modeling

Parent Scaffolding Practitioner Scaffolding

Parent-Mediated Child Learning Teacher-Mediated Child Learning

Literacy Practice Guides

• What is the practice?

• What does the practice look like?

• How do you do the practice?

• How do you know the practice worked?

What is the practice?This section gives a one- or two-sentence description of the experience or opportunity used to promote a child’s production of literacy-related behaviors or skills. It includes:

• A general statement of the practice

• A statement of the benefits of the practice

What is the practice?Age-old and well-loved fingerplays and nursery rhymes provide infants many different kinds of opportunities to hear sounds and be part of fun and enjoyable activities. The activities in this practice guide include ideas for how to introduce and use simple fingerplays and nursery rhymes with your child for her to learn sounds and become part of storytelling.

What does the practice look like?

This section paints a picture of what one would see when observing the practice being implemented.

It includes:• A description of the child’s behavior

or action• A description of the consequence(s)

of the child’s behavior or action

What does the practice look like?

Long before infants learn to say words, they use gestures and other movements to tell us what they want and what they enjoy. Infant fingerplays and simple nursery rhymes are especially enjoyable ways of adding sounds and words to movements in fun ways. Made-up fingerplays as well as many you can find on the Web by searching infant fingerplays are likely to be sure winners for your child.

How do you do the practice?

This “how to” section tells what a parent or practitioner can do to engage a child in an activity that provides a context for literacy-related behavior expression. It includes:• The child interest-based features of the practice

• The literacy-related context (environment) of the learning opportunities

• The instructional practice(s) best suited for promoting child production of literacy-related behavior

• What or how the parent or practitioner can make adaptations or accommodations (if appropriate) to the practice

How do you do the practice?This practice is simple and straightforward. Find different kinds of movements and gestures your child enjoys and incorporate short, repetitive nursery rhymes into the movements and gestures.

Start by identifying the movements and gestures your child makes in response to being touched. Does your child like to be tickled? Will your child let you put her hands together like clapping? Does your child like having raspberries blown on her tummy?

Be sure your child is in a comfortable position. Lying on her back is often best when first using fingerplays and nursery rhymes. If your child is a sitter, that position will work just as well.

Fingerplays and nursery rhymes that involve body parts are generally the easiest and best to do. Play Pat-a-Cake by gently putting your child’s hands together and saying the nursery rhyme. This Little Piggy is a good game for infants because they get to see a parent touch the child’s toes while hearing the nursery rhyme. A baby’s first fingerplays and nursery rhymes should be short and very repetitious.

How do you knowthe practice worked?

This section includes the criteria used to measure the benefits or results of using the practice guide. The outcomes are described in terms of changes in literacy-related behavior or skills.

How do you know the practice worked?

Does your child try to make any move-ments when she hears the nursery rhyme?

Does your child try to get you to play the game again?

Does she make sounds more often while hearing the rhymes?

Stage Type of Practice Guide Number

Preliteracy Print-Related 17

Linguistic Processing 14

Emergent Literacy Print-Related 7

Linguistic Processing 7

Early Literacy Print-Related 9

Linguistic Processing 8

Draft Practice GuidesDeveloped-to-Date

Practice Guide Examples• Parent/infant games

(Sure Winner Lap Games)• Scribbling for toddlers

(Get Write On It)• Oral language for toddlers

(Toddlers as Storytellers)• Computer-based literacy for

preschoolers (Wired to Read)• Alphabet toys for preschoolers

(AlphaFun)

Shared reading DVD

Scaling up CELL Practices in your program

CELL Definition of Scaling-Up

The adoption of policies, practices, and implementation strategies

that promote widespread, sustained use of evidence-based early literacy learning practices

by early childhood intervention programs and practitioners serving young children, birth to 5 years of age, and their families

to achieve outcomes that are socially and developmentally important and valued

CELL Conceptual Model for Scaling-UpV

ertic

al S

calin

g-U

p

Horizontal Scaling-Up

Local

End-Users

End-Users

End-Users

End-Users

Regional

State

National

Specialized Technical Assistance

Helps stakeholders adopt policies, practices, and implementation strategies that promote the effective and sustained use of CELL practices

• Information Sharing Communities: states share experiences, discuss needs, and explore solutions to early literacy learning challenges

• Statewide Training Assistance: individual states develop their own training programs for using CELL Toolkits and Practice Guides to improve early literacy outcomes

Building Capacityto Scale Up CELL Practices

• Vision

• Leadership Team

• Needs Assessment

• Outreach and Training

• Self-Evaluation

State Vision

What is your vision for early literacy learning in West Virginia?

• Target groups

• Goals

• Agencies involved

• Timeline

State Leadership Team

Who should be involved on a state leadership team?

• State agencies

• Programs

• Local representatives

• Parent representatives

• Others?

Your Vision

• Define target groups

• Set goals

Your Leadership Team

• Diversify: teachers, supervisors, parents...Think about funding authority, access to keygroups.

• Set up team administrative procedures• Meeting schedule• Communication • Documentation

Assessing Your Needs• Program level

• Ask staff• Ask parents• Discuss with other program site administrators/leaders

• Curriculum• Gaps: early literacy goals vs. guidance on instructional practices• Examine against WV Language and Literacy Early Learning

Standards

• Child and family needs• Child assessment data• Strengths and weaknesses• Desired goals and activities

Outreach

• Make a plan with a timeline Include follow-up and evaluation in your plan (more later)

• Share needs assessment, goals, and plan with stakeholders• Justify need• Seek input and revise plan

Consider:

• Target age/s

• Current needs• Program needs• Curricular strengths and gaps• Child and family needs in the program

Select Practice Guides

Planning for Implementation

Incorporate CELL practices into programs• Revisit needs assessment, gaps, and strengths

• Formal activities may fill gaps; informal activities may be added to enhance existing practices

• Integrate CELL practices rather than adding• Avoid piecemeal approach with other strategies, practices• Focus on enhancing rather than changing

• Increase the odds that the practices will achieve intended effects

• Increase the quality and quantity of existing practices

• Refine current practice; become more skillful

• Increase attention to “natural” formal and informal activities that make a difference

Dissemination & Training• From whom will implementers get the CELL Practice Guides?

• StaffSupervisors, literacy coaches, professional development provider

• FamiliesTeacher, parent educator, interventionist

• How will implementers get the CELL Practice Guides?

• StaffPrinted copies, electronic copies (www.earlyliteracylearning.org)

In-service training, staff meeting

• FamiliesPrinted copies, demonstration/modeling

Home visits, parent meetings/workshops

Follow-up: Ongoing

• How do staff get their questions about the practices answered?• Who follows up to answer questions and

help with problems?• When?

Staff meeting, classroom visits, newsletter

• What is the procedure for informing new staff?

Follow-up: Periodic Are the practices being implemented as intended? • Clarify and summarize issues that come up frequently

from various sources: Address them universally

• Evaluate implementation• Observe teachers/children: count frequency, practice checklist

(How do you do the practice?)• Survey staff: self report, report on families• Survey families: self report, report on providers• Child assessment

• Respond to evaluation• Further training/retraining? Change in approach with families?

Change in dissemination approach?

Follow-up: Annual• Revisit plan, timeline, and goals

• Plan a procedure and timeline for evaluating:• Progress• Achievement of goals

• Questions to consider:• Was progress timely? Why or why not?• Were goals achieved? Why or why not?• What should the next goals, plan, and timeline be?

Consider: What did we learn worked well?

What did we learn was not effective?

Thank you!

• Please fill out the evaluation! We use the data to help us improveour presentations.

• Remember, for updates on CELL, visit www.earlyliteracylearning.org

• Send any questions to Rebecca at cell@air.org