eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study seeks to answer the following question: Are impacts on Head Start classroom quality associated with impacts of Head Start on children’s learning and development? This study employs a variety of descriptive and quasi-experimental methods to explore the role of classroom quality as a mediator or mechanism of Head Start impacts. This research uses data from the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS) and includes 4,440 3- and 4-year-old children who were randomly assigned off a waitlist to either receive an invitation to participate in Head Start services or to the control group. Children initially applied to 351 Head Start programs across 81 Head Start grantees. A total of 2,644 children were randomized to receive Head Start services and 1,796 were randomized to the control group. Following… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: A total of 58 preservice teachers enrolled in an elementary childhood program at Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts were surveyed before and after taking a special math, science, and social studies course called Piggybacking. This course emphasizes child-centered and cooperative learning by allowing elementary school students to choose individual preservice teachers to work with on a one-to-one basis for an entire semester. The elementary school students learn math, science, and social studies concepts, and the preservice teachers learn by observing how children think and learn. Before enrolling in the course, the preservice teachers indicated high levels of concern about innovative methods such as child-centered and cooperative learning. After the course, however, levels of concern dropped by an average of 20 percent. (MDM) Link til kilde
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: “Children’s Choices,” a project of a joint committee supported by the International Reading Association (IRA) and the Children’s Book Council, is published annually in “The Reading Teacher.” Books recommended by children are grouped by levels: Beginning Reader (ages 5-7); Young Readers (ages 8-10); and Advanced Readers (ages 11-13). Books listed at the Beginning Reader level and Young Reader level of “Children’s Choices” from 1996 through 2006 were analyzed for support of specific curriculum areas. Books related to language arts, math, social studies, and science were categorized and listed according to Louisiana content standards for prekindergarten, kindergarten, first, second, and third grade. The resulting categorized, annotated book list reflects content areas and standards, and each annotation reflects age range as indicated in “Children’s Choices.” Early childhood teachers will… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This is a record of the proceedings of the 30th annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA). The theme of the conference is “Mathematics: Essential research, essential practice.” The theme draws attention to the importance of developing and maintaining links between research and practice and ties in with the joint day of presentations with the 21st biennial conference of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT). This special feature highlights the benefits of collaboration between researchers, practicing classroom teachers, and curriculum developers. Volume 1 contains the following papers: (1) The Beginnings of MERGA (Ken Clements); (2) Teaching and Learning by Example: The Annual Clements/Foyster Lecture (Helen L. Chick); (3) Introducing Students to Data Representation and Statistics (Richard Lehrer); (4) Studies in the Zone… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This Child Development Associate (CDA) training module is intended to teach CDA interns how to provide classroom experiences that promote basic mathematics skills in preschool children. Knowledge of relationships of objects in space, grouping of objects, teaching of number names and counting, and the use of math games are discussed. The trainee is encouraged to learn how to plan and develop lessons, games, activities and environmental conditions to teach about objects and their location in space. Both teacher and trainee materials are provided in the module. Teacher materials consist of directions for pre-testing and field supervision, a resource person activity list and directions for each student activity. Trainee materials include pre- and post-tests, an activity record, a glossary, directions and 17 lessons. (Author/RH) Link til kilde
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The authors’ goal is twofold. First, they wished to produce a theoretically-based approach to this synthesis. Child-centered programs have a long history. However, concerns about children’s achievement, and the pressure of content-specific standards, have set up a perceived conflict, in which educators believe they are being asked to abandon child-centered approaches, or, at least, to compromise and squeeze in, as one teacher put it, “Literacy on Monday-Wednesday-Friday, math on Tuesday-Thursday, and socio-emotional during our shortened play periods.” They hope that their approach, if shown to be efficacious, will serve as a model that others can use to successfully and synergistically combine these strategies so the whole is more than the sum of its integrated, not conflicting, parts. Second, and more importantly, they are producing a rigorous evaluation… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study compared Chinese-American and Caucasian-American children and families in order to better understand which cultural and family characteristics, parent beliefs, and parent practices operate at the early childhood level to produce the more uniform high level of math achievement among Asian-American children. Forty second-generation Chinese-American and 40 Caucasian-American preschoolers and kindergartners from well-educated, 2-parent families were given math, name writing, visual discrimination, spatial relation, and vocabulary measures. Parents completed questionnaires, interviews, and a social behaviors checklist. The study found that Chinese-American children outperformed Caucasian-American children on measures of mathematics, spatial relations, visual discrimination, numeral formation, and name writing. Caucasian-American children had higher scores on receptive English vocabulary. Chinese-American parents indicated a stronger belief in the role of hard work and early skill development in academic achievement,… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: “Let’s Begin with the Letter People”[R] is an early education curriculum that uses 26 thematic units to develop children’s language and early literacy skills. A major focus is phonological awareness, including rhyming, word play, alliteration, and segmentation. Children are encouraged to learn as individuals, in small groups, and in a whole-class environment. Teacher resource books and a set of classroom books and other program materials are available as a program kit. Two studies of “Let’s Begin with the Letter People”[R] meet What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards and no studies meet WWC evidence standards with reservations. The two studies include children in 49 classrooms in 25 preschools in Houston, Texas, and southeastern New York State. Based on these two studies, the WWC considers the extent of evidence… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The aim of the “Tools of the Mind” prekindergarten curriculum is to enhance children’s executive function skills within an instructional context that promotes the basic academic and social skills that prepare them for kindergarten and beyond. To investigate the effectiveness of “Tools” in achieving this aim, the authors are conducting a longitudinal randomized experiment to answer the following questions: (1) Do children in “Tools of the Mind” classrooms improve more in literacy, math, social skills, and behavior problems during the preschool year than children in “business as usual” control classrooms? Are those gains sustained through kindergarten and first grade?; (2) Do children in “Tools of the Mind” classrooms show greater gains in executive function than children in the control classrooms? Do those gains mediate the curriculum effects… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: “Voices from the Field: Collaborative Innovations in Early Childhood Educator Preparation” is jointly published by the Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) and the Illinois Board of Education (IBHE), and highlights the accomplished work of many of the state’s two- and four-year faculty to redesign early childhood educator preparation programs to meet regional and state workforce needs. This edited book has chapters authored by EC faculty from both the 2-year and 4-year sectors and provides clear, tangible examples of how universities across Illinois worked together, often with regional employers, to design pathways for early childhood educators to earn the state’s industry-recognized Gateways credentials while taking college coursework leading to degrees. Each chapter has a unique focus and together, their “Voices” provide significant insight into the innovative partnerships that… Continue Reading →
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