Playing with Print? An Investigation of Literacy Indicators in Children’s Museums

The purpose of this study was to evaluate literacy indicators in ten members of the Association of Children\u27s Museums in eight states. The Museum Inventory of Literacy Indicators was used to assess factors across four areas -- Books and Other Reading Materials; Writing Materials; Signs, Labels, and Directions; and Print Integration – with 20 as the highest possible average. Area averages for quality (6.00 - 15.99) and quantity (6.00 - 15.74) were similar. Most museums concentrated their literacy efforts in a single area rather than considering the potential for facilitating literacy acquisition comprehensively, which could provide improved educational encounters for patrons

Common Core State Standards and Text Complexity: An Invitation to Learn Language in STEM Disciplines using a Range of Quality Literature

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) emphasize literacy learning within history/social studies, science, and technical subjects making students’ reading, writing, and language development every teacher’s concern, regardless of the discipline being taught. Books related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) can enhance students’ knowledge of key terms and concepts as they are revealed in authentic contexts. Students who often struggle harder to understand advanced vocabulary embedded in stories or in difficult, yet interestingly presented nonfiction gain an increased print vocabulary by reading quality STEM-aligned literature selections that exhibit the characteristics of complexity and richness of language advocated by CCSS. Effectively pre-teaching vocabulary and scaffolding students’ use of self-regulation strategies to discover word meanings will increase comprehension and content literacy as well as content learning

An Investigation of Prekindergarten Teachers’ Read Aloud Choices

The value of children’s literature as a tool for promoting literacy, improving content knowledge, and increasing print motivation is evident. Empirical evidence relating to the types of books early childhood teachers read aloud and the reasons for their choices, however, does not exist. The purpose of this descriptive study was to provide current, in-depth documentation of the read-aloud book choices of prekindergarten teachers (n=151) in a nationally recognized, state-wide program regarding the variables of genre, publication date, and diversity along with the teachers’ rationale for selecting the books. Responses to two open-ended questions inspired by Yopp and Yopp (2006) were analyzed thematically and compared with research-based recommendations for best practices. Books read aloud were quite homogenous, including mostly recently published examples of contemporary realistic fiction or folklore with almost no multicultural or award-winning books present. The findings highlight the importance of increasing early childhood teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature and the implications of book choice on children’s development and learning

The Nitty, Gritty of Sand Play

According to Maria Montessori, “There is only one substance that the modern child is allowed to handle quite freely, and that is sand” (Montessori, 1967, p. 168). Sand is accessible throughout the world and is one of the few granular materials that does not readily decompose. As an open-ended, sensory motor activity, sand play is highly compatible with the explorative, imaginative nature of young children and well-suited for promoting the fun and expansive learning that embodies childhood

Preparing Elementary Educators to Teach Reading: An Exploratory Study of Preservice Teachers’ Evolving Sense of Reading Efficacy

Teacher educators must acknowledge and consider the nature of reading efficacy and its developmental progression if they are to design and deliver programs that produce individuals moving toward being competent and confident teachers of reading. Ninety-two candidates in varying stages of a K-6 teacher education program responded to the Reading Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale. Data analysis using ANOVA and Fisher’s LSD post-hoc comparisons revealed student teachers (Tier 4) had higher overall perceived reading teacher efficacy (M = 131.96, SD = 12.45) than those in the first semester methodology courses (Tier 2) (M = 117.68, SD = 16.43), p = .001 and the second semester of methodology courses (Tier 3) (M = 121.52, SD = 13.61), p = .005. Additionally, Tier 4 preservice teachers had significantly higher perceived reading teacher efficacy than those in both Tier 2 and Tier 3 for 9 individual scale items (p\u3c .05). The perceived increased efficacy is largely credited to positive mastery experiences during the final internship semester

Prepared to Respond? Investigating Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of their Readiness for Culturally Responsive Teaching

Increasing cultural diversity in American schools has made preparing graduates to work with diverse learners an essential goal of teacher education programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of elementary (K-6) undergraduate preservice teachers (n=36) in a dual certification program regarding their personal and professional readiness for culturally responsive teaching. Data collected using the Cultural Responsive Teaching Readiness Scale (Karatas & Oral, 2017) revealed relatively high mean overall with little variation (M = 4.25, SD = 0.18) with a statistically significant difference (t (33) = 18.65, p \u3c .001) between Personal Readiness (M = 4.46) and Professional Readiness (M = 3.98). Participants seemed to perceive classroom practice as influential in terms of their cultural awareness, thus, indicating the importance of partnerships with area schools and districts to ensure effective field experiences for preparing teachers for sustained employment in culturally and linguistically diverse settings

Pre-Kindergarten Teachers’ Perceptions of Social and Emotional Learning

Recognition of social and emotional learning (SEL), as an essential educational component, has increased in recent years, and early childhood educators’ perceptions of SEL are likely to impact the delivery, evaluation, and outcomes of SEL opportunities for young children. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate SEL perceptions of prekindergarten teachers in an American urban, public preschool serving predominantly Black students. Participant (n=22) responses to the Teacher Social and Emotional Learning Beliefs Scale (Brackett et al., 2012) were used to calculate mean scores for the domains of comfort, commitment, and culture, which wereanalyzed in relationship to the independent variables of teacher position (lead or auxiliary), level of education (associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or graduate degree), and years of prekindergarten teaching experience (0-20 years and more than 20 years). While results were statistically non-significant, findings of the current pilot study have important and practical implications for implementing SEL in prekindergarten. Auxiliary teachers scored slightly lower in commitment and comfort domain than lead teachers, and teachers with a bachelor’s degree scored highest on the comfort domain. Interestingly, experienced teachers (more than 20 years) did not show a notable difference from those who have been teaching prekindergarten for much less time. Findings suggest that regardless of position and educational level, both veteran and novice early childhood teachers could benefit from explicit SEL training and adequate time and opportunity to become confident in providing effective social and emotional learning in their early childhood classrooms. Further research is needed to examine the effects of SEL training and coaching for prekindergarten teachers on the SEL of young children

An Investigation of Three Approaches to Vocabulary Learning in High School Spanish Classes

Three vocabulary learning approaches -- rote memorization; Cover, Copy, Compare (CCC); and Cover, Copy, Compare Adapted with picture (CCCA) – were examined for effectiveness in promoting long-term memory retention for productive vocabulary in foreign language learning. Pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest data were collected using Conjuguemos, an on-line Spanish program. Results indicated a significant increase in mean scores with each assessment for all treatments; however, there was no significant difference in recall among the three learning approaches. Students were also surveyed about their preferences in approaches. Although survey responses indicated a preference for CCC, most students reported abandoning use of this method after six months