Kathleen A. Roskos

Three decades in: Priming for meta-analysis in play-literacy research

In this literature review, we examined 30 years of play-literacy inquiry through a quantitative lens in order to identify, assemble and summarize studies of sufficient methodological strength to form a corpus of research that encourages meta-analytic thinking. First, a multi-phase search of the literature was conducting yielding 192 studies that addressed pretend play and early literacy variables. Subsequent screening resulted in a total of 16 studies that met inclusion criteria, constituting a corpus of primary research that quantitatively measured play-literacy relationships in early childhood educational settings serving children ages 3—7. Next, several content analyses were used to describe and organize the corpus as a resource for meta-analytic thinking. The first round of analysis focused on developing a survey matrix that organized the particulars of individual studies into categories of information conducive to a meta-analytic approach. The second round probed for the theory of change used to explain the relations between pretend play interventions and early literacy skills. The third round entailed creating an effect size type matrix. Notably, most of the corpus studies showed modest to large effect sizes on a selected set of dependent variables which points to the potential of meta-analysis for better understanding the practical significance of the play-literacy relationship in promoting the acquisition of early literacy skills.

Prospective Teachers' Reflection: Strategies, Qualities, and Perceptions in Learning To Teach Reading.

Abstract This study examined and documented mental strategies used by prospective teachers to guide reflections on course content and teaching experiences. The 30 prospective teachers were enrolled in a literacy methods course and accompanying practicum at three university sites. Double‐entry journals and oral interviews were analyzed using open coding procedures, analytic induction, and cross‐subject pattern analysis. Across sites, prospective teachers relied primarily on directing their attention to personal experiences and values to guide their reflective work and they indicated the value of their own perspective to help them remember information and make sense of course content. Implications for instruction are drawn from an analysis of the power of personal experiences, the developmental nature of reflection, and noted tendencies to adopt new strategies as the semester progressed.

Assessment of the Design Efficacy of a Preschool Vocabulary Instruction Technique

Broad-stroke approaches to vocabulary teaching in preschool include effective instructional elements, yet may be too ill-structured to affect the vocabulary learning of children experiencing serious delays. Using a formative research approach, this study examines the design potential of a supplemental vocabulary instruction technique that incorporated research-based instructional elements into a highly structured approach. The intervention design was tested for instructional potential and delivery in 12 Early Reading First classrooms over a 3-month period, and compared to a control group of children in like classrooms on effects. Fidelity of implementation was assessed on three levels of teaching staff: coach, teacher, teacher assistant. Pre/postintervention effects were measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III) and a curriculum-based decision measure. Debriefings with teaching staff were content analyzed. Results show good fidelity of implementation across roles and strong learning outcomes; children responded well to the technique and made significant gains in their vocabulary (PPVT-III) and substantive gains in receptive and expressive vocabulary on a target set of words (curriculum-based decision measure). Additionally the technique appeared relatively easy to adopt and use routinely in the preschool setting. Although limited to an Early Reading First program setting, the design shows promise as a supplemental vocabulary instruction technique.

Young Children's Engagement With E-Books at School: Does Device Matter?

Differences between digital devices on children’s engagement with e-books are examined. The sample included 24 typical 4-year olds enrolled in Head Start. Over a 1-month period, video captures of children’s multi-sensory behaviors during shared reading at a tabletop touchscreen computer and teacher-facilitated book browsing with iPads and iPods were obtained. Data were coded on each child at 1-min intervals, examining the simultaneity of behaviors present, then aggregated to determine frequencies of each behavior by device and format. Differences between media devices on median percent of observation time were evaluated. Looking, touching, moving, and gesturing behaviors were significantly different among different devices. Large effect sizes indicated considerable variability attributable to the device. Mobiles support more looking and touching but less moving and gesturing than the tabletop touchscreen; none of the devices favored listening over another. Given the role of haptic perception in digital reading experience, access to mobiles may favor behaviors that support literacy motivation, sense of control, and interaction.

More Than Teachable Moments: Enhancing Oral Vocabulary Instruction in Your Classroom

This article describes both the benefits and the challenges of using “teachable moments” as a primary strategy for oral vocabulary instruction. It argues that children will need more intentional oral vocabulary instruction, right from the very beginning, if they are to develop the academic and content-rich vocabulary necessary to be successful in the upper grades.

Mindbrain and play-literacy connections

Research on the relationship between play and early literacy flourished in the 1990s but slowed to a trickle at the start of the new millennium. As we see it, play—literacy research is stuck in a theoretical and methodological rut. Two promising conceptual frameworks — connectionist and dynamic systems theories — can supply the thrust needed to get this important area of research moving forward again. We give examples of how Fischer’s dynamic skill theory provides analytic tools for examining data on play and literacy, including partially ordered scaling of items (POSI), dynamic modeling, and dynamic assessment. These new tools and theoretical lenses have the potential to answer the essential question: Does play make a difference in early literacy development?

Formative Assessment: Simply, No Additives.

Among the types of assessment the closest to daily reading instruction is formative assessment. In contrast to summative assessment, which occurs after instruction, formative assessment involves forming judgments frequently in the flow of instruction. Key features of formative assessment include identifying gaps between where students are and where they need to go in their reading development; creating feedback loops that provide information about changes in performance gaps; involving students in meaningful, productive self-assessment; and charting from point A to point B to shape, mold, form reading development in the desired direction. Implementation involves developing a set of basic reading activities with clear success criteria and cultivating a learning-oriented culture in the classroom where students are willing to persist at improving their knowledge and skills. Effective formative assessment in reading instruction calls for knowledgeable teachers who are willing to develop and hone their assessment skills and practices in daily reading instruction.

Effects of a brief but intensive remedial computer intervention in a sub-sample of kindergartners with early literacy delays.

Living Letters is an adaptive game designed to promote children’s combining of how the proper name sounds with their knowledge of how the name looks. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was used to experimentally test whether priming for attending to the sound-symbol relationship in the proper name can reduce the risk for developing reading problems in the first two grades of primary education. A Web-based computer program with more intensive practice than could be offered by teachers affords activities that prompt young children to pay attention to print as an object of investigation. The study focused on a sub-sample of 110 five-year-old Dutch children from 15 schools seriously delayed in code-related knowledge. Outcomes support the need for early remedial computer programs, and demonstrate that, without a brief but intensive treatment, more children from the at-risk group lack the capacity to benefit from beginning reading instruction in the early grades. With an early intervention in kindergarten, children with code-related skills delays gained about half a standard deviation on standardized tests at the end of grade 2.

Common Core, Commonplaces, and Community in Teaching Reading.

Joseph Schwab, a curriculum theorist, described four commonplaces, or universals, of teaching: content, students, milieu and teachers. This article considers how the Reading Standards of the ELA-CCSS are shaping these commonplaces in the teaching of reading. The organization of the Reading Standards, for example, focuses on two broad grade bands, K-5; 6-12 and its framework outlines curriculum content in three categories, foundations, literacy and informational reading. As a core set of expectations, the Reading Standards challenge learners of all ages and require a more participatory literacy environment. They ask more of beginning teachers who must set a brisk pace in reading instruction if students are to achieve expectations. The importance of community in building strong reading programs that meet high core standards is emphasized. New teachers are strongly encouraged to become actively involved in the implementation of core Reading Standards in their local professional communities.

Classroom Management For Achieving Readers

From the Start: The Effective Reading Teacher is a new department that addresses matters related to implementing and maintaining a successful classroom environment.