Louisa Kramer-Vida

Using Dialogic Reading as Professional Development to Improve Students’ English and Spanish Vocabulary

Professional development was conducted to assess the effects of dialogic reading (DR) on child outcomes related to vocabulary development in English and Spanish. Six teachers and 72 children enrolled in a state-funded public universal prekindergarten program, partnering with higher education, participated in the study. The content of the professional development consisted of research-based DR strategies and vocabulary for English-only, bilingual, and Spanish-dominant speakers. The format included in-service training workshops, consultations, and reflections within community of practice meetings. The results showed that the intervention led to an increase in vocabulary over time within and across language groups. Regardless of teacher experience and educational training, vocabulary for all prekindergarten children improved. Suggestions are offered for replicating DR techniques in early care and development settings. Findings add to the importance of providing instruction in vocabulary for low socioeconomic...

Implementing Dialogic Reading with Culturally, Linguistically Diverse Preschool Children

The purpose of this research-to-practice article is to describe dialogic reading (DR) as a professional development intervention that took place in a state-funded public universal prekindergarten program, partnering with a university. Our goals were to use a research-based literacy program to measure child outcomes related to vocabulary development in English and Spanish. Through our professional development, faculty at our university provided in-service workshops, consultations, and reflections within community of practice meetings. Children varied in their home language experiences and we used a few data sources to provide insights about childrens home language abilities. We categorized childrens language exposure as English only, bilingual, and Spanish dominant. Teachers’ fidelity of implementation of weekly DR lessons learned during in-service training was monitored by university faculty. Practical implications of the findings to replicate this research with diverse populations are provided for earl...

The effect of bilingual instruction and play on preschoolers' English proficiency

This study seeks to demonstrate the benefits of bilingual instruction, story drama, and play with low-income preschool children. Sixty-five percent of the children in the study were dual language learners (DLLs). The investigation took place in a state-funded, public, universal prekindergarten program implementing Tools of the Mind (Tools), a Vygotskian play-based curriculum. Teachers read aloud fairy tales twice a week. Children in three classrooms were exposed to one of three read-aloud conditions: English-only, bilingual and no play, or bilingual and play. The results indicated that the classroom that provided bilingual instruction and play had significantly higher English proficiency and story recall scores than either of the other two classrooms. Providing opportunities to play and reenact fairy tales seemed to have positive effects on English proficiency and story recall for low-income preschool children.

An Academic Curriculum Will Close the Academic Achievement Gap.

Abstract Americas unyielding academic achievement gap has been a national priority for a long time; yet, some schools have succeeded with academically disadvantaged youth. Usually, these institutions embrace a culture of success and follow an academic curriculum that is grounded in core knowledge and scholastic vocabulary. Academically disadvantaged students need school-wide programs that meet their distinct needs. These programs emphasize basic knowledge, grounded in contextual references. Students are taught to decode and comprehend domain specific and academic vocabulary. They learn skills and content that will help them achieve as successful adults. These schools are the antithesis of “mean streets.” They welcome disadvantaged students and provide the intellectual and emotional tools they need to thrive, while instilling self-discipline and hope in their pupils.

Teaching Vocabulary and Morphology in Intermediate Grades

Direct vocabulary instruction of Tier 2 and Tier 3 words in intermediate-grade curricula is an important tool of literacy instruction because English is a language grafted from many roots and has not developed a one-to-one phoneme–grapheme correspondence. In addition to knowing graphemes and phonemes, students must formally learn words that cross domain knowledge and introduce subject-matter concepts. Intermediate-grade teachers can deal with these curricula demands and help their students advance their reading ability and their subject learning by combining vocabulary instruction with word recognition skills and by incorporating the meaning of vocabulary words with subject knowledge. Teaching vocabulary and morphology improves students’ comprehension of text because knowledge of meaningful word components, syllabication, and academic vocabulary improves both word recognition skills and subject specific understanding. In addition, teaching content terminology and Latin and Greek stems improves students’ word recognition skills, increases students’ academic vocabulary knowledge, and helps students meet Common Core State Standards. Cloze exercises and learning opportunities that engage students in using their newly acquired vocabulary are helpful teaching techniques and support all students’ annual reading growth.

Professional Development: A Skills Approach to a Writing Workshop

In this era of globalization, students need to know how to write well. Faculty development needs to focus on assisting primary teachers as they prepare students for a twenty-first-century world. Strategic curriculum reform and professional development can be achieved by partnerships between district administrators and professional consultants. Two university professors introduced writing workshop in the classrooms of skills-oriented first grade educators. The teachers’ new methodology encouraged students to produce writing that originated from their classroom and life experiences. After the professional development, the teachers devised a month-by-month skill and genre chart to guide their instruction in the following year.