Ongoing Staff Development in a Pre-K Literacy Project: A Model for Collaboration

1. Ongoing Staff Development in a Pre-K Literacy Project: A Model for School and Community Collaboration Priscilla Griffith Belinda Biscoe Patricia Winters University of Oklahoma Debra Corey Ruth Ann Ball Susan Kimmel

2. United States Department of Education Early Literacy First Grant • Focus: Pre-K 3 and 4 year olds • Purpose: • Create early childhood centers of excellence • Prepare young children to enter kindergarten with necessary skills to ensure school success

3. Oklahoma P.R.I.D.E.Preparing Readers and Initiating Developmental Excellence • Create language and literacy rich classroom environments • Integrate curriculum, activities and materials into classrooms and family literacy practices • Assess literacy learning • Build partnerships to support the transition of all children into formal classroom instruction • Support family literacy • Provide research-based sustained professional development

4. Training Effectiveness*The degree of proficiency attained in knowledge, skills, and application. Mid High Low Very Low High Low Middle Very Low High High Very Low High High High *From Bruce Joyce and Beverly Showers

5. Research-Based Sustained Professional Development • Formal study • Oriented towards improvements in curriculum and instruction • Continuous examination of student learning • Coaching with theory, practice, and demonstration are necessary for classroom implementation Joyce and Showers, 2002

6. Our Schools

7. Our Children - Language

8. Our Children - Age

9. Our Families

11. Project Development • Year One • Physical transformation of classrooms • Initiated literacy classes • Learning to mentor • Year Two • Implemented spiral curriculum of literacy classes • Learning to develop portfolios • Year Three • Focus on examining student work to plan instruction

12. Three C’s of Professional Development • Community • Professional development classes • Examine student learning • Curriculum Content: Assessment and Instruction of Oklahoma P.R.I.D.E Benchmarks • Oral language • Phonological awareness • Print concepts • Alphabet knowledge and writing • Listening comprehension • Coaching • Implementing instructional strategies

13. Structure of Professional Development Classes • Two groups: certified and non-certified teachers • Classes off campus • Classes two times each month for 3 hours • Literacy instructor • Literacy mentors attend

14. Content of Professional Development Classes • Portfolios and Assessment • Observations and Anecdotal Notes • Oklahoma PRIDE Literacy Benchmarks • Oral Language • Phonological Awareness • Environment/Classroom Management • At-Risk Child Language Development • Alphabet Knowledge • Comprehension • Concepts of Print • Teacher-Child Interactions • Home Visits • Family Literacy Nights • Door to Discovery Curriculum

15. Project Evaluation • Classrooms • Before and after photos • Teachers • Concept Maps • ELLCO: Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation • Focus Groups • Students • TELD: Test of Early Language Development • PALS: Phonological Assessment Literacy Screening • Parents • Literacy Activities Survey

16. Changing the Physical Environment

17. Transforming a disorganized environment

19. Setting up Centers Dramatic Play Writing Library

20. Concept Maps • Voltz, 2004 (Action in Teacher Education, v. 27 # 3) • Rated maps for variation and quantity • Variation = number of categories represented in the map • Quantity = total number of ideas

21. Concept Maps Early Literacy

23. Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation • Literacy Environment Checklist • Book Use and Availability - 20 points • Writing Materials and Display – 21 points • Classroom Observation Protocol • General Classroom Environment – 30 points • Language and Literacy Curriculum – 40 points • Literacy Activity Rating Scale • Book reading – 8 points • Writing – 5 points

24. ELLCO

25. Focus Groups • Accomplishments • Professional growth • Focus of the program on their roles as professionals – before the program Pre-K teachers were “considered by some to be babysitters but now they were using research-based teaching principles that can be measured and validated” • Provided roadmap for meeting state standards

26. Benefits • Access to resources/research-based, developmentally appropriate instructional strategies • Mentor support • Professional development classes • Progress of children • Credit towards CDA • Interact with other teachers • Peer support • Opportunity to attend professional conferences

27. Challenges/Concerns • Letting go of old curriculum and ways • Over-emphasizing literacy • Leaving their assistant alone with their class in order to attend professional development classes • Having resources to sustain parent activity component after the Oklahoma PRIDE program ends • More modeling of different types of classroom instruction by their mentor

28. TELD • TELD: Test of Early Language Development • Administered in English only • Not normed on our population • Assesses English language learning children need for initial success in school

29. PALS/AMIGOS • Rhyme Awareness • Beginning Sound • Upper-Case Alphabet • Lower-Case Alphabet • Verbal memory • Print Knowledge • Concept of Word • Name Writing

30. PALS/AMIGOS Results • All scores for both groups (PRIDE and Comparison) were significantly different from pre-test to post-test. • There was a statistically significant difference between groups on rhyme awareness.

31. Literacy Activities Survey

33. OBSERVATION PLANNING REFLECTION STAFF DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT INSTRUCTION The Continuous, Recursive, and Interactive Process of Progress Monitoring

34. Oklahoma P.R.I.D.E. Progress-Monitoring Plan

39. Thank you for attending our presentation.Questions? Pgriffith@ou.edu Bpbiscoe@ou.edu Pwinters@ou.edu