Transcript Bridging the Word Gap Research Network

“Bathing” the Most Vulnerable Children
in Language: Closing the Word Gap
Carol M. Trivette, PhD
2015 National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute,
Chapel Hill, NC
May 13, 2015
Topics
• Who is here today
• What is the Word Gap
• What is the “Bridging the Word Gap: National
Research Network”
• Is it still an issue
• Strategies that help
• What next
What is the “Word Gap”
Betty Hart and Todd Risley - 1980’s
Both worked in preschool programs designed to
boost the language skills of preschoolers from lowincome families and were not happy with their
results
Decided to study the differences and similarities of
what language was found
in families from difference
socio-economic back ground
The Study
• Recruited 13 families from upper or
“professional” class, 10 families from middle
class, and 6 families on welfare
• All had a baby between 7 and 12 months old
• Next 2 ½ years observed and video typed each
family monthly
• Analyzed 1,300 hours of causal interactions
between parent and their young children
Study Results Similarities
• All families “disciplined their children and
taught manners”
• All taught them “how to dress and toilet
themselves”
• All showed “their children affection”
• Said things like “Don’t jump on the couch” and
“Use a spoon” and “Do you have to go potty?”
Study Results - Differences
Average number of words heard in 1 hour
Professional families – 2,150
Working class families – 1,250
Welfare families – 620
The more parents talked to their children, the faster
the children’s vocabularies grew and the higher
children’s IQ scores at 3 years of age.
(Hart & Risley,1995 Brookes)
Affirmations and Prohibitions
Affirmations – compliments (Good job) and
responses in which parents repeated what the child
said and built on it (Yes it is a bunny and it is eating
a carrot).
More affluent families - 32 affirmations and 5
prohibitions in 1 hour - ratio 6 to 1
Working class families – 12 affirmations and 7
prohibitions in 1 hour –
Welfare families – 5 affirmations and 11
prohibitions
What is the Bridging the
Word Gap Network
A collaboration of nationally recognized
researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and
funders joined together to develop and push
forward a coordinated national research agenda
to develop individual, community and populationbased interventions that address the word gap
experienced by young children in poverty
Why the time is right to bridge
research and practice
• Research has provided an
understanding of the
Word Gap and its
consequences.
• Communities have begun
area-wide campaigns to
spread the word.
(Providence Talks, RI)
• Public officials are
speaking out.
• Interventions aimed at
families and caregivers
have been demonstrated.
Network made up of 6
Workgroups
1. Designing and evaluating interventions for parents (Ann Kaiser)
2. Designing and evaluating interventions for non-parental
caregivers and child care (Dale Walker)
3. Mode of delivery of training for intervention (Howard
Goldstein)
4. Contextual factors affecting parent engagement and
caregivers’ ability to implement interventions (Judy Carta &
Megan Bair-Merritt)
5. Designing and evaluating population-level and communitylevel interventions (Scott McConnell & Dana Suskind)
6. Examining available analytic methods, designs and
measurement approaches (Charles Greenwood & Peg
Burchinal)
We need to finally “move the needle” on
this word gap problem.
• Many, many children are still being left
behind 30 years after Hart and Risley started
their work.
• Let me tell you two stories.
And Still a Struggle
• #4 - Even Today
• # 1 – Were there things that helped when you
were a child? :35 – 1:25
• #2 - How can “we” help?1:12
• #3 – How can the community help? 1:26
DEC Recommended Practices
Interaction Practices
INT1. Practitioners promote the child’s social-emotional development
by observing, interpreting, and responding contingently to the range
of the child’s emotional expressions.
INT2. Practitioners promote the child’s social development by
encouraging the child to initiate or sustain positive interactions with
other children and adults during routines and activities through
modeling, teaching, feedback, or other types of guided support.
INT3. Practitioners promote the child’s communication development
by observing, interpreting, responding contingently, and providing
natural consequences for the child's verbal and non-verbal
communication and by using language to label and expand on the
child’s requests, needs, preferences, or interests.
Interaction Practices – (continued)
INT4. Practitioners promote the child’s cognitive
development by observing, interpreting, and
responding intentionally to the child's exploration,
play, and social activity by joining in and
expanding on the child's focus, actions, and intent.
INT5. Practitioners promote the child’s problemsolving behavior by observing, interpreting, and
scaffolding in response to the child’s growing level
of autonomy and self-regulation.
DEC Recommended Practices Instruction
INS1. Practitioners, with the family, identify each child's
strengths, preferences, and interests to engage the child
in active learning.
INS2. Practitioners, with the family, identify skills to target
for instruction that help a child become adaptive,
competent, socially connected, and engaged and that
promote learning in natural and inclusive environments.
INS5. Practitioners embed instruction within and across
routines, activities, and environments to provide
contextually relevant learning opportunities.
Instruction Practices (continued)
INS11. Practitioners provide instructional support for
young children with disabilities who are dual language
learners to assist them in learning English and in
continuing to develop skills through the use of their
home language.
INS13. Practitioners use coaching or consultation
strategies with primary caregivers or other adults to
facilitate positive adult-child interactions and instruction
intentionally designed to promote child learning and
development.
Video
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•
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Playing with folding laundry 5:02
Say it again 2:39
Diapering Dad 4:09
Mom talking 5 min. 3:08
Talking diapers 1:00
Banana Pudding 2:25
Purse engagement 2:52
Strategies
• Sing with children and recite poetry/rhymes to
playfully introduce new words
• Read to children everyday. Take time to talk
about new words. Help the child find clues to
the meaning of the words in the book like
through illustrations
• Let children time to learn the meaning of new
words before moving adding more words.
• Talk with children and encourage them to talk
with each other.
• Keep the conversation going by making
comments and asking questions
• When in a conversation with a children, invite
children to think and share ideas.
• Think about what new language could come up
during an activity and introduce it
• When taking a field trip introduce do words such
as landscape or kneading dough at a bakery.
• Talk with families so they understand how
important it is to talk with their children and
share new vocabulary words.
• Send home conversation starters based on the
child’s interest and classroom activities
• Include discussion questions when sending home
books.
• Post videos of conversations between teachers
and children.
Colker, ND
Talking with Parents Group Activity
You need to encourage a family to talk more
with their child. Because of the family’s culture,
they do not speak “standard” English.
How would you begin a conversation about the
importance of children learning “standard”
English?
What would you say and how might you deal
with any negative responses from the parent?
What will you do next?
Group Activity
Based on what you have learned today in this
presentation and through out this conference,
what new ideas might you try in your work with
parents or directly with children?
Share your ideas in the group and be prepared
to share them with the larger group.
Questions, Comments
Or Reflections
Carol M. Trivette
[email protected]
References
Colker, L. ND. The word gap: The early years make a
difference. Teaching Young Children. (7) 3, pp 26-28.
Hart B. & Risley, T. (1995). Meaningful Differences in
the Everyday Experiences of Young American
Children. Baltimore: Brookes
Hart B. & Risley, T. (2003). The early catastrophe:
The 30 Million Word Gap by age 3. American
Education, 27 (1) 4 – 9.
Talbort, M. (January 12, 2015). The talking cure. The
New Yorker. pp 38-47.