Transcript From Rogersville to Memphis: The Journey of the TN SIG

From Rogersville to
Memphis: The Journey of the
TN SIG Preschool Literacy
Training Project
Alissa Ongie, M.Ed.
TN SIG Pre-K Project Coordinator
East Tennessee State University
What Is the PLTP?
• Part of the Tennessee State Improvement Grant
– a federal grant through OSEP that wraps
around Reading First services
• The PLTP has worked with preschools across
Tennessee
• The PLTP has provided professional
development to preschool teachers, parent
workshops for families, and products available
for free on the TN SIG website: Sig.cls.utk.edu
• The TN SIG is currently in a no-cost extension
period with limited funding, and will end on
6/30/2010
Professional Development
• Training opportunities have been provided to TN
SIG participating preschools in Rogersville,
Knoxville, Claiborne County, Woodbury,
Nashville/Davidson County, Somerville, Wayne
County, and Memphis
• Topics covered in professional development
include preschool literacy in the classroom and
at home, infant/toddler literacy, and working with
children with Autism
How Was PD Delivered?
• Workshops held at TN SIG preschools on
topics requested by individual preschools
• ETSU Early Childhood Summer
Conference – when funding was available,
TN SIG preschool staff were invited to
attend 3 days of conference activities with
registration and all travel costs paid for by
the PLTP
• ELLCO Quasi-experimental Design
ELLCO Experiment
• We chose 10 TN SIG preschools and 10 control
preschools with similar qualities (same type of
program, same geographical region, etc.)
• We used the Early Language and Literacy
Classroom Observation (ELLCO) to do a preand post-assessment on intervention and control
preschools
• Intervention preschools received feedback on
their ELLCO scores and PD in the areas in
which they scored the lowest on the initial
ELLCO
• Control preschools received no feedback or PD
ELLCO Experiment continued
• ELLCO PD Trainings covered the following areas:
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Organization of the Classroom
Contents of the Classroom
Presence and Use of Technology
Opportunities for Child Choice and Initiative
Classroom Management Strategies
Classroom Climate
Oral Language Facilitation
Presence of Books
Approaches to Book Reading
Approaches to Children’s Writing
Approaches to Curriculum Integration
Recognizing Diversity in the Classroom
Facilitating Home Support for Literacy
Approaches to Assessment
ELLCO Experiment Continued
• After a year of ELLCO-related PD, the post-assessment
was completed
• Overall, intervention preschools improved their scores on
ELLCO items more than control preschools
• The average post-score on the classroom observation
portion of the ELLCO for intervention preschools was 4.1
points (5-point scale) compared to 3 points for control
preschools
• The average increase on the literacy activities rating
scale was .7 points (13 points max available) for
intervention preschools compared to -1.9 for control
preschools
How PD Is Impacting Participants’
Literacy Instruction
in the Classroom
• “I used what she showed us and used that to
take what I was doing in a different direction.
Made it two-fold. For example, KWL and flip
chart for reading and phonics.”
• “Teaching them to spell their name, using letters
in different ways such as the Frog Street Press
using rhyme and song to get children interested
in learning to read.”
• “Like when they are playing with food and they'll
show me a piece of food and I'll say ‘what kind
of food is this? What letter does it start with?’”
How PD Is Affecting
Preschoolers’ Learning
• “It has improved their knowledge on knowing their
letters. Also it has helped teach parents the importance
of reading to their children at home.”
• “Children are more aware of the letters, recognition; a
big portion of the children can print their names,
recognize and print letters; when they are doing artwork
they are more aware of what they are drawing - you can
really see what they are drawing.”
• “They are recognizing the alphabet more quickly, they
want to listen more and are more focused. I have seen
improvement in their learning.”
Participants’ Overall Feelings about
PD Received through the
TN SIG PLTP
• “I think this is wonderful and I don't think
there is a comparison to anything I've seen
in the other school systems in terms of the
early child professional development.”
• “It has a lot of components like special
education that we did not have with
previous PD.”
Parent Workshops
• We worked with participating TN SIG Preschools
to schedule family nights with a focus on literacy
• These workshops were available to families
within the community
• Preschools chose one of two workshops:
– Family Reading – provides tips for reading aloud with
preschoolers
– Early Writing Experiences – provides ideas to include
writing activities in the home
Parent Workshops continued
• Preschool Literacy Toolkit:
– At the parent workshops, each family received
a toolkit with items to help them include
literacy in the home
– These toolkits are designed to follow
developmentally appropriate pre-literacy
guidelines
Parent Workshops continued
• Toolkit Contents:
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Family Reading Parent Flyer
Early Writing Experiences Parent Flyer
Spiral Notebook
Construction Paper
Little Sketch Book
Alphabet Pasting Pieces – many fonts
Glue Stick
Quality Children’s Book
Magic Markers
Wikki Stix
Pencil Sharpener
#2 Pencils
Chubby Primary Pencils
Parent Workshops continued
• Parent workshops have been offered in
Madison, Nashville, Woodbury, and
system-wide in Wayne County (over 200
preschoolers at 3 pre-K programs)
• In 2007 and 2008, a total of 692 Preschool
Literacy Toolkits were provided to families,
early childhood education students, and
Head Start teachers
Products Available on
TN SIG Website
• Materials used with preschool teachers
and families are downloadable at no cost
from the TN SIG website
• Sig.cls.utk.edu under Preschool Products
section
• Parent brochures are also available in
Spanish
Success Stories
• At a TN SIG preschool in Memphis, a licensing evaluator
told the director that she had never seen more organized
literacy instruction and that she would be using this
center as an example for others
• At a TN SIG preschool in Jackson, the classroom that
participated in the ELLCO Experiment later received a
6.09 out of 7 on the Tennessee Star Quality Assessment
• At a TN SIG preschool in Wayne County, the day after a
tornado caused significant damage to the area, most
families still attended our parent workshops held at the
three pre-K sites
Contact Information
• If you have any questions about how to use the
preschool products on our website, please
contact me:
Alissa Ongie
Pre-K Project Coordinator
TN SIG Preschool Literacy Training Project
P.O. Box 70434
Johnson City, TN 37614
423-439-7841
[email protected]