We know that development of language and early literacy skills in preschool is directly related to elementary reading and school adjustment. Emerging knowledge of language and early literacy development, assessment, and intervention makes early intervention possible, but identification of literacy and language delays is coming too late. Although Response-to-Intervention (RtI) approaches have shown great promise in early elementary grades, the pre-kindergarten field lacks the range of progress monitoring measures and validated 2 and Tier 3 interventions that can be used to prevent later reading problems. A distinct feature of our proposed center is conceptualizing a tiered system of intensifying instruction. We believe that Tier 2 and 3 intervention should ensure incremental increases in opportunities to respond in four critical curricular areas: oral language and vocabulary, phonological awareness, book/print/alphabet knowledge, and comprehension. Only if children practice important skills in these areas would one expect to close gaps in early literacy and language development.
This Center’s long-term goal is to prevent disabilities in reading by increasing the number of young children who enter school with knowledge and skill in early literacy and language. Our primary objectives are to (a) conduct focused research to develop and rigorously evaluate and replicate Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions for preschool language and early literacy skills, (b) develop and validate progress monitoring measures linked to these interventions; (c) carry out supplementary studies related to these intervention and assessment issues; (d) broadly disseminate findings from the Center to practitioners, researchers and policymakers and provide national leadership on development and implementation of RtI for young children in language and early literacy; and (e) manage the Center’ multi-site activities. Key to our work is careful attention to the demands of typical preschool programs, and the design and evaluation of assessment and intervention procedures that are feasible and scalable in these settings.
Our Center scientists are a proven collaborative team with substantial experience and success in research and dissemination of this type. At Juniper Gardens Children’s Project (Kansas), Charles Greenwood (Co-PI) has conducted research and development of RtI in early childhood and K-12, including development and validation of evidence-based interventions and progress monitoring measures and studies of implementation; Judith Carta (Co-PI) brings preschool RtI experiences, including development and validation of instructional interventions for literacy and behavior regulation, as well as research on progress monitoring. At the Center for Early Education and Development (Minnesota), Scott McConnell has conducted research and dissemination of preschool progress monitoring measures for communication and early literacy, and has related intervention experience. Ruth Kaminski, of Dynamic Measurement Group (Oregon), brings extensive experiences with preK-8 evidence-based early literacy curriculum and progress monitoring. Howard Goldstein, at The Ohio State University/University of South Florida, has extensive experience in the development and validation of language and social communication interventions as precursors of literacy and for children with and without disabilities. To complement this team, we have gathered a cadre of nationally recognized consultants and regional and local Partners/Programs who will participate in all phases of Center work.
The OSU/USF site has primary responsibility for developing Tier 2 Curricula. We have created children’s books that are recorded for children to listen to with CD players or MP3 players. Two additional versions of these books are produced that embed interactive lessons. One version focuses on a sequence of important early literacy skills, encompassing phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge. Another version of the book introduces children to new vocabulary words and comprehension tasks (i.e., question answering). After children listen to the stories with the embedded lessons three days, we assess whether they have learned the specific skills taught and we monitor their progress on general indicators of language and literacy development.
