Final Report: Implementation and Pilot Study
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Involving teachers as key allies will leverage their influence, fostering effective collaboration and increasing parent participation in the upcoming impact study. 2. Assessing classroom quality and implementation fidelity. To thoroughly assess the effectiveness of the Preschool Kindergarten On My Way (PKOMW) program, we recommend conducting classroom observations in both PKOMW and comparison classrooms throughout the impact study. These observations will help evaluate the fidelity of PKOMW implementation by teachers and identify variations in teaching practices between the two groups. Understanding these differences is vital for pinpointing potential influences on school readiness measures, contributing essential data to the overall assessment of the program's impact. 3. Assessment of school readiness. Based on the pilot study's findings revealing disparities in school readiness measures, especially in the EOWPVT-4, PPVT-5, and Woodcock Johnson-IV Applied Problems subtest, we recommend the continued use of these measures in future studies due to their sensitivity to differences observed in the pilot. Additionally, for the impact study we recommend investigating specific components of the PKOMW curriculum, such as vocabulary and math elements, to enhance the interpretability of assessment outcomes. Introduction This report presents findings from the PreK On My Way ™ (PKOMW) pilot study, we examine differences in student outcomes comparing those who were in PKOMW classrooms with those who were not (referred to at the comparison group). Additionally, analyses revealed a set of recommendations, which could guide future PKOMW endeavors, including the forthcoming impact study. The PKOMW curriculum supports PreK students learning across the domains of math, literacy, and language skills through research-backed, standards-aligned, interactive, and scaffolded instruction. It emphasizes purposeful play, socioemotional support, hands-on activities, and culturally relevant reading. PKOMW includes supports dual language learners (DLLs) using authentic Spanish language text and asset-based language supports. The term dual language learners refers to young students, under the age of eight who are learning two languages, while the term multilingual language learner refers to students who are learning more than two languages (Park et al., 2018). DLLs are a diverse population where proficiencies in their languages change based on language exposure and support (Castro et al., 2013). Studies have demonstrated that supporting DLL students’ home language in the classroom is beneficial for their school readiness skills (Burchinal et al., 2012; Limlingan et al., 2020; Raikes et al., White et al., 2020). Thus, PKOMW was designed not only to meet the needs of monolingual students but those of DLLs and multilingual learners too. Authors of the PKOMW curriculum included researchers and practitioners: Tricia Zucker, PhD, from Children ’s Learning Institute at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth; Linda Mayes, MD, from Yale Child Study Center; and Jie-Qi Chen, PhD, from Erikson Institute. The overall approach of the curriculum meets state early learning standards and Head Start Early Learning Outcomes.
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