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PreK On My Way Case Study Report
PKOMW curriculum for teachers: “ It is very interactive, very creative, structured in the way that needs to be structured, but allows you to bring your creativity as a teacher to it. It gives the guidance needed and allows you to differentiate if needed.” 6. Conclusion and Recommendations States, school districts, principals, preschool directors, and teachers across the country are hungry for high-quality, evidence-based educational tools to support our youngest learners in PreK settings. One key component of a high-quality PreK program is having a research-based, developmentally appropriate, actively engaging curriculum that includes content-rich learning materials, a clearly articulated scope and sequence of instructional learning materials, and adequate initial training and ongoing coaching to support the high-fidelity implementation of the curriculum by teachers (National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], 2009; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2016; Weiland, McCormick, Mattera, Maier, & Morris, 2018). An increasing number of federal, state, and local PreK systems now require publicly funded PreK programs to select a curriculum from an approved list of high-quality curricula that meet high evidentiary standards and/or are aligned with state or program learning standards (National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning [NCECDTL], 2019). There are various resources that provide a critical review of the available curricula to assist consumers in the selection of the highest quality PreK curriculum that aligns with the various recommended criteria and best meets the program’s needs (National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning [NCQTL], 2015). The current case study was designed as an initial component of the overall impact evaluation of the Scholastic PKOMW curriculum. The primary goal of the case study was to highlight the successful implementation of PKOMW in an illustrative set of four classrooms within two school districts across two different states. To accomplish this, the case study addressed the following four research questions:
1. How is PKOMW implemented?
2. What are PKOMW’s strengths and areas for improvement? 3. How engaging are the PKOMW curriculum materials for children?
4. Why did school districts select the PKOMW curriculum?
How Is PKOMW Implemented?
Overall, respondents in both districts reported early successes during PKOMW implementation and training, with two of the big early successes being the ease of implementation (particularly for new teachers) and the active child engagement with the PKOMW curriculum materials. The PKOMW curriculum is specifically designed to include not only a rich and engaging array of books, materials, and learning activities for use in large groups, small groups, and independent learning centers, but also the necessary guidance materials to help support teachers’ planning and implementation of responsive and intentional instructional practices (Zucker, 2021). The combination of ease of PKOMW implementation and the active engagement of children are positive indications of successful implementation of the PKOMW in these two case study sites.
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