Web training: Pre-K teachers, literacy, and relationshi*

描述（由申请人提供）： 大规模的学前班的观察性研究表明，整体上的一致性和高度的变化，在课堂质量和做法，即使有经验的，有资格的教师使用相同的课程。 大多数教育工作者认识到，持续的培训和对高质量实施的支持对于确保早期教育经验的价值至关重要，特别是对于有早期学业失败风险的儿童。因此，拟议的项目评估两个条件的基于网络的培训，旨在支持教师的实施综合课程的早期识字，口语，社会关系/自我调节技能，在国家资助的周教室。两种培训模式将实施2年，并在本纵向研究中进行比较：1）网络培训，其中教师（N=110）接受课程的研讨会培训，并可以访问具有额外材料和示例的网站，以及2）网络咨询，其中教师（N=110）接受与其他条件相同的研讨会和培训，但他们也接受每周，现场，以互联网为媒介的协商侧重于课程的实施。网络咨询条件为教师提供他们实施的课程的直接反馈，并就如何提高实施质量提供咨询。六个学校部门将被随机分配到这两个条件（每个3），所有学前教育教师在这些部门将在一个条件下连续2学年注册。在两个干预年和第三个不干预的后续年，将定期收集对课堂质量和教学实践的观察。在每个干预年，将从每个学前班教师的教室中随机选择4名儿童（总共N= 1，760），并进行语言和识字的直接评估。学前班教师和观察为这些儿童提供社会关系和自我调节的信息。将使用教师的识字、语言和关系/调节报告评估整个学前教育人群，作为无治疗对照。所有儿童（2个实验条件下的儿童和人群对照组的儿童）将被随访至幼儿园和一年级，教师问卷调查评估语言、识字和社会关系/调节。我们假设，两种治疗条件下的儿童在一年级时都会表现出更大的儿童结局增长，并且网络咨询组将表现出比网络培训（和无治疗）组更大的增长率。我们进一步假设，网络咨询和网络培训组之间的儿童成果的差异将介导的更高质量的实施课程作为一个功能的暴露于网络咨询。这项研究的结果有直接影响的培训和实施的重要性，作为一个关键因素，提高入学准备，除了课程，并提供信息的有效性提供培训规模在互联网上。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Large-scale observational studies of pre-kindergarten classrooms indicate overall mediocrity and a high degree of variability in classroom quality and practices, even when experienced, credentialed teachers use the same curriculum. Most educators recognize that ongoing training and support for high quality implementation is critical to ensuring the value of early education experiences, particularly for children at-risk of early school failure. Thus the proposed project evaluates two conditions of Web-based training designed to support teachers' implementation of an integrative curriculum in early literacy, oral language, and social relationship/self-regulation skills in state-funded week classrooms. Two models of training will be implemented for 2 years and compared in this longitudinal study: 1) Web-Training, in which teachers (N=110) receive workshop training in the curriculum and have access to a Website with additional material and examples, and 2) Web-Consultancy, in which teachers (N=110) receive the same workshop and training as the other condition but who also receive weekly, live, Internet-mediated consultation focused on implementing the curriculum. The Web-Consultancy condition provides teachers with direct feedback on lessons they implement and consultation about how to improve quality of implementation. Six school divisions will be randomly assigned to these two conditions (3 each) and all pre-k teachers in those divisions will be enrolled in one condition fox 2 consecutive academic years. Observations of classroom quality and teaching practices will be collected regularly during the two intervention years and in a third non-intervention follow-up year. In each intervention year 4 children will be randomly selected from each pre-k teacher's classroom (N=1,760 total) and administered direct assessments in language and literacy. Pre-k teachers and observations provide information on social relationships and self-regulation for these children. The entire pre-k population will be assessed using teacher report of literacy, language, and relationships/regulation as a no treatment control. All children (those in the 2 experimental conditions and those in the population control) will be followed into kindergarten and first grade with teacher questionnaires assessing language, literacy, and social relationships/regulation. We hypothesize that children in both treatment conditions will show greater growth in child outcomes through first grade and that the Web-Consultancy group will show a significantly greater rate of growth than will the Web-Training (and no-treatment) groups. We further hypothesize that the differences in child outcomes between the Web Consultancy and Web Training groups will be mediated by higher quality implementation of the curriculum as a function of exposure to the Web Consultancy. The results of this study have direct implications for the importance of training and implementation as a key factor enhancing school readiness, apart from curriculum, and provide information on the effectiveness of delivering training at-scale over the Internet.