Tools of the Mind: Promoting ELLs' Language, Self-Regulation & School-Readiness

拉丁裔儿童的教育成果不佳的风险增加，得分低于非西班牙裔白人， 小学和中学的阅读和数学水平下降，高中辍学率更高。在 在某种程度上，拉丁裔儿童面临的风险增加与贫困人口比例过高有关。风险增加也是 然而，与早期教育环境中对儿童的语言支持减少有关， 英语学习者（ELLs），导致基础技能和读写能力差，数学， 社交情感能力为了解决ELL拉丁裔儿童入学准备不足的问题， 我们建议测试一种创新的学前课程的有效性，这种课程被称为思维工具， 旨在加强语言和自我调节能力的发展，促进儿童的早期学习和 社交情感能力为了评估该项目，我们将进行一项随机对照试验， 涉及德克萨斯州埃尔帕索和佛罗里达州皮内拉斯县80个学前班教室的400名儿童。 将实施思维工具和控制教室将实施“一切照旧”批准 每个站点的课程。我们假设，治疗效果将在pre-k结束时观察到， 教室实施思维工具，并将在幼儿园和一年级结束时持续。 我们进一步假设，思维工具计划对儿童语言发展的影响（在两个方面）， 西班牙语和英语）和儿童自我调节发展将部分占持续方案 对一年级末学业成绩的影响。然而，我们认识到， 样本中儿童接受的西班牙语教学量也会影响早期语言 发展和学校成果。因此，我们包括教学语言将 主要是西班牙语（德克萨斯州）和英语（FL），以检验接受 在学前教育期间，以西班牙语为主的教学将使他们的西班牙语和英语得到更大的发展。 语言的发展，这将导致更高的识字和数学成果，在幼儿园和第一 年级

Latino children are at increased risk for poor educational outcomes, scoring below non-Hispanic Whites in reading and math in elementary and secondary grades and dropping out of high school at higher rates. In part, increased risk to Latino children is associated with overrepresentation in poverty. Increased risk is also associated, however, with reduced language support in early educational environments for children who are English Language Learners (ELLs), leading to poor foundational skills and abilities in literacy, math, and social-emotional competence. To address the problem of poor school readiness among ELL Latino children, we propose to test the efficacy of an innovative preschool curriculum known as Tools of the Mind that is designed to enhance language and self-regulation development and promote children's early academic and social-emotional competencies. To evaluate the program, we will conduct a randomized controlled trial involving 400 children in 80 pre-k classrooms in El Paso, TX and Pinellas County, FL. Treatment classrooms will implement Tools of the Mind and control classrooms will implement "business as usual" approved curricula at each site. We hypothesize that treatment effects will be observed at the end of pre-k in classrooms implementing Tools of the Mind and will be sustained at the end of kindergarten and first grade. We further hypothesize that effects of the Tools of the Mind program on child language development (in both Spanish and English) and on child self-regulation development will partially account for sustained program effects on school achievement through the end of first grade. We recognize, however, that variation in the amount of instruction in Spanish that children in the sample receive will also influence early language development and school outcomes. Accordingly, we include sites in which the language of instruction will be predominantly Spanish (TX) and predominantly English (FL) to test the hypothesis that ELLs who receive predominantly Spanish instruction during pre-k will experience greater growth in their Spanish and English language development and that this will result in higher literacy and math outcomes in kindergarten and 1st grade.