Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/05
Outputs
This project was a one-year planning grant funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Administration on Children and Families/Head Start Bureau. The goal of the project was to plan and submit a full-developed proposal to the Head Start Innovations and Improvement program. This proposal related to implementing an expanded version of the Learning Connections (LC) curriculum, a preschool emergent reading and mathematics curriculum that was developed by the Center on the Family. Our objectives for the planning year were to: (1) develop additional classroom learning activities to supplement the existing LC curriculum, (2) write the scripts for multimedia-based set of materials to be used to train parents and teachers in use of the LC curriculum, (3) to develop a prototype of an on-line database system that integrates child assessment, classroom accountability, and reporting functions, and (4) to write and submit the full project proposal. We convened a team
of 12 teachers, parents, and administrators from our partner organizations --Oahu Head Start and Maui Head Start. This team met regularly to provide feedback on the desired features and quality of the new products. We wrote 15 new lesson plans, which were field tested by Head Start teachers and parents. Based on user feedback, we revised these lessons and incorporated 14 new lessons into the LC curriculum. We also developed scripts for a series of 7 DVDs for teachers and 12 shorter DVDs for parents. With the assistance of the CTAHR PIO office, we spent one week filming video footage in a Head Start classroom. We then edited this footage, added narration, and produced a sample 20-minute DVD on the topic of teaching measurement skills. We conducted focus groups and user surveys with Head Start teachers and managers. Overall, feedback was very positive in the areas of clarity and appropriateness of information presented and usefulness as a training tool. The team also made suggestions
for improving the quality of the modeling segments. An information technology (IT) advisory team was convened, consisting of 9 members (Head Start Executive Directors, IT Directors, and teachers). Based on the IT team input, we developed the conceptual design for a three-part IT system. The first function of the system was to provide on-line data entry module for recording on a weekly basis each child's progress on the LC learning goals. The second part of the system was a lesson planning module. This module included a databank of developmentally-sequenced LC lessons. The module would match each child's current learning profile with a set of appropriate new lesson choices; it would also identify small groups of children with similar skill profiles, to allow for optimal composition of small learning groups. Finally, both classroom and home lesson plans would be generated, tailored to meet each child's current learning needs. The third module was a reporting module that generates
child-level progress reports and classroom- and program-level reports. Finally, we prepared and submitted a $1.7 million grant proposal for implementation funding.
Impacts
Our proposal was not funded. Of the 33 planning grants awarded, only 8 sites nationally were approved for implementation funding. However, the work conducted for the planning grant will be used in related projects. The Center was recently awarded a $1.6 million Early Reading First award, which will be used to train additional teachers in Head Start classrooms on the use of the Learning Connections curriculum. The materials developed in this planning grant will be incorporated in our Early Reading First project and will contribute to the success of that endeavor.
Publications
- DeBaryshe, B.D. and Gorecki, D.M. 2005. Learning Connections: An emergent literacy and mathematics enhancement curriculum. Measurement. [DVD available from the Center on the Family, 2515 Campus Road, Honolulu, HI 96822]
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