This study examines the efficacy, cost, and implementation of an integrated science and literacy curriculum for kindergarten. The study was conducted in a large urban district and included 1,589 students in 71 classrooms in 21 schools. The research includes a multi-site cluster-randomized controlled trial and mixed-methods cost and implementation…

Presently there is no consensus on the specific behavioral treatment of choice for targeting language in young nonverbal children with autism. This randomized clinical trial compared the effectiveness of a verbally-based intervention, Pivotal Response Training (PRT) to a pictorially-based behavioral intervention, the Picture Exchange Communication…

Researchers are increasingly interested in working memory (WM) training. However, it is unclear whether it strengthens comprehension in young children who are at risk for learning difficulties. We conducted a modest study of whether the training of verbal WM would improve verbal WM and passage listening comprehension and whether training effects…

Early number sense is a strong predictor of later success in school mathematics. A disproportionate number of children from low-income families come to first grade with weak number competencies, leaving them at risk for a cycle of failure. The present study examined the effects of an 8-week number sense intervention to develop number competencies…

This report presents results from the "Ready To Learn" Prekindergarten Transmedia Mathematics Study, a principal part of the summative evaluation of "Ready To Learn," which is a partnership between the US Department of Education, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS. Researchers found that preschool children who…

A clustered randomized design was used in which 28 inclusive preschool classrooms were randomly assigned to receive 2 years of training and coaching to fidelity in the LEAP (Learning Experiences and Alternative Program for Preschoolers and Their Parents) preschool model, and 28 inclusive classes were assigned to receive intervention manuals only.…

This study compared traditional and multimedia-enhanced read-aloud vocabulary instruction and investigated whether the effects differed for English-language learners (ELLs) and non-English-language learners (non-ELLs). Results indicate that although there was no added benefit of multimedia-enhanced instruction for non-ELLs, there was a positive…

A preventive intervention for reducing physical and relational aggression, peer victimization, and increasing prosocial behavior was developed for use in early childhood classrooms. Nine classrooms were randomly assigned to be intervention rooms (N = 202 children) and nine classrooms were control rooms (N = 201 children). Classroom was the unit of…

State education departments, in discussions with Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southeast, identified low reading achievement as a critical issue for their students and expressed an interest in identifying effective strategies to promote the foundational skills in young students that might improve reading achievement. The Mississippi…

This study illustrates the types of information microgenetic methods can yield. Ninety-seven 5-year olds who had not mastered number conservation were given training in conservation or in reasoning about conservation. Results elucidate how changes in thinking occur and demonstrate children's efforts to understand other people's reasoning. (SLD)

A variety of preschool curricula is available and in widespread use, however, there is a lack of evidence from rigorous evaluations regarding the effects of these curricula on children's school readiness. The lack of such information is important as early childhood center-based programs have been a major, sometimes the sole, component of a number…

A study involving 32 children with language delays investigated the effectiveness of Dialogic Reading, an interactive language-facilitation technique. After adult instruction in Dialogic Reading, children spoke more, made longer utterances, produced more words, and participated more in shared book reading. No differences were found in vocabulary…

This study evaluated the efficacy of a preventative program delivered in kindergarten to children who were identified as being at risk for experiencing reading difficulties. It also examined the effects of two 1st-grade intervention programs delivered to children who demonstrated substantial difficulty with reading development at the beginning of…

Purpose: The extant literature suggests that exposure to novel vocabulary words through repeated readings of storybooks influences children's word learning, and that adult elaboration of words in context can accelerate vocabulary growth. This study examined the influence of small-group storybook reading sessions on the acquisition of vocabulary…

Four-year olds (n=167) in Head Start were assigned to an intervention condition involving an add-on emergent literacy curriculum or the regular Head Start program. Intervention effects were large for writing and print domains and were noted for language when primary caregivers were actively involved in the intervention. (SLD)