FirstSchool Framework for Pre-K-3rd Grade Education

1
FirstSchool Framework for Pre-K-3rd Grade
Education

• FPG Child Development Institute
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Michigan State University
• ECIC Michigan
• March 14, 2011

2
Todays Goals

• Provide participants with
• An understanding about the FirstSchool initiative
• Insight about effective Pre-K to 3rd grade
  classroom practices
• Research that highlights a sound perspective for
  Early Childhood education

3
Give this some thought.

• How do children experience the change between
  Pre-K and Kindergarten?
• What activity settings seem to ensure optimal
  participation for children in Pre-K and
  Kindergarten?

4
Early Investment is Vital

• Fewer than 1/3 of Americas fourth graders are at
  or above grade level in literacy.
• Studies show investing solely in Pre-K is not
  enough.
• Well-designed Pre-K improves children's social
  and cognitive skills - gains can fade as children
  advance beyond Kindergarten.

5
Why FirstSchool? 11-state study of state funded
Pre-K

• Little or no alignment between PreK and
  elementary
• Low ratings on global classroom quality
• Poorest children are in the lowest quality
  classrooms
• Superficial task demands and didactic instruction
• 44 of the day is spent in transitions and
  routines
• Minimal time is spent interacting with teachers

6
FirstSchool

• A PreK-3rd Grade public school initiative
• Unites the best of early childhood, elementary,
  and special education
• Grounded in research, evidence, and four years of
  collaborative planning and multi-site piloting
• Committed to school success for all with special
  emphasis on African American, Latino and low
  income students

7
Pre-K-3rd Grade Education

• A growing body of research shows that children
  continue to make gains in schools that connect
  Pre-K to a full-day Kindergarten and primary
  grades with aligned standards and curricula in a
  coherent Pre-K to 3rd grade education program.

8
FirstSchool Principles

• Use data from multiple sources to drive and
  monitor change efforts
• Implement appropriate practices across the Pre-K
  to 3 spectrum
• Foundational Processes
• Active Engagement
• Intentionality
• Balance

9
Discussion

• Think back to the questions posed at the
  beginning regarding how children experience the
  change from Pre-K to Kindergarten and their
  classroom activity settings
• In pairs share your thoughts

10
The leap between Pre-K and K
Number of minutes spent in each setting
11
Child Inattention in Activity Settings
12
Minutes
13
Settings Range across Kindergarten classrooms
14
Improving School Experiences for Young Children

• Arbitrary rules
• Children who shut down
• Vocabulary and oral language development

15
Discussion

• Who seems to be most impacted by the issues we
  have just raised?

16
Using Research to Guide Practice

• On average, children growing up in low-income
  families have dramatically less exposure to
  academic oral and written language in their homes
  than do middle-class children.
• Low-income children hear fewer words and are
  engaged in fewer extended conversations. Children
  in higher income homes will be exposed to 45
  million words compared to only 13 million words
  for a child in a low income family (Hart
  Risley, 2003).
• The difference in reading materials in the home
  accounts for approximately 89 of the reading
  achievement gap between poor and non-poor
  students at age 14 (Fryer Levitt, 2002).

17
Using Research to Guide Practice

• Boys brains go into a rest state many times each
  day. You may observe them drifting off or
  sleeping. They also tap their pencils, fall out
  of their chairs and throw things. Often they are
  just trying to stay alert.
• Boys tend to be irritable when moved from task to
  task and like to stay focused on something that
  interests them.

18
Implementing Appropriate Practices

• Foundational Processes
• Active Engagement
• Intentionality
• Balance

19
Foundational Processes

• Positive Relationships
• Representation of Learning
• Executive Function

20
Active Engagement

• Arrange classrooms for optimum movement and
  interaction for students.
• Take learning outdoors, bring the natural
  environment into classroom.
• Provide variety of learning opportunities for
  active exploration, address developmental and
  content areas.

21
Using Research to Guide Practice

• Access to outdoor play and experiences in nature
  have been positively linked with the development
  of imagination and sense of wonder.
• When children play in nature they are more likely
  to have positive feelings about each other and
  their surroundings.
• Early experiences with nature are linked with
  imagination, independence and autonomy.

22
Intentionality

• Preparation and Planning
• Knowledge of Children
• Reflection and Modification
• Re-think Schedules and Priorities

23
Balanced Experiences

• How are childrens experiences balanced
• Across the day?
• Across the year?
• Across instructional settings?
• Across literacy and math?
• Across teaching approaches?

24
Minutes
25
Minutes
26
Wrap Up

• What did you hear today that impacted your
  thinking about Pre-K to 3rd grade education?
• What new ideas will you take away and share with
  others?

27
FirstSchoolis a project of the FPG Child
Development Institute. FPG research and outreach
have shaped how the nation cares for and educates
young children.
www.fpg.unc.edu
www.firstschool.us
28

• FirstSchool is supported by a grant from
• W.K. Kellogg Foundation
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Private donors

FirstSchool.2011
29
FirstSchool is a project of the Frank Porter
Graham Child Development Institute. FPG research
and outreach have shaped how the nation cares for
and educates young children.
FirstSchool is being implemented by Michigan
State University Outreach and Engagement. UOE
believes in scholarship that cuts across
teaching, research, and service and advocates a
model of outreach and engagement that is mutually
beneficial for the University and the public.
www.fpg.unc.edu
www.outreach.msu.edu