High Quality Kindergarten Programs

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High Quality Kindergarten Programs
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Todays Objective

• Provide an understanding of the current state of
  kindergarten and resources to maximize learning
  at this grade level.

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The Kindergarten Experience
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Demographics
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Demographics cont.

• 2.5 of students (1,634 kids) are either reported
  as retained in K, or are in a transitional 1st
  grade program. 
• Assumes base aid amount in the SFRA 9,649 and
  doesnt include any added funding for students
  who are low-income, ELL, special needs, etc.

Grade of Children Retained Retention Costs
K 1,634 15,766,466
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Snapshot of Quality in KTotal sample 135
classrooms in NJ

• The measures
• Assessment of Practices in Early Elementary
  Classrooms (APEEC Hemmeter, Maxwell, Ault
  Schuster, 2001)
• Physical Environment room arrangement, child
  display, classroom accessibility, and health and
  classroom safety
• Instructional Context use of materials, use of
  computers, monitoring child progress,
  instructional methods, integration and breadth of
  subjects
• Social Context childrens role in
  decision-making, participation of children with
  disabilities in classroom activities, social
  skills, diversity, appropriate transitions, and
  family involvement

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• Early Language and Literacy Classroom
  Observation Toolkit (ELLCO Smith Dickerson,
  2002).
• General classroom environment organization,
  contents, technology, child choice and
  initiative, classroom management and climate
• Language, literacy, curriculum supporting
  language and literacy through materials,
  activities, instruction, strategies and teaching
  practices

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APEEC Findings
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Takeaways

• In 50 of the classrooms, children did not have
  an opportunity to speak with their peers about
  classroom activities.
• 52 of the teachers did not engage in some
  informal conversations with the children.
• Whole group instruction was used during the
  entire observation in 22 of the classrooms.
• Hands on materials for one or two subject areas
  were not used in 56 of the classrooms.
• 62 of the classrooms did not offer gross motor
  opportunities to children daily.

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ELLCO Findings
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Takeaways

• In most classrooms, adults did not engage in
  either individual or small-group book reading
• Few rooms had times built into their schedules
  for choice
• Materials to support writing were not located in
  centers
• Little evidence of scaffolded instruction or
  differentiation
• Teachers often used whole group instruction with
  follow-up workbook activities

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Multi-State K Study

• NCEDL 730 K classrooms across six states (La
  Paro, et al. ,2009).
• 6 of observed day in free choice/centers
• More time in individual or whole group
• 1 of classrooms in kindergarten score high in
  Instructional Support
• Teaching practices that promote understanding of
  concepts, feedback and language modeling
• Such practices are associated with positive child
  outcomes

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Public Expenditures
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The Childs Mind
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• Although intelligence is generally thought to
  play a key role in childrens early academic
  achievement, aspects of childrens
  self-regulation abilitiesincluding the ability
  to alternately shift and focus attention and to
  inhibit impulsive respondingare uniquely related
  to early academic success and account for greater
  variation in early academic progress than do
  measures of intelligence.
• Child Development

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• consistently positive teacher-child
  relationships in PK and K have been found to be
  related to positive child outcomes, both academic
  and social. (Pianta et al in Bogard, 2005).  
  factors such as teacher sensitivity, the
  quality of teacher-child interactions, and
  teachers satisfaction with their job, are also
  associated with child outcomes. (Bogard, 2005)

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Elevating Learning

• What should kindergarten look like
• in the twenty-first century?
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vhTaNRZhRPgk

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The Guidelines

• Guiding High-Quality Practice
• in Kindergarten
• School Structures that Support
• High-Quality Kindergarten
• High-Quality Kindergarten in Action

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Learning through Play
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Environments

• All kindergarten classrooms should be designed
  around learning centers to support purposefully
  designed, play based activity as the main vehicle
  for childrens learning. (Kindergarten
  Guidelines, p. 51)

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Self-regulation

• Young children who know how to delay
  gratification are more likely to pursue academic
  and personal goals with less frustration, with
  less distraction. (Graziano et al., 2006)
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vQX_oy9614HQ

• Decision-making
• Reminders and visuals
• Make-believe play
• Games with rules
• Goal-setting

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Assessment

• Major Purposes of Early Child Assessment
• To plan instruction for individuals and groups
• Identify children for health and special services
  
• Monitor trends and evaluate programs
• Individual student, teacher, and school
  accountability
• (NAEYCNAECS/SDE, 2003)

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Who has the time?

• Literacy
• Blocks
• Free choice/Centers
• Integrated curriculum
• Outside

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(No Transcript)
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Professional Development

• Kindergarten Seminar
• The PreK-3rd Leadership Training Series
• PreK-3rd Leadership Training Work Groups
• 3rd Annual PreK-3rd Leadership Conference October
  28, 2011

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http//www.state.nj.us/education/ece/
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• Renee Whelan, Ed.D.
• Renee.whelan_at_doe.state.nj.us
• http//www.state.nj.us/education/ece/guide/Kinderg
  artenGuidelines.pdf