Implementation fidelity of MyTeachingPartner literacy and language activities: Association with preschoolers’ language and literacy growth

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Abstract

There is surprisingly little empirical research examining issues of fidelity of implementation within the early childhood education literature. In the MyTeachingPartner project, 154 teachers were provided with materials to implement a supplemental classroom curriculum addressing six aspects of literacy and language development. The present study examines the degree of variability in three aspects of implementation fidelity – dosage, adherence, and quality of delivery – and whether these components of fidelity were associated with children's growth in language and literacy skills across the preschool year. Findings indicate that teachers reported using the curriculum fairly often (dosage) and that they were observed to generally follow curricular lesson plans (adherence). In contrast, the quality of delivery, defined as the use of evidence-based teacher–child interactions for teaching literacy and language, was much lower. Children in classrooms in which activities were observed to last for longer (dosage) and in which teachers exhibited higher quality of delivery of literacy lessons made significantly greater gains in early literacy skills across the preschool year. Also, teachers’ use of higher quality language interactions was associated with gains for children who did not speak English at home. Results have implications for teacher professional development and the supports provided to ensure that curricula are delivered most effectively.

Section snippets

MyTeachingPartner—Language and Literacy Curriculum

MTP-LL includes a comprehensive set of explicit instructional activities encompassing six language and literacy domains. These activities were designed to focus on (1) “high-priority” instructional targets in preschool language and literacy, and (2) effective approaches to translating these instructional targets into high-quality, sustainable classroom instruction. A high priority target for preschool language and literacy instruction is one that (a) is consistently and moderately to strongly

Implementation Fidelity

In this study, we examined three aspects of MTP-LL implementation fidelity anticipated to impact the extent to which the curriculum produced intended effects on children's literacy and language skill development: dosage, adherence, and quality of delivery. Dosage is typically defined as the frequency and duration of an intervention. Measures of dosage of a curriculum typically take into account the number, length, or frequency of curricular activities to which children are exposed (O’Donnell,

Teacher–Child Interactions as a Measure of Quality of Delivery

Hamre and Pianta (2007) recently provided a framework for effective teaching referred to as the CLASS Framework. The CLASS Framework is based on developmental theory suggesting that children are most directly influenced through proximal processes, namely, their daily interactions with adults and peers (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998). These interactions may be social–emotional, managerial and organizational, or instructional in nature (Hamre & Pianta, 2007). Of relevance to the present study,

Implementation Fidelity and Student Outcomes

Given the inconsistent definition and measurement of implementation fidelity as applied to early childhood curricula and instruction, it is not surprising to find few examples linking implementation fidelity to student outcomes. Several meta-analyses of school-based interventions conducted in the 1990s indicated that only 15–59% of reviewed studies measured and reported implementation fidelity (Dane and Schneider, 1998, Greenberg et al., 1999), and these measurements often covered only one

Current Study

In this study, we examined the extent to which the fidelity with which teachers implemented an explicit and systematic language and literacy supplemental curriculum – MTP-LL – was associated with children's growth in language and literacy skills during preschool. We examined three components of fidelity of implementation of MTP-LL: dosage, adherence, and quality of delivery. Four research questions were addressed: (a) what is the range of implementation fidelity among teachers implementing

Participants

Participants in this study included 154 preschool teachers and 680 children enrolled in their classrooms. The teachers represented a subset of those involved in a larger study of teacher and child impacts associated with implementation of the MTP-LL curriculum in conjunction with a social/emotional development curriculum [Preschool PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies); Domitrovich, Greenberg, Kusche, & Cortes, 2004)] conducted in state-funded preschools in a mid-Atlantic state. As

Teachers’ Implementation Fidelity

Table 2 provides an overview of descriptive findings concerning implementation fidelity of MTP-LL. In terms of dosage, teachers reported using MTP-LL activities an average of 100 min per week (SD = 58), with a range of 15–300 min. Very few teachers (3.5%) reported using the activities for 30 min or less. Almost half (42%) reported using the activities for over 90 min a week, which is approximately the length we would anticipate for full implementation (six activities, 15 min each). Observed activity

Discussion

In the context of increasing use of literacy and language curricula in early childhood classrooms (Caswell & He, 2008), it is important to know more about the extent to which early childhood teachers are prepared to deliver these curricula with a high degree of implementation fidelity. It is also necessary to understand whether variations in the quality of implementation influences curricula's impact on student outcomes. Using three common indicators of fidelity of implementation – dosage,

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  • Cited by (0)

    This study was conducted by the MyTeachingPartner Research Group supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Interagency Consortium on School Readiness. We extend our deep appreciation to the cadre of teachers who worked with us throughout this period and who allowed us to experiment with new ways of supporting them.

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