© Benchmark Education Company, LLC Ready to Advance Research Foundation Summary 1R ES E A R C H FO UN DAT I ONVicki Gibson, Ph.D., and Janet R. Macpherson, Ph.D.READY T OBuilding Literacy and Language for Life™®®B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n yRTA_WP_Research_JR_Julie.indd 19/10/18 10:30 AMBenchmark Education Company 145 Huguenot Street • New Rochelle, NY • 10801© Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be published, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the publisher.Y39763Call toll-free 1-877-236-2465 or visit our website at www.benchmarkeducation.com.RTA_WP_Research_JR_Julie.indd 29/10/18 10:30 AMTA B LE O F C O NT ENT SExecutive Summary ................................................................................... 4Introduction ................................................................................................6Research Foundation Framework ................................................................7Summary and Discussion ..........................................................................21References .................................................................................................22R ES E A R C H FO UN DAT I ONVicki Gibson, Ph.D., and Janet R. Macpherson, Ph.D.RTA_WP_Research_JR_Julie.indd 39/10/18 10:30 AM4 Ready to Advance Research Foundation © Benchmark Education Company, LLCE X EC U T I V E S U M M A R YBenchmark Education Company is introducing a comprehensive, early learning program, Ready to Advance. This program provides research-based instruction and practices for children ages 3–5. This research foundation presents the research related to early childhood education that influenced the creation of Ready to Advance. The practices determined to have the most influence on children’s gains in a preschool setting (Farran, Meador, Christopher, Nesbitt, & Bilbrey 2017) serve as the framework for describing Ready to Advance. These practices are an integral part of Ready to Advance.Increasing the quality of instruction: `` Ready to Advance content and skills follow a scope and sequence aligned with evidence-based learning progressions (Hess 2010; Hess & Kearns 2010, 2011) that scaffold content, skills, and learning outcomes from easy to more challenging and from shorter to longer activities.`` Repeated exposures of content and skills in Ready to Advance are made possible using a spiraling curriculum technique (Johnson 2012) which allows for a recursive, cumulative design.`` The best practices incorporated into each lesson and professional development supports for Ready to Advance increase the quality of instruction by providing additional resources needed to enhance instructional effectiveness.Creating a more positive emotional climate:`` Research (i.e., Fuhs et al. 2013; Rimm-Kaufman et al. 2009; Ursache et al. 2012) confirms a positive emotional climate and a less stressful classroom climate are linked to better outcomes for children, both emotionally and academically.`` Classroom management routines and procedures embedded in daily lessons in Ready to Advance ensure children have equal access to high-quality learning experiences.`` Each Ready to Advance unit includes a social and emotional lap book that serves as a starting point for frequent practice opportunities for children related to self-regulation, making responsible decisions, showing empathy for others, and engaging in respectful communication.Fostering higher levels of child involvement and teachers listening more to children:`` Ready to Advance contains developmentally appropriate activities and graduated, central focus questions that encourage shared talking, reading, writing, and collaborative participation.`` Books used in Ready to Advance are written specifically for the program and contain vocabulary words, concepts, and skills aligned with instructional purposes that enable richer conversational exchanges (Bierman et al. 2008), keeping children engaged (Palermo & Mikulski 2014).RTA_WP_Research_JR_Julie.indd 49/10/18 10:30 AM© Benchmark Education Company, LLC Ready to Advance Research Foundation 5`` Classroom management tools facilitate the gradual release of responsibility for decision-making and self-regulation from the teacher to the child.Creating more math opportunities:`` Daily math lessons in Ready to Advance include modeling, feedback, and interactive practice to ensure development of conceptual and procedural knowledge of what is being learned, why it is useful, and how it can be applied (Clements et al. 2016; National Research Council 2009). `` Mathematics concepts, informed by evidence-based learning progressions (Hess 2010; Hess & Kearns 2010, 2011), are not confined to just the daily math activities, but are also: integrated with science content; discussed, as appropriate, during read-aloud activities and in whole and small groups; incorporated into art projects, physical development, and other areas; and reinforced in the learning centers.Fostering social learning interactions:`` Ready to Advance was created with the importance of social learning interactions in mind, both children’s interactions with teachers (Hamre et al. 2012) and with peers (Acar et al. 2015; Bulotsky-Shearer et al. 2012). `` The children in the Ready to Advance classroom have opportunities to work with partners and small-group team leaders where they choose their learning center and the children they want to learn with. Groups and choices are changeable to encourage children to experience many jobs and develop leadership skills.Providing more sequential activities:`` Ready to Advance, informed by evidence-based learning progressions (Hess 2010; Hess & Kearns 2010, 2011), ensures instruction and practice are scaffolded from easy to more difficult and from shorter to longer activities, helping children gain expertise over time.`` Not only are age-appropriate expectations factored into the academically oriented whole- and small-group instruction, but also into the Ready to Advance routines and transitions procedures, which build in complexity across the year.Reducing transition time:`` To reduce the stress, frequency, and time associated with transitions (Burts et al. 1990; Hemmeter et al. 2008), the classroom management tools and recommendations embedded within Ready to Advance instill development of efficient behavioral habits in children.`` The Ready to Advance classroom, using the management routines and procedures, creates clear expectations and a predictable and orderly classroom where children, over time, become comfortable with transitions, know exactly what is supposed to happen, look forward to the next activity, and feel confident in their ability to move through their day in the classroom. RTA_WP_Research_JR_Julie.indd 59/10/18 10:30 AM6 Ready to Advance Research Foundation © Benchmark Education Company, LLCINT R O DU CT IO NPreschool matters. From the early legacy programs, such as the Perry Preschool Project and the Abecedarian Project, to current projects, such as the 2017 report from Duke University, Center for Child and Family Policy and the Brookings Institution, The Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects, the question we are all trying to answered is: how do we prepare young children so they are ready to learn when they enter Kindergarten? This is a very complicated question with many variables to consider; therefore, there is not one single, simple answer. Attempting to answer this question requires careful and thoughtful consideration of well-researched early childhood techniques and practices that help children achieve the best results in all domains of development. These techniques and practices must then be combined, by authors with long, successful histories of working with preschool children, into a well-organized, comprehensive early learning program that not only meets the needs of children but provides teachers with the necessary materials, directions, and options needed for diverse groups of children. Support for teachers is needed through comprehensive professional development to ensure teacher needs are met. This description fits the new comprehensive early learning program from Benchmark Education Company called Ready to Advance.Ready to Advance is a comprehensive early learning program that provides research-based instruction and practices for children across the school year, for full-day and half-day early learning classrooms. It supports developmentally appropriate instruction across all domains of learning and correlates to the state standards for Prekindergarten and Kindergarten. The domains of learning include: social and emotional development; speaking and listening; health and physical development; social studies; mathematics; language and literacy; and science. Additionally, Ready to Advance provides all the necessary program components, so teachers can focus on building positive interactions that encourage language learning and effective communication with children, thus allowing children ample opportunities to talk and gain confidence in their abilities to express themselves. This research foundation presents the research related to early childhood education that influenced the creation of Ready to Advance. Using the backdrop of current research, the program design and components, classroom management practices, and classroom infrastructure needed to support both children and teachers will be highlighted. The practices identified as being most related to children’s gains (Farran, Meador, Christopher, Nesbitt, & Bilbrey 2017a) will serve as a framework for the Ready to Advance research foundation. How do we prepare young children so they are ready to learn when they enter Kindergarten?RTA_WP_Research_JR_Julie.indd 69/10/18 10:30 AM© Benchmark Education Company, LLC Ready to Advance Research Foundation 7R ES E A R C H F O UN DAT I ON F RA M E WOR KFarran et al. (2017a) “embarked on a unique mission to improve the quality of its public Prekindergarten programs through a partnership with a group of developmental researchers in an iterative, data-based venture” (p. 1466). Along with observational measures, Farran et al. (2017a) used standardized measures of child achievement, along with measures of self-regulation, narrative comprehension, and early mathematics, to study children’s gains. Data from the first year of the study, which was supported by data from the second year, identified practices consistently related to greater gains experienced by the participating children. This research foundation will incorporate the practices identified by Farran et al. (2017a) as a framework to not only discuss the pertinent research but also to identify how Ready to Advance is related to and incorporates all these practices.Increasing the quality of instructionAccording to Pianta, Barnett, Burchinal, and Thornburg (2009), there is compelling evidence that shows preschool programs have lasting positive effects on children’s cognitive and social development. “Programs that are more educationally focused and well defined produce larger effects on child development” (Pianta et al. p. 50). Additionally, the delivery of developmentally stimulating opportunities and the ways adults interact with the children are particularly important. Increasing the quality of instruction, based on this understanding of what is important, requires a combination of several components. Learning progressions are “descriptive continuums of how students develop and demonstrate more sophisticated understanding over time” (Hess 2010, p. 57). Hess reports there is a beginning point for learning progressions that anchors the progressions with what is known about relevant concepts, based on content area, and the reasoning abilities children bring with them to school. At the ending point of the progressions are what society believes or expects children be able to do and know about different content areas. In between the beginning and ending points, according to Hess (2010), is a network of ideas and practices that foster the building of ever-maturing understanding. Hess simplifies this explanation by stating, “a learning progression can help teachers to visually and verbally articulate a hypothesis, or an anticipated path, of how students learning will typically move toward increased understanding over time with good instruction” (Hess, p. 57). The learning progressions cross grade boundaries, showing the way in which core concepts and essential skills of different content areas typically develop when supported by “Programs that are more educationally focused and well defined produce larger effects on child development” (Pianta et al. p. 50). RTA_WP_Research_JR_Julie.indd 79/10/18 10:30 AM8 Ready to Advance Research Foundation © Benchmark Education Company, LLCappropriate, strong instruction (Hess & Kearns 2011). Hess and Kearns (2011) also suggest learning progressions can be used for backward design that puts the focus on the learning outcomes.Pianta et al. (2009) identify the elements that should be included in two types of curricula: the comprehensive curricula that “organize classroom activities and experiences for the entire classroom day” (p. 76), and supplements that are “embedded into a general curricular framework to provide encapsulated lessons explicitly focused [for example] on language and literacy” (p. 76). Using language and literacy instruction as an example, Pianta et al. indicate that either type of curricula, comprehensive or supplemental, should provide the following:A detailed scope and sequence for language and literacy instruction for the entire academic year, weekly lesson plans specifying a set of language and literacy objectives and corresponding activities, example scripts (and for some, companion Web sites) illustrating quality implementation of activities, books and other materials (e.g., manipulatives like blocks) needed to implement the curriculum, informal assessments to monitor children’s progress in the curriculum, and implementation checklists to monitor teachers’ fidelity to the curriculum. (Pianta et al. p. 76)Application in Ready to AdvanceReady to Advance was designed, from scratch, using all the latest research to inform its development. Research-based developmental learning progressions (Hess 2010; Hess & Kearns 2010, 2011) that scaffold content, skills, and learning outcomes from easy to more challenging and from shorter to longer activities informed the content and skills included within the early learning program. The content and skills were identified and organized into a comprehensive scope and sequence using a matrix that mapped all the state guidelines and standards for children ages 3–5 years old with the position statements from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)* and the Early Learning Outcomes Framework from Head Start (2015)**. This extensive planning enabled the recursive, cumulative design of Ready to Advance. Repeated exposures of content and skills in Ready to Advance were made possible using the spiraling curriculum technique. The spiraling curriculum was first advanced by Jerome Burner in 1960 and was based on the hypothesis that, taught correctly, complex content can be taught to even the youngest students (Johnson 2012). According to Johnson, the key features of the spiraling curriculum are: topics, themes, or subjects are initially taught and then revisited several times; the complexity of the topic or theme increases with each revisit; and the new learning has a relationship with old learning and is put into that context through activation of prior knowledge. * https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/dap** https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/elof-ohs-framework.pdfReady to Advance was designed, from scratch, using all the latest research to inform its development.RTA_WP_Research_JR_Julie.indd 89/10/18 10:30 AM© Benchmark Education Company, LLC Ready to Advance Research Foundation 9Ready to Advance makes use of whole-group and small-group instruction. Whole-group instruction makes use of the teacher–child managed whole-group instruction, described by Lin, Justice, Emery, Mashburn, and Pentimonti (2017), in which “the teacher and children are actively working together and are coengaged in an activity, such as reading and discussing a storybook” (p. 458). This is contrasted with whole-group instruction where the teacher is basically in charge and children are passive participants. The teacher–child managed whole-group instruction in the preschool classroom has a positive relationship to children’s gains in language and literacy skills (Connor, Morrison, & Slominski 2006). Whole-group overviews and quick reviews provide the daily link to prior learning with new information to sustain gains and deepen comprehension. According to Godwin et al. (2016), when instruction duration increases from 10 to 30 minutes, on-task behavior declined, and during the whole-group instruction, the on-task behaviors were lower than in other instructional formats. As a result, in Ready to Advance, the whole-group lessons are relatively short, introducing the topic or skill succinctly, identifying the link to prior learning, and then follow-up instruction occurs in the small-group instruction, at both teacher and work tables, and is reinforced during purposeful play in the learning centers. Small-group instruction in Ready to Advance allows, for instance, differentiation of instruction, additional targeted practice at different levels for different groups of children, collaborative conversations, feedback at point of need, and intentional instruction and guided practice for social competencies. Chien et al. (2010) found children made better progress when they were in classrooms where teachers had planned activities that were taught in small groups of children with the teachers providing support to children as they learned difficult skills. Each unit of Ready to Advance not only lays out the daily activities, both whole and small group, but also makes available additional instructional and practice activities that can be used to reteach or extend learning. The assessments included with Ready to Advance inform the planning, instructional, and practice activities as well as provide progress reporting. The assessment options with Ready to Advance include: Early Learning Screener; monthly curriculum-based unit checklists; and a comprehensive benchmark assessment that may be completed three times per year to estimate and report progress and achievement.Finally, Ready to Advance and the professional development that supports Ready to Advance provides additional resources to help teachers enhance instructional effectiveness. The Teacher’s Resource System (TRS) provides teaching tips at the point of need to meet the needs of all children. The Classroom Management Guide details how to implement effective routines and procedures to achieve an environment that is predictable and orderly. The Emergent Writing Guides provide details of the instruction that develops foundational skills for written expression, including body posture, grip, alignment, and orientation to draw, paint, and print letters and numerals. The professional development training provided by expert consultants prepares teachers to pull all the parts together into a classroom where children feel comfortable and ready to learn. Whole-group overviews and quick reviews provide the daily link to prior learning with new information to sustain gains and deepen comprehension. RTA_WP_Research_JR_Julie.indd 99/10/18 10:30 AMNext >