“bathing” the most vulnerable children in language: closing the word gap carol m. trivette, phd...
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“Bathing” the Most Vulnerable Children in Language: Closing the Word Gap
Carol M. Trivette, PhD2015 National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute,
Chapel Hill, NCMay 13, 2015
Topics
• Who is here today• What is the Word Gap• What is the “Bridging the Word Gap: National
Research Network”• Is it still an issue• Strategies that help• What next
What is the “Word Gap”
Betty Hart and Todd Risley - 1980’s Both worked in preschool programs designed to boost the language skills of preschoolers from low-income families and were not happy with their resultsDecided to study the differences and similarities of what language was found in families from difference socio-economic back ground
The Study
• Recruited 13 families from upper or “professional” class, 10 families from middle class, and 6 families on welfare
• All had a baby between 7 and 12 months old• Next 2 ½ years observed and video typed each
family monthly• Analyzed 1,300 hours of causal interactions
between parent and their young children
Study Results - Similarities
• All families “disciplined their children and taught manners”
• All taught them “how to dress and toilet themselves”
• All showed “their children affection”• Said things like “Don’t jump on the couch” and
“Use a spoon” and “Do you have to go potty?”
Study Results - DifferencesAverage number of words heard in 1 hour
Professional families – 2,150Working class families – 1,250Welfare families – 620
The more parents talked to their children, the faster the children’s vocabularies grew and the higher children’s IQ scores at 3 years of age. (Hart & Risley,1995 Brookes)
Affirmations and Prohibitions
Affirmations – compliments (Good job) and responses in which parents repeated what the child said and built on it (Yes it is a bunny and it is eating a carrot).More affluent families - 32 affirmations and 5 prohibitions in 1 hour - ratio 6 to 1Working class families – 12 affirmations and 7 prohibitions in 1 hour – Welfare families – 5 affirmations and 11 prohibitions
What is the Bridging the Word Gap Network
A collaboration of nationally recognized researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders joined together to develop and push forward a coordinated national research agenda to develop individual, community and population-based interventions that address the word gap experienced by young children in poverty
Why the time is right to bridge research and practice
• Research has provided an understanding of the Word Gap and its consequences.
• Communities have begun area-wide campaigns to spread the word. (Providence Talks, RI)
• Public officials are speaking out.
• Interventions aimed at families and caregivers have been demonstrated.
Network made up of 6 Workgroups
1. Designing and evaluating interventions for parents (Ann Kaiser) 2. Designing and evaluating interventions for non-parental
caregivers and child care (Dale Walker)3. Mode of delivery of training for intervention (Howard
Goldstein)4. Contextual factors affecting parent engagement and
caregivers’ ability to implement interventions (Judy Carta & Megan Bair-Merritt)
5. Designing and evaluating population-level and community-level interventions (Scott McConnell & Dana Suskind)
6. Examining available analytic methods, designs and measurement approaches (Charles Greenwood & Peg Burchinal)
We need to finally “move the needle” on this word gap problem.
• Many, many children are still being left behind 30 years after Hart and Risley started their work.
• Let me tell you two stories.
And Still a Struggle
• #4 - Even Today • # 1 – Were there things that helped when you
were a child? :35 – 1:25• #2 - How can “we” help?1:12• #3 – How can the community help? 1:26
DEC Recommended PracticesInteraction Practices
INT1. Practitioners promote the child’s social-emotional development by observing, interpreting, and responding contingently to the range of the child’s emotional expressions.
INT2. Practitioners promote the child’s social development by encouraging the child to initiate or sustain positive interactions with other children and adults during routines and activities through modeling, teaching, feedback, or other types of guided support.
INT3. Practitioners promote the child’s communication development by observing, interpreting, responding contingently, and providing natural consequences for the child's verbal and non-verbal communication and by using language to label and expand on the child’s requests, needs, preferences, or interests.
Interaction Practices – (continued)
INT4. Practitioners promote the child’s cognitive development by observing, interpreting, and responding intentionally to the child's exploration, play, and social activity by joining in and expanding on the child's focus, actions, and intent.
INT5. Practitioners promote the child’s problem-solving behavior by observing, interpreting, and scaffolding in response to the child’s growing level of autonomy and self-regulation.
DEC Recommended Practices -Instruction
INS1. Practitioners, with the family, identify each child's strengths, preferences, and interests to engage the child in active learning.
INS2. Practitioners, with the family, identify skills to target for instruction that help a child become adaptive, competent, socially connected, and engaged and that promote learning in natural and inclusive environments.
INS5. Practitioners embed instruction within and across routines, activities, and environments to provide contextually relevant learning opportunities.
Instruction Practices (continued)
INS11. Practitioners provide instructional support for young children with disabilities who are dual language learners to assist them in learning English and in continuing to develop skills through the use of their home language.
INS13. Practitioners use coaching or consultation strategies with primary caregivers or other adults to facilitate positive adult-child interactions and instruction intentionally designed to promote child learning and development.
Video
• Playing with folding laundry 5:02• Say it again 2:39• Diapering Dad 4:09• Mom talking 5 min. 3:08• Talking diapers 1:00• Banana Pudding 2:25• Purse engagement 2:52
Strategies
• Sing with children and recite poetry/rhymes to playfully introduce new words
• Read to children everyday. Take time to talk about new words. Help the child find clues to the meaning of the words in the book like through illustrations
• Let children time to learn the meaning of new words before moving adding more words.
• Talk with children and encourage them to talk with each other.
• Keep the conversation going by making comments and asking questions
• When in a conversation with a children, invite children to think and share ideas.
• Think about what new language could come up during an activity and introduce it
• When taking a field trip introduce do words such as landscape or kneading dough at a bakery.
• Talk with families so they understand how important it is to talk with their children and share new vocabulary words.
• Send home conversation starters based on the child’s interest and classroom activities
• Include discussion questions when sending home books.
• Post videos of conversations between teachers and children.
Colker, ND
Talking with Parents -Group Activity
You need to encourage a family to talk more with their child. Because of the family’s culture, they do not speak “standard” English.How would you begin a conversation about the importance of children learning “standard” English?What would you say and how might you deal with any negative responses from the parent?
What will you do next?Group Activity
Based on what you have learned today in this presentation and through out this conference, what new ideas might you try in your work with parents or directly with children?Share your ideas in the group and be prepared to share them with the larger group.
References
Colker, L. ND. The word gap: The early years make a difference. Teaching Young Children. (7) 3, pp 26-28.Hart B. & Risley, T. (1995). Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young American Children. Baltimore: BrookesHart B. & Risley, T. (2003). The early catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by age 3. American Education, 27 (1) 4 – 9.Talbort, M. (January 12, 2015). The talking cure. The New Yorker. pp 38-47.