Our Project
Students attending schools in neighborhoods and districts with disproportionate levels of poverty and segregation have long borne the brunt of larger societal inequities that manifest at the classroom level. COVID-19 has only exacerbated this reality with implications that have yet to be fully comprehended by educators, as well as researchers studying its impact on learning and literacy development in the early years. Due in part to the novelty and unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is likely that practitioners are struggling to implement an early literacy curriculum with fidelity in the remote environment. This field-inspired concern animated the organization of a research team to both gain an understanding of and support the needs of local Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) teachers and parents facilitating literacy learning. MERC has partnered with this team to support the dissemination and study of the literacy resources in the Richmond region and beyond.
To support Pre-K parents’ and teachers’ literacy practices, we have developed the infographic below titled: Interactive Read Aloud. Your feedback as a Pre-K parent or teacher is instrumental to improving this infographic and subsequent infographics that this team will develop. Please engage with the interactive infographic below by clicking the link. After spending some time with the infographic, click the appropriate ‘Survey’ link to give our team feedback on the infographic and to let us know about your needs facilitating literacy learning with your pre-kindergartener/s.
Review the infographic on home based interactive read alouds
Click the “Full Screen” button at the bottom right of the page and then zoom into the infographic to click each element.
After reviewing, take this survey if you are a parent or a teacher.
Review the interactive infographic on phonemic awareness
Click the “Full Screen” button at the bottom right of the page and then zoom into the infographic to click each element.
Review the interactive infographic on vocabulary development
Click the “Full Screen” button at the bottom right of the page and then zoom into the infographic to click each element.
Review the interactive infographic on supporting literacy through play
Click the “Full Screen” button at the bottom right of the page and then zoom into the infographic to click each element.
Research and Design Team
Kevin Clay, PhD (Project Director), Catina Venning, JD, Christine Spence, PhD,
Lisa Cipolletti, Joan Rhodes, PhD, Serra De Arment, PhD, Preeti Kamat
Rationale for Research
Research with Head Start and other organizations has consistently demonstrated that high quality Pre-K instruction plays a tremendous role in developing literacy skills, particularly among disadvantaged students, that correlates to academic gains well into later years (e.g., Ladd, 2017; Lee, Zhai, Brooks-Gunn, Hans & Waldfogel, 2014). In comparison, peers with limited access to Pre-K literacy instruction or whose access is mediated by less effective Pre-K literacy practices experience relative losses. While researchers have identified that there are benefits to technology integration and virtual learning to facilitate Pre-K literacy development with disadvantaged students, this body of research concentrates on virtual learning as supplementary, not as a primary learning context (Thai & Ponciano, 2016). This research also offers limited insight about the role of parents supporting children’s literacy at home. Due to these gaps, we are conducting a needs assessment with Pre-K educators and parents to learn more about what they perceive to be gaps and strengths with the current literacy instruction. Responding to preliminary needs expressed by local parents and educators, the research team will also pilot a research-informed infographic literacy tool to support Pre-K parents and teachers. This interactive infographic is the first in a series of forthcoming infographics that will be informed by the instructional needs Pre-K teachers and parents express through a series of surveys and focus groups that will occur between April and June, 2021.
