Study Vocabulary acquisition in the preschool years is predictive of later reading skills and school success in general. The amount of adult verbal input predicts the rate of vocabulary growth in young children. Through their daily interactions, teachers of young children have the ability to greatly impact children’s vocabulary at a crucial time when vocabulary acquisition is occurring rapidly in development. Subsets of the preschool population are at risk for delays in vocabulary acquisition, including children with disabilities, children who are economically disadvantaged, and children who are English Language Learners. Conceptual organizer Results Vocabulary instruction consists of both explicit instruction and implicit instruction. RESEARCH QUESTIONS What amount and types of verbal communications are used by teachers in inclusive preschool classrooms across scheduled activities? PARTICIPANTS Study took place in teachers’ classrooms or other school contexts. What activities were teacher’s engaged in? Vocabulary Instruction IN INCLUSIVE PRESCHOOL CLASSROOMS IMPLICIT INSTRUCTION Is defined as incidental exposure to words through naturally occurring activities such as conversations, questioning, storybooks, and television. EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION Is defined as explaining words, defining words, teaching word labels, and discussing words and ideas in various contexts. upon a How much vocabulary instruction is occurring in inclusive preschool classrooms? ? ? ? 9 teachers who worked in 5 different school districts in Northeast Ohio. Teachers varied in years of experience, education, and population served High level of diversity in terms of race, religion, nationality, and socio-economic status. What amount and type of explicit vocabulary instructional strategies are used by teachers in inclusive preschool classrooms? How does time spent in explicit vocabulary instruction compare across ecological variables (i.e., scheduled activities, intervention activities, materials, group arrangement)? SCOPE-L (System of Classroom Observations for Program Evaluation of Language) was the measure that was used to examine ecological and teacher variables. The ecological variables included scheduled activity, intervention activity, materials, and grouping. The teacher variables included vocabulary instruction-word labels, vocabulary instruction-word meaning, verbal communication/language use, other communicative behaviors, and other non-communicative behaviors. MEASURE Teachers were observed for the length of a preschool session. What amount and types of verbal communications are used by teachers in inclusive preschool classrooms across scheduled activities? Sources * Brown, T. (2015). An exploratory study of vocabulary instruction in inclusive preschool classrooms. (Electronic Thesis or Dissertation). Retrieved from https://etd.ohiolink.edu/ Bowman, B. T., Donovan, M. S., & Burns, M. S. (2001). Eager to learn. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore, MD: Brookes. Hindman, A.H. & Wasik, B. A. (2013). Vocabulary learning in Head Start: nature and extent of classroom instruction and its contributions to children’s learning. Journal of School Psychology, 51, 387-405. Neuman, S.B., & Dwyer, J. (2009). Missing in action: vocabulary instruction in pre-k. The Reading Teacher, 62(5), 384-392. Neuman, S.B., & Kaefer, T. (2013). Enhancing the intensity of vocabulary instruction for preschoolers at risk: the effects of group size on word knowledge and conceptual development. The Elementary School Journal, 113(4), 589-608. A 60°C ab 2 CAT BUG TREE CAT CAT Free Play Circle Time Class Acvity Choice Time Transions Snack Can’t tell 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 50 45 Verbalization 37.9% 25.9% 13.2% 8.9% 5.7% 6.9% 1.6% © 2015 Teresa Brown and Kristie Pretti-Frontczak. All rights reserved. http://b2kcoach.com % of me each acvity was observed percent of intervals observed BUG CAT TREE Music/Dance/ Recitation Dramatic/ Dress-up What was the focus of instruction when teachers used explicit vocabulary strategies? Pre-academic/ Cognitive percent of intervals observed 0 10 20 30 40 50 Which materials did teachers use when delivering explicit vocabulary instruction? Food & Food Preparation Pretend Play Toys No materials percent of intervals observed 0 10 20 30 40 50 During which daily activities did teachers use explicit vocabulary instructional strategies? percent of intervals observed 0 10 20 30 40 50 Word labels Word meaning Word labels Word meaning Which explicit vocabulary instructional strategies did teachers use? 0 5 10 15 percent of intervals observed Quesoning Word Labels Modeling Word Use Directs/Tells Ask/Quesons Provide Definion Modeling Word Meaning Correcng Prompng