Many public and private initiatives have focused on improving prekindergarten (PK) through Grade 12 mathematics education, given that the mathematics content learned before college is foundational for later learning and college success across STEM subjects. Although decades of educational research have studied PK-12 mathematics interventions, the…

Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs are frequently evaluated using randomized controlled trial (RCT) methodology as a means to assess program impacts. What is often missing in RCT studies is a robust parallel investigation of the multi-level implementation of the program. The field of implementation science bridges the gap between the RCT…

This paper reports a pilot study to determine the potential impact of an integrated STEM curriculum on Pre-K teachers' engineering content knowledge, self-efficacy and teaching practice. Using a randomized control trial design, researchers examined the impact of the curriculum in 17 Pre-K classrooms (8 intervention classrooms, 9 control…

A growing body of research exists on the effectiveness of classroom-based intervention programs to prevent and ameliorate social, emotional, and learning difficulties demonstrated by young children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Yet, little research has examined the influence of these targeted intervention programs on the…

Background: Students, parents, teachers, and theorists often advocate for direct instruction on both concepts and procedures, but some theorists suggest that including instruction on procedures in combination with concepts may limit learning opportunities and student understanding. Aims: This study evaluated the effect of instruction on a math…

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to examine the impact of Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction on 3rd-5th grade deaf and hard of hearing students' writing and written language compared to a business-as-usual condition (treatment group N = 41, comparison group N = 22). A total of 18 hours of instruction was provided for each of two…

This randomized controlled trial focused on 59 struggling readers in the third and fourth grades (30 female, 29 male) and examined the efficacy of an intervention aimed at increasing students' multisyllabic word reading (MWR). The study also explored the relative effects of an embedded motivational beliefs (MB) training component. Struggling…

Purpose: The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of computer-assisted input-based intervention for children with speech sound disorders (SSD). Method: The Sound Start Study was a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Seventy-nine early childhood centers were invited to participate, 45 were recruited, and 1,205 parents and educators of 4- and…

The contribution of repeated e-book reading with and without word explanation support and its effect on receptive and expressive word learning among preschoolers was examined. Seventy-eight kindergartners were randomly divided into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group received two individual reading sessions of an e-book…

Purpose: We investigated a small-group intervention designed to teach vocabulary and comprehension skills to preschoolers who were at risk for language and reading disabilities. These language skills are important and reliable predictors of later academic achievement. Method: Preschoolers heard prerecorded stories 3 times per week over the course…

We examined the relations between teachers' use of comments during book reading sessions in preschool classrooms and the vocabulary growth of children with low and moderately low language ability. Using data from a larger randomized controlled trial, we analyzed comments defined as utterances that give, explain, expand, or define. Comments were…

This study described the commenting practices of Head Start teachers, and the relationship of comments to the expressive and receptive vocabulary growth of children with below-the-mean language ability across one year of preschool. Participants included 52 Head Start teachers, and 489 children (247 early intervention candidates and 242 Head Start…

In the 2014 report, "Closing the Achievement Gap Through Modification of Neurocognitive and Neuroendocrine Function: Results from a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of an Innovative Approach to the Education of Children in Kindergarten," researchers examined the impacts of "Tools of the Mind" on cognitive and academic…

Purpose: The present article reports on the implementation and results of a randomized intervention trial targeting the literate language skills of prekindergarten children without identified language disorders but with low oral language skills. Method: Children (N = 82; 45 boys and 37 girls) were screened-in and randomized to a business-as-usual…

The adoption of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM, 2010) in 46 states has raised the mathematical proficiency bar for U.S. students. The advent of these new standards is at a time when the body of empirical evidence on the negative consequences of early and persistent difficulties in mathematics is clear, compelling, and…