August 31, 2007
Preschoolers in West Virginia are reaping the benefits of an EDC program that offers professional development and mentoring to their teachers. Teachers who participated in the EDC language and literacy program saw concrete improvements in their classroom instruction techniques, according to an EDC study.
The study covered 110 preschool teachers and more than 2,000 four year olds. EDC found that teachers who enrolled in the program were able to have more “intentional” conversations with students, that is, productive, learning-oriented interactions.
The program also sparked teachers to offer children more challenging vocabulary and to encourage children to write as part of classroom activities. Vice President Joanne Brady and Nancy Clark-Chiarelli of the Center for Children & Families shared the findings of the four-year study at the Institute of Education Sciences in Washington, D.C., this summer.
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