Uses of Technology to Support Early Childhood Practice

Uses of Technology to Support Early Childhood Practice FINAL REPORT OPRE REPORT 2015-38 | MARCH 2015 Authors: Marc W. Hernandez, Elc Estrera, and Carrie E. Markovitz, NORC at the University of Chicago Paul Muyskens, Greg Bartley, Kerry Bollman, Gayle Kelly, and Ben Silberglitt, TIES Submitted to: Kathleen Dwyer, Social Science Research Analyst Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation Administration for Children and Families U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Contract Number: HHS P233-37-042T Project Director: Marc W. Hernandez NORC at the University of Chicago 1155 E. 60th Street Chicago, Illinois, 60637 This report is in the public domain. Permission to reproduce is not necessary. Suggested citation: Hernandez, M.W., Estrera, E., Markovitz, C.E., Muyskens, P., Bartley, G., Bollman, K., Kelly, G. & Silberglitt, B. (2015). Uses of technology to support early childhood practice. OPRE Report 2015- 38, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Disclaimer The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This report and other reports sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation are available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/index.html.  Uses of Technology to Support Early Childhood Practice Table of Contents Overview................................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 2 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................12 2. Methodology ...................................................................................................................14 Overview of the Review Methodology........................................................................................... 14 Web Search Process.......................................................................................................................14 Web Search Review Criteria......................................................................................................... 17 Academic Search Process ............................................................................................................. 17 Expert Interviews............................................................................................................................. 18 3. Findings by Topic Area ..................................................................................................21 Topic Area 1 – Instruction and Assessment ................................................................................21 1.1 Technologies that Support Instruction and Assessment.....................................................22 1.2 Applications of Technologies for Instruction and Assessment............................................24 1.3 Technologies for Tracking Progress and Individualizing Instruction with Integrated Curricula and Assessments................................................................................................33 Topic Area 2 – Parent, Family and Community Engagement (PFCE)........................................41 2.1 Topic 3.1 3.2 Topic 4.1 4.2 Technologies that Support PFCE........................................................................................ 41 Area 3 – Professional Development and Informal Learning ............................................49 Technologies that Support Professional Development.......................................................49 Technologies that Support Informal Learning.....................................................................68 Area 4 – Facilitators and Barriers to Technology Use......................................................75 Overcoming Barriers to Technology Use............................................................................75 Staff Development as a Limiting Factor .............................................................................. 79 4. Conclusions....................................................................................................................80 Topic Area 1 – Instruction and Assessment ................................................................................80 Topic Area 2 – PFCE ....................................................................................................................... 82 Topic Area 3 – Professional Development and Informal Learning ............................................83 Topic Area 4 – Facilitators and Barriers to Technology Use......................................................85 Recommendations for Research, Policy and Practice................................................................86 5. Bibliography ...................................................................................................................90 FINAL REPORT | i Uses of Technology to Support Early Childhood Practice Appendix A: Detailed Description of Search Processes......................................................97 Appendix B: Expert Interview Script ...................................................................................102 Appendix C: Glossary...........................................................................................................107 Appendix D: Topic Categorized Bibliography.....................................................................113 Appendix E: Key Findings from Evaluative Literature for Featured Exemplars by Topic Area .............................................................................................................................144 FINAL REPORT | ii Uses of Technology to Support Early Childhood Practice Table of Tables Table 1.1. Table 2.1.1. Table 2.1.2. Table 2.1.3. Table 2.2. Table 3.1. Table 3.2. Table 3.3. Table 3.4. Table 4.1. Table 4.2. Table 5.1. Table 5.2. Table 5.3. Table 5.4. Table 5.5. Table 5.6. Table 5.7. Table 5.8. Table 5.9. Table 5.10. Table 6.1. Table 6.2. Table A.1. Table C.1. Table E.1. Specific Research Inquiries by T opic Area ....................................................................... 13 Search Terms for Topic Area 1: Instruction and Assessment ..........................................15 Search Terms for Topic Area 2: Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) .16 Search Terms for Topic Area 3: Professional Development and Informal Learning ........16 Expert Interview Participants ............................................................................................ 19 Technologies that Support Instruction and Assessment...................................................22 Curricula and Instructional Tools Identified in Web Search, Classified by Product Features and Technologies ..............................................................................................25 Assessments from Web Search, Classified by Product Features and Technologies.......30 Integrated Curricula and Assessments from Web Search, Classified by Product Features and Technologies ..............................................................................................35 T echnologies that Support PFCE ..................................................................................... 42 Products and Programs to Support PFCE, Classified by Technology Features and T echnologies ..................................................................................................................... 44 Technologies that Support Professional Development.....................................................50 Video: Products and Programs that Support Professional Development, Classified by Types of Video Technologies............................................................................................ 55 Online Coursework: Products and Programs that Support Professional Development, Classified by types of Online Coursework Technologies..................................................58 Social Media Networking: Products and Programs that Support Professional Development, Classified by Types of Social Media Networking Technologies................60 Other: Products and Programs that Support Professional Development, Classified by Other Types of Technologies............................................................................................61 Technologies that Support Informal Learning...................................................................69 Video: Products and Programs that Support Informal Learning, Classified by Types of Video Technologies...........................................................................................................72 Online Coursework: Products and Programs that Support Informal Learning, Classified by Types of Online Coursework Technologies ...................................................................... 72 Social Media Networking: Products and Programs that Support Informal Learning, Classified by Types of Social Media Networking Technologies .......................................73 Other: Products and Programs that Support Informal Learning, Classified by Other Types of Technologies......................................................................................................74 Frequencies of Expert-Nominated Barriers to Technology Use .......................................76 Frequencies of Expert-Nominated Facilitators for Technology Use .................................77 Initial Search Term Sets for Topic Area 1 Research Inquiries..........................................98 Professional Development and Informal Learning Evaluative Articles by Technology...137 Comparison conditions in evaluative articles on MTP. ................................................... 149 Table of Figures Figure A.1. Web-search Process......................................................................................................... 97 FINAL REPORT | iii Uses of Technology to Support Early Childhood Practice Overview Technology has become increasingly prevalent in early care and education settings, yet little is known about the effectiveness, function, and requirements for technologies that are available to early childhood programs. As such, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Planning Research and Evaluation (OPRE) contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago to review the knowledge base related to the use of technology to support the practice of early childhood practitioners who work directly with children and families. The review was designed to examine uses of technology among four Topic Areas of interest to ACF/OPRE. The first three Topic Areas focused on early childhood practitioners’ use of technology to support 1) instruction and assessment, 2) parent, family and community engagement (PFCE), and 3) professional development and informal learning. The fourth Topic Area outlined barriers to and facilitators of practitioners’ effective use of technology to support early childhood practice. NORC employed three methods to complete the review: a web search to obtain a broad sampling of both common and cutting-edge uses of technology; a search of academic databases to establish an evidence-base for the technologies; and interviews with 16 experts who have built, used, or evaluated these technologies. This report presents findings from this review. Key Findings • Theintegrationofcurriculaandassessmentsviatechnologyisenablingpractitioners to better track child progress and individualize instruction. Developers are building software packages that can capture assessment data, score it, and provide data-based instructional suggestions instantaneously. Results can be used to differentiate instruction to an individual child or aggregated across multiple children to form small groups. The technologies allow for objective data based decision making for instruction. • Videoandtraditionalsoftwarearethetwomostcommontechnologiestosupport PFCE. The prevalence of these technologies is consistent with the two primary objectives for PFCE technology use – to develop and maintain positive relationships through regular communication, and to build parents’ skills by sharing facts, ideas, and exemplars with children’s parents. • Effectiveprofessionaldevelopmentproducts/programsuseavarietyofvideo technologies to communicate with practitioners, model behavior, and critique practice. Video had the strongest evidence base for a professional development technology. Live video conferencing connects practitioners with expert coaches remotely. Recordings of high quality teaching provide practitioners with quality exemplars to model practice. Video recordings of one’s own practice allow for self-reflection and third party review and critique. • Administrators play a key role in either encouraging or hindering practitioners’ use of technology. Providing adequate resources, training, and technical support, leading by example, and recognizing high performing staff, are among the most effective strategies to encourage successful practitioner use of technology. Strong empirical evidence demonstrating effectiveness can engender support for technology use among administrators and practitioners. However, the existing evidence base for the use of current technologies to support early childhood practice is sparse. To inform practice, studies that produce evidence of effectiveness for current technologies in a timely manner are needed. FINAL REPORT | 1 Uses of Technology to Support Early Childhood Practice Executive Summary Over the past two decades, technology has become increasingly prevalent in early care and education settings, growing out of the recognition that technology may be used to improve program practice and, ultimately, children’s learning and development (Barron, Kemker, Harmes, & Kalaydjian, 2003; Diamond, Justice, Siegler, & Snyder, 2013; NAEYC, 2012). Unfortunately, little is known about the effectiveness, function, and requirements for technologies that are available to early childhood programs. Prompted by this gap in knowledge and the increasing prevalence of technology in early childhood settings the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Planning Research and Evaluation (OPRE) contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago to conduct a literature review and expert consultations to better understand how technology can be used to support and improve the quality of practice of early childhood practitioners. The goal of the project was to review the knowledge base related to the use of technology to support the practice of early childhood professionals who work directly with children and families. To accomplish this goal, the review answers seven specific research inquiries within four Topic Areas of interest to ACF/OPRE (see Table 1). The first three Topic Areas describe early childhood practitioners’ use of technology while the fourth Topic Area outlines barriers and facilitators of practitioners’ effective use of technology to support early childhood practice. Table 1.1 Specific Research Inquiries by Topic Area Topic Area Research Inquiry 1.1 What technologies are commonly used in early childhood settings with children to support instruction and assessment? 1. Instruction and Assessment 1.2 How do practitioners use technology with children for instruction and assessment? 1.3. How is technology used to track progress and individualize instruction/services to children? 2. Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) 2.1 What technologies are commonly used to support parent, family and community engagement (PFCE)? 3. Professional Development and Informal Learning 3.1. In what ways has technology been used effectively to provide professional development and training for early childhood practitioners (e.g., product-specific training, prescribed coaching and mentoring)? 3.2. How do early childhood practitioners use technology to support informal learning (e.g., independent learning, peer collaboration)? 4. Facilitators and Barriers 4.1. How did early childhood programs (Head Start in particular) that successfully implement technology overcome barriers to implementation? 4.2. Is staff development a factor limiting the fidelity of implementation of technology in early childhood settings? FINAL REPORT | 2 Uses of Technology to Support Early Childhood Practice Methodology The review team employed three methods to address these research inquiries. First, the team conducted a web search to obtain a comprehensive sampling of both common and cutting-edge uses of technology that support early childhood practice. Second, the team conducted a search of academic databases, establishing an evidence base through the identification of literature that evaluated the impact of the technologies and/or technology using programs on child, family, or practitioner outcomes. Finally, the team interviewed sixteen early-childhood and technology experts (i.e., researchers and developers) who have built, used, or evaluated these technologies and associated technology-mediated programs. These experts provided first-hand descriptions of the facilitators and barriers to effective technology use by early childhood practitioners.