Project LEARN January 2021–Present
As an Undergraduate Design Research Assistant for the funded project, Project LEARN, I am working in a team of designers to create preschool books that teach complex language skills. We communicate and work with the research team to create an extensive learning experience.
As a design team, including Renee Seward, Oscar Fernandez, and Paige Kingsley, we are responsible for designing a visual system that uses a set of rules, legibility, grid systems, hue, and graphic elements to effectively communicate the concepts in preschool education. Paige and I have individually designed separate books.
After testing this first round of Module 1 books with teachers, a new set of rules has been applied. We implemented these new rules into the Module 2 books. Module 3 will be starting soon!
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to teach complex language skills (that is, how to use information to draw inferences, use and understand syntactic/semantic relationships, and use and understand academic vocabulary) to preschool-age children during interactive book reading, turn-and-talks, and inferencing activities using informational texts.
Project Activities: Researchers will carry out three lines of activity. First, they will fully develop an informational text program and all of its components (informational texts, instructional objectives, sequence, teaching strategies, activities and materials, dosage, and professional development). These components will be embedded in three, 9-week modules focused on three science topics, Module 1: Life Science; Module 2: Earth Science; Module 3: Physical Science. Next, they will test the feasibility of each module in an authentic educational setting. Finally, they will assess the promise of the full 27-week informational text program in a pilot study using a small-scale multisite cluster-randomized design. During the pilot study, they will analyze the full range of costs associate with implementing the proposed informational text program.
Products: The products of this project will include a fully developed informational text program and evidence of promise. Researchers will share findings in conference proceedings and peer-reviewed publications.
Official Grant Proposal Title: Building Preschool Children’s Complex Language Using Informational Texts
Funded Project Title: Language Experiences around Reading Nonfiction Texts (Project LEARN)
Granting Agency: US Department of Education Sciences, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Research
Award Amount: $1,393,595
Award number: R305A200271
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