Preparing Preschool Teachers to Engage in Reliable and Individualized Progress Monitoring Practices using an Online Asynchronous Training

The primary aims of the proposed project are to a) develop an online training for preparing early childhood practitioners to engage in progress monitoring, and b) increase the capacity of the PI to engage in rigorous analytical and evaluative procedures throughout all steps of the development process. At the end of the project, three products will be developed and disseminated. The first product will be the online training. This training will be freely available through a web-based platform with the content of the training informed by the PI’s research on training educators to collect data, analyze data, and use data to make instructional decisions. The training will be refined through field testing, focus groups, and iterative single-case designs. A randomized control trial will occur to evaluate the impact of the training on preschool teacher’s progress monitoring abilities and child outcomes. The evaluation study will occur across 24 preschool classrooms in Central Kentucky and include 72 children. Teachers and children will be divided into three groups: a) business-as-usual, b) online training, and c) online training with feedback. The data analysis plan will be developed in collaboration with mentors. The second product is an implementation measure for assessing a teacher’s implementation of progress monitoring strategies targeted through the training. The third product is a content assessment to measure a teacher’s knowledge surrounding progress monitoring. The implementation measure and content assessment will be informed by the PI’s past research in evaluating the social and content validity of assessments used to measure teacher engagement in data collection and data analysis. Further technical validation of the measures will occur throughout the project. The project was developed based on findings from the PI’s previous studies and research; therefore, the PI’s career development goals were developed to allow him to successfully complete the project and continue this line of research. Three goals were created: a) build capacity to learn novel research methodologies, c) disseminate products and research findings beyond paywalled publication outlets, d) think and plan for the long-term. These goals will be accomplished through formal and informal mentoring meetings in which the mentors will serve dynamic roles that transition between teacher, sponsor, and collaborator. In addition, the PI will attend relevant training institutes, workshops, writing retreats, and attend the Faculty Success Program provided by the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity.