Increasing Student Engagement and Embedded Learning Opportunities in Early Literacy Instruction at an Urban Preschool through Teacher Instructional Support and Feedback

Using a combined multiple baseline and alternating treatments design across three classrooms, the present study examined the level of teacher support needed to increase student engagement and practice opportunities for academic skills. The study was conducted during circle time at an urban preschool. Teacher support included a sequence of professional development, feedback, and goal setting, and instructional support and intervention implementation for early phonological awareness skills. The instructional support was intensified over three phases. The last stage involved a comparison of two instructional techniques: choral responding and response cards in terms of their relative effects on student engagement and practice opportunities. Due to ceiling effects, data did not indicate any significant differences in the student active engagement corresponding to increases in instruction support or associated with choral responding or response card instructional techniques. Results for the rate of practice opportunities indicated a slight increase in rate across instructional support phases for 2 of the 3 classrooms, demonstrating greater increases in one class. Additionally, rates of practice opportunities remained similar across both choral responding and response card instructional strategies.