Papers by Jessica Whittaker
School Mental Health, 2021
Teacher consultation is commonly used to ensure that classroom-based interventions are implemente... more Teacher consultation is commonly used to ensure that classroom-based interventions are implemented with fidelity to achieve targeted outcomes, yet the consultation process is not well understood. Consultant-teacher relationship quality is one feature of consultation that may promote intervention outcomes—both directly and indirectly via teachers’ implementation. The current study used mediation models to examine the direct links between consultant-teacher relationship quality, assessed from the perspective of the consultant and teacher, and observed dyadic teacher–child interactions, as well as the indirect effect through teachers’ implementation fidelity and dosage. Implementation data come from the Banking Time intervention (N = 168 children, 57 teachers), a dyadic teacher–child intervention that targets the quality of interactions between teachers and preschoolers perceived to display disruptive behavior. Consultants (N = 4) worked with teachers to support their implementation of specific Banking Time practices. Findings supported a direct link between consultant-reported relationship quality and teachers’ observed interactions with children; however, no evidence for an indirect effect was found. Consultant-reported relationship quality predicted implementation dosage but not fidelity. Across findings, consultant-reported relationship quality emerged as a stronger predictor of outcomes than teacher-reported relationship quality. Results have implications for school-based interventions that employ teacher consultation to support teachers.
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Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2022
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Early Education and Development, 2020
The present investigation examined the links between preschool teachers’ self-reported emotional ... more The present investigation examined the links between preschool teachers’ self-reported emotional exhaustion (n = 117) with the quality of their classroom interactions and the dosage and rigor of th...
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Early Education and Development, 2021
ABSTRACT Research Findings: This study used data from a large-scale kindergarten entry assessment... more ABSTRACT Research Findings: This study used data from a large-scale kindergarten entry assessment (KEA) to understand how well two state screening measures, administered at school entry, predicted the first-grade reading outcomes of a large sample of first-time kindergarteners (N=5,480) at high risk for future reading failure. We examined young children’s emergent literacy and behavioral self-regulation skills in the fall of kindergarten in relation to decoding skills in the spring of first grade. We also explored whether behavioral self-regulation moderated the effect of emergent literacy on first-grade reading outcomes. Consistent with prior research, results of multilevel regression models revealed that scalable measures of emergent literacy and behavioral self-regulation, assessed via a multidimensional KEA, positively predicted literacy outcomes in first grade, with a stronger association for emergent literacy. Additionally, school-entry behavioral self-regulation moderated the effect of children’s initial emergent literacy skills on first-grade decoding, such that stronger than average behavioral self-regulation partially compensated for weak emergent literacy at school entry. Practice or Policy: Findings underscore the importance of screening young children on both academic and non-academic domains of school readiness and of seeking to understand children’s risk of reading failure from multiple perspectives.
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Sandy teaches 3- and 4-year-old children in a Head Start classroom. She often asks children to be... more Sandy teaches 3- and 4-year-old children in a Head Start classroom. She often asks children to be investigators and to solve problems or questions that arise. For example, during outside time one day, Sandy notices Keira and Amir playing on the slide. Sandy hears Keira say, “Hey, Amir, you’re going really fast down that slide! How come I’m not going so fast?” Sandy comments, “Keira, you made a really interesting observation. You noticed that Amir is going down the slide faster than you. Why do you think that might be?” “Well,” Keira says thoughtfully, “maybe because his pants are more slippery than mine.” Sandra responds, “That is really good thinking! You’ve made a guess, a hypothesis. Can you think of some way we could test out whether Amir’s clothing is making him go faster?” Keira decides that she can test whether clothing makes a difference by using clothes from the dramatic play area. She finds two pairs of pants: one pair from a wizard outfit that is very shiny and made of wh...
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Early Education and Development, 2020
The present investigation examined the links between preschool teachers’ self-reported emotional ... more The present investigation examined the links between preschool teachers’ self-reported emotional exhaustion (n = 117) with the quality of their classroom interactions and the dosage and rigor of th...
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Early Education and Development, 2021
Research Findings: This study used data from a large-scale kindergarten entry assessment (KEA) to... more Research Findings: This study used data from a large-scale kindergarten entry assessment (KEA) to understand how well two state screening measures, administered at school entry, predicted the first-grade reading outcomes of a large sample of first-time kindergarteners (N=5,480) at high risk for future reading failure. We examined young children’s emergent literacy and behavioral self-regulation skills in the fall of kindergarten in relation to decoding skills in the spring of first grade. We also explored whether behavioral self-regulation moderated the effect of emergent literacy on first-grade reading outcomes. Consistent with prior research, results of multilevel regression models revealed that scalable measures of emergent literacy and behavioral self-regulation, assessed via a multidimensional KEA, positively predicted literacy outcomes in first grade, with a stronger association for emergent literacy. Additionally, school-entry behavioral self-regulation moderated the effect o...
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School psychology, 2021
Although we know that children who are more frequently absent from school do less well academical... more Although we know that children who are more frequently absent from school do less well academically, we know little about whether absences matter for other domains of development and whether the timing of their absences matter. In order to address these gaps in knowledge, we examined the experiences of 1,131 kindergartners (64% Hispanic, 7% Black, 17% Asian/other, 12% White) from a mid-Atlantic state. Covariate-adjusted regression analyses showed that children who missed school more frequently did less well in terms of their academic achievement and executive function skills both in kindergarten and through the end of first grade. Importantly, however, there were no consistent differences in children's social behavior nor did outcomes vary as a function of whether their absences occurred in the fall as compared with spring. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Teacher consultation is commonly used to ensure that classroom-based interventions are implemente... more Teacher consultation is commonly used to ensure that classroom-based interventions are implemented with fidelity to achieve targeted outcomes, yet the consultation process is not well understood. Consultant-teacher relationship quality is one feature of consultation that may promote intervention outcomes—both directly and indirectly via teachers’ implementation. The current study used mediation models to examine the direct links between consultant-teacher relationship quality, assessed from the perspective of the consultant and teacher, and observed dyadic teacher–child interactions, as well as the indirect effect through teachers’ implementation fidelity and dosage. Implementation data come from the Banking Time intervention (N = 168 children, 57 teachers), a dyadic teacher–child intervention that targets the quality of interactions between teachers and preschoolers perceived to display disruptive behavior. Consultants (N = 4) worked with teachers to support their implementation of...
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Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 2015
Background/Context As increasing attention is paid to preparing students to succeed in school, th... more Background/Context As increasing attention is paid to preparing students to succeed in school, the development and adoption of research-based curricula have become progressively more important. However, many curricular designs lack a basis in scientific evidence; research and curricular design are frequently treated as two separate enterprises. Purpose/Objective In this paper, we present the Research on Curriculum Design (RCD) model, first advanced by Clements in 2007, with results from its application to the design and iterative development of pre-kindergarten mathematics and science curricula. Research Design RCD is an example of design-based research, with the additional specific goals of the production of an effective curriculum and the evolution of theoretical guidelines to inform future curricular designs. Our implementation spanned two years and involved iterative development and testing of two, year-long curricula. Findings/Results Application of RCD methods informed our und...
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PsycTESTS Dataset, 2020
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Social Development, 2020
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Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2021
Abstract The present study examined differences in school readiness skills in the fall of kinderg... more Abstract The present study examined differences in school readiness skills in the fall of kindergarten between pre-K attendees and non-attenders (n = 2581) among children in a large, diverse county. Also considered was the extent to which skills associated with pre-K enrollment varied as a function of children’s background characteristics and features of their pre-K program. Results revealed pre-K attenders demonstrated better academic and executive function skills in the first months of kindergarten than non-attenders; no consistent differences were detected for teachers’ reports of children’s socioemotional adjustment. Differences in academic skills and self-regulation associated with attendance in pre-K were largest for dual language learners and children from the lowest-income families. Children enrolled in private pre-K programs demonstrated less optimal socioemotional skills at kindergarten entry.
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Developmental Psychology, 2020
The present investigation examined the benefits of pre-K through the end of kindergarten for chil... more The present investigation examined the benefits of pre-K through the end of kindergarten for children from low-income homes who lived in a large and diverse county (n = 2,581) as well as factors associated with a reduction in benefits during the kindergarten year. Results revealed that pre-K graduates outperformed nonattenders in the areas of achievement and executive functioning skills at the end of kindergarten, and also that the benefits of pre-K at the start of the year diminished by a little more than half. This convergence between groups' performance was largest for more constrained skills, such as letter-word identification, and was attributed to the fact that nonattenders made greater gains in kindergarten as compared with graduates of pre-K. Importantly, convergence in the groups' performance in kindergarten was not attributed to pre-K children's classroom experiences in kindergarten. Convergence was, however, attributable to preexisting individual differences, and there was support for the notion that even though children's skills are susceptible to improvement as a result of pre-K, their longer-term outcomes are likely to be impacted by factors that are outside the scope of early schooling. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2020
abstract This randomized controlled trial examined effects of the MyTeachingPartner-Math/Science ... more abstract This randomized controlled trial examined effects of the MyTeachingPartner-Math/Science intervention on the quality and quantity of teachers’ mathematics and science instruction, and children’s mathematics and science outcomes in 140 pre-kindergarten classrooms. Teachers participated in the intervention for two years with consecutive cohorts of children. Results from Year 1 are considered experimental, however due to high levels of attrition, results from Year 2 are considered quasi-experimental. Across both years, intervention teachers exhibited higher quality and quantity of instruction. In Year 1, there were no significant effects of the intervention on children’s outcomes. In Year 2, children in intervention classrooms made greater gains in teachers’ ratings of mathematics and science skills and performed better on a spring assessment of science skills. These results have implications for designing and evaluating professional development aimed at supporting children’s mathematics and science knowledge and skills.
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Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2020
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Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2019
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Early Education and Development, 2019
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Papers by Jessica Whittaker