During the 2016-2017 school year, CETE staff partnered with the Ohio Department of Education’s southern Ohio regional teams to offer a professional development class for early childhood education teachers titled, “Partnering with Families to Support Early Literacy.” In coordination with State Support Team representatives from each region, CETE staffer Dr. Barbara Boone lead 4 day-long class sessions that covered topics for teachers such as Communication with Families, Adopting a Growth Mindset, and Family Engagement to Support Early Literacy. Teachers who took the class developed and implemented a project with families at their school and presented the results on the last day of class in May.

Two other Ohio regions heard about this professional development offering and have signed on to collaborate with Dr. Boone this school year to do a similar course. To ensure that the class meets its objectives to empower teachers to engage families for early literacy outcomes, Dr. Boone and fellow CETE staffer Dr. Wellman have partnered with an EHE faculty member, Dr. Laurie Katz, and graduate student, Ruba Hamam, to incorporate a research component. The research project tracks changes in teachers’ efficacy, knowledge, and practices before and after they take the course. Results of the research study were used to add new and different elements to the curriculum for this year, and plans are in place to publish the results as well.

For more information about how CETE staff work with the Ohio Department of Education’s Regional State Support Teams, visit: https://u.osu.edu/familyschoolpartnerships/ohiofce/

Contributor: Meredith Wellman