Differentiation of Time and Teaching in Kindergarten: Associations with Literacy and Math Gains

• In Event: Teacher Practices and Individual Student Experiences: Measuring Influences on Pre-Kindergarten through Third Grade Students

Abstract

Elementary school teachers are encouraged to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of individual students (Connor et al., 2009; Datnow & Hubbard, 2015; Loveless, 2013), but more research is needed to understand how this is enacted and how it is associated with learning. The current study focused on two fundamental elements of instruction in kindergarten: time spent with the teacher and exposure to teaching (i.e., academic instruction). Based on prior research (e.g., Wilcox-Herzog & Kontos, 1999) we hypothesized that time with teachers and exposure to teaching would vary from student to student within classrooms; that children with lower fall literacy and math scores would tend to spend more time with teachers and receive more teaching; and that these factors would mediate child gains from fall to spring. Analyses controlled for exposure to discipline.
Participants were 975 students in 273 kindergarten classrooms within a large school district. Half (50%) had attended public pre-k and were recruited during the pre-k year; the other half were demographically similar children who had not been enrolled in pre-k and were recruited in kindergarten. Students came from low-income families (income-to-needs ratio M = 1.10, SD = .66) and were heterogeneous in terms of race/ethnicity (Hispanic, 59.6%, Black, 15.2%, Asian, 11.8%, White, 10.3%, other, 3.1%) and home language (Spanish, 57%, English, 18.5%, other languages, 24.5%).
Students were assessed on literacy and math in the fall and spring using the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement (Woodcock et al., 2001). Students were individually observed for two school days by trained coders using an interval-based coding system (30-second observe/30-second record). “Teacher present”, used to estimate students’ time with teachers, was coded if a teacher or other adult was in the focal students’ vicinity for the majority of the interval. “Teaching” was coded if the student was exposed to a teacher/adult giving academic instruction during the interval. “Discipline” was coded if the student was exposed to a teacher/adult reacting to student misbehavior.
Multilevel models in MPlus indicated that time with teachers and exposure to teaching varied within classrooms, although the majority of variance was between classrooms (see Table 7). In contrast, student academic skills largely varied within classrooms. Controlling for exposure to discipline and student characteristics, analyses indicated that teachers spent more time with students and exposed students to more teaching when they had lower fall skills (Table 8). Time with teachers had a small but significant negative association with literacy gains but not math gains. Exposure to teaching was not associated with literacy or math gains. The indirect effect from fall skills to spring skills mediated by time with teachers was small but significant. Unexpectedly, therefore, students with lower fall skills who spent more time with teachers had lower literacy gains from fall to spring compared with peers. Results underscore that children’s experiences are differentiated to some extent based on fall skills but point to the need for more research to understand how and why teachers make decisions about engaging with individual students.

Authors

• Virginia Vitiello, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Presenting Author

• Robert C Pianta, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jessica E Whittaker, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author