Intervention with teachers of early childhood education about strategies for developing verbal repertoires in children

Abstract

The development of verbal repertoires depends on both biological and social variables. Regarding social variables, researches have highlighted the role of children's interactions with adults who are part of their verbal community. School is a fundamental space for developing those repertoires. Therefore, researches have emphasized the role of training preschool teachers, but some interventions do not verify their effects on teachers' performance and students' verbal behavior. Then, the objective of this research will be to evaluate two intervention formats with teachers of early childhood education, helping them to develop strategies for the development of verbal repertoires, based on the principles of the Universal Design for Learning, and to verify the effects of this intervention on student's speaker and listener repertoires. Two studies will be carried out, involving 15 classes of early childhood education, with children between the ages of 2 and 5 years old. The first one will be carried out with five classes (four intervention and one comparison), applying a single subject delineation of multiple probe design across behaviors. Data related to teachers' performance will be analyzed through periodic filming and also data about students' verbal repertoire through tests and filming, throughout the intervention. Study 2 will be carried out based on the first one, but with a group design. The other 10 groups will participate, five being assigned to the comparison group and five to the intervention group. Measures of teachers' behavior and students' performance will also be done. Data from both studies will be analyzed using appropriate statistical testing to check for changes in behavior throughout the semester and whether any changes in teachers' behavior are correlated with changes in students' performance. (AU)