The leapfrog website (http://www.leapfrog.com) is designed to assist learning organizations to create their curriculum using the wide range of leapfrog leaning products. In the Leapfrog Schoolhouse, there are sections for parents, teachers, and educators. Parents are shown how to register their children for a personal learning pathway that measures their success. There are tabs for all age groups including one for pre-school. The teacher’s tab leads to free webinars and a video demonstration on how to best use Leapfrog learning tools. The Educator Resource tab includes grants, professional development, teacher’s lounge, research, and success stories.
Part of the orientation for the Hands Across the World pre-school teachers will be to study the research, white papers, and success stories. They will also be responsible for opening a Leapfrog account for each child.
Leapfrog offers curriculum for all ages in their LeapTrack Assessment and Instruction System. The pre-k package includes basic interactive games for developing simple reading and math skills. The k-5 includes educational software applicable to the leapfrog computer. The following is an example of a Leapfrog research paper.
Effectiveness Study
Los Angeles Unified School District
Students Using LeapFrog SchoolHouse Literacy Center Program
Realize 74% Gain in Key Early Literacy Skills
Abstract
In a study conducted in three Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools, students
who participated in the LeapFrog SchoolHouse Literacy Center program outperformed
students in the control group by 37% in key reading predictor tests. Prekindergarten
students using the LeapFrog SchoolHouse Literacy Center made a 74% gain in early
reading skills, surpassing those children who received only the standard district literacy
program materials.
The School Readiness Language Development Program within the LAUSD participated in a scientifically
based research study designed to measure the effectiveness of the LeapFrog SchoolHouse early literacy
program, The Literacy Center. The Literacy Center is a research-based curriculum that combines
multisensory technology with direct instruction and practice in phonemic awareness and other key early
literacy skills.
Students’ early literacy skills were measured in the fall and, after using The Literacy Center program in
class, in the spring. Results reveal statistically significant gains for those students who received
The Literacy Center (74% gain in early literacy skills) compared to students in the control group who
received the standard district literacy materials (37% gain in early literacy skills). Early literacy skills were
measured through letter-word identification (Woodcock Johnson III), blending sounds (Comprehensive
Test of Phonological Processing), and phonemic awareness (LEAPDESK Assessment). There is ample
evidence that early literacy skills are key predictors of future reading engagement and success.
Sample
Three LAUSD schools with half-day Prekindergarten classrooms were chosen by the district. Forty-five
percent (45%) of the children were girls, and 55% were boys. There were 137 children (68 treatment,
69 control) participating in this study, and their average age was 52.5 months at the beginning of
September 2001. Forty percent (40%) of the children spoke English as their primary language and 10%
were bilingual in the fall of 2001. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of the children were Hispanic, 22%
Caucasian, 12% African-American, and 6% Asian-American.
Method
Twelve classrooms at the three LAUSD schools made up the age- and gender-matched LeapFrog
SchoolHouse (treatment) and control groups. The existing district-wide literacy program was Creative
Curriculum. The LeapFrog SchoolHouse treatment group used The Literacy Center in addition to
Creative Curriculum, while the control group only used Creative Curriculum. Assessments were
conducted in English at three points throughout the 2001–2002 school year (October, January, and
May). An index of key reading skills was computed by summing the raw scores for the Woodcock
Johnson III (letter-word identification), The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (blending
sounds), and LEAPDESK Assessment (phonemic awareness).
Results
Pre- and post-test results on this composite index of key reading skills demonstrate that students who
received The Literacy Center instruction in class performed 37% better (74% gain vs. 37% gain) on tests
of key reading predictors than students in the control group.
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Control
(n = 69)
LeapFrog SchoolHouse
(n = 68)
20.7
15.1 16.5
28.7
Fall scores
Spring scores
Scores on Key Reading Predictor Tests
at Beginning and End of School Year
Conclusion:
This LAUSD study found a statistically significant difference in performance on key reading skills
between the Prekindergarten students using The Literacy Center and the Prekindergarten students who
used only district curriculum materials. Those children who used The Literacy Center outperformed their
peers by 37%. The implications of these results are critical because early literacy skills are highly
predictive of future reading success. Every expert at the White House Summit on Early Childhood
Cognitive Development (July 2001) stressed that reading is the keystone for both academic and life
success. The Literacy Center program includes research-based, multisensory instruction and practice with
essential pre-reading skills, and has been effective in thousands of classrooms nationwide. Mean Raw Score
Max. =
78)
© 2001-2003 LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
74% gain*
* LeapFrog SchoolHouse
group outperformed control
group by 37%
A226
(http://www.leapfrogschool.com/do/efficacyStudyDetail?name=lausdeffectivestudy)
No comments:
Post a Comment