Outcomes Tiered Curriculum Model
Outcomes Resulting from the Implementation of a
Tiered Curriculum Model
REBECCA CRAWFORD, PHD, EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
JENNIFER GRISHAM, EDD, UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT DEC 2021
“In early care and education, an MTSS framework is a way to provide high-quality teaching and responsive caregiving through the delivery of differentiated support for all young children.” DEC 2021
AEPS Curriculum Framework
Select curriculum that matches the child’s/children’s developmental level
- Growing
- Ready
- Active & Outdoor Play
- Arrival & Departure
Identify routines and activities
- Circle Time
- Diapering, Toileting & Handwashing
- Dramatic Play
- Art
- Bath Time
- Dressing
- Field Trips
- Blocks
- Math
- Meals & Snacks
- Music & Movement
- Naps & Sleep
- Science
- Sensory
- Writing
Identify level of support need
- TIER 2 FOCUSED SUPPORT
- Specialized
- Focused
- Universal
AEPS (2022) Curriculum Levels
aeps3 VOLUME Curriculum
Beginning
EDITED BY Jennifer Grisham, Kristine Slentz
- Infant & very early skills
- Infant to 18 months developmentally
aeps3 VOLUME Curriculum
Ready
EDITED BY Jennifer Grisham, Kristine Slentz
- Toddler & early skills
- Preschool & school preparation skills
- 3 to 6 years developmentally
Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children, Third Edition (AEPS³), Bricker, Dionne, Grisham, Johnson, Macy, Slentz, & Waddell. 2022 Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
For all young children in high-quality early childhood learning environments
Attention to learning outcomes within daily routines and activities of family life and classrooms, including positive caregiver-child relationships and peer interactions
Each Activity/Routine Contains:
- Description of activity/routine with overview of areas to address
- AEPS-3 items that may be embedded into the activity/routine
- Specific embedded learning opportunities
- Tiered instructional strategies: Universal, Targeted, Specialized
Examples of Universal Strategies
- Hands on materials
- High quality learning environment
- Support for promoting social interactions between children
- Nurturing relationships between adults and children
- Instructional support practices
Examples of Focused Strategies
- Additional adaptations for children to practice skills
- Formation of opportunities and intentional small groups
- Peer modeling
- Scaffolding
Examples of Specialized Strategies
- Disability specific instructional strategies
- Use of clear prompts to support child’s learning
- Naturalistic language prompting strategies
- Response consequence interventions
Curriculum Guide Offers Explicit Guidance On:
- Determining what outcomes to teach all, some, and individual children
- Identifying the level to use (i.e., beginning, growing, ready)
- Identifying the instruction tier (i.e., universal, targeted, systematic)
Progress Monitoring Guidance
Curriculum Validity Study
Research Questions
- What are perceptions of early intervention and preschool providers of the AEPS-3 curriculum?
- Do teachers self-report that they implement universal strategies identified through the AEPS-3 curriculum? (fidelity measure)
- Do children make progress when teachers implement the AEPS-3 curriculum?
- Do children make progress on targeted goals using AEPS-3 tiered supports?
Subjects
Adults - n= 11
- 2 states (Northeast and Mid-south)
- Center-based and Home-based service providers
- 1 Associate’s Degree, 10 Master’s degrees
- 2 - 20 years of experience working with children
Children - n= 25
- All had previously participated in AEPS Field Test
- 64% male; 36% female
- 52% with disabilities; 48% without
- Demographics: 48% Caucasian; 24% Biracial; 16% Asian; 4% Latino; 4% African American; 4% Unknown
Procedures
- Selection of up to 3 children (with disability; without disability; at-risk)
- Training on new curriculum
- Administration of AEPS-3 on focus children
- Selection of 3 goals for each child
- Selection of tier of instruction for each goal
- Development of Planning Forms for Tier 1, Tier 2, and/or Tier 3
- Development of Progress Monitoring for Tier 1, Tier 2, and/or Tier 3
- Implementation of Curriculum for 7-10 weeks
- Collect data 1 time per week on implementation of tier 1
- Tier 1: Readminister AEPS-3 after 7-10 weeks
- Tier 3: 2-3 times per week
Do teachers self-report that they implement universal strategies identified through the AEPS-3 curriculum?
Method
- Identified strategies to promote outcomes
- Self report
- One time per week
Results
- Used between 4-10 strategies (M=6.83 universal strategies)
- Implementation Fidelity (number of strategies implemented across weeks/number of possible strategies across weeks)
- Implemented between 2-10 weeks (M=7.66 weeks)
| STRATEGY | 12/4 | 12/11 | 12/18 | 1/8 | 1/15 | 1/22 | 1/29 | 2/5 | 2/12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calm voice, listen to children | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Hands on materials | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Activities based on interests | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Talk through steps | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Modeling | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Provide adequate time to try | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Supportive and caring environment | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Do children make progress when teachers implement the AEPS-3 curriculum?
Method
- Teachers administered AEPS-3 prior to implementing the curriculum and after 7-10 weeks of implementing the curriculum
Results
- Percentage of children whose post scores increased from pretest ranged 61% - 79%
- Percentage of change across all areas ranged from 10% (social-emotional) - 46% (literacy)
| Progress on AEPS-3 | Pre Test(average raw scores) | Post Test(average raw score) | Average % change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fine Motor | 50.34 | 53.69 | 10% | 74% |
| Gross Motor | 98.24 | 106.28 | 14% | 72% |
| Adaptive | 64.13 | 69.34 | 15% | 74% |
| Cognitive | 53.54 | 60.31 | 25% | 68% |
| Math | 21.56 | 25.52 | 23% | 61% |
| Literacy | 33.34 | 38.26 | 46% | 65% |
| Social-Communication | 58.79 | 63.83 | 14% | 67% |
| Social-Emotional | 70.7 | 75.58 | 10% | 79% |
Do children make progress on targeted goals using AEPS-3 tiered supports?
Method
- Key
- 2 = Mastered
- 1 = Emerging
- 0 = Not Ready
Results
- Children made progress on 28 of 41 identified targeted goals (67%)
| Progress on Targeted Goals | # of Goals | # Goals Progress | Progress on Goals(%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine Motor | 11 | 9 | 82% |
| Gross Motor | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| Adaptive | 4 | 2 | 50% |
| Cognitive | 3 | 1 | 33% |
| Literacy | 4 | 2 | 50% |
| Math | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Social Emotional | 8 | 5 | 63% |
| Social Communication | 11 | 8 | 73% |
| TOTAL | 43 | 28 | 57% |
Discussion
Most research to date on MTSS for young children has emphasized a specific content area (e.g., literacy or math) or developmental area (e.g., social-emotional or language). The current study examines a tiered model that considers all areas of development/content areas. The AEPS-3 curriculum aligns with DEC (2021) key practices for implementing MTSS with young children including universal screening, differentiated goals and outcomes, tiered instruction, and progress monitoring. Implementation fidelity focused on dosage, reported by teachers which has been used in other curriculum research studies (Hamre, et al. 2009). Pretest-Post-test scores have been used in other studies of preschool curriculum to examine the effect of the curriculum on child outcomes (Upshur, et al. 2017).
Limitations/Future Research
Limitations
Research conducted during COVID-19; no opportunity to collect reliability data
Future Research
Direct observations of teachers’ implementation fidelity – development of fidelity measures; Experimental research design – Single case design-RCT