The Center for Early Childhood Education at Eastern Connecticut State University is pleased to announce the release of two new videos related to supporting math learning in early childhood settings.  The videos were developed based on a study conducted by Center faculty and students with the support of the Spencer Foundation.  The study looked at the relationship between children's mathematics achievement and teacher-child interactions during play.  Preschool children were videotaped over the course of the year during free play periods, and their interactions with teachers were coded and analyzed.  These findings were compared with gains that children made in mathematics ability from fall to spring according to a standard measurement tool.  The findings indicate that how teachers interact with and communicate with children while they play has powerful impacts on children's mathematical learning.

The Center has produced two videos related to the study:

1.     The first video kicks off our new Research Clips video series. The video describes the methodology of the study and outlines the major findings and study implications.  You can view the video at: http://www.easternct.edu/cece/math_play_study_video.html.

2.     The second video is part of our e-clips series.  Designed with current and future teachers in mind, the video illustrates how teachers can use math talk to support children's math learning.  (One of the major study findings was around the importance of engaging children in "math talk" throughout the day.)  The video is available at: http://www.easternct.edu/cece/e-clips_math_talk.html.

The Center for Early Childhood Education has been awarded a 2013 Telly Award for Inspiring Lessons: What We Learned from the Community Partners for Early Literacy Project. The 30-minute video describes the lessons learned during a three-year effort to improve the language and early literacy skills of over 500 children in Windham, Connecticut. With support from a U.S. Department of Education Early Reading First grant, the Center for Early Childhood Education provided professional development and literacy coaching to 50 teachers and paraprofessionals and supported families to engage in literacy activities at home. Inspiring Lessons includes interviews with teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, literacy coaches, and faculty experts Dr. Ann Anderberg and Dr. Maureen Ruby about what works in supporting children's literacy development.

The Telly Awards honor television, video, and film productions and programs, as well as work created for the Internet. Each year, the Telly Awards receive thousands of entries from throughout the United States and abroad. Inspiring Lessons received a bronze award in the category of Government Relations. The Center also received a Telly Award this year for Investigating Balls in the category of Internet/Online Video: Education. 

The Center for Early Childhood Education congratulates the following faculty, staff, and students involved in the development of Inspiring Lessons: Dr. Denise Matthews, Producer/Director and Co-Author; Julia DeLapp, Executive Producer and Co-Author; Karl Gray, Editor; William Black, Production Coordinator; Ken Measimer, Finish Editor and Videographer; Sean Leser (Eastern student), Finish Editor; Greg Hartzell, Videographer; Kerin Jaros-Dressler (Eastern student), Videographer; Ross Page (Eastern student), Music Composer; and Nick Napoletano, Animator.

The Center also thanks the teaching staff at the Windham Early Childhood Center and the Child and Family Development Resource Center for appearing in the video, participating in the initiative, and working to support young children's growth and learning. 

To view the video, visit http://www.easternct.edu/cece/inspiring_lessons.html.

The Center for Early Childhood Education has been awarded a 2013 Telly Award for "Investigating Balls," a video that explores how teachers at Eastern's Child and Family Development Resource Center engaged preschoolers in different learning activities while investigating the properties of balls.  The video is part of the new Investigating series of videos from the CECE, which highlight how teachers implement engaging projects--called "investigations"--on a variety of topics.

The Telly Awards honor television, video, and film productions and programs, as well as work created for the Internet. Each year, the Telly Awards receive thousands of entries from throughout the United States and abroad. "Investigating Balls" received a bronze award in the category of Internet/Online Video: Education. The Center also received a Telly Award in 2011 for "The Importance of Play" and in 2010 for "Five Predictors of Early Literacy." 

The Center for Early Childhood Education congratulates the following staff and students involved in the development of the video: Ken Measimer, Director; Julia DeLapp, Producer and Author; Sean Leser (Eastern student), Videographer and Editor; Ross Page (Eastern student), Music Composer; and Nick Napoletano, Animator.

The Center also thanks the teachers and children at the Child and Family Development Resource Center for appearing in the video and doing the wonderful work that inspired the video.

To view the video, visit http://www.easternct.edu/cece/investigating_balls.html

The Center for Early Childhood Education is pleased to release a new video about a three-year effort to improve the language and early literacy skills of over 500 children in Windham, Connecticut.

In 2008, the Center was awarded a U.S. Department of Education Early Reading First grant to implement the Community Partners for Early Literacy (CPEL) project. In partnership with the Windham Early Childhood Center (part of the Windham Public Schools) and the Child and Family Development Resource Center at Eastern Connecticut State University, the Center provided professional development and literacy coaching to 50 teachers and paraprofessionals and supported families in engaging in literacy activities at home.

The Center created Inspiring Lessons: What We Learned from the Community Partners for Early Literacy Project to document and share with other programs and school districts the lessons learned during the project. The 30-minute video includes interviews with teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, literacy coaches, and faculty experts about what works in supporting children's literacy development.

To view the video and learn more about the project, visit: http://www.easternct.edu/cece/inspiring_lessons.html

The Child and Family Development Resource Center and the Center for Early Childhood Education are partnering to host "Choosing Quality Toys: What All Families Should Know" on Tuesday, December 4, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. The event will take place at the Child and Family Development Resource Center.

Early childhood researchers will share information about the qualities of toys that best help young children learn and develop, based on what they have learned from an annual study conducted at Eastern on toys. Parents and grandparents who attend this event will have the opportunity to inspect a variety of toys close-up, view videos of children playing with different kinds of toys, and talk with other parents about making decisions about toys.

There is no charge to attend this workshop, but registration is requested. To register, please call 860/465-0206.

In partnership with the Education Department, the Center for Early Childhood Education will be hosting a book talk and book signing with award-winning illustrator Barbara McClintock. The event will be held on Thursday, November 29, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Joinery, and will celebrate the 2012 publications of two of McClintock's books.

Leave Your Sleep is a collection of classic children's poems by Edward Lear, Ogden Nash, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nathalia Crane, e.e. cummings, and others, all beautifully illustrated by McClintock. The poems are also adapted to music by Natalie Merchant on an enclosed CD. 

Twelve Kinds of Ice, written by Ellen Bryan Obed and illustrated by McClintock, explores the stages of the ice that beckons a family of skaters.

Teachers, students, and parents are invited to this special event to celebrate literacy, books, and the season of giving. Join us for a book talk, coffee, and some pre-holiday goodies!

For more information, call 860/465-0687.

Faculty and student researchers at Eastern Connecticut State University's Center for Early Childhood Education have announced the results of the 2012 TIMPANI toy study. The toy receiving the highest ratings of all toys studied this year was DUPLO bricks, a toy made by LEGO Group. Rainbow People by Environments, Inc. received an honorable mention. Study findings were announced at the annual meeting of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and at a press conference on Eastern's campus on November 16th.

According to principal investigator Dr. Jeffrey Trawick-Smith, "DUPLO bricks pose many problems for children to solve, so there's a lot of deep thought that goes into building. Construction toys have done very well in our studies due to the fact that they don't suggest any one use. They can be used in many different ways, so children tend to interact more and negotiate what they want to build."

The TIMPANI toy study is an annual empirical study that looks at how young children in natural settings play with a variety of toys. Each year, nominated toys are placed in preschool classrooms and videotaped using remote cameras. Researchers use a scientific instrument to determine which toys best promote children's development in three areas: thinking and learning, social interaction and cooperation, and self-expression and imaginative play.

Researchers noted that while most of the toys studied this year showed very positive results in the classroom, only DUPLOS scored highly 1) across all three days of testing, 2) with both boys and girls, 3) with children from all socio-economic backgrounds, and 4) with children of different ethnicities.

In addition to providing useful information to parents and teachers about toys, the TIMPANI toy study provides opportunities for a number of Eastern Connecticut State University students to participate in research. Undergraduate students Jamie Vallarelli, Marley Koschel, and Jenny Wolff were responsible for conducting videotaping for the study, coding footage, and helping to analyze the results. They also co-presented the results at the NAEYC conference with Dr. Trawick-Smith on November 9th.

For more information about the TIMPANI Toy Study, and to watch a video of children playing with toys studied, visit www.easternct.edu/cece/timpani.html

The Center for Early Childhood Education is pleased to unveil a new video series entitled Investigating.... Each video in the series captures one topic of investigation explored by children and teachers at Eastern's Child and Family Development Resource Center under the Investigations curriculum. The curriculum is centered around engaging projects--called "investigations"--on topics that are selected by children, teachers, and families. As children investigate a topic in learning centers, small collaborative groups, whole group activities, movement and music experiences, outdoor observation, or field trips, they acquire critical competencies identified in the Connecticut State Department of Education Curriculum and Assessment Framework and the standards of national professional organizations.

Each video in the Investigating... series include interviews with preschool and toddler teachers about how children engaged in literacy, math, science, art, and other activities through each three- or four-month investigation.

Two videos in the series are now available:

• Investigating...Going Green
• Investigating...Balls

A third video will be released this winter.

To view the videos, go to http://www.easternct.edu/cece/investigating_videos.html.