SRCLD Presentation Details
  Title  
       
    Can Vocabulary Lessons Increase The Amount Of Complex Syntax That At-Risk Children Hear? Tentative Answers From Within An Implementation Science Framework  
Author(s)
Amanda Owen Van Horne - University of Iowa
Maura Curran - University of Iowa
Jessica Hall - University of Iowa
Sarah Gillespie - University of Iowa

SRCLD Info
SRCLD Year: 2015
Presentation Type: Special Session
Presentation Time: (na)
Abstract
Increased rates of complex syntax input to children are associated with increased child complex syntax use, and that targeted input may change child use of particular syntactic structures. Children of low socioeconomic backgrounds are at risk of receiving less complex syntax input and may therefore benefit from classroom interventions to improve input. Here, six Head Start classrooms received one of two vocabulary interventions, with one condition focused on verbs biased toward complement clauses and the other serving as a control condition. Each class received 10 week-long sets of activities based on verbs from their condition. Fidelity recordings were taken four times in the ten week period confirming expected syntax usage from teachers. Non-ideal classroom matching and differences in teacher material use complicate analysis, but results suggest that children with lower PPVT-III scores tended to show gains on nonfinite sentences, and children with higher vocabulary scores tended to show gains on finite sentences in a sentence imitation task. Interpretation within an implementation science framework informs data analysis. Funding: U of Iowa
Author Biosketch(es)