What Do Early Childhood Educators Think About the Learning Language and Loving It™ Program?
Children who attend early education programs spend many hours a day interacting with their early childhood educators and the other children in their classroom. These interactions play an important role in young children’s language and literacy development. The Learning Language and Loving It™ (LLLI) Program, which provides professional development to early childhood educators, helps them learn to make language and literacy-learning a fun and natural part of everyday classroom interactions. The program, which is for groups of educators, includes a combination of workshops and individual video feedback sessions in which educators apply what they have learned to the children in their care.
Researchers have studied the Learning Language and Loving It™ Program and found that educators are able to learn and use the program strategies in their classrooms, and that children benefit as a result. But two new studies wanted to find out what educators think about the program. One of these studies looked at the program’s impact on educators’ interactions with children [1], and both studies provide insight about what helps educators get the most out of the program [1,2].
Study #1
Researchers at the University of Melbourne, Australia studied how the Learning Language and Loving It™ Program impacted the staff at the Kulila Indigenous Kindergarten. Australian Indigenous children attend the kindergarten class, and it’s taught by mostly Indigenous staff. The researchers measured how the educators’ interactions with children changed after participating in the program, and they also asked educators to share their perspectives about the program [1].
Study #2
Researchers at the University of Sydney, Australia collected information about educators’ experiences participating in a condensed version of the Learning Language and Loving It Program. They looked at the factors that helped educators participate in the program and how they felt the program impacted their classroom practices. This study included 44 early childhood educators, but final data was collected from six educators and two centre directors [2].
Educators made positive changes in their classroom practices
The Kulila Indigenous Kindergarten study used two rating scales to measure how educators interacted with children before and after participating in the Learning Language and Loving It™ program [1]:
- Positive changes observed with the Teacher Interaction and Language Rating Scale (TILR) – This scale measures educators’ use of key strategies from the Learning Language and Loving It™ Program. The researchers found that before participating in the program, educators use the key strategies “sometimes” (on average) according to the TIRL. However, after attending the LLLI program, the educators use the strategies “frequently” (on average). This means that educators were using strategies that promote children’s language and literacy development regularly after attending the LLLI program.
- Positive changes observed with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) – This tool measures changes in educators’ classroom practices in three areas, and changes were seen in all three areas after educators participated in the Learning Language and Loving It™ program. Large, significant improvements were observed in educators’ interactions that supported language and cognitive development, and in educators’ ability to support children’s social and emotional needs. Very large, significant improvements were seen in the way educators modelled language and responded to children’s ideas, and the way they facilitated activities and provided materials to engage children and maximize learning.
What helped educators learn while participating in the program?
Both studies asked participants about their experiences while participating in the Learning Language and Loving It™ Program.
Educators reported a positive experience in the program and that it had a positive change on their practice. They reported that it enriched their connections and interactions with children, as well as their ability to encourage children to interact with each other [1].
Educators in both studies described several factors that helped them learn during the program and then implement the strategies during their everyday interactions with children [1,2]:
Factors that promoted educators’ learning during the program
| Helpful Factors | Educators’ perspectives |
|---|---|
| Convenience |
|
| Training as a team |
|
| Program content |
|
| Video feedback (educators are filmed using program strategies while interacting with children, and then they review and discuss the video with the program leader) |
|
| Relationships |
|
| Program materials |
|
| Culturally safe learning experience |
|
| Other logistics |
|
While educators’ overall experience participating in the Learning Language and Loving It™ program was positive, they reported some challenges when attending the program:
- Educators’ busy schedules can pose a challenge when attending professional development - They appreciated the convenience of the workshop locations and the program leaders’ flexibility when scheduling video feedback sessions to accommodate their schedules
- Learning new strategies takes time and effort - Some educators described a “relearning” of how to do their job, having to reconcile new ideas from with their regular classroom practices. However, they reported that practicing and reflecting on their new learning during video feedback sessions helped them recognize the strengths and positives in their own practice.
- Directors’ support is helpful – When program directors participated in the program along with their staff, it helped them support the educators’ ability to integrate the strategies into the classroom. It was more difficult for directors to support their staff in this way when they didn’t attend the program themselves.
- Setting specific challenges - Some of the program strategies in the Learning Language and Loving It™ program are intended for smaller groups of children, as this can be very helpful for peer interaction and conversation. It was difficult for educators in settings with larger ratios (e.g., one educator for every ten children) to practice with smaller groups.
The take-home message
These studies tell us that the Learning Language and Loving It™ program enhances the interactions early childhood educators have with the children in their classrooms, in ways that support children’s language and literacy skills. Educators have a positive experience in the program, learn to reflect on their classroom practices, and strengthen their connections with children and with their colleagues. And finally, the program is delivered in a culturally sensitive manner, making it relevant to a wide range of settings and participants.
If you are an early childhood educator or you train or consult to educators, find out how you can bring the Learning Language and Loving It™ Program to your early childhood setting here.
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Early Childhood Settings | Learning Language and Loving It | Research