The professional development study is a randomized controlled evaluation of two forms of treatment to be delivered to teachers, (1) coursework and (2) consultation support, and their effects on observed effectiveness of implementation and interactions, and on gains in child outcomes in language and literacy.

The course, offered to the first cohort of teachers in Spring 2008, is an intensive, skill-focused didactic experience. Teachers learn about the development of language and literacy, how interactions in early education settings influence language development and learning, and how high quality implementation of language and literacy curricula and activities leads to skill growth.

Following random assignment to the coursework intervention, enrolled teachers will then be eligible for randomization into the consultancy, which will take place during the following school year. The consultancy will provide observationally-based, non-evaluative, practice-focused support and feedback for teachers through one-on-one, web-mediated remote consultation.

For more information about this study, please see our video.