Classroom Participation and Children's Early Learning Success

Event: Undergraduate Research Symposium
Date: May 18, 2019
Location: UCI Student Center

Presenters: Denise Lopez, Nallely Zambrano Crespo
Mentor: Carol Connor, Elham Zargar, Taffeta Wood

Title: Classroom Participation and Children's Early Learning Success

Abstract

​This study examines the extent to which verbal and non-verbal participation (active engagement) in classrooms are related to literacy and mathematics skills and whether there is a gender difference for this relation. Our participants are approximately 100 students attending 18 pre-kindergarten classrooms in Southern California schools. The data (classroom observations, literacy, and mathematics assessments) were collected as part of a larger study, which investigates the newly developed classroom observation tool, Optimizing Learning Opportunities for Students (OLOS) Observation system. OLOS is a technology based observational tool created to provide researchers and practitioners with a comprehensive assessment of classroom instruction that allows for educational improvement in the classroom. While the data analysis of this project is ongoing, we hypothesize that students who have stronger early literacy and mathematics skills will actively engage in the classroom in higher frequencies than their peers will. We conjecture that there are no gender differences in learning, but stereotype endorsement may result in engagement differences. These results may have implications for classrooms.

Elham Zargar, Denise Lopez, Nallely Crespo, Taffeta Wood