Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:A total of 42 individuals completed the program before the end of May. We are expecting to receive approximately 10 to 15 more individuals to complete during the summer session. The completers met for 1.5 hours twice a week for six weeks. Of those who completed (N=42), approximately 21% of them were fathers and 79% were either mothers or grandmothers. The average age of the participants was 35 years. Nearly one-quarter (21%) of the participants were Hispanic. The majority of the participants were African Americans (71%) while White Americans, American Indian, and Asians made up approximately 8%. The majority of the participants (55%) were employed full-time, and 17% were employed part-time. More than one-quarter of them (28%) were unemployed. Parents with a High School Diploma or less made up 26% of participants while those with some college or an Associate degree made up 33%. Parents having a Bachelor degree or higher made up of 40% of the participants. Of the participants, 5% were on active duty within the military. Based on the data from last year's Community Family Day (June 10, 2017), we are expecting more than 700 families with their children to attend. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? 2017 CYFAR Professional Development Workshop In-service training of 5 facilitators In-service training of 15 in-service students How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Brochures Webpage Public Service Announcements on three local radio stations (WJAB, WEUP, WJOU) Two radio interviews Three television interviews Face to Face What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? All program goals were achieved. Continue using comments from evaluation instruments for continuous program improvement.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Increase parents' knowledge and skills of reading strategies to assist in improving their children's reading ability. 42 parents were taught the five key components of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension and fluency). 42 parents were taught at least 10 different strategies/techniques per component. 42 parents demonstrated with their children how to utilize at least 2 different reading strategies per element per session. After participating in the Parent-Child Reading Enhancement Program, parent's knowledge and understanding of: phonemic awareness (pretest, m = 1.79, posttest, m = 4.68; t = -12.88, p = .00) increased significantly. phonics (pretest, m = 2.37, posttest, m = 4.68; t = -8.65, p = .00) increased significantly. vocabulary (pretest, m = 2.26, posttest, m = 4.79; t = -9.37, p = .00) increased significantly. comprehension (pretest, m = 2.42, posttest, m = 4.84; t = -8.29, p = .00) increased significantly. fluency (pretest, m = 2.16, posttest, m = 4.68; t = -9.05, p = .00) increased significantly. how a child is taught reading (pretest, m = 2.91, posttest, m = 4.17; t = -5.34, p = .00) increased significantly. how to use things in a child's environment to teach reading (pretest, m = 3.35, posttest, m = 5.00; t = -8.96, p = .00) increased significantly. how to use games to teach reading skills (pretest, m = 3.48, posttest, m = 5.00; t = -9.24, p = .00) increased significantly. Likewise, parents, after participating in the program felt significantly more knowledgeable about how to use various activities and strategies to help their children with: phonemic awareness (pretest, m = 1.84, posttest, m = 4.68; t = -10.19, p = .00), phonics ((pretest, m = 2.11, posttest, m = 4.68; t = -12.88, p = .00), vocabulary (pretest, m = 2.11, posttest, m = 4.74; t = -13.26, p = .00), comprehension (pretest, m = 2.31, posttest, m = 4.74; t = -10.62, p = .00) fluency (pretest, m = 2.11, posttest, m = 4.74; t = -11.64, p = .00). After participating in the program, the frequency of parents' behavior relative to: allowing the child to select the book (pretest, m = 2.43, posttest, m = 3.09; t = -3.17, p = .00) increased significantly. asking the child to guess what happens next in the story (pretest, m = 1.86, posttest, m = 3.17; t = -5.89, p = .00) increased significantly. asking the child to describe/name pictures in the story (pretest, m = 1.91, posttest, m = 3.35; t = -6.72, p = .00) increased significantly. asking the child to retell the story (pretest, m = 1.96, posttest, m = 3.39; t = -6.81, p = .00) increased significantly. pointing out new words (pretest, m = 1.87, posttest, m = 3.22; t = -5.68, p = .00) increased significantly. using expression in their voice when reading (pretest, m = 2.43, posttest, m = 3.43; t = -4.66, p = .00) increased significantly. Improve parents and children's attitude toward reading. After participating in the program, the frequency at which parents did the following increased significantly: sing songs together with their child (pretest, m = 2.48, posttest, m = 3.61; t = -2.79, p = .01). take their child to the library (pretest, m = 1.41, posttest, m = 3.65; t = -6.14, p = .00). say rhymes with their child (pretest, m = 1.91, posttest, m = 3.52; t = -3.96, p = .00). After participating in the program, the frequency at which the child asked the parent to read to him/her (pretest, m = 2.26, posttest, m = 3.21; t = -2.57, p = .01) increased significantly. Identify and provide opportunities for parents to increase the amount of quality time they spend with their children, The 42 parents spend at least one hour (30 minutes per session) together for 6 weeks to focus on reading. The 42 parents and their children participated in one PCREP family night event during the 6-week course. The 42 parents indicated that they will participate in the upcoming PCREP Community Family Day event.This event is open to the public and we are expecting more than 700 families to attend this day of fun and learning.On average, parents will spend 4 hours of quality time with their children during this event. Engage community partners in supporting reading enrichment of limited resource children and their parents. The Commissioner of the 6th District will pay for the program to be offered during the summer. Alabama's Mountains, Rivers and Valleys RC&D gave $1,425.00 in support of the Community Family Day Event. The Commissioner of the 6th District will provide food for all participants of the Community Family Day Event. More than 20 organizations supported the Community Family Day Event. Utilize practical applications for integrating technology throughout the project 65"-Touchscreen Smart TV/Computers were used to display all lessons for teaching parents (3 sites). 65"-Touchscreen Smart TV/Computers were used in teaching children (3 sites). Desktop computers were used by the children during the two lesson on reading and technology (3 sites). Children and parents utilized the an Interactive (evidence-based) reading Site during each class as well as at home. Kindle Readers were used to teach parents how to utilize such technology to teach their assist with teaching their child reading. Camera used to take photographs of all events so as to have pictures for uploading to Facebook and the webpage. Facebook, Twitter and Webpage used for marketing the program.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Brandon, D.P., Humphrey, R., Crenshaw, K., and Tsamaase, M., (2017). Urban Extension's New Nontraditional Program: Parent-Child Reading Enhancement Program, Journal of Extension
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:During the program's first year of implementation, 50 parents and their children (61) completed the program. The mean age of the parents was 38, and approximately 76% of them were females. The majority of the parents were African American (88%), while 6% were American Indian, 4% Caucasian American, and 2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Some of the parents (18.4%) had never completed high school or they had only a high school diploma. A little more than one-third of them (36.7%) had post-secondary technical training or some college; while, 45% of them had an associate degree or higher. Two of the parents (4%) were on active duty for the army, and one parent was on reserve. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided opportunities for training and professional development for the Principal Investigator to attend the CYFAR professional development conference that was held at Gaylord Resort in Maryland. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Information regarding this program has been disseminated to communities in and around the Madison County area. Because of word of mouth, brochures, television interviews, radio interviews, newsletters, newspaper articles, fliers, and social media, several organizations have either partnered with PCREP or seeking partnership with us. For example, Commissioner Robert Harrison of District six financially supported an extra PCREP class to be held in his district for parents and children during the summer months. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Looking at each of the goals for this year, we accomplished each of the stated goals. During the next reporting period however, we will continue achieving program goals and outcomes. modify our evaluation tool to obtain more data. provide more professional development for program facilitators.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Parents' attitude towards their understanding of how to teach their children reading (t=5.04, p=.00) and their ability to assess their children's reading skills and abilities (t=4.58, p=.00) increased significantly after participating in the Parent-Child Reading Enhancement Program (PCREP). Also, there was a significant increase in the attitude of parents regarding how to enhance their children's reading skills and abilities by use of games, activities and things within their environment. (t=2.75, p=.01; t=2.47, p=.02; and t=2.88, p=.01, respectively) after participating in the program. Parents' overall knowledge and use of various reading strategies with their children increased significantly (t=4.74, p=.00). Also the frequency at which parents allowed their children to choose books (t=2.50, p=.01), follow along with them as they read books (t=3.24, p=.00), and talk about the cover of the book with them (t=4.62, p=.00) increased significantly. Also, parents' use of strategies such as having a set time for reading with their children (t=2.79, p=.01), pointing out new words as they read (t=2.78, p=.01), asking their children to guess what will happen next in the story (t=5.16, p=.00) , describe what happened in the story (t=4.49, p=.00), and asking them to retell the story (t=3.62, p=.00) significantly increased after participating in the program. The parents enrolled in this program not only spend 60 minutes each week with their children for six weeks demonstrating how to utilize various reading strategies, they also participate as a family in one family event during the six week session. In other words, of the 50 parents who met during one of the three six week sessions, 100% of them spent at least thirty minutes twice a week (in class) reading with their children. During the family night events, parents together with their children enjoyed four hours of family time together while bowling. Also, families enjoyed an all-day event (10:00 a.m. til 4:00 p.m.) that entailed children engaging in educational activities centered on literacy. Each exhibitor required children to listen to or read fun activities. At the end of each activity, children were asked questions and for each correct answer they were given PCREP dollars. The PCREP dollars were used to buy items from the PCREP bookstore. For two lessons (six hours), parents were taught how to use technology to enhance their children's reading ability. They utilized an e-reader during class to practice individually and with their children. At the end of the program, parents were given an opportunity to borrow an e-reader to continue working with their children. Approximately, 98% of the parents borrowed e-readers to continue use of the e-readers outside of the class. Community partners such as Commissioner Robert Harrison of District 6, COSCO Wholesalers, SAM Wholesalers, all program areas of Alabama Cooperative Extension System, and others joined together in supporting PCREP Family Day event. During the event day we had the Huntsville County Police Department and the Huntsville Fire Department support the program. Also, many of the community exhibitors freely contributed books and other educational prizes for the children. This event had more than 259 adults and 279children to attend from the community. Based on findings from evaluation of the event, 95 % of the adult respondents felt that the event was an excellent educational program for children and more than 88% indicated that they would very likely return again next year.
Publications
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