Web site: www.learningcomesalive.org
The major goal of Learning Comes Alive is to evaluate the use of everyday community activities for reinforcing general curricular goals for children 6 to 10 years of age with learning disabilities or who are academically challenged. Project staff work with parents, teachers, and community members to develop a plan for promoting children's participation in community activities that match the children's interests and assets in ways that help them achieve their academic goals. Emphasis is placed on (a) identification of community activities that serve as learning opportunities for reinforcing what is being taught at school and (b) procedures for building community capacity to involve children with disabilities in community activities. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Research-to-Practice Division.
The major goal of Project SEARCH Outreach is to enhance parents' and early intervention practitioners' abilities to (a) promote children's learning capacity and (b) document the extended benefits of this learning on the children and their caregivers. This is accomplished using an ecological framework for documenting the broad-based social systems benefits of early contingency intervention practices with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The intervention model uses active learning games as the basis for promoting the learning capabilities of young children and uses systems theory for documenting the extended benefits of the learning games on both children and their parents and teachers. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Research-to-Practice Division.
Web site: www.experiencethepossibilities.info
The major goal of the Possibilities Project is to promote the use of community activities as
sources of recreational and leisure opportunities for children with and without disabilities birth to
10 years of age. Project activities include: (a) identifying and mapping the sources and locations of
community recreation and leisure activities, (b) using children's assets (strengths and interests) as
the basis for promoting participation in community activities, (c) evaluating the project in terms of
levels of participation, strategies for promoting community participation, and benefits to project
participants, and (d) disseminating information about the project. The project is funded, in part,
by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and the
North Carolina Children's Trust Fund.
The major goal of Project ABLE (Asset-Based Learning Experiences) is to promote the use of parents' interests, assets, and talents as sources of learning opportunities for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The project staff is developing, implementing, and field-testing methods for (a) identifying parents' assets, (b) investigating ways in which those assets translate into children's learning opportunities, and (c) evaluating the influence of asset-based learning opportunities on child and parent competence. The project is being implemented with parents from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds in North Carolina and New Mexico. The project is funded, in part, by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Research-to-Practice Division.
The major goal of the Parent Assets Study is to investigate the manner in which parents' personal assets (interests, strengths, talents, etc.) provide their children contexts for development-enhancing learning opportunities. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to identify parents' assets and to determine the manner in which child participation in asset-based activities influence both child and parent functioning. The study is being conducted with families from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds throughout the United States.
The major goal of the Strengths-Based Behavioral Enhancement Study is to promote the development of social, communicative, adaptive, and cognitive behaviors for young children diagnosed with autism and pervasive developmental disorders. Project participants are two- to six-year-old children and their parents or primary caregivers. Children's strengths and interests are identified and used as the foundation for providing learning opportunities in everyday home and community activity settings. The developmental influences of interest-based everyday learning are being assessed in terms of changes in the children's social, communicative, cognitive, adaptive, and behavioral capabilities.
The major goal of the English Language Learning Research Study is to promote English language learning in the context of everyday family and community activity settings. Project participants are infants and toddlers and their parents who are Spanish-speaking. Project staff are investigating the effects of having parents embed English into their children's everyday learning and the family activities that make up the fabric of daily life. The English language learning of children and parents is monitored and related to variations in the characteristics of the activity settings that are used as the context for learning English. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Research-to-Practice Division.
The major goal of Measuring Everyday Parenting Competence, Confidence, and Enjoyment is to develop a scale for measuring parenting behavior demonstrated as part of carrying out everyday child rearing and parenting responsibilities. The Everyday Parenting Scale includes three subscales measuring parenting competence, parenting confidence, and parenting enjoyment. The reliability and validity of the scale is being tested in a national study of parents of children birth to five years of age. One outcome of the study is the development of an instrument that is sensitive to measuring variations in parenting behavior and that is associated with variations in different kinds of parenting opportunities and engagement in child and family routines.
The major goal of this project is the development of procedures for identifying and measuring child, parent, and community assets and strengths. Different interview, observational, and self-report measures and tools have been developed and are being field-tested with families varying in family composition and structure, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and family resources and lifestyles. A major focus of each assessment procedure is the development of strength and interest indicators that are sensitive in identifying unique family and cultural interests and capabilities that have family-strengthening consequences.
