Teresa A. Byington

University of Nevada, Reno

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Anne R. Lindsay

University of Nevada, Reno

Madeleine Sigman‐Grant

University of Nevada, Reno

YaeBin Kim

University of Nevada, Reno

Deborah A. Loesch-Griffin

Center Point

Susi Brumett

University of Nevada, Reno

Minggen Lu

University of Nevada, Reno

Tara Spann

Virginia Cooperative Extension

Nurgül Fitzgerald

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Jonathan L. Blitstein

Center For Policy Research

Peggy J. Schaefer Whitby

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

Cooperative Institutions

University of Nevada, Reno

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Virginia Cooperative Extension

Youth Development

RTI International

University of South Carolina

South Carolina Department of Education

University of California, Los Angeles

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Rutgers Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

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Professional Development Needs and Interests of Early Childhood Education Trainers.

Early childhood research & practice (2011)

Teresa A. Byington Michelle T. Tannock

An online survey of early childhood education (ECE) trainers was conducted to assess their professional development needs and determine any differences between new and experienced trainers. Trainers identified teaching techniques and resources commonly used. The survey information is guiding the development of ECE trainer criteria in a southwestern state. The majority of survey respondents were female, Caucasian, and held a bachelor’s degree or higher. ECE trainers were interested in receiving professional development on adult learning principles, teaching techniques, utilizing the latest research in ECE, and designing and presenting effective training. Participants indicated a preference for receiving training through online training modules and 2to 3-hour training sessions. Trainers most frequently used handouts, lecture, and small and large group activities in training. ECE trainers expressed interest in participating in round table discussions and receiving monthly email messages containing trainer tips. The results of this study indicate that the ECE profession would benefit from strengthening the quality and quantity of professional development offered to trainers.

Trainer

Bachelor

Faculty Development

Bachelor degree

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Citations (21)

Head Start Families Thoughts and Beliefs about Health, Nutrition, and Physical Activity

NHSA Dialog (2013)

Teresa A. Byington Anne R. Lindsay Deborah A. Loesch-Griffin Susi Brumett Madeleine Sigman‐Grant

In-depth interviews were conducted with a subset of Head Start families participating in an intervention comparison research study in a southwestern state.Â Families were asked to share thoughts and beliefs about eating and physical activity habits.Â Questions were asked in relation to consumption of healthy snacks, consumption of fruits and vegetables, influences on purchasing and eating habits, eating out patterns, physical activity, and perceptions of what it means to be healthy. Â Both intervention and comparison families felt it was essential to consume fresh fruits and vegetables.Â Economic reasons were cited by respondents as the main reason for not consuming fruits, vegetables, and healthy snacks regularly. While families from both the intervention and the control groups noted that their preschooler influenced their food purchases (about one-fourth of parents were always influenced), children from the intervention group began requesting healthy foods.Â Families stated engaging in daily physical activity was important; however, barriers such as health restrictions, work schedules, weather, and personal preferences affected levels of physical activity.Â Â Information from this study is guiding improvements to a preschool program targeting childhood obesity.

Head start

Consumption

Healthy eating

Food preparation

Early Head Start

Food Choice

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Citations (3)

Literacy Coaching and Preschool Teacher's Implementation of Literacy Instructional Practices

Teresa A. Byington

10.34917/4478210

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Citations (0)

Preschoolers Build Fundamental Motor Skills Critical to an Active Lifestyle: The All 4 Kids© Intervention Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2020)

Anne R. Lindsay Angela Starrett Ali Brian Teresa A. Byington Jennifer Lucas

This pragmatic, real world study examined the effects of the All 4 Kids© intervention on preschoolers’ mastery of movement skills and determined whether the instruction had greater impact than natural development. Methods included a quasi-experimental intervention-comparison subsample of 379 children (COMPARISON) and a pretest-posttest design with convenience scale-up sampling of 2817 preschoolers (SCALE-UP). Children receiving education and dance instruction 3 times/week for 8 weeks were assessed using the Preschool Movement Assessment to evaluate skills pre and post intervention. Using repeated measures ANOVA, McNemar and Wilcoxon signed ranks tests, preschooler’s participation in the intervention resulted in greater improvement in 12 movement skills (F = 83.451, df = 1, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.555), balance (p = 0.028), hopping (t = −3.545, df = 112, p = 0.001) and crossing the midline (p < 0.001) than natural development (COMPARISON). In the SCALE-UP study, children significantly improved in all measures based on post-intervention scores. Significant differences were observed between Hispanic and non-Hispanic children for the 12-skills (b = −0.758, se = 0.161, p < 0.001) using hierarchical linear models; boys’ and girls’ scores were not differentially impacted by the intervention. Therefore, implementation of interventions focused on fundamental movement skill development have the potential to remediate secular motor skill decline in young children.

McNemar's test

Repeated measures design

Gross motor skill

10.3390/ijerph17093098

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Citations (16)

Communities of Practice: Using Blogs to Increase Collaboration

Intervention in School and Clinic (2011)

Teresa A. Byington

A community of practice provides a forum for professionals to exchange ideas and discuss concerns related to the profession. Within this forum, technology can eliminate many of the constraints face-to-face communities of practice encounter by providing a convenient and highly interactive environment. A description of how to set up an online community of practice using blogs is described. Blogging can support professional learning by giving teachers a platform for interacting and collaborating with other professionals. The steps for creating a blog are given.

Community of practice

Learning community

Online Community

Professional learning community

10.1177/1053451210395384

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Citations (39)

Teaching Child Care Providers to Reduce the Risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)

Journal of Extension (2011)

Teresa A. Byington S Martin Jackie Reilly Dan Weigel

Keeping children safe and healthy is one of the main concerns of parents and child care providers. SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is the leading cause of death in infants 1 month to 12 months of age. Over 2,000 infants die from SIDS every year in the United States, and almost 15% of these deaths occur in child care settings. A targeted educational training was developed to teach child care providers about SIDS and the importance of safe sleep environments in child care. Statistical analyses indicated significant differences in participant knowledge and self-reported practices on pre- and post-tests.

Child Care

10.34068/joe.49.02.18

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Citations (2)

Empowering Families During the Early Intervention Planning Process

Young Exceptional Children (2011)

Teresa A. Byington Peggy J. Schaefer Whitby

10.1177/1096250611428878

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Citations (12)

Incongruence between mother perceptions and preschooler's actual weight status using BMI Categories

The FASEB Journal (2012)

Anne R. Lindsay Alicia Hite Teresa A. Byington Minggen Lu Madeleine Sigman‐Grant

Mothers of overweight or obese children are reported to underestimate their child's weight status. This study assessed how accurately a mother perceived her preschooler's body size and the affect of the child's actual weight status (underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese BMI) on this perception. The study also included the mother's perception of her own body size. Both mothers and their children ages 3–5 y (n=265) attending one of 12 Las Vegas Nevada Head Start centers were weighed, measured and interviewed. Mothers (74.3% Hispanic) indicated their own and their child's silhouettes. Although 72.8% correctly identified their own body size, only 55% of mothers were accurate in identifying their preschooler's body size. When looking at the preschooler's weight status, 83% of mothers with children in the “healthy weight” correctly identified their child. However, for preschoolers in the overweight category, none identified their preschooler as “too heavy” and only 22% of mothers correctly identified their preschooler as “too heavy” when the child's weight status was obese. Finally, 43% of mothers correctly identified their preschooler as being underweight. Results show that while mothers may accurately identify preschoolers who are at a healthy weight, they incorrectly report weight status for those defined as overweight, obese, and underweight. Funded in part by USDA FNS.

Underweight

Normal weight

Affect

10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.1011.12

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Literacy in the Early Childhood Classroom: A SWOT Analysis of a Multi-State Literacy Train-the-Trainer Program

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension (2020)

Teresa A. Byington YaeBin Kim Diane Bales

Early childhood professionals attending in-depth literacy training have been shown to gain knowledge and change classroom practices. These early childhood professionals play an important role in children’s literacy development. In this multi-state study, the effectiveness and usability of the Literacy in the Early Childhood Classroom training curriculum was evaluated using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis. Eleven early childhood trainers participated in a train-the-trainer program and taught the literacy series to 238 early childhood professionals in four states. Participants attending the training series demonstrated significant knowledge gains on concepts related to oral language, phonological awareness, reading and vocabulary, and emergent writing. Trainers provided insights on successes of the literacy training series and what could be changed to improve the implementation and delivery of the series. Strengths of the training series included ease of implementing the training and strong supporting materials such as videos and children’s books. Weaknesses of the series included program length and the need for concept clarity among some trainers. Opportunities included streamlining the training content and providing trainers with additional support prior to training implementation. Potential threats include the need to align the training curriculum to match different states’ standards and childcare training policies.

CLARITY

Strengths and weaknesses

Trainer

10.54718/latz6328

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Impact of a Language and Literacy Training and Coaching Intervention on Early Childhood Outcomes in Low-Income Communities

Journal of Extension (2020)

Teresa A. Byington YaeBin Kim

We implemented an Extension-led language and literacy training and coaching intervention targeting preschool teachers and children in low-income communities in Nevada. Participation in the intervention had a positive influence on the language and literacy instruction skills of preschool teachers and language and literacy skills of children. Analysis of 40 preschool classrooms and 199 preschoolers over 3 years of data collection identified improvements in general classroom environments and teachers' language and literacy practices. Preschoolers demonstrated improvements in alphabet knowledge, comprehension, phonological awareness, vocabulary, and oral language. Extension professionals elsewhere may use a similar approach to positively affect the achievement gap of at-risk children.

Affect

10.34068/joe.58.04.21

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Citations (1)