Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2018, EDU Teaching and Learning

The prevalence and effects of lagging or delayed early literacy and motor skill development in children of low-SES backgrounds is a significant issue that can have adverse developmental consequences and affect children's ability to succeed in school (Evans, 2004; NELP, 2008; Stodden et al., 2008). This study examined the impact of the Reading and Motor Program for Preschoolers (RaMPP) on the letter knowledge, initial sound awareness, and fundamental motor skills of Head Start preschool children. RaMPP is an integrated curricula model designed to improve child outcomes in early literacy and fundamental motor skill development. The current study had two primary aims: (a) to determine the extent to which the RaMPP intervention was implemented as designed, and (b) to determine the extent to which the RaMPP intervention impacted the alphabet knowledge, initial sound awareness, and fundamental motor skill development of Head Start preschool children relative to Head Start business-as-usual instruction. The study used a two-group pre-posttest experimental design with three Head Start preschool centers and a total of 10 classrooms and 102 students. Classrooms (and children within classrooms) were randomly assigned to the RaMPP intervention condition (5 classrooms; n = 51) and or business-as-usual control condition (5 classrooms; n = 51). Overall fidelity of the RaMPP intervention was 85.41% and it was also determined that there were sufficient distinguishing features of the RaMPP intervention differentiating it from the business-as-usual instruction of the control condition. The results indicated that the RaMPP intervention was significant for lowercase letters (p = .008) and initial sounds (p = .012) outcomes when controlling for age at pretest with medium effect sizes. Results also revealed that there were significant differences between groups on posttest scores for locomotor (p = .001) and object control skills (p = <.001) with large effect sizes.

Committee: Jacqueline Goodway PhD (Advisor); Adrian Rodgers PhD (Advisor); Laura Justice PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Curriculum Development; Early Childhood Education; Education; Literacy; Pedagogy; Physical Education; Preschool Education; Reading Instruction

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Physical Activity and Educational Services

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of two motor skills instructional approaches; a low autonomy (LA) and mastery motivational climate (MMC) approach on object control (OC) skills of preschoolers who are disadvantaged (N = 124) along with the predictors of OC skill performance. The OC subscale of the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (Ulrich, 2000) assessed OC skills prior to, following, and nine-weeks after the intervention. At the pretest, all groups demonstrated OC skill scores that were developmentally delayed. A pretest 3 Group X 2 Sex ANOVA confirmed no Group differences in OC skills (p=.78) and a non-significant Group X Time interaction (p=.10). Overall, a 2 Group X 2 Time X 2 Sex ANOVA with repeated measures was used to assess OC skill learning from pretest to retention test for the LA and MMC groups. A significant main effect for Time (p<.001, c2=.92) was present along with a non-significant Group X Time interaction (p<.142) revealing that the intervention groups demonstrated significant pretest to retention test differences in OC skill performance. Paired sample t-tests assessed the overall changes from pretest to retention test and revealed that both the LA and MMC nine-week OC skill intervention was effective in improving the OC skill performance of the preschoolers from pretest levels (p<.001). In terms of predictors of OC skill performance at pretest, grip strength, sex, and age were predictive of pretest OC scores. Prior OC skill scores served as a predictor for posttest and retention test scores for all groups. More intriguing, the variables of child risk factor, body mass index, and skinfolds demonstrate a negative correlation for OC skill performance. Results from this study concludes that preschool children who are disadvantaged are developmentally delayed in motor skills, and motor intervention is necessary and valuable.

Committee: Jacqueline Goodway (Advisor) Subjects: