TMW-Early Childhood Educator Program
Phase: NA
Conditions: Language Development
Sponsor: University of Chicago

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TMW-Early Childhood Educator Program (TMW-ECE) 
 
PROTOCOL TITLE: TMW-Early Childhood Educator Program (TMW-ECE) 
 
PI: Dana Suskind, M.D. 
 
FUNDING: External funding from Crown Family Philanthropies 
 
SPONSER: Private Industry 
 
TYPE OF RESEARCH: Longitudinal Randomized Control Trial 
 
INTERVENTION: Experimental Technique To Change Knowledge And Beliefs 
 
PROTOCOL VERSION DATE: 7/19/2019 
 

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TMW-Early Childhood Educator Program (TMW-ECE) 
 
Introduction 
The TMW- Early Childhood Educator Program (TMW-ECE) is one of the interventions in the TMW 
Center’s public health approach to impacting children’s early cognitive and social-emotional 
development at a population level.  The TMW-ECE intervention aims to impact educators’ knowledge 
and beliefs about the importance of a rich early language environment in children’s foundational brain 
development, and develop their skills for cultivating one in their classrooms and beyond.  TMW-ECE will 
target early childhood educators through an online course where they will participate in eight online, 
self-directed modules.  This study will evaluate the efficacy of the professional development 
intervention in increasing knowledge and promoting behaviors among educators that support critical 
language and cognitive development in young students ranging from infancy to preschool age. In order 
to evaluate the efficacy of the course, all participants will complete surveys regarding their knowledge, 
beliefs, and behaviors regarding childhood development and their involvement in the child’s care. It will 
also provide information on how users interact with an online professional development format and 
inform future course iterations to improve the user experience. TMW-ECE will integrate education and 
technology into a scalable multimedia platform with the goal of broadening the reach of our earlier in-
person programs.  
 
Theoretical Background 
TMW-ECE is an extension and a focused adaptation of the TMW Center’s suite of interventions, 
specifically developed for early childhood educators. TMW-ECE is grounded in three main bodies of 
literature and research. The first is research on early childhood language acquisition, child development, 
and child behavior. The foundation of our evidence-based curricula derives from the differences found 
in children’s language environments, which largely depend on socio-economic status (Hart and Risley, 
1995). Second is research on the potential that early childhood educators have to mitigate the 
development and achievement gaps that children from low-SES backgrounds experience (Piasta et al, 
2012; Campbell, Pungello, Miller-Johnson, Burchinal, & Ramey, 2001; Justice, Mashburn, Hamre, & 
Pianta, 2008). Third is research and data on the use of professional development programs as a way to 
maximize that potential and to improve and enrich the language learning environment of early 
childhood classrooms (Piasta et al, 2012). This project addresses a high priority topic for educators that 
has long-term implications for educational and achievement trajectories for low-SES children. Therefore, 
TMW-ECE aims to increase educator knowledge of early childhood language development and to 
identify the most effective way to translate this knowledge into behavioral change that will have lasting 
impact on their students. We aim to bring these bodies of research together to craft a public health 
intervention using existing TMW initiatives while also adding an important educational component. 
 
Importance of Language Acquisition on Cognitive Development: 
A child’s early language exposure is pivotal in language development and in ultimate educational 
and intellectual achievement (Bruner, 1981; Chapman, 2000; Gallaway & Richards, 1994; Hart & Risley, 
1995; Huttenlocher, Haight, Bryk, Selzer, & Lyons, 1991; Rowe, 2008). Hart and Risley’s landmark study 
demonstrated the tremendous impact of a child’s early language milieu on future learning by revealing a 
significant correlation between the number of words a child is exposed to between ages 0-3 and his or 
her ultimate IQ and academic success (Hart & Risley, 1992; 1995). Their findings were both significant 
and alarming, demonstrating the critical and time-sensitive role that early language exposure plays in a 
child’s life. 
 

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Hart and Risley’s study revealed a steep socioeconomic gradient in early exposure to words and 
language, raising particular concern for children born into poverty. At the end of their third year, 
children from high socioeconomic status (SES) families heard approximately forty-five million words, 
while children from economically impoverished backgrounds heard only approximately thirteen million. 
Hart and Risley found that more talk equated to faster vocabulary growth and higher IQ test scores at 
three years and older. Their follow-up with these children at 9-10 years of age confirmed that school 
interventions came too late to alter these trajectories; the reverberations of early linguistic shortfall 
were likely to follow these children throughout their lives.  
 
However, this research also demonstrates that the challenges these some children face are not 
a result of genetics nor lack of potential, and most importantly they are not unalterable. In fact, the 
aforementioned inequity can be mitigated with high quality early childhood educational interventions. 
Research has shown direct links between early childhood care quality and positive impacts on children’s 
math and literacy skills as well as their intellectual, social, and behavioral development (Pinto et al., 
2012; Howes et al., 2008; Mashburn, 2008), illustrating the necessity of an intervention aimed at early 
childhood educators.  
 
Impact of Early Childhood Education on Children’s Development and Achievement  
Theory and research suggest that a large part of children’s language development is contingent 
on both the quality and quantity of language and communicative acts to which they are exposed, and 
early childhood educators are key to exposing children to frequent, high quality interactions that help 
build their language skills (McDonald et al., 2015; Piasta et al., 2012; Pinto et al., 2013). Building these 
skills early is crucial to children’s school readiness in kindergarten and beyond. In fact, children who 
enter kindergarten with underdeveloped literacy and language skills are more likely to exhibit difficulties 
in school performance in both the short term and long term compared to those whose skills are well-
developed in early childhood (Justice et al., 2012). Additionally, while children’s early literacy and 
language achievements are relatively fluid in early childhood, these skills become increasingly stable as 
children get older (Lonigan, Burgess, Anthony, & Barker, 1998), demonstrating the importance of early 
intervention. 
 
This is especially important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are at a higher 
risk for language difficulties, as evidence supports that there is a link between the language environment 
in the classroom and children’s language development and growth (Piasta et al., 2012).  While high 
quality early childhood education can propel children forward, studies have also shown that early 
childhood environments of poor quality can actually hinder or nullify any positive effects experienced 
from the quality of the child’s home environment (Watamura et al., 2011; Pinto et al., 2012), illustrating 
the urgency of ensuring all children have access to high quality early education opportunities.  
 
A Participatory Model of Professional Development and Educational Intervention 
Research has shown that exposure to high quality professional development programs can have 
a positive impact on classroom practices of early childhood educators, particularly in areas of language 
and literacy (Piasta et al., 2015; Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, & Birman, 2002; Piasta et al., 2012; 
Landry, Swank, Smith, Assel, & Gunnewig, 2006). Early childhood educator training typically occurs 
either in post-secondary educator preparation programs, or through professional development accessed 
while employed as a childcare provider (Illinois Board of Higher Education, 2018).  Educators in early 
childcare centers have a wide range of formal education, from a high school diploma through graduate-
level degrees (Whitehead, 2018) demonstrating a need for equally diverse and plentiful professional 

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development options. And yet evidence-based professional development programs for educators of 
young children is limited (IITQI, 2016).   
 
Building off of this existing body of research, the TMW-ECE intervention seeks to create a 
participatory model of professional development that will inform teachers of child development that 
will, as a result, aim to improve and enrich their classroom environments. It will specifically target 
educators with less formal education (no more than a bachelor’s degree) with the goal of filling in gaps 
that advanced-degree programs may have addressed. The intervention is currently being designed and 
planned with iterative participation and feedback from the audience we seek to have an impact on. 
Exploratory and formative qualitative research informs the intervention, drawing insights from early 
childhood care educators. Our intervention is being developed with focus groups and individual 
interviews with educators and visits to early childhood classrooms in Chicago that informed the creation 
of an online professional development program that is informative, engaging, and convenient for a busy 
educator to complete.  
 
While earlier TMW interventions have been developed for parents, the TMW-ECE intervention 
will be tailored for educators. One advantage of TMW-ECE is the employment of an online platform to 
disseminate information to educators in various formats, allowing for a continuous flow of information. 
The program will include messages and strategies specifically for educators of children from birth to 
three years of age with a focus on the role of talk and interaction in children’s brain development, 
strategies educators can use to support their students’ brain development, and ways educators can 
share this knowledge with parents to maximize the impact on a child’s learning.  
 
The significance of the Early Childhood Educator Program as a Public Health Initiative 
TMW-ECE is a public health effort to raise awareness about the critical importance of early 
childhood language development. For the intervention, TMW-ECE will be hosted on an online learning 
management system (LMS) where educators will complete the eight modules. If successful, we aim to 
scale the TMW-ECE Initiative to the national level so that the professional development program will be 
available for early childhood educators to complete nationwide. As a public health approach to 
disparities in early language environments, cognitive development, and later school readiness, TMW-
ECE offers the potential for the development of a new standard of care in early childhood education.  
 
Purpose 
Through evidence-based strategies, the TMW-ECE program teaches educators how to harness 
the power of their words to build their students’ brains and impact their students’ learning trajectory. 
The purpose of the proposed study is to determine the efficacy of an eight-module interactive, online 
multi-media professional development course on our target population: individuals over the age of 18, 
who have no more than a bachelor’s degree, and are employed as early childhood educators of children 
between the ages of 0 and 3. Outcomes of interest include changing caregiver knowledge and beliefs 
about child development, and encouraging the use of strategies provided to strengthen early learning 
environments. We will also measure how participants interact with the online course in order to 
determine which features help and hinder the online professional development process.  
We hypothesize that the TMW-ECE intervention will be effective in improving educator beliefs 
and knowledge of their role in children’s foundational brain development, and increasing the frequency 
of behaviors that are known to support children’s language and cognitive development among our 
target population. The hypothesis relies on the existing research supporting the idea that educator 
understanding and beliefs will alter educator behavior. 

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We propose a two-cohort design randomized-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the 
TMW-ECE program in positively impacting the knowledge and beliefs of less-educated caregivers (those 
with no more than a bachelor’s degree). The TMW-ECE program will constitute the treatment arm of the 
study (Cohort A) which will complete the multi-media online professional development course beginning 
Summer 2019. Cohort B will be the control group, which initially does not view any modules but 
completes the surveys at the same intervals as treatment arm participants. After completion of the final 
survey measure, Cohort B participants will be offered the opportunity to review a revised version of the 
professional development course when it has been updated based on the findings of this study.  
 
Protocol 
 
Study Timeline: 
Each participant will be involved in the study for approximately 6 months. An outline of the study 
timeline is included on the following page 
 
Phase 1: Pre-Intervention 
Participant completes a demographics survey on RedCap to determine eligibility based on the 
exclusion criteria listed below. If they are eligible and desire to participate, they will complete 
the informed consent process online prior to beginning the intervention. 
 
Upon signing the consent form, participants will be randomized into either the treatment or 
control group after providing their consent. All participants will be notified via email with 
detailed instructions on how to complete the study measures online and, if treatment group, 
how to view the modules.  
 
Survey Session 1: Participant completes the following surveys online: SPEAK, Course Content 
Survey, and a demographics survey. If a participant indicates that they have a child living at 
home, they will also be asked to complete two subscales of the TOPSE. 
 
Phase 2: Intervention 
Participants in the treatment group complete interactive modules. They will be asked to 
complete one module per week, for a total of eight weeks. 
Participants in the control group will have no active study requirements for the eight weeks 
following Survey Session 1. 
 
Phase 3: Post-Intervention 
Upon completion of Module 8, participants in the treatment group will be invited by email to 
complete Survey Session 2, which includes the following surveys: Speak, , Course Content 
Knowledge, and the qualitative Course Experience survey.  If a participant indicated during 
Survey Session 1 that they have a child living at home, they will also be asked to complete two 
subscales of the TOPSE. 
Participants in the control group will be invited to complete Survey Session 2 exactly eight 
weeks after they complete Survey Session 1, which corresponds to how long we anticipate 
treatment group participants needing to complete the 8 modules. This Survey Session will 
include the same surveys as the treatment group: SPEAK, , Course Content Knowledge, and a 
qualitative Course Experience survey on their most recent professional development. If a 
participant indicated during Survey Session 1 that they have a child living at home, they will 
also be asked to complete two subscales of the TOPSE. 

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All participants in both experimental groups will be invited by email to complete Survey Session 
3 exactly 12 weeks after the completion of Survey Session 2. Surveys include: SPEAK, and 
Course Content Knowledge.If a participant indicated during Survey Session 1 that they have a 
child living at home, they will also be asked to complete two subscales of the TOPSE. 
At the conclusion of the study, participants in the treatment group may be asked to participate in a 
phone interview about their experience with the program, their opinions on the curriculum, and how 
they interact with the children in their care. This interview will be conducted with a trained member of 
the research team. 
 
 
 
 

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Recruitment – at individual centers and through listservs and 
partnerships with licensing orgs 
Demographics survey for 
eligibility. 
Ineligible 
Consent 
Randomization 
Completed within 2 weeks of 
randomization 
Survey Session 2 
SPEAK 
Course Content Knowledge 
TOPSE 
Other PD Experience Survey 
 
Payment: $50 
Bonus: $25 if completed 
within 1 week  
Survey Session 3 
SPEAK 
Course Content Knowledge 
TOPSE 
Invitation to access updated 
ECE modules (circa Spring 
2020) 
 
Payment: $50 
Bonus: $25 if completed 
within 1 week
Survey Session 2 
SPEAK 
Course Content Knowledge 
TOPSE 
TMW-ECE Experience Survey 
Invitation to phone call 
 
Payment: $50  
Bonus: $25 if 5-8 completed 
in 4 weeks 
Survey Session 3 
SPEAK 
Course Content Knowledge 
TOPSE 
 
Payment: $50 
Opens 12 weeks after Survey Session 2. 
Completed within 2 weeks 
Opens 8 weeks 
after Survey 
Session 1. 
Completed within 
2 weeks 
Opens at 
conclusion of 
Module 8. 
Completed within 
2 weeks 
Survey Session 1 
SPEAK 
Course Content Knowledge 
Demographics 
TOPSE 
Payment: $50 
Survey Session 1 
SPEAK 
Course Content Knowledge 
Demographics 
TOPSE 
Payment: $50 
INTERVENTION  
         
Modules 1-8. Ideal completion 1 per 
week.  
Bonus payment: $25 if Modules 1-4 are 
done in 4 weeks.  

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Participants 
 
We plan to recruit up to 600 early childhood educators with no more than a bachelor’s degree 
who are employed to teach students between the ages of 0 and 3 years old. These participants will be 
randomly assigned to a condition after the completion of a demographics screening survey and granting 
of informed consent. All educators will be allocated to one of the two experimental conditions: the 
treatment group (Cohort A) will complete the 8 modules during the duration of the 6-month study. The 
control group (Cohort B) will not complete the 8 modules as part of their participation in the study. 
However, they will be given the option to access the revised professional development course when it is 
adapted based on the study’s findings. Each group will consist of approximately 300 participants. 
 
 
Exclusion criteria 
Exclusion criteria are as follows:  
o Educators who report having a higher level of education (above a bachelor’s degree, 
including any graduate school coursework). 
o Educators who do not work with children ages 0-3 as their primary age group. 
o Educators who are under the age of 18. 
o Educators who do not have access to a computer or tablet with access to the internet. 
o Anyone not employed by a childcare program (either home or center-based). 
o Anyone whose role within a childcare setting is not that of an educator (primary teacher 
or assistant teacher) 
 
Recruitment:  
 
To reach our target population of early childhood educators working with children ages 0-3 in 
home and center-based childcare settings, who are over 18 and have no more than a bachelor’s degree, 
we intend to recruit through the following channels: 
 
licensing agencies (INCCRRA, NAEYC, ilaeyc, IAFC) 
 
large childcare centers/provider networks (IL Action for Children, Chicago Commons, Kindercare, 
Early HeadStart) 
 
Early childhood degree programs (City Colleges of Chicago AA, DePaul/UIC BS) 
 
Illinois Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCR&Rs) 
The TMW Center will partner with Illinois Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies to help us 
spread the word about this study to educators in their region. Agencies will 1) participate in 
monthly calls with TMW researchers to share knowledge on strategies for contacting and 
reaching early childhood educators working with children ages 0-3 in home and center-based 
childcare settings, who are over 18 years of age in their local context, and 2) distribute flyers to 
educators. Agencies who participate in sharing knowledge on strategies for contacting and 
reaching early childhood educators and distributing flyers will receive a $100 gift card for their 
agency per month. Illinois Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies will NOT be involved 
consenting, study activities, or analyzing data. Agencies will distribute flyers that will share how 
to contact TMW Center, if interested.  
 
By working with agencies, providers, and institutions who have contact with a large number of early 
childhood educators, we hope to gain access to listservs and newsletters that can help us reach 
interested participants. Partner organizations will be given some background information on the TMW 
Center and our work, the professional development course, and study goals (attached). They will be 

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asked to share only a recruitment flyer (attached), however, so as not to risk spreading the content of 
the program and contaminating participants prior to the study’s start.  
 
 
Consent 
All participants will be asked to read and electronically sign an Informed Consent Form via the 
online platform, RedCap. They will have access to an electronic copy of the consent form. We will ask 
permission to obtain contact information including name, address, telephone and email in order to 
contact subjects to complete follow-up surveys. Participants and the research staff will have access to 
the electronic consent document throughout the duration of the study. This will take place before the 
participant completes the first module of TMW-ECE or completing surveys (with the exception of the 
demographic survey, which will be completed as an eligibility screener prior to being shown the consent 
document). So that Dr. Suskind or her research team may contact the participants in the future, we will 
request consent to keep contact information from this study (name, address, phone number, and email 
address) in a password-protected database.  
 
Randomization 
We will use the website Research Randomizer (randomizer.org) to generate a randomization 
table. In an Excel spreadsheet, the first half of the dummy number set will be assigned evenly to the 
Treatment condition (arm 1) and the other half will be assigned evenly to the Control condition (arm 2). 
Then, the data in the columns “participant,” “condition,” and “dummy” will be sorted using the Excel 
“Sort by” function on the column “dummy”. The participant numbers are now unsorted and randomly 
assigned to either one of the two experimental conditions: Treatment or Control. This will allow us to 
ensure equal sample sizes for all treatment and control conditions.  
 
 
Description of LMS:  
 
This course will be delivered via an online learning management system (LMS) that helps create, 
manage, and deliver eLearning courses. For this study, the LMS will be the method through which study 
participants will complete the TMW-ECE professional development course. The LMS will host all eight 
modules of the program, and users will complete each module on the LMS. As the participants work 
through the modules, the LMS will record how the participants interact with the program, and this 
information can then be downloaded in the form of reports to analyze the effectiveness of the 
intervention. Examples of these reports include how long participants spend on a certain slide, which 
answers they selected for survey questions, and what scores they achieved on quizzes.    
The LMS will be reviewed for compliance with security requirements and protection of user 
rights. Each user will be given a unique log-in to a password protected account, and no one from the 
LMS company will be able to access user data unless granted permission for assistance with a 
technology related problem. Members of the research team will be able to access participant data 
through a password protected account. 
 
 
The Professional Development Course: 
 
TMW’s approach to fostering a rich early language environment centers around the 3Ts: Tune 
In, Talk More, and Take Turns. TMW-ECE is an eight-module course that demonstrates ways 
that caregivers can use this approach to enrich the talk and interaction in their classrooms and 
maximize their children’s foundational brain development. The course explores how the 3Ts 

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support early literacy and math instruction, as well as social emotional development and 
classroom management. A course outline is attached.  
 
 
 
Study Incentives 
Educators who complete the entire study will receive at least $150 and up to a total of $200. 
These payments will be issued in the form of an electronic gift card sent via the participant’s provided 
email address. 
Payments will be given according to the following schedule: 
$50 upon completion of Survey Session 1 
$50 upon completion of Survey Session 2 
$50 upon completion of Survey Session 3. 
 
In addition, participants will be eligible to receive up to $50 in bonus gift cards for completing 
study milestones on or ahead of schedule. Because the program is self-paced with little interaction from 
the researchers, we believe that offering these incentives is crucial to keeping participants in adherence 
to the study protocol and designated 6-month timeline. 
The Treatment Group will receive $25 for completing Modules 1-4 within 4 weeks and an 
additional $25 for finishing Modules 5-8 within 4 more weeks. 
 The Control Group will receive $25 for completing Survey Session 2 within 1 week of being 
notified that it is available online, and an additional $25 for completing Survey Session 3 within 1 week 
of being notified that it is available on time. 
Participants who complete all 8 modules of the online professional development, whether as 
part of the treatment condition of the study or following study completion for the control group, will 
have the option of submitting their information to the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and 
Referral Agencies (INCCRRA) for professional development credit hours through the statewide Gateways 
to Opportunity program. We will obtain permission to share their information, including their name, 
license number, and information about dates of completion of the program, with INCCRRA at the 
conclusion of the study for any participant who wishes to opt in to receive this credit. 
 
Risks and Benefits of Participation 
Due to the educational nature of this study, risks are minimal, relating mostly to potential loss of 
confidentiality. The program is administered and access online, and involves completing surveys, 
providing demographic information, and (for the treatment group) completing eight modules of a 
professional development program. The data will be stored in password-protected computers and 
stored in locked file cabinets. Benefits include possible increased knowledge of the importance of early 
childhood language for cognitive development as well as the chance to provide feedback to TMW staff 
on the content and quality of the program. 
 
Analysis 
Paired t-tests will be used to analyze total survey scores before and after intervention. 
Qualitative data will be used to make changes to the curriculum or module delivery format for future 
iterations of the program. 
 
 
Description of Measures 
The following scales, assessments, and questionnaires will be used throughout the course of the study. 

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Survey of Parental/Provider Expectations And Knowledge (SPEAK). The SPEAK is a questionnaire that 
assesses understanding of children’s learning process. 
Course Content Knowledge: This survey includes questions specific to the course content conveyed in 
the professional development modules. True/false, and multiple-choice questions will measure 
participants’ uptake of course material. 
Experience survey: This survey asks about providers’ experiences with the online professional 
development program format, including ease of use, opinions about the quality of the curriculum, 
suggestions for how the program can be improved in the future, and how providers have used what 
they learned in the curriculum in their own classroom. 
Demographics Questionnaire: This questionnaire gathers information about the participants’ race and 
ethnicity, family composition (including number of children in the home and household size), income 
level. If a participant indicates that they are married or living with a partner, additional questions are 
asked about their partner’s educational attainment and employment status. 
Tool to Measure Parenting Self-Efficacy (TOPSE): The TOPSE assesses parent’s beliefs about their 
efficacy as caregivers. Two subscales – “Self Acceptance” and “Learning and Knowledge” will be 
administered. 
Confidentiality and Data Sharing 
The raw data will only be made available to the PI and trained study personnel listed on the 
protocol. Participant records will be identified with unique coded identifiers in order to protect 
confidentiality.  Identifiable information, including name, telephone number, and email address will be 
stored on password-protected computers and access to which will be limited. Survey participants’ 
names will be replaced with numerical codes such that survey scores will not be attached directly to the 
participants’ contact information in order to protect anonymity. The data will be carefully monitored to 
protect patient privacy. All paper data will be stored in a locked cabinet in a locked office with access 
allowed only to researchers affiliated with the project. 
Participant information may be shared with INCCRRA in order for participants to obtain 
Gateways credit for their participation in the course. Permission for this will be obtained at the 
conclusion of the study. 
 
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