Talk STEM Familia: Dual-Language Academic Vocabulary-Building Technology to Improve Educational, Career, and Health Outcomes Among Latinx Students
Phase: NA
Conditions: Vocabulary Acquisition
Sponsor: Oregon Research Behavioral Intervention Strategies, Inc.

ORI IRB# 00000278 
 
Protocol Version 8/19/2020 
 
Official Title: Talk STEM Familia: Dual-Language Academic Vocabulary-Building Technology to 
Improve Educational, Career, and Health Outcomes Among Latinx Students 
 
Principal Investigators: Jessie Marquez and Patricia Vadasy, Ph.D. 
 
Oregon Research Behavior Interventions Strategies, dba Influents Innovations 
 
Award No. 2 R44 MD013619-02 
 
Final Version Dated: 5/1/2025 
 
 

STUDY PROTOCOL 
 
Participant Recruitment, Enrollment, and Overall Design 
Families were recruited to participate in the evaluation study via distribution of study 
information through school districts, community organizations, and community health promoters 
around the United States. Interested parents who contacted project staff were provided additional 
information about the study and screened for eligibility; those eligible were consented via phone 
call or sent online Qualtrics consent form. After signing the consent, primary parents and their 
participating student completed the pretest/baseline (T1) assessment and then were randomized 
into the treatment group or waitlist control group. The group assignment lasted 6 months. 
Parent/student dyads in the treatment group received the Mi Familia STEM program app and 
Amazon Alexa with skill programmed onto it. Parent/student dyads in the waitlist control 
received an Amazon Alexa without the Mi Familia STEM program. Treatment group dyads 
received reminder text messages to use Mi Familia STEM with their child 3/days a week for 
approximately 10-minutes. Control group dyads were able to use their Amazon Alexa for normal 
use. At 3-months, both treatment and waitlist control groups were administered the mid-
treatment (T2) questionnaire. Both groups received $100 for completing the T2 assessment. At 6-
months from baseline, both waitlist control and treatment groups received post-treatment (T3) 
questionnaire. The treatment group also completed a consumer satisfaction and usability 
questionnaire.  After completion of T3 questionnaire, treatment and control dyads received $100. 
Following T3, the waitlist control group also received access to the Mi Familia STEM app and 
Amazon Alexa skill.  
Mi Familia STEM Program 
The Mi Familia STEM program is a dual-language, vocabulary acquisition learning tool that 
employs integrated web-app and smart speaker technology (phone app and Amazon Alexa 
Skill) to engage English learner students, grades 4-8, and their families in evidence-based, 
culturally relevant, home-based learning activities on 72 scientific academic vocabulary 
(SAV) words that support success in middle and high-school STEM classes. 
Measures 
T1, T2, and T3 questionnaires measured student knowledge of academic vocabulary meaning 
and usage (Academic Vocabulary Meaning (AVM) and Academic Vocabulary Word Usage 
(AVWU); student SAV usage behaviors and behaviors related to academic learning (Academic 
Vocabulary Usage Behaviors (AVUB) and Academic Learning Behaviors (ALB); student 
confidence in using SAV words (Academic Vocabulary Confidence (AVC)); and student interest 
in choosing STEM careers (STEM).  
 
T1, T2, and T3 questionnaires also measured parent knowledge of SAV meaning and usage 
(Academic Vocabulary Meaning (AVM) and Academic Vocabulary Word Usage (AVWU); Parent 
SAV usage behaviors (Academic Vocabulary Usage Behaviors (AVUB)); parent confidence 
using SAV words (Academic Vocabulary Confidence (AVC)); and parent academic support 
behaviors (Academic Enabling Behaviors (AEB)).  
 
 
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS PLAN 
 
The evaluation study had three main goals: (a) determine whether statistically significant 
condition effects were found between T1 and T3 on the outcome measures; (b) determine the 
program effect sizes; and (c) determine the parents’ and students’ reaction to the program and 

amount of program use. The evaluation of group effects included an intent-to-treat analysis using 
mixed-effects growth models with the SAS PROC MIXED software, which was estimated with 
maximum likelihood. Models included an intercept, defined as the T1 assessment, time coded in 
months since the T1 assessment, a main effect for condition, and a condition × time interaction. 
The condition × interaction tests whether a change in the outcome from the T1 to T3 assessment 
significantly differed by condition and is a direct test of the program's efficacy. Cohen’s d-
statistic is provided as a measure of effect size for the condition × time effects and follows the 
convention of .2, .5, and .8 for small, medium, and large, respectively. Examining descriptive 
statistics for the user satisfaction items provided information on parents’ and students’ reactions 
to the program.