UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff MMaassssaacchhuusseettttss AAmmhheerrsstt SScchhoollaarrWWoorrkkss@@UUMMaassss AAmmhheerrsstt Open Access Dissertations 9-2013 TThhee EEffffeeccttss ooff TToooollss ooff tthhee MMiinndd oonn MMaatthh aanndd RReeaaddiinngg SSccoorreess IInn KKiinnddeerrggaarrtteenn Patricia Estrela Mackay University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn Mackay, Patricia Estrela, "The Effects of Tools of the Mind on Math and Reading Scores In Kindergarten" (2013). Open Access Dissertations. 807. https://doi.org/10.7275/2wyc-1g11 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/807 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE EFFECTS OF TOOLS OF THE MIND ON MATH AND READING SCORES IN KINDERGARTEN A Dissertation Presented by PATRICIA E. MACKAY Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION September 2013 Education Children, Families, and Schools © Copyright by Patricia E. Mackay 2013 All Rights Reserved THE EFFECTS OF TOOLS OF THE MIND ON MATH AND READING SCORES IN KINDERGARTEN A Dissertation Presented by PATRICIA E. MACKAY Approved as to style and content by: _________________________________________ J. Kevin Nugent, Chair _________________________________________ Jennifer T. Randall, Member _________________________________________ Matthew C. Davidson, Member ____________________________________ Christine B. McCormick, Dean School of Education DEDICATION To my husband Steve Mackay and our boys, Michael and Matthew. This accomplishment has not been without sacrifice for us all. Thank you for your unwavering support. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Over the past four years, I have received support and encouragement from many. I am truly thankful to Dr. Kevin Nugent, my adviser and dissertation chair, for your guidance and support throughout this process. I want to thank Dr. Matthew Davidson for your guidance and time as a Committee Member. My Dissertation would not have been possible without the help of Dr. Jennifer Randall. Your guidance has helped me see this idea from an initial proposal four years ago in Educational Research Methods to completion of this Dissertation. Many times, I doubted by ability to see this work to completion, and the guidance of my committee members helped me to accomplish this goal. I would also like to express gratitude to the district that participated in this research. Thank you to colleagues and administrators for your availability, your enthusiasm, and assistance with gathering necessary data. Finally, I would like to thank my family, parents, brothers, and extended family. These four years have been challenging and you always supported me. In particular, I thank my mom, for being a role model of educational excellence. You taught me to set high goals and to accomplish them. v ABSTRACT THE EFFECTS OF TOOLS OF THE MIND ON MATH AND READING SCORES IN KINDERGARTEN SEPTEMBER 2013 PATRICIA E. MACKAY, B.A., COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS M.S.W., BOSTON COLLEGE Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Emeritus J. Kevin Nugent Although a limited body of research has supported the positive impact of the Tools of the Mind curriculum on the development of self-regulation, research supporting a direct relationship between Tools and academic achievement is extremely limited. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Tools of the Mind curriculum implementation in improving math and reading scores in Kindergarten by comparing scores obtained before and after Tools. This study also seeks to investigate the effects of SES on student achievement. Finally, this study seeks to identify contributions and challenges perceived by teachers during implementation. Participants included 93 students in the before Tools condition and 97 students after Tools. Students who had Tools scored statistically significantly lower on reading scores than students who did not have Tools. While students also scored lower on math after Tools, this difference was not significant. Differences were found in student scores based on SES. Qualitative results are base interviews of six Kindergarten teachers, and revealed teachers’ experiences with implementation. The findings of this study are intended to increase the understanding of the effectiveness of Tools and its implementation. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................2 Constructivism .............................................................................................2 Sociocultural Perspective .............................................................................3 Ecological Systems Theories .......................................................................4 Dynamic Systems Theories ..........................................................................5 Self-Regulation ............................................................................................7 Tools of the Mind ................................................................................................... 11 Historical Review of Tools of the Mind .....................................................12 Tools of the Mind and Self-Regulation ......................................................15 Components of Tools .................................................................................16 Alignment with Developmentally Appropriate Practice ............................23 Limitations of Tools Research ...................................................................23 Summary ................................................................................................................24 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................25 Conceptual Framework ..........................................................................................26 Purpose Statement ..................................................................................................27 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................................28 Executive Function and Self-Regulation ...............................................................28 Self-Regulation/Executive Function and Academic Achievement ............29 Executive Function and Math Achievement ..............................................53 vii Components of Tools of the Mind .........................................................................77 Private Speech ............................................................................................78 Dramatic Play.............................................................................................96 Tools of the Mind Studies ....................................................................................107 Pilot Study ............................................................................................................ 116 Summary .............................................................................................................. 118 3. METHOD ................................................................................................................. 119 Research Questions .............................................................................................. 119 Reading .................................................................................................... 119 Math ......................................................................................................... 119 Qualitative ................................................................................................120 Participants and Sampling Procedures .................................................................120 Sample Size, Power, and Precision ......................................................................122 Procedure .............................................................................................................122 Research Design (Quantitative) ...........................................................................124 Reading Achievement ..............................................................................124 Math Achievement ...................................................................................125 Measures ..............................................................................................................125 Letter Naming Fluency ............................................................................126 Measures of Academic Progress ..............................................................126 Fidelity of Implementation Scale .............................................................127 Socioeconomic Status ..............................................................................128 Research Design (Qualitative) .............................................................................129 Researcher Profile ....................................................................................129 Data Collection ........................................................................................129 Data Analysis...........................................................................................129 Trustworthiness ........................................................................................130 Summary ..................................................................................................131 4. RESULTS ..................................................................................................................132 viii Quantitative Results .............................................................................................132 Results for Research Question #1 ............................................................132 Results for Research Question #2 ............................................................136 Results for Research Question #3............................................................137 Results for Research Question #4 ............................................................137 Results for Research Question #5 ............................................................140 Results for Research Question #6 ............................................................141 Qualitative Results ...............................................................................................142 Results for Research Question #7 ............................................................142 Challenges Associated with Tools Implementation .....................142 T1’s Perceptions of Challenges ........................................143 T2’s Perceptions of Challenges........................................144 T3’s Perceptions of Challenges ........................................146 T4’s Perceptions of Challenges ........................................147 T5’s Perceptions of Challenges ........................................148 Results for Research Question #8 ............................................................150 Perceived Contributions of Tools .................................................150 T1’s Perceptions of Contributions ...................................150 T2’s Perceptions of Contributions ...................................151 T3’s Perceptions of Contributions ...................................151 T4’s Perceptions of Contributions ...................................151 T5’s Perceptions of Contributions ...................................151 Summary ..............................................................................................................152 5. DISCUSSION...........................................................................................................153 Findings and Interpretations ................................................................................153 Impact of Tools on Achievement .............................................................153 Impact of SES on Achievement ...............................................................156 Impact of Fidelity on Achievement..........................................................156 Challenges Associated with Tools............................................................157 Perceived Contributions of Tools .............................................................160 Strengths of the Study ..........................................................................................162 ix