Happy Summer, everyone, and thank you, Central Oregon Early Childcare Teachers!
The Roots of Resilience Team has been working with early childcare teachers in Central Oregon to assess the effectiveness of online-professional development for teachers who work with children impacted by trauma. The principles of the Roots of Resilience program are also good teaching and learning strategies for all children because positive adult-child interactions nurture children’s brain development.
In this July blog we want to share general information about the teachers and children who have been participating in this study. Between October, 2018, and July, 2019, we worked with over 30 teachers in 24 classrooms at 18 separate locations (child care homes, centers, preschools, and Head Start programs). A total of 292 children returned a parental consent form and/or a parental survey, providing valuable information about young children in Central Oregon. From the 292, we selected up to 4 children per classroom to participate in individualized observations and assessments. Approximately 85 children assented to playing a movement game to measure self-regulation, completing numbers and letters tasks, and holding a cotton swab in their mouth to collect saliva to test for the stress hormone cortisol.
The research team also clocked 490 hours observing children, peers, and teachers during their regular activities. We also collected valuable information from Central Oregon Teachers about their experiences with the Roots of Resilience program (course and/or coaching). So far, 14 teachers have completed the 6-week online coaching program worth 6 Set 2 training hours and 13 teachers have finished the online course, earning 30 Set 2 training hours. Eight teachers will have or have completed both the coaching and the course.
Again, we thank you, the teachers, for allowing us into your classroom and participating in the research. Next month, we hope to share with you preliminary results!
Your partners in resilience,
The Roots of Resilience Research Team
