Publications | August 2025
Abstract: This study compared teacher’s preferences and implementation outcomes for two versions of a supplemental read-aloud curriculum that provides young children with vocabulary instruction and guides for teachers to ask open-ended questions and scaffold conversations. One curriculum was fully scripted and the other trained teachers to make structured adaptations. Kindergarten and Grade 1 teachers (n = 54) were randomly assigned to the Scripted or Adaptive condition. Teacher exit interviews indicated 87.76% preferred the more efficient “softly scripted” version over the adaptive version that required time for teachers to plan modifications. Teachers in both conditions perceived similar and positive implementation outcomes in terms of appropriateness, feasibility, acceptability, and usability. For fidelity, we observed no group differences for adherence or dosage. Teachers’ baseline knowledge and skills for supporting language comprehension related to fidelity of implementation and their perceived appropriateness. These findings suggest that teachers with stronger initial competencies are better positioned to deliver curricular innovations.
Published: August 10, 2025
Publication: AERO Open by the American Educational Research Association
CLI Authors: Tricia A. Zucker, PhD; Michael P. Mesa, PhD; Keisey Fumero, PhD; and Yoonkyung Oh, PhD
Acknowledgments: A special thanks to the teachers and students who took part in this study. We are grateful to Karina Molina and Ashley Love for coordinating this study and these research staff who supported this work: Wei Wu, Ashley Love, Lauren Topek, Kimberly Venegas, Lisa Meeks, Kiara Araujo, Diana Davila, Samantha Delafuente Rodriguez, Alena Raza, Fatima Bassham, Elise DuBois, and Julia Delano.
Funding: The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Research reported in this publication was supported by Institute of Education Sciences (IES) under award number R305A190065 to UTHealth. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of IES.
Citation: Zucker, T. A., Mesa, M. P., Fumero, K., Duron, R., Cabell, S. Q., Logan, J., & Oh, Y. (2025). Initial Implementation Outcomes for Scripted and Adaptive Versions of the Developing Talkers Read-Aloud Curricula for Kindergarten and Grade 1 Teachers. AERA Open, 11. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584251361052