The Centre for Community Child Health is part of a research team investigating the impact of a new teaching approach to improve child language, literacy and mental health.
The Classroom Promotion of Oral Language (CPOL) project is the first randomised controlled trial of its kind to directly assess the pre- and post-teacher training effects on the children’s literacy skills and mental health functioning.
In a recent article published in The Australian, CCCH Associate Professor Dr Sharon Goldfeld said an increasing body of research showed a child’s speech, including vocabulary and the ability to give and understand information, was a critical precursor to learning to read.
She questions whether improving what teachers know changes what teachers do and whether this ultimately changes outcomes for children.
During the study, prep and grade one primary school teachers are provided with oral language promotion training. Children’s outcomes are then measured at grade three.
Find out more about the Classroom Promotion of Oral Language project:
- Download the information sheet (PDF 255KB)
- Read the media article in The Australian (PDF 776KB)
- Listen to the 3AW radio interview with Dr Sharon Goldfeld (interview begins at 76:22)
The study is a collaboration between the Centre for Child Community Health, The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Education Institute, The University of Melbourne, Monash University, Deakin University, the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria and the Victorian Government Department of Education and Training.
The findings are expected to be published in 2017.