Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) is a research-based parenting program that helps parents support their young children’s social-emotional, cognitive, and language development. The program was developed to facilitate parents’ mastery of specific skills for interacting with their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers that lead to a strengthened bond between parent and child, and better child outcomes.
Parent Outcome Highlights from PALS studies:
- 71% of parents used richer vocabulary with their children
- 69% showed greater warmth and sensitivity to their children
- 55% provided more praise to their children
Child Outcome Highlights from PALS studies:
- 72% of children achieved higher motor skills scores
- 64% achieved higher cognitive test scores
- 64% showed greater expressive language skills
- 61% showed more positive affect during parental interactions
- 59% shower larger receptive vocabularies
The PALS program is facilitated by a trained parent educator who presents each session to the parent(s) and coaches the parent(s) in using specific techniques. In coaching sessions, PALS uses videotaped examples of real mothers and children to demonstrate each concept and allows the parent to critique these examples before practicing the new skills with her own child. Guided practice opportunities during each session help parents move from watching to doing.
The PALS Infant and Toddler programs, which includes PALS manuals, toy bags, and supplementary materials, are available for purchase in conjunction with training and certification provided by the Children’s Learning Institute. Materials are available in both English and Spanish.
Trainings:
- PALS 1 Certified Coaching Training: Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) is a preventive intervention program to strengthen the bond between parent and child from birth to 18 months. Through support of a certified coach, parents learn how to stimulate early language, cognitive, and the social development of their child.
- PALS 2 Certified Coaching Training: Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) is a preventive intervention program to strengthen the bond between parent and child from 18 months to prekindergarten. Through support of a certified coach, parents learn how to stimulate early language, cognitive, and the social development of their child.
- PALS 1 & 2 Combined Certified Coaching Training: This 5 day training, is for individuals who wish to become a certified trainer for both PALS 1 and PALS 2.
Contact us to schedule a training or click here to learn more about PALS.
Lisa joined the CLI Solutions Group in 2016 bringing with her over 15 years of experience in sales and marketing. She most recently worked for another University of Texas System organization, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, as a Volunteer Coordinator, Program Coordinator, and Program Supervisor. There, she was instrumental in increasing retail sales and volunteer contributions for the Children’s Art Project. Driven by her desire to assist children and be of service, she was drawn to the Children’s Learning Institute.
Here, Lisa serves as a Product and Services Specialist responsible for coordinating the marketing efforts for our team. Her role puts her at the forefront of new customer contacts, as she strives to expand adoption of CLI created products and services by educators across Texas, the nation, and internationally. Lisa leads our outreach efforts, identifies new marketing opportunities, prepares proposals for potential customers, and provides a wide array of customer support.
The Texas Kindergarten Entry Assessment (TX-KEA) is a tool for schools to use to screen children’s school readiness upon their entry into kindergarten. TX-KEA was developed in collaboration with the Texas Education Agency (TEA), using a research award from the US Department of Education. The project goal was to develop a comprehensive assessment that could reliably be administered by kindergarten teachers and would serve as a valid predictor of academic success. The resulting criterion-referenced assessment is used to determine if students have met specified developmental benchmarks, as described in the Texas PreK Guidelines and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). This point-in-time snapshot of each student’s competencies is used to inform instruction and identify whether additional diagnostic assessment is needed.
TX-KEA is…
- administered once between early September and the end of October
- a web-based system developed for use on several platforms, including laptops and tablets
- comprehensive, covering oral language, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, mathematics, science/engineering, approaches to learning, motor coordination, executive functioning, and social-emotional competencies
- a time-efficient assessment that allows assessment of all areas within 45 minutes
- available in English and Spanish and allows adaptation for children with special needs
- a combination of teacher-administered direct assessments, child-paced direct assessments, and teacher completed checklists
- a system that provides reports to parents, teachers, and school district personnel
The TX-KEA assessments, reports, and online training launched on the CLI Engage platform in August 2017. These materials are available at no cost to all Texas public schools.
Other organizations who are interested in using TX-KEA can contract with the CLI Solutions Group for access. Also available for contract is a face-to-face training introducing and exploring the TX-KEA tool.
Click here to contact us regarding training or other information.
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The CIRCLE Progress Monitoring System is a web-based, prekindergarten assessment system housed on the CLI Engage platform. The system is used by preK teachers to determine their student’s knowledge in key developmental areas. This reliable and easy to use data collection tool prompts teachers to focus on lessons that target their students’ least developed skills. Conducted up to three times per year, the assessments are sensitive to growth in children’s skills over time.
Direct Assessments (conducted one-on-one by the teacher with a student):
- Book & Print Awareness
- Letter-Sound Correspondence
- Mathematics
- Phonological Awareness
- Rapid Letter Naming
- Rapid Vocabulary
- Science
- Social Studies
- Story Retell & Comprehension
Observation-Based Assessments (completed by the teacher based on student observation):
- Approaches to Learning
- Early Writing
- Motivation to Read
- Physical Health & Development
- Social & Emotional Development
- Speech Production & Sentence Skills
The reliability and validity of the CIRCLE Progress Monitoring System is supported by data collected from numerous Children’s Learning Institute (CLI) research studies conducted over a five-year span. CLI strongly recommends the use of data to help early childhood educators drive decision making and individualize instruction. Student data reports produced by the system are easily accessible, customizable, and quickly digestible. Clear visual indicators flag students who score below established benchmarks, and struggling students are automatically organized into small groups. The system also provides links to suggested classroom activities that reinforce skill development through targeted instruction.
Contact us to gain access to the system or to inquire about training for your staff.
The CLI Solutions Group offers a range of professional development opportunities for teachers prekindergarten through grade 12. Our in-person trainings are engaging and emphasize personal growth by increasing knowledge of effective instructional strategies. Each face-to-face training is designed around practices proven to be effective through research and focus on practical instructional improvements teachers can implement immediately in the classroom. We offer ready to deliver sessions, covering a wide variety of instructional topics. Refer to our list of available trainings sorted alphabetically or by age/grade level.
