Implementing an Evidence-Based and Domain-Specific Pre-K Curriculum: A Conversation with Cheryl Ohlson and Michelle Maier

Most pre-K classrooms use a whole-child approach to educational curricula, which focuses on the broad development of children's academic skills. By contrast, domain-specific curricula focus more on specific areas of learning, such as math, literacy, or science. MDRC has partnered with the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) to implement a new domain-specific curriculum in its schools. In this episode, Leigh Parise speaks with Cheryl Ohlson, DCPS deputy chief of early childhood education, and Michelle Maier, MDRC senior associate, to outline their domain-specific curriculum strategy and to explain some of the ups and downs of their ongoing implementation in pre-K programs across Washington, DC. They explain how domain-specific curricula intersects with other important trends in pre-K education, including the importance of play and of providing developmentally appropriate instruction. Ohlson also discusses how teachers were trained to teach domain-specific curricula and addresses some of the challenges of implementing the initiative at scale.

You can listen to Implementing an Evidence-Based and Domain-Specific Pre-K Curriculum: A Conversation with Cheryl Ohlson and Michelle Maier online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Implementing an Evidence-Based and Domain-Specific Pre-K Curriculum: A Conversation with Cheryl Ohlson and Michelle Maier is an episode from Evidence First by MDRC.

This episode is 23:25 long.

This episode was published on Jan 22, 2024.

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