|
|
Overview
Tools of the Mind is an early childhood curriculum for preschool and kindergarten children, based on the ideas of Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky. The curriculum is designed to foster children’s executive function, which involves developing self-regulation, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Many activities emphasize both executive functioning and academic skills.1
Research
One study of Tools of the Mind meets the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. The study included more than 200 three- to four-year-old children attending preschool in a low-income, urban school district.2 The WWC considers the extent of evidence for Tools of the Mind to be small for oral language, print knowledge, cognition, and math. No studies that meet the WWC evidence standards, with or without reservations addressed phonological processing or early reading/writing.
Effectiveness
Tools of the Mind was found to have no discernible effects on oral language, print knowledge, cognition, and math.
| Oral language | Print knowledge | Cognition | Math | Phono- logical processing |
Early reading/ writing |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating of effectiveness | No discernible effects | No discernible effects |
No |
No discernible effects | na | na |
| Improvement index3 | Average: +6 percentile points | Average: 0 percentile points |
+2 percentile points |
+7 percentile points | na | na |
Range: +4 to +8 percentile points |
Range: -1 to +1 percentile points |
na |
na |
na |
na |
|
| na = not applicable | ||||||
2 The study was conducted in one school, with a full-day Abbott preschool education program, in which both the intervention and comparison group children participated. The evidence presented in this report is based on available research. Findings and conclusions may change as new research becomes available.
3 These numbers show the average and range of student-level improvement indices for all findings across the study. For cognition and math, the improvement index is based on a single finding.
