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Welcome to LENA Grow!

This demo explains how LENA Grow works, what materials look like, and what educators and center directors are saying about the program. In just five weeks, children start gaining the benefits associated with increased conversational turns, and educators renew their dedication to the profession. That’s according to a rapidly growing body of peer-reviewed research, LENA measures, and extensive survey data.

The skills educators learn through this program are reinforced through the reflective feedback cycle.

Feedback cycle_LENA Grow

Following best principles of adult learning, the LENA Grow feedback cycle provides educators with opportunities to:

  • Objectively measure talk in their classroom each week.
  • Reflect on their own talk data and each child's experience.
  • Set individualized goals and learn strategies to help achieve them.
  • Practice the strategies during their daily routines.
Amy_Kronberg
"One of our teachers actually said, ‘You know, I love this tool because it reminds me that I’m having meaningful interactions with these children and that it’s helping them to grow,’ which I just think is such a beautiful light bulb moment to see."
Amy Kronberg
Early Learning Consultant with Preschool Promise in Dayton, Ohio

 

1. LENA Day

LENA Grow in Action

LENA Grow's impact on early childhood educators and the young children in their care may best be described by research, data analysis, and crosswalks — look to the LENA Grow Program Impact report for that — but nothing compares to seeing an actual LENA Day in action. During a LENA Day, each child wears an unobtrusive LENA device that safely and securely captures their language input and output — some people call it a "talk pedometer" or a "FitBit for conversation." 

The "Our LENA Day!" story can be shared with children ahead a LENA Day to prepare them for the new experience. Scroll through the pages to see a LENA Day from a child's perspective: 

Brigitte-Willis
"I believed that I was being vocal with the children daily, but the data gave a spotlight on how to scaffold conversations and be more child initiated. I was excited to see how setting and meeting weekly goals can have an immediate impact on my learning environment. It was an eye-opening experience."
Brigitte Willis
Director of A Better Day Christian Learning Center in Grovetown, Georgia

2. Coaching and Feedback

The LENA Grow Coaching Session

The LENA Grow Coach Guide provides week-by-week guidance for each coaching session, including weekly coaching intentions, teacher learning objectives, "caring coaching" callouts to enhance a focus on equity and inclusion, and checklists for facilitating each session.

View a sample session of the Coach Guide here.
Coach_Guide_graphic

Each session follows a core three-step structure with additional content intentionally woven in for key topics:

Reviewing LENA Reports

There will always be new data from the most recent LENA Day to review at each coaching session. Reports help begin strengths-based conversations about what educators’ real-life classroom days are like, along with the experiences and behaviors of individual children. 

coach teacher session_20220228-01

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Want to take a deeper dive into the data presented in LENA Grow's reports? See our annotated LENA Grow reports.

Coaching for Increased Interaction

After reviewing the Room Report and Child Reports, coaches share techniques for increasing quality interaction in the classroom.  

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Grow 3 CS posters

The 14 Talking Tips:

Simple, research-based strategies for increasing interactive talk and building connections throughout the day.

Conversation Starters:

Colorful posters featuring ideas specific to infants and toddles on one side and preschool-aged children on the other.

Setting Goals

Each coaching session ends with a discussion of goals for the next LENA Day. Educators set their own goals based on their personal interests and desired areas of focus. They may also choose to focus on specific children in the classroom and making classroom interaction more equitable. Self-directed goal setting encourages reflection and ownership over their own professional development.

View a sample session of the Teacher Guide here.

LENA Grow Room Kit

All LENA Grow coach, teacher, and family engagement materials are available in Spanish and English!

Kathy_Cestaro_sq
"I’ve been coaching a long time. To have a different direction, to have it be so data-driven, has been just a different approach for me. It’s been really exciting."
Kathy Cestaro
Coach with the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County, Florida

3. Practice

Bringing it all together

 

These are the days between the coaching session and the next LENA Day. On these days, teachers practice what they’ve learned and work toward achieving their goal so that they will show measurable improvement on their next LENA Day.

The key to the program’s effectiveness is using a practice-based approach to help teachers increase the number of conversational turns they have with each child in the classroom. Following each week's coaching session, teachers have the chance to hone their skills in the classroom, focusing on learned strategies during their daily routines.

Boulder-Practice-LENA-Day

Interested in learning more about bringing LENA Grow to your community?

Let's talk!

 

Send us an email at info@LENA.org to get the conversation started.

Another good starting point: Fill out a Readiness Assessment to walk through the stages of implementing a new LENA program. Based on your responses, we’ll provide a customized Readiness Report with resources and next steps for moving forward. The assessment will take about 10 minutes to complete.

Complete a Readiness Assessment