At the time of this review, there are no available published research studies on The InvestiGator Club® PreKindergarten Learning System 2018 (InvestiGator PreK 2018). An evaluation funded by the publisher, without a comparison group, suggests children in InvestiGator PreK 2018 classrooms make gains in literacy, math, science, social studies, oral language, fine arts, and music outcomes. However, this study is not included in the rating, because it was not published in a peer-reviewed journal. More rigorous research is needed in order to establish evidence for positive effects of InvestiGator PreK 2018 on children's learning outcomes.

Approaches to Learning: InvestiGator PreK 2018 consistently promotes research-based teaching practices to support children's approaches to learning, including behavioral self-regulation and executive functioning. For example, the Teacher Guides offer guidance on classroom organization, effective classroom management strategies, and multiple ways to support children during transitions throughout the day. The Research and Professional Guide describes how to establish positive rules and consistent routines. Learning experiences based on stories in which the curriculum's characters (e.g., Manny Salamander, Bruno Buzzbee) face a dilemma and portray a range of feelings foster the development of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive self-regulation skills. The Building Social and Emotional Skills Activity Guide provides additional guidance on supporting children as they learn to regulate their emotions. For example, it offers social coaching prompts (e.g., validate children's emotions, follow with neutral words, and offer solutions letting children choose the one that works for them). The daily schedule includes opportunities for children to choose Learning Centers that support their behavioral regulation (e.g., taking turns, following directions). A limitation is that although learning centers allow for some open-ended exploration, the curriculum offers limited opportunities for child-initiated play, activities based on children's interests, and those that promote open-ended exploration.

Social and Emotional Development: InvestiGator PreK 2018 consistently promotes research-based teaching practices in this domain, such as establishing an emotionally supportive environment. The Research and Professional Guide includes related guidance in the "Social Emotional Development" and "Establishing a Community of Learners" sections. For example, these sections suggest teachers create a climate of kindness and generosity, speak respectfully to children, and respond to them with sensitivity and patience. The Building Social and Emotional Skills Activity Guide in the Social and Emotional Development Kit and Let's Investigate include intentionally sequenced learning experiences that promote social and emotional learning and support for teachers to use language to foster social and emotional development (e.g., stories and discussion about the curriculum's characters).  Daily routines and activities, as described in the Teacher Guides, offer many formal and informal opportunities for children to practice social interaction and relationship skills with their teachers and other children (e.g., Opening Circle Time, Small Group, and Learning Centers). However, the curriculum provides limited guidance on how to build secure, trusting adult-child relationships. 

Language and Communication: InvestiGator PreK 2018 consistently promotes research-based teaching practices to support children's language and communication skills. Daily routines and activities (e.g., Opening Circle, Small Group, Learning Centers) provide many ongoing opportunities for rich oral language experiences as well as formal and informal opportunities for children to engage in social conversations with adults and peers. Whole-group literacy lessons offer daily opportunities for interactive read-alouds using dialogic reading, a research-based practice for promoting children's oral language development. To support children's vocabulary development, the curriculum suggests ways to use theme-related vocabulary throughout the day. In addition, Everyday Literacy and Small Group times incorporate learning experiences which use the sounds of language to develop children's phonological awareness.

Literacy: The curriculum consistently promotes research-based teaching practices to support learning in this domain, including concepts of print, emergent writing skills, and alphabet knowledge. Daily Routines, Learning Centers, Everyday Literacy, as well as Small and Whole Group Literacy activities provide varied and meaningful opportunities for children to discuss, use, and make print materials. For example, the curriculum offers activities such as Reading and Writing Learning Centers, shared reading of Flapboards and theme-based books, and shared writing. Activity plans for read-alouds include multiple strategies for developing critical literacy skills (e.g., asking questions about letters, words, signs, and labels; modeling reading conventions; and retelling to aid comprehension).

Mathematics Development: The curriculum consistently promotes research-based teaching practices to support children's development of mathematical concepts and skills. Daily lesson plans for Small Group and Whole Group include intentionally planned math learning activities, and Quick Minutes suggest ways to incorporate learning about numbers and counting throughout the day. The curriculum provides guidance on how to introduce children to key mathematical skills and concepts and offers many opportunities for practice (e.g., Quick Minutes, Learning Centers). In addition, it promotes a mathematically rich learning environment (e.g., manipulatives, blocks) and math vocabulary is introduced explicitly and utilized in suggested math learning activities. Learning experiences in the Investigate Math Activity Guide and Kit and Teacher Guides offer opportunities for children to use math for a purpose (e.g., counting snacks, measuring the height of a plant). In addition, the Investigate Math Activity Guide and Kit includes learning experiences that involve everyday problems during routines and play and engage children in activities that promote inquiry and creative invention. A limitation is that the curriculum materials provide no guidance on how to use the Investigate Math Activity Guide and Kit in conjunction with other curriculum materials.

Scientific Reasoning: The curriculum promotes research-based teaching strategies to support children's development of scientific reasoning. InvestiGator PreK 2018 provides hands-on science learning experiences through Science Center, Small Group, and Investigation Launches that facilitate the development of inquiry skills, such as making observations, asking questions, and gathering information. For example, the first unit focuses on what it means to investigate, and each subsequent unit has one central investigation that follows the same structure: look and ask, try it and try it again, think about it, and make meaning. Throughout these experiences, children are encouraged to document and share their findings (e.g., share verbally, draw a picture). A limitation is that many science activities, even within the Science Learning Center, have specific instructions for children to follow, leaving little room for teachers to build on children's previous experiences and interests or facilitate open-ended investigation.

Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development: The curriculum promotes research-based teaching strategies to support children's development in this domain. The Research and Professional Guide provides guidance for creating safe indoor and outdoor areas that promote children's movement and physical activity. Curriculum resources (e.g., Quick Minutes related to Music, Gross Motor Skills, and Outdoor Play) describe activities that foster the development of locomotor and gross motor skills. The curriculum also supports fine motor development through daily experiences in the Learning Centers, such as Writing, Math, and Art. The Teacher Guides offer specific guidance for health and nutrition in the Daily Routines. Quick Minutes offer the only direction for physical activity, and teachers may or may not choose to use Quick Minutes in this domain. Thus, the frequency of moderate to vigorous activity and opportunities to practice new physical skills is unclear. In addition, the curriculum lacks guidance on how teachers can intentionally scaffold the development of children's physical skills (e.g., suggestions for modeling or specific feedback).

Scope: InvestiGator PreK 2018 clearly identifies 10 developmental domains: Language Development, Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Creative Arts, Social and Emotional Development, Approaches to Learning, Physical and Mental Health, Social Studies, and Technology. Each Teacher Guide provides detailed guidance for daily lesson plans and learning activities to support children's development in these domains.

Sequence: The curriculum provides a sequence of learning experiences that progressively builds children's knowledge and skills as they move through the developmental progressions in each of the seven ELOF domains. The Teacher Guides provide multiple, related opportunities for children to explore or learn concepts and skills in each domain. However, the curriculum lacks guidance on how to individualize the sequence of learning experiences based on children's individual strengths and needs.

Alignment with the ELOF: A thorough review of all the curriculum materials in relation to the ELOF domains and sub-domains indicates that InvestiGator PreK 2018 is fully aligned with the ELOF. The learning experiences described in the Teacher Guides, Building Social and Emotional Development Activity Guide, and Investigate Math Activity Guide support children across all of the ELOF sub-domains, and the Learning Centers (e.g., Reading, Math, Technology) also provide opportunities for children to practice domain-specific skills. 

Learning Goals: The curriculum specifies measurable, developmentally appropriate goals for children's learning and development that are integrated throughout the curriculum. Within the Teacher Guides, learning goals are specified in relation to each of the Learning Centers and Small and Large Group activities, and the learning activities support children in making progress toward these learning goals. However, the curriculum lacks guidance on how to use the learning goals with diverse children or how to adjust the learning goals to individualize learning experiences based on strengths and needs.

Ongoing Observation and Documentation: The curriculum provides specific guidance embedded throughout the materials for teachers to observe, document, and reflect on children's development. Each of the Teacher Guides provides suggestions for observing, recording anecdotal notes, and collecting representations of children's learning in small-group, whole-group, and individual settings. The PreKindergarten Assessment and Intervention System includes authentic and performance assessment tools, such as Assessment Cards, Anecdotal Notes Forms, and Narrative Progress Forms. In addition, the Teacher Guides offer some guidance on when to use the Assessment Cards. For example, "Do children attempt to use new vocabulary and grammar in speech, or do they need prompting? Use Assessment Card 6 to assess this skill and to implement intervention strategies." The curriculum provides some general support in the form of reflective questions that assist teachers in using assessment to inform planning (e.g., What can I do each day to reinforce these skills? How can I meet with these few children on a regular basis to reinforce these skills?). Even so, there is no specific guidance on how to use this information to inform curriculum planning.

Standardized and Structured Assessment Instruments: InvestiGator PreK 2018 encourages programs to use the publisher's structured assessment instrument (Assessment Cards) included in the PreKindergarten Assessment and Intervention System. The curriculum describes how assessment tools should be age-appropriate but does not discuss the importance of assessment instruments that are valid, reliable, or individually, linguistically, or culturally appropriate.

Communicating with Families: The Research and Professional Guide offers strategies for communicating with families (e.g., have an "open-door policy," weekly newsletters, and the Bruno Buzzbee Mail Poster). The curriculum provides a Family Welcome Guide that includes information on topics such as child development, the daily classroom routine, and the curriculum's characters. In addition, teachers are encouraged to gather information about the children from their families using the At-Enrollment Family Survey. The At-Enrollment Survey, family letters, and other materials are available in English and Spanish. Even so, the curriculum does not provide specific guidance on how to communicate in culturally and linguistically responsive ways. Many Languages, One Classroom, an optional professional development book (available at an additional cost), suggests ways to communicate in linguistically responsive ways (e.g., establish a Language Advisory Committee). However, this book is not referenced in any other curriculum materials.

Engaging Families: InvestiGator PreK 2018 provides specific guidance on how to engage parents and families in program activities and how families can extend learning at home. For example, the Research and Professional Guide describes how to host a "Welcome to the Club Family Night," and each Teacher Guide describes theme-based activities for "Family Investigation Nights" and "Investigation Celebrations." Additionally, the Research and Professional Guide offers a list of other ways to involve families, such as making a special snack with children. The curriculum includes some considerations on how to engage diverse parents and families. For example, the Research and Professional Guide suggests inviting parents to share their culture or ancestral heritage with the class. To extend learning at home, each unit includes a small take-home book related to the theme. Both the take-home books and instructions are provided in English and Spanish. Even so, there is limited consideration embedded within the curriculum for how to engage parents from diverse cultures, parents who speak languages other than English and Spanish, or parents who have disabilities or other special needs.

Professional Development: InvestiGator PreK 2018 provides online and onsite options for implementation training, including materials for programs to conduct their own one- or two-day implementation training. The Implementation Facilitators' Guide notes that the training can be self-guided or led by an outside facilitator. The curriculum developer offers a large number of ongoing professional development opportunities for an additional cost. Examples of topics include, but are not limited to, Developmentally Effective Approaches to Teaching and Learning, Center-Based Learning for the Preschooler, and Literacy and Learning for English Language Learners (ELLs). In addition, the website for teachers offers a number of free webinars and bulletins that include research-based information and practices on specific topics (e.g., Young Children and the Environment: Building a Connection, Inspiring Good Behavior). Upon request the publisher offers customized workshops.

Curriculum Materials to Support Implementation: InvestiGator PreK 2018 provides materials to support implementation, including the Research and Professional Guide, Teacher Guides for each of the seven units, a PreK implementation webinar, and Implementation Facilitator Guide, Participant Workbook, and DVD. The Research and Professional Guide includes an overview of the curriculum as well as general information on program philosophy, classroom environment and management, the role of the family, and cultural and linguistic diversity. The Teacher Guides offer detailed lesson plans with step-by-step instructions for activities and guidance for teacher-child interactions. The Implementation Facilitator Guide, Implementation Participant Workbook, and DVD help programs organize their implementation efforts and support teachers to understand the curriculum. A limitation is that the Social and Emotional Kit and Investigate Math Activity Kits are not referred to in any of the other curriculum materials.

• Fidelity Tool: InvestiGator PreK 2018 offers the InvestiGator Club Monitoring Tool, which can be used to support teacher success and continued professional development and to assess fidelity of implementation. The tool guides observation in different areas, such as classroom environment, assessment, daily routines, and language and literacy instruction.

Active Exploration: The Research and Professional Guide describes the importance of hands-on exploration for children's learning (e.g., "Children need a learning environment that allows them to initiate active exploration with materials and make choices about their own activities). The Teacher Guides describe a variety of Learning Centers (e.g., Science, Art, Sand and Water) with open-ended materials that promote hands-on exploration. A limitation of the learning centers and activities described in the Teacher Guides is that they do not provide children with ample opportunities to actively engage in open-ended exploration. All activities, including Learning Centers and Investigation Station, are structured and give specific directions about what children are to do with the materials. Children have little opportunity to engage with materials in open-ended ways or create and experiment with materials.

Interactions That Extend Children's Learning: The Teacher Guides offer specific guidance embedded throughout curriculum materials and examples of ways to extend children's learning throughout the day. Lesson plans for Opening Circle Time, Choices, and Small Group Activities include opportunities for brainstorming and discussions. They use open-ended questions as prompts. For example, during Opening Circle, teachers invite children to share what they would like to investigate about construction and use a web to record their ideas. In addition, scripts for Flapboarding and other structured activities provide prompts to extend children's exploration, thinking, and communication (e.g., "Guide children to use their senses to describe the apple. What does the apple look like? What does an apple feel like?").

Individualization: The Research and Professional Guide provides general guidance on how to individualize learning experiences for all children. Additionally, the Teacher Guides offer more specific supports for children who have disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs, as well as children who are DLLs, using callout boxes (e.g., Differentiation: Inclusion, ELL) in the lesson plan margins. For example, to support DLLs in a matching activity, the curriculum suggests the teacher give step-by-step directions by pointing to a picture on the list and saying, "Find this [block] in the basket; put it on your list." The assessment chapter encourages teachers to consider what assessment data reveal about children's needs and use the Teacher Guides to select the most appropriate lessons and "choices" during daily routines (e.g., Opening Circle, Small Group, Whole Group) based on those data.

Environment: InvestiGator PreK 2018 includes specific guidance on how to design a well-organized, engaging indoor environment. The Research and Professional Guide describes how to select and arrange furnishings, display children's work, store materials, and establish Learning Centers with materials to promote flexible learning opportunities. It also outlines principles for designing the outdoor environment (e.g., include both structure and exploration, promote large-group, small-group, and independent play). Some additional support for setting up the environment is embedded in the Teaching Guides. The Research and Professional Guide provides some guidance on ensuring children‘s home languages are included in the physical environment. In addition, the Research and Professional Guide and Teacher Guides offer limited guidance on creating accessible physical environments for children with specific disabilities or special needs (e.g., children who are visually impaired should be seated close to print materials; a child in a wheelchair must be able to navigate all areas of the classroom safely and easily). Though the curriculum offers some guidance on representing cultural diversity in the environment, it does not offer ways to ensure the environment represents the cultures and ethnicities of the children and families.

Learning Materials: InvestiGator PreK 2018 includes specific lists of learning materials that are developmentally appropriate and foster open-ended exploration. The Research and Professional Guide presents a list of suggested materials for each of the Learning Centers and specific guidance for organizing and labeling materials (e.g., "Label each container with both a word and a picture describing the contents."). The lessons in the Teacher Guides and Investigate Math Activity Guide list learning materials to be used in specific learning activities and instructions for their use. The curriculum provides some guidance for ensuring that the learning materials meet the individual needs of children with disabilities or other special needs. For example, "Differentiation: Inclusion" callout boxes may describe ways to adapt materials for accessibility. The Research and Professional Guide offers specific guidance on how to select learning materials that represent the home languages of children in the program. However, the curriculum lacks guidance on how to select learning materials that authentically represent the cultures and ethnicities of children in the program. 

Schedule and Routines: The curriculum provides guidance on how to establish a daily schedule and developmentally appropriate routines. The Teacher Guides include sample daily schedules for half- and whole-day programs. The Teacher Guides also describe daily routines (e.g., Start Your Day, Health, Transitions) as well as "Explicit Lessons” (e.g., Opening Circle, Everyday Literacy, Small Group) that occur throughout the day. For example, the curriculum suggests using "Start Your Day" to share special events, display children's work, and discuss safety. Opening Circle might focus on domain-specific content such as oral language, literacy, or gross motor development. The curriculum, however, lacks discussion on how to adjust schedules and routines based on children's needs and backgrounds.

Interactions: The curriculum provides limited guidance for working with culturally and linguistically diverse families and children. For example, an ELL callout box in a Teacher Guide encourages teachers to be aware of children's cultural communication differences. It explains that, in some cultures, calling attention to oneself may be considered overly assertive and suggests that teachers invite children to share with a partner rather than the whole group. However, the curriculum lacks further guidance on how to engage in culturally responsive interactions with children and families.

Learning Experiences: InvestiGator PreK 2018 offers minimal guidance on how to provide learning experiences that build on children's and families' traditions, cultures, values, and beliefs. Some of the ELL callout boxes identify ways children can share their cultures as part of activities (e.g., children share pictures of clothing worn in their home countries). However, the activities and Learning Centers in the Teacher Guides lack specific guidance on how to plan learning experiences that authentically build on children's cultures. One of the curriculum's characters (JT Gator) knows a lot about traditions and customs of people around the world and acts as a gateway to experiences that relate to diverse cultures. However, the learning experiences set around this character do not build on the cultures or languages of children in the group.

Learning Environment: The curriculum provides some learning materials that reflect diverse children and families (e.g., books). It provides general guidance on selecting materials that reflect children's cultures and ethnicities. For example, the Research and Professional Guide recommends teachers "display pictures of different families in communities around the world," and each investigation includes "multicultural tales." Many Languages, One Classroom is an optional professional development book available at an additional cost. It provides specific guidance on how to select learning materials that represent the cultures and ethnicities of children and families in the program. However, this book is not referenced in any other curriculum materials.

Scaffolding Strategies: The curriculum provides specific guidance that is embedded throughout the curriculum on how to support the development and learning of children who are DLLs. Each Teacher Guide includes ELL callout boxes that identify strategies specific to individual learning activities (e.g., allow DLLs to use total physical response to answer questions related to the story). In addition, the Research and Professional Guide describes daily support, such as using vocal expression, gestures, and visual supports.  

Home and Tribal Languages: The curriculum provides general guidance on how to incorporate children's home languages into the learning environment. The Research and Professional Guide offers suggestions such as using functional labeling for objects in the classroom and having many bilingual books. The curriculum includes some materials (e.g., Flapboard stories) in English and Spanish, and the Teacher Guides identify some ways to incorporate English and Spanish into daily activities (e.g., introduce the Word of the Week and record the day of the week in Spanish and English). However, the curriculum lacks specific guidance for incorporating home languages other than English and Spanish in classroom activities. Tribal languages are not addressed.

Teaching Practices and Interventions: The curriculum provides guidance on how to embed teaching practices and other interventions in daily routines and activities to support the learning of children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs. Each Teacher Guide offers "Differentiation" and "Differentiation: Inclusion" callout boxes that describe ways to individualize instruction and scaffold learning for children who have special needs. Some examples include guidance such as, if a child has difficulty holding or manipulating a marker or pencil, offer hand-over-hand assistance, or if children are language-delayed, ask simple, specific questions to help them tell about themselves.

Learning Environment: InvestiGator PreK 2018 provides specific guidance that is embedded throughout many of the curriculum materials to ensure the physical environment and learning materials are accessible to children with disabilities, suspected delays, or other special needs. The Research and Professional Guide gives a few examples of modifications to the physical environment, while the "Differentiation" and "Differentiation: Inclusion" callout boxes in the Teaching Guides include specific suggestions for how teachers may need to add or modify learning materials to meet individual children's needs.

Individualization Based on Interests: InvestiGator PreK 2018 describes Learning Centers as child-directed activities that encourage children to explore areas of interest. However, the curriculum does not offer support on how to plan learning experiences that build on individual children's interests. Learning experiences (including Learning Centers) are pre-planned, without guidance on how to modify them based on individual children's interests.

Individualization Based on Strengths and Needs: The curriculum provides guidance on how to make learning experiences responsive to individual strengths and needs. The Research and Professional Guide offers general guidance such as asking teachers to reflect on what skills present the biggest challenge for their class and what they can do to reinforce these skills. Each Teacher Guide includes specific scaffolding suggestions for children at different developmental levels through "Differentiation" callout boxes. For example, in a gardening activity, children at more advanced levels of development are encouraged to try writing their plant name on signs using a word list as a model.