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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04896229

Talk STEM Familia: Dual-Language (TSFII)

The study will evaluate Talk STEM Familia (TSF) effects on student and parent scientific academic vocabulary knowledge and usage, scientific academic vocabulary (SAV) learning behaviors, academic self efficacy, and satisfaction with the program, including acceptance of the technology and its usability.

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Key information

Conditions

Vocabulary Acquisition

Age range

8 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Oregon Research Behavioral Intervention Strategies, Inc.

Eugene, Oregon, 97403, United States

About this study

The Investigators will work with research practice partners Lane Educational Services District (ESD) to disseminate bilingual electronic and printed recruitment materials to Latinx families in the elementary and middle schools throughout the 16 school districts in Lane County, OR. Recruitment materials will direct families to contact the project's bilingual staff by phone to receive study details and, following a brief screen, to engage in an informed consent process. 300 eligible Latinx English-learner parent/student dyads will be recruited. Students will be in grade 4-8; families will speak primarily Spanish in the home; and families will have a smartphone, tablet, or computer and Internet access at home.

The Investigators will administer the pre-test to all 300 parent/student dyads via Qualtrics and randomize 150 parent/student dyads to the TSF treatment, 150 parent/student dyads to the treatment-as-usual control condition. Each family will be assigned a non-identifiable user name linked only to their non-identifiable participant ID. The Investigators will then send the TSF program materials and links to the treatment group. These materials will include graphic and video tutorials on TSF set-up and use, including set-up of a wireless bridge that allows researchers to monitor the non-identifiable program usage. Bilingual telephone support will be provided during the 1-month set-up period and throughout the 24-week TSF intervention period. During the intervention, families in the treatment group will be asked to use TSF for 24 weeks. During that time, they will receive 3 notifications/week that prompt them to engage in program games and activities targeting 72 scientific academic vocabulary (SAV) words.

Half way through the 24-week intervention period, the Investigators will administer the mid-test via Qualtrics to all 300 parent/student dyads and following the 24-week intervention, the Investigators will administer the post-test via Qualtrics to all 300 parent/student dyads. Pre-, mid-, and post-test surveys will measure gains in knowledge and usage of the 72 SAV words TSF targets, academic self-efficacy, and academic enabling behaviors. Treatment group dyads will also complete a usability, technology acceptance, and consumer satisfaction survey at post-test. All 300 parent/student dyads will receive a smart speaker at pretest, and $100 at mid-test and post-test.

Following post-test, parent/student dyads in the treatment-as-usual control condition will receive TSF program materials.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Latinx English learner parent with a student (grade 4-8)
  • Speaking primarily Spanish in the home
  • Having a smartphone, tablet, or computer
  • Having Internet in the home
  • Being the student (grade 4-8) of a participating parent

Exclusion criteria

  • N/A

Treatment and study plan

Talk STEM Familia Treatment Condition

Other

This study has one intervention and two arms: experimental and treatment as usual. Participants randomized to the treatment condition will receive the TSF technology in addition to the vocabulary instruction, monitoring, or resources delivered by English Language Development programs (ELD) and schools. TSF will deliver frequent, brief, dual-language exercises to help families learn, practice and apply SAV words in conversation. Audio-visual lessons will support learning at all literacy levels, regardless of prior familiarity with STEM subjects. The complete TSF tool will contain approximately 72 minutes of video modeling and 12 hours of interactive exercises delivered over 24-weeks in brief, interactive, easy to assimilate lessons.

Primary outcomes

  1. Student Scientific Academic Vocabulary (SAV) Word Meaning (AVM)

    Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks (mid-treatment), and 24 weeks (post-treatment)

    AVM (Academic Vocabulary Meaning) will measure change in student vocabulary knowledge (multiple choice test of meaning). The multiple choice test is based on the assessment used in Beck et al. (1982) and McKeown et al. (1983) with middle school students. Scores were computed as the total percentage of vocabulary words correctly identified out of 72. Score could range from 0 to 100 and higher scores indicate greater levels of vocabulary knowledge.

  2. Parent SAV Word Meaning (AVM)

    Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks (mid-treatment), and 24 weeks (post-treatment)

    AVM (Academic Vocabulary Meaning) will measure change in parent vocabulary knowledge (multiple choice test of meaning). The multiple choice test is based on the assessment used in Beck et al. (1982) and McKeown et al. (1983) with middle school students. Scores were computed as the total percentage of vocabulary words correctly identified out of 72. Score could range from 0 to 100 and higher scores indicate greater levels of vocabulary knowledge.

  3. Student SAV Word Usage (AVWU)

    Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks (mid-treatment), and 24 weeks (post-treatment)

    AVMU (Academic Vocabulary Meaning Usage) will measure change in student ability to correctly use vocabulary words in sentence contexts. The sentence verification test is similar to the Test of Instructed Word Knowledge in Vocabulary used in the Apthorp et al. (2012) study of vocabulary learning in middle school. Scores were computed as the total percentage of vocabulary words correctly used in sentence context out of 72 items. Score could range from 0 to 100 and higher scores indicate greater levels of vocabulary words used correctly in a sentence.

  4. Parent SAV Word Usage (AVWU)

    Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks (mid-treatment), and 24 weeks (post-treatment)

    AVMU (Academic Vocabulary Meaning Usage) will measure change in parent ability to correctly use vocabulary words in sentence contexts. The sentence verification test is similar to the Test of Instructed Word Knowledge in Vocabulary used in the Apthorp et al. (2012) study of vocabulary learning in middle school. Scores were computed as the total percentage of vocabulary words correctly used in sentence context out of 72 items. Score could range from 0 to 100 and higher scores indicate greater levels of vocabulary words used correctly in a sentence.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Student Use of SAV: AVUB

    Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks (mid-treatment), and 24 weeks (post-treatment)

    AVUB (Academic Vocabulary Usage Behaviors) will measure change in student use of SAV words (10 items). Items were adapted from: the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI; Betts, Appleton, Reschly, et al., 2010). Items used a 4-point response option (1 = not at all, 4 = 3-4 times per week) and a mean score was computed (alpha = .89) and could range from 1 to 4. Higher scores indicated greater use of SAV words.

  2. Parent Use of SAV: AVUB

    Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks (mid-treatment), and 24 weeks (post-treatment)

    AVUB (Academic Vocabulary Usage Behaviors) will measure change in parent use of SAV words (10 items). Items were adapted from: the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI; Betts, Appleton, Reschly, et al., 2010). Items used a 4-point response option (1 = not at all, 4 = 3-4 times per week) and a mean score was computed (alpha = .91) and could range from 1 to 4. Higher scores indicated greater use of SAV words.

  3. Student Confidence in Using SAV Words (AVC)

    Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks (mid-treatment), and 24 weeks (post-treatment)

    AVC will measure student confidence in using SAV words (10 items). Items were adapted from the Efficacy to Influence School-related Performance subscale of the Parental Self-Efficacy Scale (PSES; Bandura, et al., 2001). Items were developed using procedures for developing self-efficacy scales (Bandura et al., 2001). Items used a 5-point response option (1 = not at all confident, 5 = extremely confident) and a mean score was computed (alpha = .89) and could range from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicated greater confidence using SAV words.

  4. Parent Confidence in Using SAV Words (AVC)

    Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks (mid-treatment), and 24 weeks (post-treatment)

    AVC will measure parent confidence in using SAV words (10 items). Items were adapted from the Efficacy to Influence School-related Performance subscale of the Parental Self-Efficacy Scale (PSES; Bandura, et al., 2001). Items were developed using procedures for developing self-efficacy scales (Bandura et al., 2001). Items used a 5-point response option (1 = not at all confident, 5 = extremely confident) and a mean score was computed (alpha = .95) and could range from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicated greater confidence using SAV words.

  5. Student Interest in Choosing STEM Careers (STEM)

    Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks (mid-treatment), and 24 weeks (post-treatment)

    STEM will measure student interest in choosing STEM careers (4 items). Items were adapted from: the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI; Betts, Appleton, Reschly, et al., 2010) and the Efficacy to Influence School-related Performance subscale of the Parental Self-Efficacy Scale (PSES; Bandura, et al., 2001). Items used a 5-point response option (1 = not at all interested, 5 = extremely interested) and a mean score was computed (alpha = .69) and could range from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicated greater interest using SAV words.

  6. Parent Academic Support (AEB)

    Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks (mid-treatment), and 24 weeks (post-treatment)

    AEB will measure parent academic support behaviors (20 items). Efficacy to Influence School-related Performance subscale of the Parental Self-Efficacy Scale (PSES; Bandura, et al., 2001). Items used a 9-point response option (1 = nothing, 9 = a great deal) and a mean score was computed (alpha = .94) and could range from 1 to 9. Higher scores indicated greater efficacy to influence school performance.

  7. Student Academic Learning (ALB)

    Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks (mid-treatment), and 24 weeks (post-treatment)

    ALB will measure student academic learning behaviors (20 items). Items used a 5-point response option (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) and a mean score was computed (alpha = .90) and could range from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicated greater levels of perceived academic learning behaviors.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Oregon Research Behavioral Intervention Strategies, Inc.

Industry

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

Registry information

Official study title

Talk STEM Familia: Dual-Language Academic Vocabulary-Building Technology to Improve Educational, Career, and Health Outcomes Among Latinx Students

Acronym: TSFII

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
May 21, 2021
Registry last updated
May 29, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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