11,584 research outputs found

    Preschool Children and the Media

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    Seven myths about young children and technology

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    Parents and educators tend to have many questions about young children's play with computers and other technologies at home. They can find it difficult to know what is best for children because these toys and products were not around when they were young. Some will tell you that children have an affinity for technology that will be valuable in their future lives. Others think that children should not be playing with technology when they could be playing outside or reading a book

    Dialogic Reading: Language and Preliteracy Outcomes for Young Children with Disabilities

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    Dialogic reading is an evidence-based practice for preschool children who are typically developing or at-risk (WWC, 2007). However, there is limited research to evaluate if dialogic reading has similar positive effects on the language and preliteracy skills of preschool children with disabilities (WWC, 2010). This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of dialogic reading, with the incorporation of pause time, on the language and preliteracy skills of 42 preschool children with disabilities within 5 inclusive and 7 self-contained preschool classrooms. Following random assignment of students at the level of the classrooms, participants were equally distributed into an intervention (n=21) and a comparison group (n=21). The intervention consisted of dialogic reading, with the incorporation of pause time, based on the Read Together, Talk Together (RTTT; Pearson Early Learning, 2006) program kit. The targeted outcomes were receptive language skills, expressive language skills, and preliteracy skills. Children received either dialogic reading or typical storybook reading for 10 to 15 minutes per day, three days per week, for six weeks (i.e., 18 sessions in total) in small groups. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4th Edition (PPVT-4; Dunn & Dunn, 2007), Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test-4th Edition (EOWPVT-4; Martin & Brownell, 2011), Get Ready to Read!-Revised (GRTR-R; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2010), and the ‘Which One Doesn’t Belong’ and Picture Naming subtests of the Individual Growth and Development Indicators of Early Literacy (IGDIs-EL; McConnell, Bradfield, Wackerle-Hollman, & Rodriquez, 2012) were used as pre and posttest assessments. A researcher developed near transfer test of receptive and expressive vocabulary words was also administered pre and post intervention to determine if words specifically targeted during the intervention were learned. These standardized and researcher developed measures were analyzed with one-way ANCOVAs, using pretest scores and age as covariates to determine within and between group differences. The Johnson-Neyman procedure was utilized as necessary when violations of heterogeneity of slopes occurred. Following the intervention period, children in the intervention group scored significantly higher on the receptive and expressive near transfer vocabulary assessments. This occurred both for words that were specifically targeted during dialogic reading, as well as additional vocabulary words in the storybook

    Supporting early oral language skills for English language learners in inner city preschool provision

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    BACKGROUND: A significant number of children now enter formal education in England with reduced levels of proficiency in oral language. Children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and who are English language learners (ELL) are at risk of limited oral language skills in English which impacts on later educational achievement. AIMS: This paper reports the development of a theoretically motivated oral language intervention, Talking Time, designed to meet the needs of preschool children with poor language skills in typical preschool provision. SAMPLE: One hundred and forty-two 4-year-old children attending three inner city preschools in a disadvantaged area of London, England. METHOD: This is a quasi-experimental intervention study comparing children exposed to Talking Time with children exposed to a contrast intervention and children receiving the statutory early years curriculum. Measures were taken of both targeted and non-targeted language and cognitive skills. RESULTS: Data were analysed for the ELL. The intervention had a significant effect on vocabulary, oral comprehension, and sentence repetition but not narrative skills. As predicted, there were no effects on the skills which were not targeted. CONCLUSIONS: Regular evidence-based oral language interactions can make significant improvements in children's oral language. There is a need to examine the efficacy of more intensive interventions to raise language skills to allow learners to access the curriculum

    Interactive Shared Book Reading with a Narrative and an Informational Book: The effect of genre on parent-child reading

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    Introduction: Previous studies indicate the dominance of narrative fiction in shared book reading.  Theory and research suggests this may contribute to reading difficulties. Purpose of the Study: This study contrasted the impact of two genres on shared book reading based on factors known to maximize children’s literacy development.  It also examined the participants’ perspectives regarding their interactive reading behaviors.Methods: Eight parent-child dyads, with children four- and five-years-old, read a non-narrative informational book and a narrative fictional book.  The study controlled for the books’ reading levels, Rockets and Spaceships (Guided Reading K, Lexile 520) and A Penguin Pup for Pinkerton (Guided Reading K, Lexile 510). Results:  Analysis showed that informational book features such as captions, predictable text, and a glossary supported interactive reading behaviors.  Children engaged more with concrete, factual concepts, and answered and asked more questions with the informational book. Implications and Conclusions:  Analysis showed that the non-narrative informational text encouraged more children's interactive reading behaviors known to develop emergent literacy skills.  The informational text was more engaging for children because of 1) book features/characteristics, and 2) the information presented.  Parents were generally unaware of the benefits of reading multiple genres to their children

    Interactive Shared Book Reading with a Narrative and an Informational Book: The effect of genre on parent-child reading

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    Introduction: Previous studies indicate the dominance of narrative fiction in shared book reading.  Theory and research suggests this may contribute to reading difficulties. Purpose of the Study: This study contrasted the impact of two genres on shared book reading based on factors known to maximize children’s literacy development.  It also examined the participants’ perspectives regarding their interactive reading behaviors.Methods: Eight parent-child dyads, with children four- and five-years-old, read a non-narrative informational book and a narrative fictional book.  The study controlled for the books’ reading levels, Rockets and Spaceships (Guided Reading K, Lexile 520) and A Penguin Pup for Pinkerton (Guided Reading K, Lexile 510). Results:  Analysis showed that informational book features such as captions, predictable text, and a glossary supported interactive reading behaviors.  Children engaged more with concrete, factual concepts, and answered and asked more questions with the informational book. Implications and Conclusions:  Analysis showed that the non-narrative informational text encouraged more children's interactive reading behaviors known to develop emergent literacy skills.  The informational text was more engaging for children because of 1) book features/characteristics, and 2) the information presented.  Parents were generally unaware of the benefits of reading multiple genres to their children

    Literature Review of Research on Digital Media for Early Childhood Education and Care

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    This paper aimed to review international and domestic studies on the use of digital media in ECEC environments. The review focused on: 1) an introduction to the rapidly changing digital environment surrounding young children and national guidelines of several countries pertaining to the use of technology with young children; 2) an overview of scholarly investigations on digital media in ECEC settings as an information receiving tool; 3) an examination of studies on digital media as a tool for exploration and expression; 4) an appraisal of domestic research endeavors on digital media in ECEC settings. Finally, the paper presented future directions for the research on the topics and shared ideas for the more effective application of technology for the education and care of young children

    Parent Interventionists in Phonodialogic Emergent Reading with Preschool Children

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    The purpose of this study was to examine an activity-based intervention, dialogic reading with embedded explicit phonological awareness strategies, applied as a preventive approach by parents in their home settings located within a culturally and ethnically diverse urban region. This study investigated the effects of training parents to employ a phonodialogic activity-based emergent reading intervention protocol to increase the phonological awareness skills of their 4- and 5-year old children. Helping young children learn phonological awareness skills are vitally important to the development of early reading (Anthony & Lonigan, 2004; Ziolkowski & Goldstein, 2008). This investigation provided an empirical examination of a critical area which has received little experimentation. Though there is ample empirical evidence on the contribution of phonological awareness to children\u27s reading skills, there is virtually no research on the contribution of phonological awareness instruction on the early reading development of young children when it is embedded within the context of a dialogic reading activity with parents as interventionists. Accordingly, the theoretical underpinnings of this study, specifically phonological awareness, activity-based intervention, and dialogic reading are discussed in the literature review section. This dissertation describes methodology and the results of testing the hypothesis that parental phonodialogic reading strategies will have an observable positive treatment effect on preschool children\u27s phonological awareness skills when baseline, intervention, and maintenance conditions are compared
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