Spatial Presentations, but Not Response Formats Influence Spatial-Numerical Associations in Adults

According to theories of embodied numerosity, processing of numerical magnitude is anchored in bodily experiences. In particular, spatial representations of number interact with movement in physical space, but it is still unclear whether the extent of the movement is relevant for this interaction. In this study, we compared spatial-numerical associations over response movements of differing spatial expansion. We expected spatial-numerical effects to increase with the extent of physical response movements. In addition, we hypothesized that these effects should be influenced by whether or not a spatial representation of numbers was presented. Adult participants performed two tasks: a magnitude classification (comparing numbers to the fixed standard 5), from which we calculated the Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect; and a magnitude comparison task (comparing two numbers against each other), from which we calculated a relative numerical congruity effect (NCE), which describes that when two relatively small numbers are compared, responses to the smaller number are faster than responses to the larger number; and vice versa for large numbers. A SNARC effect was observed across all conditions and was not influenced by response movement extent but increased when a number line was presented. In contrast, an NCE was only observed when no number line was presented. This suggests that the SNARC effect and the NCE reflect two different processes. The SNARC effect seems to represent a highly automated classification of numbers as large or small, which is further emphasized by the presentation of a number line. In contrast, the NCE likely results from participants not only classifying numbers as small or large, but also processing their relative size within the relevant section of their mental number line representation. An additional external presentation of a number line might interfere with this process, resulting in overall slower responses. This study follows up on previous spatial-numerical training studies and has implications for future spatial-numerical trainings. Specifically, similar studies with children showed contrasting results, in that response format but not number line presentation influenced spatial-numerical associations. Accordingly, during development, the relative relevance of physical experiences and presentation format for spatial-numerical associations might change

Young children’s grounding of mathematical thinking in sensory-motor experiences

Dissertation articles have been removed from the digital version, due to copyright issues. They can be read in the printed edition.Hovedmålet med avhandling min er å utvikle kunnskap om små barns forankring av matematisk tenkning i sensoriske-motoriske erfaringer, mens et delmål er å øke forståelsen for hvordan utendørs design kan støtte slike erfaringer. To intervensjoner som engasjerte 27 barn i alderen 3 til 5 år ble gjennomført som et samarbeid mellom 4 barnehagelærere i to barnehager og to forskere. Intervensjonene la grunnlaget for tre fokusstudier der det empiriske materialet består av video av barna i individuelle etter-tester. Teorien kroppslig situert kognisjon (Embodied Cognition) er brukt i analysen der en detaljert vurdering av koherens mellom oppgave adferd og det matematiske målområdet i det respektive delstudiet dannet grunnlag for sammenlikning og en fler-kasus dybdeanalyse av karakteristikker innenfor og på tvers av identifiserte mønstre for kroppslig situering av matematisk tenking. Tre forskjellige aspekter ble fokusert på: Karteristiske trekk ved delmengde-kjenneres (dvs. barn som ikke viser ferdigheter i bruk av telling for å produsere små mengder) evner til å behandle små mengder som helheter gjennom tale og kroppslig interaksjon i en stor sirkel med 50 merker (fokus studie 1); barnas evner til å gjenskape symmetrisk strukturerte kroppslige erfaringer med tallmengder for å støtte additive resonnement, og barnas evner til kroppslig modellering av tellebasert addisjon (fokus studie 3). Resultatene viste karakteristiske og divergerende trekk ved delmengde-kjenneres kroppslig situering av kardinaltallbegrepet som også omfattet produksjon av små mengder over målt begrepsnivå, og videre hvordan sensoriske-motoriske erfaringer kan støtte telle-basert addisjon og resonnement rundt del-helhet relasjoner. Avhandlingen gir et bidrag til forskningsområdet knyttet til tidlig strukturbasert kroppslig læring i matematikk, og spesielt gjennom funn som viser karakteristikker i barns situering, avlastning og koherens av matematisk tenkning i bevegelse og motorisk interaksjon. Uventede funn var inkludering av estetiske, rytmiske og sammensatte bevegelsesmønstre i den kroppsbaserte matematiske tenkningen. I lys av det kroppslige situerte perspektivet bør resultatene oppmuntre til design av utendørs aktiviteter som involverer bevegelse og rytme i den tidlige læringen av matematikk. For å konkludere understreker avhandlingen rollen som kroppslig bevegelse og fysisk interaksjon med romlige strukturer kan utgjøre i små barns matematiske tenkning.ABSTRACT: The main objective of my dissertation is to develop knowledge about young children’s grounding of mathematical thinking in sensory-motor experiences while a sub-goal is to increase the understanding of how outdoor embodied designs can facilitate such experiences. Two embodied training programmes engaging 27 children aged 3 to 5 years were conducted as a collaboration between four kindergarten teachers in two kindergartens and two researchers. These interventions led to three focal studies, where the empirical material consists of video footage of the children in individual post-tests. The data are analysed through the framework of Embodied Cognition, involving detailed attention to each child’s cohering of task behaviour with the mathematical targeting domain addressed in the respective focal study, followed by a cross-case comparison and a multi-case analysis across and within the identified patterns of grounding of mathematical thinking in bodily action. Three different aspects were focused on: Characteristic features of subset-knowers’ (i.e., children unable to use counting for exact numbering) abilities in establishing congruence between the idea of cardinality and verbalised body-spatial mapping of small sets (focal study 1); children’s re-enactment of canonical structured experiences of numerosity in reasoning about additive compositions (focal study 2) and children’s congruency in the physical grounding of counting based addition (focal study 3). The results showed recurring and deviating patterns of subset-knowers’ grounding of the idea of cardinality in bodily production of small sets that also exceeded their knower-level, and the findings showed how sensory-motor action might concur with counting-based addition and support reasoning about additive compositions. Unexpected findings comprise the inclusion of expressive body movements (e.g., rotation, rhythm, force, and tempo) in the situating of mathematical thinking. The dissertation study contributes to the field of educational research on early structured-based bodily learning of mathematics as it revealed characteristics of young children’s situating, off-loading and cohering of mathematical thinking in full-body interaction. In light of the embodied perspective, this should encourage the design of activities outdoors that involve movement and rhythm in the early learning of mathematics. In conclusion, this dissertation underlines the role that bodily movement and physical interaction with spatial structures can play in young children’s mathematical thinking

Dance/Movement Therapy and Responsive Classroom: A Theoretical Synthesis

This theoretical synthesis combines concepts from Chacian dance/movement therapy and the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching and learning, and suggests a proactive behavioral management style for dance/movement therapists that incorporates aspects from these two frameworks. For this synthesis, Chacian dance/movement therapy and Responsive Classroom techniques were adapted and implemented. Through combining these two methods, the researcher suggests a unique treatment model as a way to prevent and confront violent and aggressive behaviors of children that present in a dance/movement therapy session

The Effect of Dalcroze Eurhythmics on the Melodic Musical Growth of First Grade Students.

The primary purpose of the study was to determine the effect of Dalcroze Eurhythmics on the melodic musical growth of first grade students. The secondary purposes of the study were to determine the differences between boys and girls in the ability to discriminate pitch register and melodic contour and to determine the differences created by the interaction of method, sex, and time. Seventy-six first grade students in four intact classes participated in the study. Two classes, control group, used the melodic units of the 1978 Silver Burdett Music (SBM). Two classes, experimental group, used Silver Burdett Music and Dalcroze Eurhythmic activities (DE). The eight-week study included six weeks of instruction and two weeks of testing. The investigator-designed Melodic Achievement Test, consisting of two sub-tests, was administered as the pretest and posttest measures for both groups. Sub-test A consisted of twenty-five items of two tones each. The students answered if the the second tone was higher than, lower than, or the same as the first tone. Sub-test B consisted of twenty-five items of five tones each. The students answered if the tones were moving higher, lower, or higher and lower. All directions and test items were recorded on cassette tape for administration. The data were subjected to a Three-Way Analysis of Variance with a repeated measure on time. The results indicated that SBM scored significantly higher than DE on the pretest (p \u3c .05). There was a significant difference between pretest and posttest scores for DE (p \u3c .0001) and no difference between pretest and posttest scores for SBM. No significant difference existed between DE and SBM on the posttest. An examination of the means revealed that DE scores increased to meet SBM scores on the posttest. No significant difference existed between boys and girls on the test and between the interaction of method, sex, and time. From the results of the study, it appears that Eurhythmic activities have a positive influence on melodic discrimination ability of first grade students and should be considered for inclusion in the study of melodic concepts. Chapters on the related literature and the Dalcroze method are also included

The effects of movement-based instruction, meter, and rhythmic aptitude on beginning instrumental music students' abilities to communicate metric structure in performance

The principal purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of participation and nonparticipation in movement-based instruction, developed by Weikart, on beginning instrumental music students' abilities to communicate duple and triple metric structure when reading and performing rhythm patterns using their music instruments. Secondary purposes were to examine (a) the effect of rhythmic aptitude, (b) the effect of differences in notated meter, and (c) the interactive effects of movement-based instruction background and level of rhythmic aptitude on students' abilities. Students from Colorado, Massachusetts, and Washington served as subjects for the study (n = 155). Subjects in the movement group (n = 77) participated in weekly music classes in which a teacher was implementing principles of Weikart's Education Through Movement: Building the Foundation program for three years prior to beginning instrumental music instruction. The comparison group (n = 78) was comprised of students who had not participated in movement-based instruction, yet participated in the same beginning instrumental music programs as students in the movement group

Embodied cognition and executive functioning : the effect of whole body interaction on children's planning and inhibition

Modern user interfaces (UI) are becoming more ‘embodied’ as they facilitate bodily processes. Games consoles now often include body tracking hardware. Tenants of the theories of embodied cognition and executive function (EF) have stipulated that cognition is to some extent tied to the motor system, and so, that cognitive processing benefits from physical interaction. To date however, the research in this domain has focussed on adult populations. Ultimately, children are going to experience this UI revolution throughout the lifespan. So, in the following thesis I examined whether whole body interaction supported by a gaming floor mat improved children’s performance on a set of EF tasks. A set of new, gamified EF tasks were developed and completed using two interfaces (a floor mat and a keyboard) at separate sessions. The results revealed children were equally competent at each EF task using either device. Another notable finding was the effect of gamification on performance. The findings are discussed in the context of developmental psychology, experiment composition, and children’s interactions with technology

The Kindergarten Building Gifts

From the introduction of The Kindergarten Building Gifts: To refuse to pass judgment upon a subject not yet understood is one of the surest evidences of the cultured mind. It is, therefore, with a feeling of confidence that the kindergartners ask the rest of the educational world to first understand Froebel\u27s aim in creating the kindergarten Play-Gifts and see whether or not they fulfill the purpose in which they were made. No one can easily comprehend Froebel without understanding his idea of the meaning of life. Over and over again he has stated that the chief end of education should be to bring the human soul to a consciousness of his oneness with the Divine Source of all things. This feeling of oneness with God was to him the greatest possible inspiration that could be given to a child to awaken it to a faith in itself. All modern Sociology is beginning to demand as the true ethical basis of the institutional life believed would follow when the world understood the brotherhood of man. All that modern education is beginning to demand concerning the development of the individuality of each child, he believed would then be readily conceded. His kindergarten games were devised for no other purpose than to bring the to child, through joyous, child-like, dramatic play, to the fundamental relationships of family life, of society, of the trade world, and to a more limited extent, to a dawning of consciousness of the meaning of the state and church. It is true that they are played in time to music and that the words are usually sung, thereby exercising the child in rhythmic and healthful movement, and giving the needed physical activity and diversion of mind, but these things were a means to an end. It is equally true that his so-called gifts and occupations (the play-tools which he puts into the hands of the kindergartner), were not created by him merely that the child might the sooner master the material world about him by becoming familiar with the fundamental properties of the matter through play with them: as, for example, to gain lasting sense-impressions by means of sharp contrast of large and small forms, curved and flat surfaces, long and short lines, near and far points, fixed and transformable shapes, bright and soft colors, rough and smooth textures, etc. etc.; nor was it his purpose simply to give the child objects by means of which he might the more readily classify the myriads of sensations that pour in upon his young mind. It is true that the few forms which are seen in the Kindergarten Gifts are the geometric types that underlie all forms of creation, and are therefore most helpful in the rational organization of what to the child is the chaos of the outside world, but to Frobel this was a means to an end. This end was to lead the young heart, through thus discerning the organized nature of form, to feel that underneath all forms lay one form, that one law governed by all creation, that all were but varying expressions or utterances of One Mind. The above is a short and inadequate statement of the world-view of one of the most truly religious minds of modern times. -Elizabeth Harrisonhttps://digitalcommons.nl.edu/harrison-writings/1026/thumbnail.jp

Developing Ideas and Methods for Supporting Whole Body Interaction in Remote Co-Design with Children

Drawing from a present need as well as a growing interest towards developing methods to engage participants in research remotely [1,2], this workshop focuses on identifying opportunities and challenges around designing with children from an embodiment perspective [3,4,5,6,10,11,12,13,15]. Themed around whole body interaction and digital technologies [3,7,8,9,10,11,14,15,16,17,18,20,21] the aim of this workshop is to gain methodological insights for the remote participation of children in design, and arrive at design insights addressing the question how we can design remote, inclusive whole body interactions for and with children while attending to child participants’ multimodal communication and bodily engagement [19,21] in a physically dislocated setting [1,2]. The workshop will involve discussions around data gathering from different angles, including relational, ethical, safety and practical perspectives, to create a comprehensive picture of what it entails to orchestrate embodied co-design workshops with children virtually. Outputs from the workshop will contribute to the IDC community by offering methodological insights from attendees’ own experience and presented case studies from researchers and practitioners from both non-academic and academic settings to support children's embodied engagement in remote workshop situations and beyond

Watch your step children! learning two-digit numbers through mirror-based observation of self-initiated body movements

It was investigated whether task-related body movements yield beneficial effects on children’s learning of two-digit numbers and whether these learning effects are affected by mirror-based self-observation of those movements. Participants were 118 first-graders, who were randomly assigned to two movement conditions and two nonmovement control conditions. In the movement conditions, children were instructed to build two-digit numbers by making and simultaneously verbalizing out loud different sized steps representing the smaller units the numbers consisted of (e.g., the number “B36” was construed by saying out loud “B10,” “B20”, “B30,” “B35,” “B36,” while making three big steps, one medium, and one small step) on a ruler across the floor. In one of the movement conditions, the children were additionally asked to observe their steps in a mirror. In the first conventionally taught control condition, the children were asked to verbally build and mark the two-digit numbers on a ruler depicted on a sheet of paper. In the second control condition, children were seated before the ruler across the floor, and after verbally constructing the two-digit number, they had to walk to the appropriate position of the number on the ruler across the floor. In the subsequent test phase, children’s knowledge of two-digit numbers was assessed by a final math test. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the movement conditions lead to higher test performance than the non-movement condition and revealed that test performance was not differentially affected by mirror-based self-observation

Designing 'Embodied' Science Learning Experiences for Young Children

Research in embodied cognition emphasises the importance of meaningful ‘bodily’ experience, or congruent action, in learning and development. This highlights the need for evidence-based design guidelines for sensorimotor interactions that meaningfully exploit action-based experiences, that are instrumental in shaping the way we conceptualise the world. These sensorimotor experiences are particularly important for young children as they can provide them with an embodied toolkit of resources (independent of language skills or subject specific vocabulary) that they can draw upon to support science ‘think’ and ‘talk’, using their own bodies to develop and express ideas through gesture, that are grounded on sensorimotoric representations from action experiences. Taking an iterative design-based research (DBR) approach, this paper reports the design, development and deployment of a programme of outdoor activities for children aged 4–6 years, that drew on embodied cognition theory to foster meaningful action in relation to ideas of air resistance. This research is relevant to researchers, practitioners and designers. It makes a contribution to learning experience design by making explicit the process of applying key components of embodied cognition theory to the design of science learning activities for early years, and how this can effectively inform digital design