“I think I can”: achievement-oriented themes in storybooks from Indonesia, Japan, and the United States

The focus of the present study is on the ways in which storybooks communicate cultural ideals about achievement orientation, and in particular, the role of effort, perseverance, and hard work in fostering successful outcomes. Sixty preschool children's books from Indonesia, Japan, and the United States (20 from each country) were examined for the presence of achievement-oriented themes. These countries were chosen due to previously documented cultural differences in models of learning and individualist/collectivist tendencies that could have some bearing on achievement outcomes. Texts were assessed for (1) the frequency with which “challenge events” appeared in the narratives, (2) whether these events derived from sources internal or external to the main character, and (3) whether solutions relied on the main character individually or included the assistance of others. Results show that Japanese storybooks contained significantly more challenge events than Indonesian storybooks. Compared with Japanese storybooks, American storybooks tended to include a greater proportion of challenges derived from internal qualities of the main character as opposed to external factors. Compared with American storybooks, Japanese storybooks contained a significantly greater proportion of challenges that were solved with individual efforts as opposed to efforts involving the assistance of others. Findings from this study contribute to our understanding of how storybook contexts can provide a rich source of information for young children learning about culturally valued qualities and behaviors related to achievement

Developing an Observation Tool to Measure Preschool Children’s Problem-Solving Skills

In the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), problem-solving skills are part of science and engineering practices for K–12 students in the United States. Evaluating these skills for the youngest learners is difficult due to the lack of established measures. This paper reports on our process of developing an observation instrument to measure preschool children’s learning and their application of problem-solving skills, namely, the steps of the engineering design process (EDP). The instrument, Engineering Preschool Children Observation Tool (EPCOT), was intended to evaluate the frequencies of problem-solving behaviors and use of EDP-related vocabulary by observing preschoolers engaged with the Seeds of STEM eight-unit curriculum in the classroom. In this paper, we describe the development process and revision of EPCOT, its current constructs, and present descriptive findings from using the tool in a pilot study with sixteen classrooms: eight intervention classrooms who received the entire curriculum, and eight comparison classrooms who received only the eighth unit of the curriculum (to enable comparison). We found that, out of 34 possible behaviors across the problem-solving process, children in all classrooms engaged in 31 unique problem-solving behaviors, suggesting that preschool children are indeed capable of meaningfully engaging in solving problems. We also observed a trend that children who were exposed to more of the curriculum (the intervention group) produced more novel vocabulary words than those in the comparison group, who tended to repeat vocabulary words. Since EPCOT was developed in alignment with state and national standards, we believe it has the potential to be used with other early childhood engineering/problem-solving curricula

Developing an Observation Tool to Measure Preschool Children’s Problem-Solving Skills

In the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), problem-solving skills are part of science and engineering practices for K–12 students in the United States. Evaluating these skills for the youngest learners is difficult due to the lack of established measures. This paper reports on our process of developing an observation instrument to measure preschool children’s learning and their application of problem-solving skills, namely, the steps of the engineering design process (EDP). The instrument, Engineering Preschool Children Observation Tool (EPCOT), was intended to evaluate the frequencies of problem-solving behaviors and use of EDP-related vocabulary by observing preschoolers engaged with the Seeds of STEM eight-unit curriculum in the classroom. In this paper, we describe the development process and revision of EPCOT, its current constructs, and present descriptive findings from using the tool in a pilot study with sixteen classrooms: eight intervention classrooms who received the entire curriculum, and eight comparison classrooms who received only the eighth unit of the curriculum (to enable comparison). We found that, out of 34 possible behaviors across the problem-solving process, children in all classrooms engaged in 31 unique problem-solving behaviors, suggesting that preschool children are indeed capable of meaningfully engaging in solving problems. We also observed a trend that children who were exposed to more of the curriculum (the intervention group) produced more novel vocabulary words than those in the comparison group, who tended to repeat vocabulary words. Since EPCOT was developed in alignment with state and national standards, we believe it has the potential to be used with other early childhood engineering/problem-solving curricula

How to Go from Nest to Home: Children's Learning of Relational Categories

How do children learn relational categories such as gift, barrier, or dwelling-of? In this research we explore two means of promoting relational abstraction: comparison processes and relational labels. In Experiment 1, 6-, 4-, and 3-year-old children compared pairs of cards depicting analogous situations. We either labeled the relations underlying the analogies (Relational Word condition) or simply provided the analogous pairs without labeling the relation (Analogy Only condition). Four- and six-year-olds in both conditions were able to learn the relations, but performed better if relational labels were added. Three-year-olds were unsuccessful both with and without relational words. In Experiment 2 we used a progressive alignment training method with three-year-olds. We first gave them closely similar pairs, and then progressed to analogous pairs similar to those used in Experiment 1. Three-year-olds who received a combination of progressive alignment and relational labels during training were able to successfully learn the relation. Implications for the acquisition of relational concepts are discussed

Mental Models of Illness in the COVID-19 Era

The COVID-19 pandemic and its profound global effects may be changing the way we think about illness. We surveyed 120 American adults to explore the effects of the pandemic on their mental models of illness. Participants read three vignettes: one relating to COVID-19, one to cancer, and another to the common cold, and were asked questions relating to the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, time-course, and transmission of each disease. Results showed that participants were more likely to correctly diagnose COVID-19 (93% accuracy) compared to a cold (60% accuracy) or cancer (51% accuracy). Of the 40 participants that incorrectly diagnosed the cold vignette, 7 misdiagnosed a cold as COVID-19. These and other preliminary findings suggest a distinct mental model for COVID-19 compared to other illnesses. The prevalence of COVID-19 in everyday discourse may lead to biased responding, similar to errors in medical diagnosis that result from physicians’ expertise (Hashem et al., 2003)

Mental Models of Illness during the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and its profound global effects may be changing the way we think about illness. In summer 2020, 120 American adults were asked to diagnose symptoms of COVID-19, a cold, and cancer, and to answer questions related to the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, time-course, and transmission of each disease. Results showed that participants were more likely to correctly diagnose COVID-19 (91% accuracy) compared to a cold (58% accuracy) or cancer (52% accuracy). We also found that 7% of participants misdiagnosed cold symptoms as COVID-19, and, interestingly, over twice as many participants (16%) misdiagnosed symptoms of cancer as COVID-19. Our findings suggest a distinct mental model for COVID-19 compared to other illnesses. Further, the prevalence of COVID-19 in everyday discourse—especially early in the pandemic—may lead to biased responding, similar to errors in medical diagnosis that result from physicians’ expertise. We also discuss how the focus of public-health messaging on prevention of COVID-19 might contribute to participants’ mental models