Acquisition from Storybooks

For young children, storybooks may serve as especially valuable sources of new knowledge. While most research focuses on how extratextual comments influence knowledge acquisition, we propose that children's learning may also be supported by the specific features of storybooks. More specifically, we propose that texts that invoke children's knowledge of familiar taxonomic categories may support learning by providing a conceptual framework through which prior knowledge and new knowledge can be readily integrated. In this study, 60 5-year olds were read a storybook that either invoked their knowledge of a familiar taxonomic category (taxonomic storybook) or focused on a common thematic grouping (traditional storybook). Following the book-reading, children's vocabulary acquisition, literal comprehension, and inferential comprehension were assessed. Children who were read the taxonomic storybook demonstrated greater acquisition of target vocabulary and comprehension of factual content than children who were read the traditional storybook. Inferential comprehension, however, did not differ across the two conditions. We argue for the importance of careful consideration of book features and storybook selection in order to provide children with every opportunity to gain the knowledge foundational for successful literacy development

Experiences matter: Educators’ attitudes toward disability in higher education

This study investigated 128 post-secondary educators’ attitudes toward disability at a college and a university in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The participants completed the Educators’ Attitudes toward Disability Scale (EADS) and a demographic questionnaire that included questions about their experiences with disability. There were three research questions at the heart of this study: (1) What are post-secondary educators’ overall attitudes toward disability? (2) Do demographic factors predict post-secondary educators’ attitudes toward disability? (3) Does exposure to people with disability predict post-secondary educators’ attitudes toward disability? The findings of this study suggest post-secondary educators hold overallpositive attitudes toward disability and there were very few differences observed between groups (e.g., based on age, gender, discipline, etc.). Educators’ experiences with people who have a disability, however, were positively associated with their attitudes. This factor included personal experiences (e.g., friends, family, etc.), but also professional experiences (e.g., students in their classes).Cette étude examine l’attitude de 128 enseignants à l’égard du handicap dans un collège et une université du sud-ouest de l’Ontario, au Canada. Les participants ont rempli le Educators Attitudes toward Disability Scale (EADS) et un questionnaire démographique incluant des questions au sujet de leurs expériences avec le handicap. Trois questions de recherche ont été soulevées : (1) Quelle est l’attitude générale des enseignants d’établissements postsecondaires à l’égard du handicap? (2) Les facteurs démographiques ont-ils une incidence sur l’attitude des enseignants d’établissements postsecondaires à l’égard du handicap? (3) L’exposition à des personnes en situation de handicap a-t-elle une incidence sur l’attitude des enseignantsd’établissements postsecondaires à l’égard du handicap? Les résultats de cette étude suggèrent que les enseignants du secteur postsecondaire ont une attitude généralement positive à l’égard des personnes en situation de handicap, et très peu de différences ont été observées entre les groupes (p. ex. sur la base de l’âge, du sexe, de la discipline, etc.). Cependant, l’expérience avec des personnes en situation de handicap avait une incidence positive sur les attitudes. Ce facteur comprenait les expériences personnelles (p. ex. amis, famille, etc.) et l’expérience professionnelle (p. ex. étudiants)

Implicit, Eclipsed, but Functional: the Development of Orthographic Knowledge in Early Readers

<p>Although most models of reading development present orthographic knowledge as a more advanced and later developing form of knowledge than phonological knowledge, this dissertation presents a model of the development of orthographic knowledge in which generalized orthographic knowledge, the knowledge of symbol patterns within and across words, develops early, at the same time as phonological knowledge and before lexicalized representations of a whole word. However, because phonological and generalized orthographic knowledge are not fully integrated, phonological knowledge masks orthographic knowledge in typical measures of literacy. </p><p>In study 1 pre-readers' knowledge of the elements that make up words was tested using eye-tracking as a measure of implicit knowledge. We find that pre-reading children as young as 3 have implicit orthographic knowledge regarding the elements that make up words. This supports the prediction that generalized orthographic knowledge develops before lexicalized knowledge. </p><p>In study 2, children's creative spellings were used to gauge children's implicit knowledge of letter patterns in a naturalistic setting. We find that kindergarteners in particular tend to rely on phonology over orthography when the two are in conflict. This supports the hypothesis that phonological knowledge can mask orthographic knowledge.</p><p>In study 3, children were asked to decode non-words and their implicit knowledge of letter patterns was measured using eye tracking. I found that early readers show some implicit knowledge when decoding, This supports the hypothesis that generalized orthographic knowledge can be measured in literacy tasks under certain testing conditions. </p><p>In study 4, children's phonological and orthographic knowledge was tested directly by asking children to sound out and select the best word. Results show that sensitivity to orthographic violations is decreased when phonology is introduced. This is a direct test of the hypothesis that phonological knowledge can mask orthographic knowledge, and findings support this hypothesis. </p><p>These results suggest that pre-readers show generalized orthographic knowledge before lexicalized knowledge and concurrently with phonological knowledge. Furthermore, this generalized orthographic knowledge initially presents itself implicitly, and in many early literacy tasks the orthographic domain is dominated by phonological concerns. Essentially, orthographic and phonological knowledge develop at the same time; however, until children learn to integrate the two dimensions of written language, they rely on one source over the other.</p>Dissertatio

A Bidirectional Relationship between Conceptual Organization and Word Learning

This study explores the relationship between word learning and conceptual organization for preschool-aged children. We proposed a bidirectional model in which increases in word learning lead to increases in taxonomic organization, which, in turn, leads to further increases in word learning. In order to examine this model, we recruited 104 4-year olds from Head Start classrooms; 52 children participated in a two-week training program, and 52 children were in a control group. Results indicated that children in the training program learned more words and were more likely to sort taxonomically than children in the control condition. Furthermore, the number of words learned over the training period predicted the extent to which children categorized taxonomically. Additionally, this ability to categorize taxonomically predicted the number of words learned outside the training program, over and above the number of words learned in the program. These results suggest a bi-directional relationship between conceptual organization and word learning

Can babies learn to read? A randomized trial of baby media

argeted to children as young as 3 months old, there is a growing number of baby media products that claim to teach babies to read. This randomized controlled trial was designed to examine this claim by investigating the effects of a best-selling baby media product on reading development. One hundred and seventeen infants, ages 9 to 18 months, were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Children in the treatment condition received the baby media product, which included DVDs, word and picture flashcards, and word books to be used daily over a 7-month period; children in the control condition, business as usual. Examining a 4-phase developmental model of reading, we examined both precursor skills (such as letter name, letter sound knowledge, print awareness, and decoding) and conventional reading (vocabulary and comprehension) using a series of eye-tracking tasks and standardized measures. Results indicated that babies did not learn to read using baby media, despite some parents displaying great confidence in the program’s effectiveness