Opportunities and participation in conversations: The roles of teacher’s approaches to dialogic reading and child’s story comprehension

The role of teacher–child interaction and opportunities provided by the teacher to encourage all children’s active participation in conversation about story ideas are important. In the present study, we report results from the last two years of a three-year long coaching project on teachers’ dialogic reading. The model of 7-minutes-to-stories (Orvasto & Levola, 2010) was used as the pedagogical context. Video-based coaching along with scripted stories were used to increase conversation in story groups. First, we analyzed the developmental changes in story groups such as teachers’ and children’s responsiveness to dialogic reading. Second, we examined the development of verbal participation in children with low, average and high story comprehension. Third, we used State Space Grids (SSGs) (Hollenstein, 2013) to model the formation of children’s participation patterns within four story groups. Eight story groups participated during coaching year 2 and six story groups during year 3. Altogether 47 children from two consecutive cohorts participated. Results highlighted teachers’ and children’s responsiveness to dialogic reading. Children with high story comprehension outperformed children with average and low story comprehension in the total durations of verbal participation. SSGs showed that children with high story comprehension did not take up all the answering opportunities, and also children with lower story comprehension participated actively in some groups. We discuss the benefits of long-term coaching for supporting changes in story group interaction and children’s participation. The role of teacher–child interaction and opportunities provided by the teacher to encourage all children’s active participation in conversation about story ideas are important. In the present study, we report results from the last two years of a three-year long coaching project on teachers’ dialogic reading. The model of 7-minutes-to-stories (Orvasto & Levola, 2010) was used as the pedagogical context. Video-based coaching along with scripted stories were used to increase conversation in story groups. First, we analyzed the developmental changes in story groups such as teachers’ and children’s responsiveness to dialogic reading. Second, we examined the development of verbal participation in children with low, average and high story comprehension. Third, we used State Space Grids (SSGs) (Hollenstein, 2013) to model the formation of children’s participation patterns within four story groups. Eight story groups participated during coaching year 2 and six story groups during year 3. Altogether 47 children from two consecutive cohorts participated. Results highlighted teachers’ and children’s responsiveness to dialogic reading. Children with high story comprehension outperformed children with average and low story comprehension in the total durations of verbal participation. SSGs showed that children with high story comprehension did not take up all the answering opportunities, and also children with lower story comprehension participated actively in some groups. We discuss the benefits of long-term coaching for supporting changes in story group interaction and children’s participation.&nbsp

The role of pre-reading skills in the development of task orientation and interest in reading and play from preschool to kindergarten

This study evaluated 130 Finnish-speaking children’s pre-reading skills, teacher-rated task orientation, and self-rated interest in adult-given tasks, reading, and play activities in their day care. In addition, parents rated their children’s interest in reading and play activities at home. Five groups of children with different pre-reading skills were identified during preschool and kindergarten: high, above-average, developers, below-average, and low. The results showed that children with low pre-reading skills displayed lower task orientation than did the four other groups in adult-guided learning situations in day care. Children’s self-rated interest in adult-given tasks, reading, and play activities in day care did not differ across time despite clear differences in pre-reading skills. The parent ratings revealed differences in the children’s interest in reading activities at home. Children with low pre-reading skills were also the least interested in reading. The results demonstrate that pre-reading skills are associated with adults’ perceptions of children’s task orientation and interest but not with children’s own ratings of their interest in day care. The results highlight the need to pay increasing attention to the ways in which the social environment in day care and at home can best capture and take account of children’s interest in activities and to provide high-quality early support for each child’s motivation and learning

The role of pre-reading skills in the development of task orientation and interest in reading and play from preschool to kindergarten

This study evaluated 130 Finnish-speaking children’s pre-reading skills, teacher-rated task orientation, and self-rated interest in adult-given tasks, reading, and play activities in their day care. In addition, parents rated their children’s interest in reading and play activities at home. Five groups of children with different pre-reading skills were identified during preschool and kindergarten: high, above-average, developers, below-average, and low. The results showed that children with low pre-reading skills displayed lower task orientation than did the four other groups in adult-guided learning situations in day care. Children’s self-rated interest in adult-given tasks, reading, and play activities in day care did not differ across time despite clear differences in pre-reading skills. The parent ratings revealed differences in the children’s interest in reading activities at home. Children with low pre-reading skills were also the least interested in reading. The results demonstrate that pre-reading skills are associated with adults’ perceptions of children’s task orientation and interest but not with children’s own ratings of their interest in day care. The results highlight the need to pay increasing attention to the ways in which the social environment in day care and at home can best capture and take account of children’s interest in activities and to provide high-quality early support for each child’s motivation and learning.</p

Learning motivation tendencies among preschoolers: Impact of executive functions and gender differences

The current study aimed to validate the Russian version of the Child Behaviour Motivation Scale (CBeMO), examine gender differences in motivational tendencies, and explore the impact of executive functions on learning motivation tendencies among children. The sample consisted of 434 typically developing 5-6 years old children. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that according to the evaluation criteria, the model is poorly fitted to the data. However, internal consistency analysis confirmed acceptable levels of reliability and unidimensionality of the CBeMO scales. The identified internal structure of CBeMO indicates an overlap between CBeMO items related to task avoidance and social dependence on the Russian sample. The study revealed differences between girls and boys in all three CBeMO scales. Concerning executive functioning, it was revealed that motor persis-tence skills and working memory have an impact on the learning motivation tendencies among children, when controlling for group size, age, gender and non-verbal intelligence

KUVAKERTOMUS 4-VUOTIAIDEN TARINAN YMMÄRTÄMISEN ARVIOINNISSA

Analysoimme tässä tutkimuksessa Parisin ja Parisin (2003) kehittämänkuvakertomuksen soveltuvuutta nelivuotiaiden lasten tarinan ymmärtämisenarviointiin. Tutkimme myös, miten lasten kielelliset valmiudet (muisti,sanavarasto, ohjeiden ja kuullun ymmärtäminen, fonologiset taidot) jaoppimismotivaatio ovat yhteydessä kuvakertomuksen ymmärtämiseen.Lisäksi analysoimme käsitevaliditeettia eli mittaavatko kuvakertomuksentehtävät tarinan ymmärtämisen taitoja. Tutkimukseen osallistui 139 lasta.Tulokset osoittivat lasten välillä selkeitä yksilöllisiä eroja kuvakertomuksen eritehtävissä: kuvatarinaan tutustumisessa, tarinan pääasioiden muistamisessaja tarinaan liittyviin kysymyksiin vastaamisessa. Vihjeistetyt eksplisiittisetja implisiittiset kysymykset tarinasta erottelivat parhaiten valmiuksiltaaneritasoisten lasten narratiivin ymmärtämistä. Suoriutuminen vihjeistetyissäkysymyksissä korreloi tilastollisesti merkitsevästi lasten sanavaraston,kielellisen muistin, kuullun ymmärtämisen ja oman toiminnan säätelynkanssa. Kolmen latentin faktorin, tarinan kerronnan, päättelyn ja puhutunkielen ymmärtämisen, malli selitti parhaiten kuvakertomuksen tehtävien jakielellisten testien pistemäärien vaihtelua. Pohdimme kuvatarinan tehtävienmerkitystä tarinan ymmärtämistaitojen arvioinnissa ja tukemisessa.Asiasanat: Kuvakertomus, narratiivi, ymmärtäminen, leikki-ikäiset lapset, motivaatioKeywords: Pictorial narrative, comprehension, preschoolers, motivatio

Video outperforms illustrated text : Do old explanations for the modality effect apply in a learner-paced fifth-grade classroom context?

The modality effect occurs when people learn better from a combination of pictures and narration than from a combination of pictures and written text. Despite the strong empirical results in earlier studies, the modality effect has been less prominent in later studies of children in learner-paced settings. However, the generalizability of these results in practice may be limited because the studies included notable differences compared to a classroom context. The present study examined the modality effect in a learner-paced classroom context. In a within-subjects experiment, fifth graders learned from illustrated texts and videos and completed pre-, post-, and delayed tests on two science topics. The video group outperformed the illustrated text group in retention, delayed retention, cognitive load, and efficiency measures but there were no statistical differences in transfer. In both learning conditions, the cognitive load was moderate and did not correlate with any learning outcomes. The results suggest that while the modality effect can occur in a learner-paced classroom context, it may not be based on the avoidance of cognitive overload. Alternative explanations concerning the differences in settings and materials between classroom contexts and modality effect research are discussed.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Opportunities and participation in conversations: The roles of teacher’s approaches to dialogic reading and child’s story comprehension

The role of teacher–child interaction and opportunities provided by the teacher to encourage all children’s active participation in conversation about story ideas are important. In the present study, we report results from the last two years of a three-year long coaching project on teachers’ dialogic reading. The model of 7-minutes-to-stories (Orvasto & Levola, 2010) was used as the pedagogical context. Video-based coaching along with scripted stories were used to increase conversation in story groups. First, we analyzed the developmental changes in story groups such as teachers’ and children’s responsiveness to dialogic reading. Second, we examined the development of verbal participation in children with low, average and high story comprehension. Third, we used State Space Grids (SSGs) (Hollenstein, 2013) to model the formation of children’s participation patterns within four story groups. Eight story groups participated during coaching year 2 and six story groups during year 3. Altogether 47 children from two consecutive cohorts participated. Results highlighted teachers’ and children’s responsiveness to dialogic reading. Children with high story comprehension outperformed children with average and low story comprehension in the total durations of verbal participation. SSGs showed that children with high story comprehension did not take up all the answering opportunities, and also children with lower story comprehension participated actively in some groups. We discuss the benefits of long-term coaching for supporting changes in story group interaction and children’s participation. </p

Vocabulary, metacognitive knowledge and task orientation as predictors of narrative picture book comprehension: from preschool to grade 3

This is a study of early picture book comprehension, its determinants and later development through primary school. More specifically, picture book comprehension was analyzed longitudinally from age 5 to age 9, delineating the unique contributions of vocabulary, metacognitive knowledge and task orientation to the initial level as well as to the growth of comprehension. A total of 90 Finnish-speaking children participated in the study. The children's narrative picture book comprehension was assessed at age 5, age 6 and age 9. Vocabulary, metacognitive knowledge and task orientation were evaluated at age 5. Latent growth curve modeling showed a pattern of decreasing achievement gaps in narrative picture book comprehension. Vocabulary and metacognitive knowledge uniquely contributed to the concurrent level of narrative picture book comprehension. The results further showed that metacognitive knowledge and task orientation were positive and statistically significant predictors of the growth of picture book comprehension over and above the initial level of narrative picture book comprehension. These findings add to our knowledge about the development of inter-individual differences in narrative picture book comprehension and the roles of vocabulary, metacognitive knowledge and task orientation in it. They also suggest a novel way to assess the narrative comprehension potential among students with compromised working memory or decoding ability

Early Oral Language Comprehension, Task Orientation, and Foundational Reading Skills as Predictors of Grade 3 Reading Comprehension

The present five-year longitudinal study from preschool to grade 3 examined the developmental associations among oral language comprehension, task orientation, reading precursors, and reading fluency, as well as their role in predicting grade 3 reading comprehension. Ninety Finnish-speaking students participated in the study. The students’ oral language comprehension (vocabulary knowledge, listening comprehension, and inference making) and task orientation were assessed in preschool, kindergarten, and grade 3. Reading precursors (letter knowledge and phonological awareness) were assessed at the first two timepoints and reading fluency at the third timepoint. Structural equation modeling showed that oral language comprehension, reading fluency, and task orientation each contributed uniquely to concurrent reading comprehension, and together they accounted for 76% of variance in reading comprehension. A reciprocal relationship was found between oral language comprehension and task orientation from preschool through kindergarten to grade 3, a finding that extends our knowledge of the longitudinal determinants of reading comprehension.</p