Preschool Children's Learning Research Articles

Time after time: Factors influencing children's comprehension of Before and After.

We investigated older children's (7-12 years) ability to comprehend before and after sentences. Results found that three factors that influence pre-school aged children's learning of these words continues to influence older children's comprehension. Specifically, children's accuracy is improved when the events can be naturally (vs. arbitrarily) ordered; when the clauses in the sentence iconically match (vs. mismatch) the order of the events in the world; and when sentences use before (vs. after). The first two factors are argued to directly facilitate the building of mental models while the last one does so indirectly because of patterns of input usage.

Human–Computer Interaction and Digital Literacy Promote Educational Learning in Pre-school Children: Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience for Kids’ Mental Well-Being and School Readiness

This research examines the influence of digital literacy on preschool children’s school readiness and mental health. The analysis dissects psychological resilience’s role as a mediator among digitally literate-conscious kids. The underlying theory underpinning the literature is a social learning theory, which provides the paradigm lens for effectively accessing and evaluating available digital information. This study measures these proposed assumptions using structural equation modeling techniques. Data collection was carried out in structured questionnaires, and the target population was parents of preschool children. The study used a convenience sampling technique to select a sample of parents based on preschool children under five. The results show that digital literacy among preschoolers is directly and positively related to their school readiness, mental well-being, and resilience. Findings suggest that psychological resilience significantly mediates between children’s digital literacy and school readiness. The findings provide valued insight and further directions for policymakers and educators from developing countries. It offers valuable guidance for teachers and parents of preschool children. Findings will encourage them to allow children to use digital gadgets to build and enhance their understanding of digital information. Preschoolers should also receive implicit and explicit training in the practical and fundamental knowledge of digital technologies for their educational use. In theory, this study contributes to the scientific literature by answering how digital literacy and resilience positively impact children’s school readiness and mental well-being.

Modeling an Educational Environment Promoting the Development of Key Competencies in Preschool Age

A supportive, motivating and purposefully organized educational environment can become a powerful factor for laying the foundations for the development of important qualities, skills and competences in children of preschool age. The article aims to: reveal the possibilities of the educational environment and promote the development of key competences for lifelong learning in preschool children. Tasks: 1. To study and analyze literary sources and normative documents related to the application of the competence approach in preschool education; 2. To indicate the main principles underlying the creation of an educational environment promoting the development of key competencies in kindergarten; 3. To highlight the possibilities for modeling an educational environment to promote the development of key competences in preschool age

Understanding preschoolers' word learning success in different scenarios: disambiguation meets statistical learning and eBook reading.

Children's ability to learn new words during their preschool years is crucial for further academic success. Previous research suggests that children rely on different learning mechanisms to acquire new words depending on the available context and linguistic information. To date, there is limited research integrating different paradigms to provide a cohesive view of the mechanisms and processes involved in preschool children's word learning. We presented 4 year-old children (n = 47) with one of three different novel word-learning scenarios to test their ability to connect novel words to their correspondent referents without explicit instruction to do so. The scenarios were tested with three exposure conditions of different nature: (i) mutual exclusivity-target novel word-referent pair presented with a familiar referent, prompting fast-mapping via disambiguation, (ii) cross-situational-target novel word-referent pair presented next to an unfamiliar referent prompting statistically tracking the target pairs across trials, and (iii) eBook - target word-referent pairs presented within an audio-visual electronic storybook (eBook), prompting inferring meaning incidentally. Results show children succeed at learning the new words above chance in all three scenarios, with higher performance in eBook and mutual exclusivity than in cross-situational word learning. This illustrates children's astounding ability to learn while coping with uncertainty and varying degrees of ambiguity, which are common in real-world situations. Findings extend our understanding of how preschoolers learn new words more or less successfully depending on specific word learning scenarios, which should be taken into account when working on vocabulary development for school readiness in the preschool years.

A Study of the Theoretical Framework, Influencing Factors and Interventions for Social and Emotional Learning in Preschool Children

Social and emotional learning is one of the crucial areas of preschool children's subsequent learning and lifelong development. In this paper, we used the literature review method to study the SEL of preschool children from three aspects: theoretical basis, influencing factors and interventions. Specifically, the theoretical framework of SEL mainly divided into three types, namely the five-dimensional, the six-dimensional and the seven-dimensional theoretical framework, which provide theory for the concept and dimensions of SEL. Based on ecosystem theory, it is found that three main factors of individual (gender, age, personality traits), family (family background, parenting behavior, the quality of parent-child interaction) and school (teachers, peers) have impact on SEL. Combined with the influencing factors, this paper proposes the individual and group interventions as the main interventions on improving SEL. This paper provides theoretical foundation for the future research on SEL of preschool children.

Effects of face masks on novel word learning in preschool children

Face masks worn by talkers compromise the speech signal children use to learn language. There is debate, however, about which type of face mask will be more supportive of language learning in young children. Although clear masks provide more visual access to the talker’s face than surgical masks, they distort the speech signal more than surgical masks. Our goal is to better understand the effects of different face masks on word learning in preschool-age and kindergarten-age children. To achieve this goal, we are comparing children’s ability to learn novel words in conditions that vary on the spectral fidelity of speech and visual access to the talker’s face to simulate the effects of different mask types. Children’s performance is quantified by the number of words learned and the phonological precision of words learned. To date, twelve children have completed the protocol, and the study is ongoing. We will compare children’s word-learning across conditions and evaluate the influence of individual factors such as visual speech reading skills, verbal working memory, and vocabulary knowledge on children’s performance in the various conditions. These findings will have implications for supporting word learning in young children in educational and childcare settings when masks are used.

Exploring the Potential of Tangible and Multitouch Interfaces to Promote Learning Among Preschool Children

Studies have highlighted the possible advantages of tangible user interfaces (TUIs) over multitouch interfaces (MTIs) in preschool education; however, more objective evidence is required to establish the superiority of TUIs. In this article, we design a mathematical application called THE NUMBERS to compare preschool children's learning potential and employed the eye-tracking method to assess the cognitive differences between the TUI and MTI versions. The results demonstrate that the TUI version participants made more attempts in the task, which was a significant predictor of learning outcomes. Furthermore, using TUIs leads to lower cognitive load, increases attention on key areas, and provides higher entertainment value, which has long-term effects on promoting preschool children's learning. The results of the perception questionnaire show that the TUI version is easier to use, more interesting, and more motivating for them to learn mathematics than the MTI version is. On the other hand, the interview results show that 62.5% of students prefer to use the TUI version to learn mathematics. The results can provide educators with a deeper understanding of the mental characteristics involved in MTIs and TUIs to enable them to design educational applications that are more suitable for preschool children.

Scaffolding social and emotional learning in preschool children from low-income backgrounds: a study of teacher strategies during COVID-19

ABSTRACT This study investigated the pedagogical strategies implemented by preschool teachers to scaffold social and emotional learning (SEL) in socioeconomically disadvantaged children (ages 3-4) during the 2020–2021 school year amidst COVID-19 in the United States. The participants consisted of eight teachers (representing four teaching teams of one lead teacher and one teacher assistant) from four classrooms in one preschool. The teachers (ages 26–49 years, M = 39 years) had 1–20 years (M = 10 years) of teaching experience. Each teacher was interviewed individually for an average of 40 min virtually via Zoom. A thematic analysis of the data revealed that the four most prevalent strategies applied by the teachers to scaffold the children’s SEL were: (1) conducting daily feelings check-ins, (2) modeling social and emotional skills, (3) engaging children in book reading and discussion, and (4) involving children in developmentally appropriate physical activities. These teachers also reported that some children missed out on critical SEL due to their absenteeism.

Virtual reality and embodied learning for improving letter-sound knowledge and attentional control in preschool children: A study protocol

Previous studies have shown that many children struggle with the acquisition of literacy skills and that these problems can be observed since the earliest stages of literacy learning. Embodied learning has been highlighted as a way to enhance the acquisition of early literacy skills. In addition, the use of technologies has been suggested as way of improving attentional control and motivation, which ultimately can improve learning outcomes. However, the combination of Virtual Reality (VR) and embodied learning in preschool children is yet to be explored wherefore the idea to the VR PLAYMORE study emerged. The project is designed as a three-armed randomized controlled trial with 6-7-year-old children in the Copenhagen area of Denmark. Children will be allocated to either a: 1) VR group, 2) mirror group or 3) control group throughout a 2-week intervention period. The VR group and mirror group will perform activities designed with accordance to the embodied learning theory. However, the VR group will perform the activities while wearing VR headsets whereas the mirror group will perform the activities in front of a whole-body mirror without VR headsets. The control group will continue regular teaching activities without the research group interruption. This study protocol follows the SPIRIT guidelines. Outcome measurements will include testing of literacy skills and attentional control. The study will add new knowledge to the research field of embodied learning and the use of VR technology in a school setting with focus on reading- and spelling-related skills and attentional control since this combination is yet to be explored.

DISTANCE LEARNING FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN ON THE BASIS OF PARTNER PEDAGOGY DURING WARTIME

Based on scientific and pedagogical literature study, the article authors provide a terminological analysis of the pedagogical essence of the category ‘distance learning of preschool children.’ It is defined as a form of education during the war; its foundation should be based on partnership. The authors understand the essence of the category ‘distance learning of preschool children’ as an organization of partnership educational interaction in the distance of the educator from children and their parents (adults caring for children), which operates synchronously and/or asynchronously in modern educational, information and communication (digital) technologies.The positive and negative aspects of involving preschool children in distance learning are considered. It has been proved that preschoolers’ education should not be stopped during the conditions of wartime; educators, children, and their parents should interact as subjects of the educational process. The following modes of preschoolers’ distance learning are determined: synchronous and asynchronous ones, Modern online educational tools that can be used by both preschool children’s educators and parents are revealed.At the end of the second month of the war in Ukraine, a survey of 50 educators of preschool educational institutions in Poltava Regional Vocational School dealing with the issues of distance learning has been conducted. In most cases, adults are interested in continuing the education of preschoolers in the conditions of distance learning during wartime.Scientific and pedagogical research has prompted the authors to determine the factors of distance learning in preschool education on the basis of partner pedagogy during wartime. They are the following: the principles of partnership pedagogy; all subjects of preschool education orientation on the continuity of educational activities during wartime; preschool education subjects’ cultural and educational diversity; the level of preschool education subjects’ emotional intelligence and communicative competence formation; adults’ abilities to build new social connections, developed skills of adaptability to activities in different conditions and resilience; information reliability of educational services, social networks, online educational platforms; adults’ active assistance to children in educational activities during wartime; appropriate social and technical conditions of distance learning for preschoolers; the subjects’ digital literacy in the educational process; taking into account the wartime features (limited time (curfew), situations of imminent danger (military action, air alarms, the need to be in shelters), etc.).

Explicit Word Learning in Preschoolers From Families With High or Low Maternal Education

The purpose of the study was to examine word learning in preschool children from families who differed in socioeconomic status (SES). Preschool children ( N = 58) were assigned to SES groups based on maternal education and completed a dynamic assessment of explicit word learning 2 times. At the first administration, no SES-group differences were observed. At the second administration, children from high-SES homes had significantly higher scores than children from low-SES homes on the production probe with a large effect size ( d = 1.01). Descriptively, children in both groups responded more frequently at more difficult prompting levels at the second session, but children in the low-SES group had more incorrect responses than children in the high-SES group. Additional research using sensitive measures of word-learning proficiency is necessary to better understand the way in which SES and early language experiences are related to word learning in young children.

Association between children’s temperament and learning behaviors: contribution of relationships with parents and teachers

The present study is an investigation of the contributions of child temperament (persistence and reactivity), parent-child (closeness and conflict), and teacher-child relationship (closeness and conflict), to pre-school children's learning behaviours with a focus on the moderating role of these relationships between child temperament and learning behaviours. Participants were 140 children (59 girls) aged 39 to 77 months (M = 62.57, SD = 8.53). Child temperament and parent-child relationships were reported by parents. Teacher-child relationships and learning behaviours were reported by teachers. Results from regression analyses accounting for the nesting structure of the data showed that reactivity, parent-child conflict, and teacher-child conflict were negatively, and persistence and teacher-child closeness were positively related to children’s learning behaviours. In addition, when the parent-child conflict was at average or high levels, children with higher reactivity displayed lower levels of learning behaviours. The findings highlight that both temperament and relationships with parents and teachers are important for children’s learning behaviours.

Back to School in the Pandemic: Observations of the Influences of Prevention Measures on Relationships, Autonomy, and Learning of Preschool Children

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact on societies, economies, and education. In Spain, one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 in the initial year, the virus began to spread at the end of February 2020. When the Spanish government declared a state of emergency, the first restrictive measure was the closure of all educational centers on the 14th of March. All schools and universities were closed until September 2020, when students returned to classes with preventative health measures in place to prevent the spread of the virus. Methods: This study focuses on the observation of children in pre-school education. Specifically, it focuses on studying how preventative health measures that were taken in the pre-schools may have influenced children’s social relationships, basic autonomy, and learning. We used a mixed method in which field notes were taken and observational scores were assigned. Results: The following prevention measures appear to have influenced children’s relationships, autonomy, and learning: bubble groups, handwashing, teachers wearing masks, divided playgrounds so different classes cannot mix, and no toys from home or shared personal objects. Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that new health measures such as the use of masks and social distancing do appear to be affecting the communication and development of pre-school children. Continued research is needed to understand and minimize the potential negative impacts of pandemic measures on children’s development.

Nap effects on preschool children's learning of letter-sound mappings.

This study explored whether a daytime nap aids children's acquisition of letter‐sound knowledge, which is a fundamental component for learning to read. Thirty‐two preschool children in Sydney, Australia (M age = 4 years;3 months) were taught letter‐sound mappings in two sessions: one followed by a nap and the other by a wakeful period. Learning was assessed by explicit letter‐sound mappings (“Which sound does this letter make?”) and knowledge generalization tasks (“Here's Tav and Cav, which one is /kav/?”). Results from the knowledge generalization task showed better performance after a nap than after wake. However, no nap benefit was found for explicit letter‐sound knowledge. This study provides initial evidence that naps could be beneficial for preschool children's learning of letter‐sound mappings.

Picture Dictionary Augmented Reality based for Pre-School Children's Learning

The use of technology in education has shown that technology can increase motivation in learning. This study will highlight the Augmented Reality Application For Picture Dictionary For Pre-School Children’s Learning. The objective of this study is to design application features that can make children interested in knowing the content found in the picture dictionary and test the usability and functionality of applications that children can use. This research was conducted using the ADDIE design model based on five phases namely analysis phase, design phase, development phase, implementation phase and testing phase. These five phases are described in detail in the methodology component of the study. This study was analyzed through a descriptive study which is a type of quantitative study involving 20 children. Children’s acceptance of the developed Augmented Reality (AR) application was assessed by answering a questionnaire with the help of a teacher. The results show that the developed AR applications work well and can attract children to learn.

The Role of Multimedia in Concept Learning from the Parents’ Perspective

During the period of the pandemic in particular, children who are not able to leave their homes have been spending more time using multimedia devices. This research was carried out in order to determine the role of multimedia in preschool children's concept learning, as expressed by their parents. For this purpose, the research was designed qualitatively, and the case study model was used. The study's working group consisted of 21 parents living in seven different geographical regions of Turkey. The parents were determined using the maximum variation sampling method. A semi-structured interview form was used as a data collection tool in the research. The content analysis technique was used to analyze the data obtained in the research. As a result of the research, it was determined that the multimedia devices that children spent most time on were televisions, smartphones and tablets. Children preferred to use multimedia mostly for fun and games. The vast majority of parents thought that adult supervision was needed when children spent time using multimedia devices. In the research, the benefit of multimedia use that the parents most emphasized was concept learning. According to the parents, their children learned many basic concepts through accessing multimedia content. Parents also expressed their opinion that the multimedia content and apps contributing most to the children's concept learning were animated cartoons, YouTube and digital games. As a result of the research, it can be said that technological devices that offer children multimedia content positively affect children’s learning of basic concepts.

Text to talk: Effects of a home-school vocabulary texting intervention on prekindergarten vocabulary

This paper presents the results of an intervention study focused on understanding how a 5-month, vocabulary-focused texting program called Text to Talk can enhance home-school connections concerning vocabulary and preschool children's language learning. Classrooms (49) were randomly assigned to intervention or control status in an urban preschool program in the eastern United States. Intervention teachers delivered Text to Talk, a curriculum-aligned program that provides weekly texts for teachers to send to families that include vocabulary words and related activities from books being read in the classroom. Children's target word knowledge and receptive language skills (PPVT) were measured at baseline and follow-up, with treatment effects on target word knowledge (d = 0.17). Treatment families reported much higher use of texting as a source of communication with teachers, but otherwise rates of home-school communication in person, phone, and with paper were unchanged; family self-report of general home learning activities was also unaffected by treatment status. Implementation analysis showed moderate to high fidelity among teachers and families, with greater family fidelity associated with larger treatment impacts. The findings suggest that a family-focused texting-based program, aligned with the school curriculum, leads to improved taught-word knowledge among children from under-resourced communities.

Konzeptualisierung und Messung der Qualität der adaptiven Lernunterstützung in Lernsituationen mit mathematischen Regelspielen im Kindergarten. Eine Studie in Deutschland und der Schweiz

ZusammenfassungDie Qualität der adaptiven Lernunterstützung ist wichtig für die Förderung des mathematischen Lernens von Kindergartenkindern. Entsprechend bedarf es geeigneter Instrumente zur Bewertung der Planung, Durchführung und Reflexion von mathematischen Lernangeboten im Kindergarten. Bestehende Instrumente berücksichtigen vor allem die mikro-adaptive (mathematische) Lernunterstützung, die den Fokus auf die Interaktion zwischen der Fachkraft und den Kindern legt. Die Qualität der makro-adaptiven (mathematischen) Lernunterstützung (Planung und Reflexion von Lernsituationen) wurde im Kindergarten bis jetzt noch nicht umfassend untersucht. Sie gewinnt jedoch im Hinblick auf die zunehmende Bedeutung von Bildungsplänen im Kindergarten und der damit verbundenen Förderung von fachbezogenen Kompetenzen an Bedeutung.Im Artikel wird erstens die Qualität von (mathematischer) Lernunterstützung in Regelspielsituationen im Kindergarten konzeptualisiert. Dabei wird die Qualität der makro-adaptiven von der mikro-adaptiven Lernunterstützung unterschieden. Letztere wird getrennt in fachunabhängige Unterstützungsqualität (Gruppenmanagement, emotionale Wärme) und in instruktionale, mathematikbezogene Unterstützungsqualität (Lernanregung, Verwendung Fachsprache). Zweitens wird ein Messinstrument (Rating) zur Analyse der Qualität der Lernunterstützung in mathematischen Lernsituationen vorgestellt. Dieses wurde zur Analyse von videografierten Regelspielsituationen und anschließenden Leitfadeninterviews von 145 pädagogischen Fachkräften aus Deutschland und der Schweiz eingesetzt. Pro Fachkraft standen zwei Videosequenzen und zwei Interviews zur Verfügung. Auf der Basis dieser Daten wird das Messinstrument hinsichtlich verschiedener Gütekriterien sowie des Einflusses der Ausbildung der Fachkräfte (akademisch, nicht akademisch) und des Bildungskontextes (Deutschland, Schweiz) analysiert. Die theoretisch angenommene Unterscheidung von Gruppenmanagement, emotionaler Wärme und instruktionaler Unterstützungsqualität lässt sich durch eine konfirmatorische Faktorenanalyse stützen. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen die Bedeutung des Einbezugs von Planung und Reflexion als Dimensionen von adaptiver Lernunterstützungsqualität.

Basic Model of Arabic Speaking for Preschool Children (Q-Nutqi)

The Arabic language is the most important language in Malaysian education because of its connection with the Quranic language. This study is about the development of a basic model for improving the speaking skills of preschool children (Q-Nutqi). Q stands for Qur’an, Nutqi means to speak. The objectives of this study were to identify the basic needs in Arabic speaking skills of preschool children, then design and develop a model through the implementation of Arabic speaking modules of Quranic communication, finally, evaluate the effectiveness of this model. This study will be conducted using the ADDIE model. The analysis phase will identify the need for a basic model in speaking through the method of interviewing several Islamic preschool teachers in Selangor. Then, the model design phase to find out the learning objectives and determine the learning and teaching methods (L&T) using the Q-Nutqi model. The model development phase involves 12 experts in Arabic, early childhood education, and industry to evaluate the design of the model produced for improvement. The implementation phase of the Q-Nutqi speaking model through training modules for preschool teachers to use the model. The final phase is the evaluation phase to find out the impact and effectiveness of the model on preschool children. Through this study, the research team hopes to be able to develop a model that fits the basic needs of Arabic language learning of preschool children and be able to improve the existing weaknesses in the preschool education system.

Sing it or speak it?: the effects of sung and rhythmically spoken songs on preschool children's word learning

Vocabulary knowledge in the primary grades predicts later reading comprehension and academic success. For young children, low initial knowledge about academically-valued words at school entry can serve as a barrier to accessing text and sustaining reading achievement in school. Many studies focus on direct vocabulary instruction and shared book reading as the primary context for fostering preschool children's word learning, but few explore songs as a context for building minoritized preschool children's knowledge about words. Using a within-subject design, we investigated children's word learning from songs. Words were taught with picture cards-only, a song that was sung with a melody, and a song that was rhythmically spoken with no melody. Vocabulary knowledge was measured using a receptive task and a productive definitional task that assessed children's depth of word knowledge. We found that on the receptive measure, children's word learning did not vary across picture card-only instruction and instruction with sung and rhythmically spoken songs. However, both types of songs led to significantly greater gains in children's depth of word knowledge compared to words taught with picture cards-only. The findings of this study contribute to an understanding of whether songs, and specific features of songs, affect preschool children's word learning.