Teacher-directed Activities Research Articles

How constructivism influences pre-service teachers’ beliefs and practices and child self-regulation

ABSTRACT Project Construct is a learner-centered constructivist framework that emphasizes positive teacher-student relationships, autonomy, and child-led experiences. Constructivist pedagogy promote cognitive, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Yet, novice teachers struggle to grasp constructivist teaching practices and tend to emphasize teacher-directed activities. The present study investigated whether the opportunity to learn and apply constructivist teaching approaches in an elementary school setting would affect education students’ understanding of constructivism and children’s self-regulation. Eight education students participated in a 4-week summer undergraduate class in a public-school setting. Students’ understanding of constructivist principles was assessed through a 30-statement questionnaire. Kindergarten classrooms were randomly assigned to either the Project Construct classroom where Education students participated in or the control classroom. Children’s self-regulation skills were assessed through the Head Toes Knees and Shoulders (HTKS) Task before and after the 4-week class. Results revealed that Education students’ knowledge of principles of constructivism grew significantly from the beginning to the end of this semester. Children’s performance on the HTKS grew significantly in the Project Construct and control classrooms, although there were no significant differences between the Project Construct and control classroom. These findings have implications for teacher education and how constructivist pedagogy can affect child self-regulation.

Examining the Differentiated Impacts of Balanced Literacy: An Analysis of Reading Comprehension Skills

For years, educational practitioners and decision-makers have encouraged teachers to implement a balanced literacy approach in class. However, the effects of balanced literacy on the reading comprehension of students from different backgrounds have not been carefully examined in the current literature. Using the large data sets from the 2016 International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), this study examines the effects of balanced literacy on the performance in getting direct information and interpreting skills of native-English speakers and English Language Learners (ELLs). This study indicates that teacher-directed activities benefited 4th-grade native-English speakers and ELLs’ reading outcomes in getting direct information and interpreting skills. However, the other components of balanced literacy, including student-centered instructions and independent learning activities, could not contribute to 4th-grade students’ reading performance in getting direct information and interpreting skills.

Balancing child-centred with teacher-directed approaches to early education: Incorporating young children’s perspectives

ABSTRACT Child-centred and teacher-directed curricula have long been presented as mutually exclusive approaches to early education. Interestingly, recent research suggests a ‘balance’ of the two yields the best child outcomes, yet how this balance is struck varies considerably across contexts and even studies. In this paper, we use the writings of Russian cultural-historical scholars to examine the orientations of adult and child perspectives. We propose a unifying theoretical model to describe the hypothetical extremities of child-centred and teacher-directed activities as a way that educational leaders may chart children’s activities across this spectrum. Given the moral imperative to provide balance, the model is proposed as a way to approximate it across the child’s day. We also offer two central classroom techniques as pedagogical moves to redress the tension between child-centred and teacher-directed approaches and ensure the morally imperative inclusion of children’s perspectives.

Examining variation in the quality of instructional interaction across teacher-directed activities in head start classrooms

High-quality instructional interaction, in which teachers engage children in conversations that support the development of higher order thinking skills, conceptual understanding, and advanced language skills, is associated with positive outcomes for preschool children. Classrooms serving low-income preschoolers tend to have lower levels of this kind of instruction and yet research suggests that it may be particularly important for these children. The aim of this study was to examine variation in the quality of instructional interactions in Head Start classrooms across different types of teacher-directed activities. Twenty-four Head Start classrooms were observed across four activity types (circle time, math activities, science activities, and storybook reading), and quality of instructional interaction was assessed using the Instructional Support domain of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Science activities and storybook reading were associated with higher quality instructional interaction compared with circle time, controlling for teacher characteristics and classroom contextual factors. Math activities were not associated with higher quality instructional interaction compared with circle time. Science and storybook reading may be natural entry points for supporting higher quality instructional interaction in Head Start classrooms.

Typically Developing Preschoolers’ Behavior Toward Peers With Disabilities in Inclusive Classroom Contexts

This study aimed to investigate typically developing preschoolers’ behavior toward peers with disabilities in inclusive classrooms, focusing on the co-occurrence of the interactions between children with and without disabilities with various classroom contexts. Behaviors of 22 typically developing preschoolers were observed and coded on two different days in both indoor and outdoor classrooms during free play, small group activities, transitions, and meals/snack. Typically developing children interacted with peers with disabilities for a small amount of time; the interactions were significantly more likely in the outdoor classroom, in either child- or teacher-directed activities, and in play activities. There was a lack of adults’ intentional scaffolding for social interactions between children with and without disabilities even when they were near the children. Activity contexts contribute to children’s social behavior, and teachers need more support and training with inclusive and collaborative practices.

Head Start Classroom Features and Language and Literacy Growth among Children with Diverse Language Backgrounds

ABSTRACTResearch Findings: Using a nationally representative sample of Head Start recipients, this study compared Head Start classroom contexts and English language and literacy skill trajectories for Spanish-speaking dual-language learners (DLLs) and English speakers from preschool through kindergarten. It also examined whether Head Start classroom characteristics were differentially associated with skill development across groups, both concurrently in Head Start and longitudinally in kindergarten. Results indicated that classroom characteristics tended to be similarly associated with skills across language subgroups. Regardless of language status, children whose classrooms were instructionally supportive and not overly managed tended to have higher language and/or literacy skills in Head Start. Children whose Head Start classrooms had higher Emotional Support and were not overly managed had higher kindergarten language skills. Child-initiated activities were associated with higher language skills, whereas teacher-directed activities were related to higher literacy skills. DLLs benefited more from Emotional Support and child-initiated activities in some skills. Practice or Policy: If replicated, findings have practical implications for Head Start professional development and classroom practices. Specifically, teacher professional development might focus more intensively on improving Emotional and Instructional Support, and teachers and program administrators might consider allocating more time to child-initiated and teacher-directed activities to build specific skills.

Do teachers' instructional practices change when more students are absent?

Out of all years of elementary school, absenteeism is highest in kindergarten. Prior work has focused on the effects that these absences have on kindergartners and their classmates, yet there is a lack of understanding how absences might affect teaching. This study begins to close this gap by asking whether kindergarten teachers with more frequently-absent students teach differently than teachers with less-absent students. Using a nationally representative dataset of kindergarten teachers, we find that when more students are absent, teachers use different instructional structures, with more of a focus on teacher-directed activities. However, neither the dosage nor rigor of academic instruction differed. Finally, there was no evidence of heterogeneity for our sample of teachers, suggesting that these results are more generalizable. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Support for the Development and Use of the Child Observation of Mindfulness Measure (C-OMM)

We describe the Child Observation of Mindfulness Measure (C-OMM), a new instrument designed to assess young children’s outward expressions of self-regulated attention and orientation to experience. Twenty-three 3- to 4-year-old children were assessed using the C-OMM. Using Generalizability theory, differentiated variances were examined across three settings (free play, teacher-directed activities, and meals), five dimensions (three for self-regulated attention and two for orientation to experience), and two components (summary scores for self-regulated attention and orientation to experience). A follow-up decision study was conducted to identify the number of raters needed and the number of observations per child required to achieve acceptable reliability. Results from the generalizability study indicate that the use of the C-OMM was moderately reliable (ϕ = .79 and .86, for self-regulated attention and orientation to experience, respectively) during teacher-directed activities only. The decision study indicated that future uses of the C-OMM require either a greater number of raters or a greater number of observations for acceptable reliability. The C-OMM represents a more appropriate instrument for trained observers to assess children’s mindfulness related behaviors in certain educational settings given the limitations inherent to young children’s capacity to accurately self-report. Furthermore, as an observational measure of children’s mindfulness behaviors, the C-OMM might be more sensitive to multiple observations that therefore lends to the measurement of ongoing development over time.

Profiles of classroom activity settings associated with Head Start children's receptive vocabulary

Using a series of data from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), nationally representative datasets of Head Start classrooms and children collected in the 2000s, we explored (1) classroom profiles of the proportion of time spent in four types of activity settings in Head Start classrooms, (2) differences in teacher and classroom characteristics among the profiles, and (3) how the profiles were associated with children's end-of-year academic outcomes. Latent Profile Analyses indicated three classroom profiles: High Child Selected (HCS), High Whole Group, and Small Group/Balanced. Teachers in HCS had the least developmentally inappropriate beliefs, and children in HCS classrooms showed the highest receptive vocabulary skills at the end of the school year; no differences among profiles in literacy and math skills were found. Findings suggest that more time spent in child-selected activities, relative to teacher-directed activities, has the potential to benefit vocabulary development without hampering literacy or math development.

Change Process of Two Postsecondary Teachers in the Early Adoption of an Active Learning Classroom

There is a growing interest for specialized classrooms, termed active learning classrooms (ALC), which are designed to facilitate the use of active learning methods and information and communication technologies (ICT) by students. Thanks to pioneering studies such as SCALE-UP, there is a better understanding of the benefits of these classrooms and the pedagogy taking place in them. Teachers accustomed to traditional classes have to change many aspects of their pedagogy in order to reap the benefits of the ALCs, however. The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of the adoption process of an ALC by teachers and how its adoption modify teaching preferences and practices. Relying on an in-depth case study methodology founded on interviews and questionnaires about the adoption of innovations (CBAM), Approaches to Teaching Inventory, technopedagogical competencies and collaborative, competitive or individual teaching preferences, this article describes the cases of two teachers who used an ALC over a three-semester period. The results show that the teachers develop their courses quickly, with an emphasis on the active learning aspects of their pedagogy rather than on ICT integration, and that there are a lot of personal and management concerns. When the pedagogical changes are stabilized, the teachers retained their personal concerns about the innovation and were highly motivated to collaborate with other ALC users. Finally, apparently minor increases in student-centred teaching approaches result in significant pedagogical changes when they are studied qualitatively. These changes did not lead to a reduction in teacher-centred teaching approaches, suggesting that a significant portion of teacher-directed activities remain.

Individual children's interactions with teachers, peers, and tasks: The applicability of the inCLASS Pre-K in Danish preschools

Social competence in a preschool setting, defined as children's success in interacting with peers and teachers, and showing adaptive classroom and task-related behavior, has shown to be predictive of subsequent positive social-emotional, academic, and school outcomes. Social competence is partly viewed as an individual skill, but is also shaped by the environmental and cultural context, resulting from the classroom experiences, activities, and interactions that are provided to children. Evaluating children's social competence as expressed in day-to-day contexts requires an appropriate tool that takes into account the interactional nature of this behavior. The inCLASS Pre-K is such an observational tool, developed in the United States (U.S.) that assesses individual children's classroom interactions with peers, teachers and tasks. The aims of the current study are threefold: i) to investigate the applicability of the inCLASS Pre-K in Danish preschools constituting a different cultural context, ii) to assess children's broad social competence by looking at their interactions with peers, teachers and tasks, iii) to study the extent to which the inCLASS Pre-K is capturing individual differences in children, depending on their age, gender and language background. A total of 184 children of 81 classrooms were observed on two occasions. The results supported the applicability of the inCLASS Pre-K in Denmark by confirming the four-factor structure reported in previous studies, and in line with previous work revealing small to moderate stability both within one day and across two observation days, and good inter-rater reliability. Danish children showed a higher quality of interactions with peers and lower quality interactions with the teacher as compared to results from the U.S. and Germany. The findings revealed only few individual differences between children in which boys had more conflict interactions than girls. In addition, older children scored lower on peer interactions and task orientation and higher on conflict interactions compared to younger children, although these associations decreased or disappeared when controlling for the mean age of children in the classroom. Interestingly, individual children's interactions with the teacher, peers, and materials showed moderate classroom level variance, which might in part explain the lack of stronger individual differences. Altogether, this supports the notion that children's social competence in the classroom is at least in part a situated skill that is shaped by the environment and cultural context. Contrary to the U.S., which seems to more strongly reflect a dyadic model of teacher-child interactions in teacher-directed (learning) activities, the findings from Denmark illustrate a model of preschool education with a stronger emphasis on free play and social peer interactions. Overall, the findings from this study support the applicability of the inCLASS Pre-K in Denmark and enhance our understanding on what classroom quality looks like from an individual child's perspective and, as such, is informative in improving educational practices.

‘Show me your mad faces!’ preschool teachers’ emotion talk in the classroom

ABSTRACTEmotion talk plays an important role in the social and emotional development of preschoolers, but not much work has shown how teachers talk about emotions in the classroom. We recorded preschool teachers’ (N = 13) emotion talk in naturalistic observations. Teachers expressed 633 emotion-related utterances, about 3 per hour (range fewer than 1 to 11 per hour). Most utterances were comments, guides, or questions about emotions and referenced negative emotions. Explaining and questioning occurred during teacher-directed activities and when children were compliant in activities. Socializations and guides were common during child free play and when children acted aggressively. Findings suggest that teachers use both higher- and lower level emotion talk and that children’s behaviours may present opportunities to explain or directly instruct the expression of emotion. Overall emotion talk was infrequent and further research should consider ways to help teachers to capitalize on opportunities to introduce emotion talk in their classroom.

Teacher–Child Interactions in Free Choice and Teacher-Directed Activity Settings: Prediction to School Readiness

ABSTRACT Research Findings This article examines whether time spent in free choice and teacher-directed activity settings within preschool was associated with indicators of school readiness and the extent to which children’s learning was associated with the quality of teachers’ behavior within these settings. Participants were 325 preschool teachers and 1,407 children from low-income backgrounds. Teacher–child interactions were measured in multiple cycles across 1 day of classroom observation within teacher-organized free choice and teacher-directed activity settings. The overall proportion of class time spent in free choice was positively related to children’s average gains in inhibitory control, whereas class time spent in teacher-directed activities predicted gains in language development and early literacy skills. And more effective teacher–child interactions within the free choice setting were significantly related to children’s average gains in language development and early literacy skills. Practice or Policy: Findings confirm that both free choice and teacher-directed settings in early education classrooms can be assets for children’s learning; however, the value of time in child-managed activities is partially dependent on teachers’ behavior with children.

Differences in Kindergartners’ Participation and Regulation Strategies Across Time and Instructional Contexts

ABSTRACTThis study addressed questions about the function of children’s various participation and regulation strategies in different instructional contexts and at different points in time in school. The developmental trajectories of kindergartners’ academic participation and regulation strategy selection and use across the school year in teacher-directed and child-centered instructional contexts were investigated. Sixty-eight children participated in the study. To assess academic participation and regulation strategies, the children were observed in their kindergarten classrooms during teacher-led and child-directed activities on four occasions throughout the school year. At the start of kindergarten, the young children participated more frequently during teacher-directed activity than during student-centered activity; however, the children used deeper-level participation strategies and regulated more frequently in student-centered activities than in teacher-directed activities. Additionally, there were unique trajectories of change in the children’s profiles of participation and regulation strategy use over the school year, in general as well as within and across instructional contexts. The study findings also indicate that early participation and regulation strategies may differentially influence future patterns of participation and regulation.

School perspectives on bullying and preventative strategies: An exploratory study

Despite the continual rise in research into school bullying worldwide, comparatively little has been reported on actions that have been taken by schools to counter the problem. This article reports on a small-scale, exploratory study that was designed to provide an account of strategies that were being undertaken in 25 Australian government schools catering for mainstream students. It examines the reported use of both proactive and reactive strategies, and their frequency and perceived effectiveness. It reveals a wide diversity of practices. Strengths and limitations of teacher-directed activities are described, comparisons are made with anti-bullying strategies employed outside Australia, and suggestions are made to enhance the effectiveness of anti-bullying practices.

An investigation of the stability and variability in young children's self-regulated learning behaviors in kindergarten

ABSTRACTThe authors examined the relative stability and variability of self-regulated learning (SRL) in kindergartners across various contexts (teacher-directed activities, small-group work, and independent work). They assessed the role of temperament and context on children's use of SRL while seeking to identify if there are optimal contexts for promoting SRL in particular children. The results revealed that although temperament was not related to SRL, children's regulation strategy usage was heavily dependent on context, contradicting the idea that children are either high or low self-regulators. The relative stability of SRL varied by child, with some children showing more sensitivity to context than did others. Optimal contexts for eliciting SRL also differed by children, with some children exhibiting elevated regulation during small-group activities and others during teacher-directed activities.

The myplace4u Platform Project: A Tool for Place Branding and the Promotion of Literature

An expansion of the eZoomBook (eZB) platform, the ‘myplace4u’ project was designed for place branding and the promotion of literature by linking texts to places—geographical, historical, and touristic places visited physically or imaginatively. The platform allows contributors to collaboratively create and share multi-level books called “eZoomBooks” or digital enriched versions of the original version, organized according to tabs linked to place names in the original. A zooming function enables readers of the eZoomBooks on the platform to navigate freely between the original and enriched versions. Teacher-directed collaboration activities expand the applications of the eZB platform and myplace4u extension.

A Qualitative Investigation of Australian Youth Perceptions to Enhance School Physical Activity: The Environmental Perceptions Investigation of Children's Physical Activity (EPIC-PA) Study.

There is more demand than ever for schools to equip children with the necessary skills to be physically active. The purpose of the Environmental Perceptions Investigation of Children's Physical Activity (EPIC-PA) study was to investigate elementary and secondary school children's perceptions to enhance the school physical activity environment. Four Australian government schools (2 elementary and 2 secondary) were recruited for the EPIC-PA study. During the study, 78 children were recruited aged 10 to 13 years. The focus group discussions consisted of 54 children (32 elementary and 22 secondary) and the map drawing sessions included 24 children (17 elementary and 7 secondary). The findings from the EPIC-PA study revealed insight into uniquely desired features to encourage physical activity such as adventure physical activity facilities (eg, rock climbing walls), recreational physical activity facilities (eg, jumping pillows), physical activity excursions, animal activity programs and teacher-directed activities. In addition to specific features, childrens revealed a host of policies for equipment borrowing, access to sports equipment/areas, music during physical activity time and external physical education lessons. Understanding the multiple suggestions from children of features to enhance physical activity can be used by schools and researchers to create environments conducive to physical activity participation.

The Greek–Cypriot early childhood educational reform: introducing play as a participatory learning process and as children's right

This paper provides a brief description of the Greek–Cypriot early childhood education system and focuses on the current education reform. We focus on one of the main changes of the reform, a new status for play within the daily educational programme. The goal of this paper is two-fold; first to portray play in the former and current proposed curricula though document analysis and second to provide examples of the current practices through non-participant observations and interviews with children, teachers and principals, concerning the role of play and describe how these have been traditionalised. Findings show the different perspectives on play and support the need for the reconceptualisation of play, since free activities are basically organised around structured and teacher-directed activities. The paper provides a stance on play which allows children to be social agents, supports socio-cultural processes of learning and encourages participation in meaningful play activities.

Transforming Early Childhood Education through Critical Reflection

There is tension growing in early childhood education between an emphasis on higher learning standards, teacher-directed activities, and evidence-based instructional methods and maintaining active, dynamic and integrated learning experiences for young children. This short essay highlights the ways in which our existing values and beliefs, theories, and epistemologies about early childhood education can be transformed using a critical lens.