Thinking In Early Childhood Research Articles

Utilization of Corn Waste: A Learning Media Based on Madurese Local Wisdom to Stimulate Children's Symbolic Thinking

The utilization of corn waste in education, particularly in early childhood education, offers various benefits, including the development of learning media. This study aims to analyze the use of corn waste in stimulating symbolic thinking skills in children aged 5-6 years. The research employs a qualitative method with a case study approach. The subjects include children from group B and educators at TK Muslimat NU Siti Fatimah Bangkalan. Data collection techniques encompass passive participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation. Data analysis follows the model developed by Miles and Huberman. The results indicate that symbolic thinking skills can be stimulated using magazines, posters, and educational toys. Additionally, corn waste media also stimulate children's symbolic thinking skills by utilizing corn kernels, husks, and cobs. This study provides an alternative child-friendly medium by leveraging natural resources such as corn to stimulate symbolic thinking in early childhood. Therefore, this research aids educators in developing affordable and environmentally friendly learning media. The use of corn waste not only offers a creative solution in learning but also supports environmental conservation efforts through the use of readily available natural materials. Using corn kernels, husks, and cobs as learning media demonstrates that materials often considered waste can have significant value in the educational context. Consequently, it is crucial for educators to continuously seek and develop innovative and sustainable learning media, harnessing the potential of local resources available in their surroundings.

Perkembangan Berpikir Kritis pada Anak Usia Dini (Tinjauan Filsafat Ilmu dalam Pendidikan Awal)

This research explores the development of critical thinking in early childhood (0-6 years) through a philosophy of science approach. This research discusses children's critical thinking skills, including questioning, viewpoint formation, rationality, information seeking, and analysis. This research uses the literature review method, namely data obtained through literature from journals, articles, and book references to form a solid foundation with the analysis techniques carried out, namely data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The results of this study on the ontological, epistemological, and axiological aspects contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of philosophy of science in shaping children's critical thinking from an early age.

Impact of Biophilic Design on Supporting Metacognitive Thinking in Early Childhood in Childcare Centers

It is widely known how modern life from activities, games, and technologies has consumed children’s lives and attention, distracting them from the natural environment and its benefits. Moreover, although childcare centers are nowadays considered one of the primary environments where children spend most of their time, a child-nature connection is not much considered in their designs, giving more attention to technologies and artificial life. Environmental psychology theories declare that children are greatly affected by the surrounding physical environments, emphasizing nature as the richest environment that can feed their cognition and enhance their thinking skills, creativity, and development. A wealth of research studied the effect of nature-connected environments through biophilic design on children’s physical and psychological developmental aspects (226,975 articles since 2000). However, less concern is given to the cognitive development aspect (only 18.75% of the total), with a gap in terms of metacognition as a kind of high-order thinking. Metacognition enhances children's behavior and high-order thinking skills such as reflective thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. Hence, this paper aims to investigate the role of biophilic design in supporting metacognition in young children by conducting a multidisciplinary study that addresses the four theories Biophilic, Attention Restoration, Froebel’s theory, and Metacognition. The aim of this paper was achieved, firstly, by conducting a structured literature review in a multidisciplinary approach in Architectural, Environmental Psychology, Educational, and Cognitive Psychology fields using academic databases such as Elsevier, Scopus, Research Gate, and Academia. Secondly, analyzing the gathered data and the interrelations between the previously mentioned four selected theories. This paper’s findings show three conclusions; firstly, a restorative environment supports metacognition by stimulating reflective thinking and developing skills. Secondly, biophilic design’s attributes fulfill the factors for creating a restorative environment. Thirdly, specific metacognitive skills are supported by certain biophilic attributes. This paper revisits the design criteria for childcare centers providing a framework and a guideline abstracted from the biophilic approach for supporting children’s development and metacognition.

Harnessing technology to measure individual differences in spatial thinking in early childhood from a relational developmental systems perspective.

According to the Relational Developmental Systems perspective, the development of individual differences in spatial thinking (e.g., mental rotation, spatial reorientation, and spatial language) are attributed to various psychological (e.g., children's cognitive strategies), biological (e.g., structure and function of hippocampus), and cultural systems (e.g., caregiver spatial language input). Yet, measuring the development of individual differences in spatial thinking in young children, as well as the psychological, biological, and cultural systems that influence the development of these abilities, presents unique challenges. The current paper outlines ways to harness available technology including eye-tracking, eye-blink conditioning, MRI, Zoom, and LENA technology, to study the development of individual differences in young children's spatial thinking. The technologies discussed offer ways to examine children's spatial thinking development from different levels of analyses (i.e., psychological, biological, cultural), thereby allowing us to advance the study of developmental theory. We conclude with a discussion of the use of artificial intelligence.

Bibliometric Analysis of Studies Focusing on Critical Thinking in Early Childhood

This study aimed to examine studies on critical thinking in early childhood through bibliometric analysis. In the research, 251 studies on the concept of "critical thinking" were selected according to the inclusion criteria and analyzed with the VOS-viewer program. In the study, co-author, co-reference, co-citation and co-word analysis of the studies on the concept of "critical thinking" was carried out according to the distribution of the ten most cited authors and publications, years, published sources and countries. According to the results of bibliometric analysis on critical thinking, it was concluded that the birthplace of the subject and the most productive country is the USA. According to the co-author analysis, it was concluded that Daniel and Gagnon were the authors who contributed the most to the subject, Lipman and Kuhn according to the result of co-citation analysis, and Dovigo and Karadağ according to the result of co-citation analysis. In addition, according to co-word analysis, the most recurring keywords in the studies were critical thinking, early childhood education, creativity, early childhood, cognitive development, teacher training, preschool. As a result of the research, it was concluded that the number of studies on critical thinking in early childhood is low and there should be an increase in studies with children as the sample.

Unleashing Young Minds: Fostering Scientific Thinking in Early Childhood (Ages 5-9) through Experiential Learning in Kids Science Labs (STEM): Evaluation and Assessment

Scientific thinking, characterized by purposeful knowledge-seeking and the harmonization of theory and facts, holds a crucial role in preparing young minds for an increasingly complex and technologically advanced world. This paper presents a research study aimed at fostering scientific thinking in early childhood, focusing on children aged 5 to 9 years, through experiential learning in Kids Science Labs (STEM). The study utilized a longitudinal exploration design, spanning 240 weeks from September 2018 to April 2023, to evaluate the effectiveness of the Kids Science Labs program in developing scientific thinking skills. Participants in the research comprised 72 children drawn from local schools and community organizations. Through a formative psychology-pedagogical experiment, the experimental group engaged in weekly STEM activities carefully designed to stimulate scientific thinking, while the control group participated in daily art classes for comparison. To assess the scientific thinking abilities of the participants, a registration table with evaluation criteria was developed. This table included indicators such as depth of questioning, resource utilization in research, logical reasoning in hypotheses, procedural accuracy in experiments, and reflection on research processes. The data analysis revealed dynamic fluctuations in the number of children at different levels of scientific thinking proficiency. While the development was not uniform across all participants, a main leading factor emerged, indicating that the Kids Science Labs program and formative experiment exerted a positive impact on enhancing scientific thinking skills in children within this age range. The study's findings support the hypothesis that systematic implementation of STEM activities effectively promotes and nurtures scientific thinking in children aged 5-9 years. Enriching education with a specially planned STEM program, tailoring scientific activities to children's psychological development, and implementing well-planned diagnostic and corrective measures emerged as essential pedagogical conditions for enhancing scientific thinking abilities in this age group. The results highlight the significant and positive impact of the systematic-activity approach in developing scientific thinking, leading to notable progress and growth in children's scientific thinking abilities over time. These findings have promising implications for educators and researchers, emphasizing the importance of incorporating STEM activities into educational curricula to foster scientific thinking from an early age. This study contributes valuable insights to the field of science education and underscores the potential of STEM-based interventions in shaping the future scientific minds of young children.

STRATEGI GURU DALAM MEMOTIVASI BERPIKIR KRITIS PADA ANAK USIA DINI DI TK KOTA SAMARINDA

This research is motivated by the current education system, which tends to emphasize that critical thinking is only developed and taught at higher levels of education but less so in early childhood. Therefore, it is important to instill and motivate critical thinking skills from an early age. This research aims to: (1) describe the development of critical thinking in early childhood in Samarinda; (2) describe the strategies used by kindergarten teachers to motivate critical thinking in early childhood in Samarinda; and (3) describe the supporting and inhibiting factors in motivating critical thinking in early childhood. This research investigates the strategies used by kindergarten teachers in Samarinda to motivate critical thinking in early childhood, specifically at three schools: Islamic Center Kindergarten, Ittihad Kindergarten, and Fastabiqul Khairat Kindergarten. This research is a qualitative descriptive study that uses data collection techniques such as observation, interviews, and documentation. Data analysis techniques include data condensation, data presentation, conclusion drawing and verification, and data validity testing using data triangulation. The results of this research are as follows: (1) In the development of critical thinking, children were found to have a strong sense of curiosity, often ask deep questions, can analyze information, are willing to explore ideas, actively participate in learning, and can solve problems independently. Teacher strategies to motivate critical thinking in young children demonstrate a variety of approaches to stimulating critical thinking. Each strategy has its own unique benefits. Educators have a variety of tools and techniques that they can use to stimulate critical thinking in children. Combining diverse strategies can provide a richer and deeper learning experience. Supporting factors in motivating critical thinking in children include parental support, collaboration with other teachers, adequate resources, good communication between mothers and children, the use of creative teaching strategies, and positive encouragement. However, there are also inhibiting factors that need to be considered, such as time constraints, lack of training in teaching critical thinking, excessive academic pressure, miscommunication with parents, and constraints in the learning environment.

Teachers' Perceptions Regarding the Urgency of Improving Critical Thinking in Early Children

Teachers play the most important role in education apart from curriculum, infrastructure, methods, parents and the environment in improving critical thinking in early childhood as a quality generation towards golden Indonesia 2045. The purpose of this study is to describe teacher perceptions regarding the urgency of increasing critical thinking in early childhood as a quality generation towards golden Indonesia 2045. Teacher information regarding the urgency of increasing critical thinking in early childhood uses case studies with a qualitative approach. The informants consisted of 5 PAUD teachers in the city of Pekanbaru. The results of the study reveal that teachers feel that increased critical thinking is needed from early childhood towards a quality generation, especially in preparing for golden Indonesia 2045, teachers make efforts in the form of providing various learning strategies, teachers stimulate children's critical thinking with questions, teachers do not only try to improve cognitive, but also the attitudes and behavior of children make adab above knowledge.

Enhancing Critical Thinking in Early Childhood through STEAM-Oriented Busy Board Media: A Development Study

This study explores the development and effectiveness of STEAM-based busy board media in enhancing critical thinking skills among children aged 5-6 years. Using the ADDIE model, we created a dual-sided active board integrating science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics elements. This research examines the effectiveness of STEAM-based busy board media in improving critical thinking skills in 5-6-year-old children. The study utilized the ADDIE model to create a dual-sided board incorporating science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics elements. Conducted in Sidodadi Village kindergartens, the methodology included expert validations, trials, and pretest-posttest evaluations. The initial analysis highlighted the absence of specific media to foster critical thinking in this age group. The busy board was deemed feasible, appropriate, and safe by experts. Significant enhancements in children's critical thinking were observed, with post-test results indicating considerable progress. Statistical analysis using SPSS 22 confirmed the busy board's positive impact, emphasizing STEAM's role in early childhood education. The box panel received high effectiveness ratings in expert assessments (85.3%, 76.1%, 87.1%, and 67.7%). The hypothesis test significantly affected critical call thinking development (0.000 < 0.05). Both expert and user evaluations attested to its effectiveness, with trials showing notable improvements in early childhood critical thinking. However, the study was limited by its geographical focus and lacked long-term impact assessments. These results support the inclusion of sensory tools in early education and call for further investigation into their more comprehensive and action-oriented long-term benefits.

Desarrollo del pensamiento multidimensional para la construcción de una ciudadanía creativa

The Creative Citizenship project was founded to promote critical, ethical, and creative thinking in early childhood, and to recognize and encourage children as social actors and peacebuilders. In concert with the methodology of North American philosopher Matthew Lipman's Philosophy for Children (P4C), Creative Citizenship seeks to promote in children the ability to think critically, ethically, and creatively in and from their own realities, and to exercise multidimensional thinking skills in the various areas of their daily lives. The research documented here adopted a qualitative approach in so far as it sought to inquire about the character of those relationships, particularly among boys and girls, that promote their identity as social agents. As such, it examined training processes and generated theoretical perspectives in the interest of promoting social transformation through the empowerment of multidimensional thinking. The article begins with a review of the concept of Creative Citizenship and ends with that of Peacebuilding. Three theoretical categories have been applied in order to situate the inquiry within the framework of the realities of childhood, and to chart the pedagogical interventions by adults that occurred throughout the implementation of the project. The first focuses on the development of children’s thinking per se, the second on children's capacities for creative problem-solving in social environments, and the third on the concept of peacebuilding as a commitment to practicing philosophical dialogue among children, which is understood as a form of discourse that builds the capacities of citizens to undertake individual and collective actions that allow them, in turn, to create and re-create scenarios of peaceful coexistence.

Computational thinking in early childhood is underpinned by sequencing ability and self-regulation: a cross-sectional study

Computational thinking in early childhood is underpinned by sequencing ability and self-regulation: a cross-sectional study

Centering teacher and parent voice to realize culturally relevant computational thinking in early childhood

The specific mechanisms by which teachers and parents can provide culturally relevant opportunities for computational thinking for racially/ethnically and linguistically diverse groups of preschoolers remain unknown. Accordingly, the purpose of this research is to examine how PreK parent and teacher voice directed efforts to realize a culturally relevant computing program. We drew data sources from a subsample of design-based research meetings in which partners collaborated to co-develop the first iteration of the program. Using qualitative analysis, we examined how parent voice and teacher voice, conceptualized as perspectives and participation, influenced theories of culturally responsive computing and computational thinking in early childhood education and the translation of theory into practice in classroom and home settings. Findings showed that connecting powerful ideas from computational thinking, namely algorithms and problem solving (e.g., debugging), to familiar activities and experiences served as a powerful entry point. Yet, differences arose in how teachers and parents conceptualized culturally relevant computing and made connections to familiar routines. We discuss what can be learned from parent voice in regards to bolstering children's self-expression, access to increasingly complex computational thinking tasks, and opportunities for learning cultural and community values through computing.

Gender equity and motivational readiness for computational thinking in early childhood

Learning coding during early childhood is an effective way for children to practice computational thinking. Aspects of children's motivation can increase the likelihood that children approach computational thinking activities with enthusiasm and deep engagement. Gender inequities may interfere with children's readiness to take advantage of opportunities to build computational thinking skills through activities such as coding. Societal stereotypes can reduce young girls’ motivation to engage with computer science, preventing them from gaining benefits from coding activities designed to support computational thinking. This study examined children's gender stereotypes as well as children's own motivation for computer coding in 363 first- through third-grade children. We assessed gender differences in both stereotypes and motivation, as well as links between the stereotypes that individual children held and their own motivation. Children generally endorsed stereotypes about interest and ability for computer coding that favored their own-gender group, although third-grade girls reported gender-egalitarian beliefs about interest in coding. There were no gender differences in children's motivation for computer coding in terms of their own interest, sense of belonging, or ability self-concepts. Children's stereotypes about their own-gender group were significantly positively correlated with their own motivation for computer coding. These findings suggest that early childhood represents an excellent age for children to begin building computational thinking skills, before girls endorse negative stereotypes about their gender's interest in computer science.

Strategi Guru dalam Pengembangan Logika Anak Usia Dini

One type of intelligence that is very important and must be possessed by children is mathematical logic. This study aims to describe effective and efficient strategies that can be implemented by teachers in growing, stimulating and developing mathematical logic intelligence and logical thinking in early childhood at the Pembina Village Kindergarten in Pendahara Village. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative. The results of the study illustrate that the teacher s strategy in choosing children s learning methods is very important. The development of early childhood logic can be stimulated by learning activities by finding patterns and finding logistical relationships combined with appropriate and fun learning methods.

Critical thinking in the preschool classroom - A systematic literature review

Critical thinking is acknowledged as a 21st century skill that allows humans to make considered and informed decisions based on the information available to them. Studies exploring critical thinking during the early years are of particular significance because they enable researchers to refine a general view of critical thinking and situate it in the context of young children. Current opinion regarding critical thinking is founded on years of international research in various fields, including primary and secondary education, higher education institutions and industry. This paper reports on a systematic literature review of 25 empirical studies which address various ways of teaching for thinking focusing on children attending early years services. The review aims to gain insights that lead towards a definition of critical thinking in an early years context. To this end, research conducted during 2015–2021 is examined for characteristics of critical thinking in early childhood and teaching strategies developed to support thinking in the early years' classroom. The methodology draws from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Despite the small number of articles sourced which address the review questions, there was a reasonable weight of evidence to suggest the most common characteristics of critical thinking explored in young children are reasoning skills and problem solving. The findings suggest effective mediators in drawing out critical thinking skills include (1) classroom interactions including dialogue and questioning techniques, (2) the use of thinking language, and (3) story-based approaches. The cases in which critical thinking are investigated in early years environments were surprisingly few. The paper concludes with a summary of the implications of the findings for the future of learning and teaching and recommendations relevant to advancing teaching for thinking with young children.

코딩놀이 경험에 따라 유아의 자기조절력과 주의집중력이 컴퓨팅 사고력에 미치는 영향

Objectives The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a difference in the effect of self-regulation, attention concentration on computational thinking according to the presence or absence of coding play experience in children. Methods The subjects of the study were 135 5-year-old children enrolled in kindergartens and daycare centers in Gyeonggi-do, and data were collected through one-to-one interviews for children and questionnaires for teachers and parents. For the analysis of the collected data, descriptive statistics, t-test, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were performed using the SPSS WIN 22.0 program. Results First, it was found that computational thinking, self-regulation, attention concentration were all significantly higher than that of children without coding play experience. Second, it was found that there was a statistically significant positive (+) correlation between computational thinking and attention concentration of children with coding play experience, but there was no significant correlation between computational thinking and self-regulation. However, among the sub-factors of computational thinking, logical thinking ability showed a statistically significant positive correlation with self-regulation ability. Third, it was found that attention concentration had a significant effect on the computing thinking ability of infants with coding play experience, and self-regulation did not have a significant effect. Attention concentration was found to have 21.4% explanatory power, and neither variable had a significant effect on the computational thinking of children without coding play experience. Conclusions This study revealed the influence of self-regulation and attention concentration as predictive variables that can explain computational thinking in early childhood, and confirmed that coding play experience is an important factor in enhancing computing thinking ability. Therefore, important implications for the applicability and necessity of coding play (or coding education) in the field of early childhood education were presented to improve children's computational thinking.

코딩놀이 경험에 따라 유아의 자기조절력과 주의집중력이 컴퓨팅 사고력에 미치는 영향

Objectives The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a difference in the effect of self-regulation, attention concentration on computational thinking according to the presence or absence of coding play experience in children. Methods The subjects of the study were 135 5-year-old children enrolled in kindergartens and daycare centers in Gyeonggi-do, and data were collected through one-to-one interviews for children and questionnaires for teachers and parents. For the analysis of the collected data, descriptive statistics, t-test, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were performed using the SPSS WIN 22.0 program. Results First, it was found that computational thinking, self-regulation, attention concentration were all significantly higher than that of children without coding play experience. Second, it was found that there was a statistically significant positive (+) correlation between computational thinking and attention concentration of children with coding play experience, but there was no significant correlation between computational thinking and self-regulation. However, among the sub-factors of computational thinking, logical thinking ability showed a statistically significant positive correlation with self-regulation ability. Third, it was found that attention concentration had a significant effect on the computing thinking ability of infants with coding play experience, and self-regulation did not have a significant effect. Attention concentration was found to have 21.4% explanatory power, and neither variable had a significant effect on the computational thinking of children without coding play experience. Conclusions This study revealed the influence of self-regulation and attention concentration as predictive variables that can explain computational thinking in early childhood, and confirmed that coding play experience is an important factor in enhancing computing thinking ability. Therefore, important implications for the applicability and necessity of coding play (or coding education) in the field of early childhood education were presented to improve children's computational thinking.

Video games, the brain and magical thinking: A 21st century controversy

The following article is a thorough literature review, discussing the impact of media technology on brain development in the context of magical thinking. This systematic literature review discusses the impact of video gaming on magical thinking in early childhood. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how media technology, especially video games, can influence the cognitive process in children, thus their magical thoughts. In conclusion, more research needs to be done in regards to magical thinking, and video gaming. There is still a controversy about the extent media technology can influence a child’s discrimination between fantasy, and reality.

Pengaruh Model Pembelajaran Problem Based Learning Berbasis Experimen Sederhana dalam Pengenalan Sains Anak Usia Dini

Problem-solving and critical thinking in early childhood can be done by carrying out science introduction activities. This study aims to determine the effect of a simple experiment-based problem-based learning model in the introduction of early childhood science. The type of research used is a ranking pre-experimental design using an intact group comparison design. The class was chosen randomly, with 6 children in the control group and 6 children in the experimental group. Based on the results of the study, it was shown that the simple experiment-based problem-based learning model for early childhood could be done by recognizing liquid objects such as sinking, floating, soluble and insoluble, and the properties of liquids. The simple experiment-based problem-based learning model is very influential in the introduction of early childhood science, where children think critically and can form new ideas by solving a problem.

The Use of Spices as a Media to Stimulate Children’s Critical Thinking Ability while Study From Home Period

Critical thinking is an essential aspect of the 21st century. There was an outbreak of pandemic covid-19; some educators had difficulty stimulating critical thinking in early childhood. But for some teachers used spice ingredients at home to promote the critical thinking of children. Therefore, this research aimed to provide critical thinking learning solutions during the covid 19 pandemics. This study used a qualitative descriptive method to describe the use of spices in stimulating essential thinking. The data collection technique using interviews, observations and documentation by involving children aged 5-6 years (n= 15). Data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing were analyzed by testing data validity using triangulation techniques. This study showed that using spice media in making turmeric herbs acid, making batik from natural dyes, and making dolls through a scientific approach can stimulate critical thinking ability in children in the study from home. So, can be concluded that using spice media stimulate critical thinking ability in children in the study from home.