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Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Education
Water Play, Jane E. Cline, Brandy A. Smith
Water Play, Jane E. Cline, Brandy A. Smith
Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions
The inclusion of activities to develop sensory awareness, spatial thinking, and physical dexterity, operationalized through hands-on science lessons such as water play, have long been part of early childhood education. This practical article addresses Next Generation Science Standards K-2 ETS1-3 and K-2 ETS1-2 by having four-year-old prekindergarten students direct the path of water on a vertical pegboard water table with strategically-placed, attached plastic cups with holes drilled into them that leak streams of water into each other. Students enhanced their retelling of the story of the Billy Goats Gruff by placing student-made watercolor artwork along the path of the water, …
The Effects Of Social Stories On The Problem Solving Skills Of Preschoolers, Sara Cramer
The Effects Of Social Stories On The Problem Solving Skills Of Preschoolers, Sara Cramer
Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers
This action research project examined the effects of social stories on the problem solving skills of preschoolers in a Montessori classroom. The classroom was in a private school in Arizona led by a lead Montessori trained teacher and an assistant teacher. The study spanned seven weeks and the subjects were 22 three to five year old children. Three stories were read to the children. Each story was read at circle time daily for a two week interval. Data collected included the observations of the lead teacher, observations of the assistant teacher, and one-on-one conversations with each child at the end …
Perceptions Of The Role Physical Activity Plays In Early Childhood Education, Martha Swirzinski
Perceptions Of The Role Physical Activity Plays In Early Childhood Education, Martha Swirzinski
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to describe the perceptions early childhood educators who intentionally implement physical activity into their class day in Eastern Virginia have with regards to using physical activity with preschoolers ages three to five. The theory guiding this study was the social constructivist theory by Lev Vygotsky (1978) which maintains that each individual has a different perspective about any given experience based on their prior experiences and all experiences build upon themselves to create knowledge. The constructivist theory suggests learners must interact with their environments to gain new knowledge (Ogunnaike, 2015). The basic …
Pathways To Kindergarten Readiness., Ashley T. Forrest, Stephanie Nutter, Deborah Rivera
Pathways To Kindergarten Readiness., Ashley T. Forrest, Stephanie Nutter, Deborah Rivera
College of Education & Human Development Capstone Projects
The purpose of this capstone was to explore pathways for increased kindergarten readiness by examining the relationship between kindergarten readiness as measured by the Brigance Kindergarten Screener (BKS) domains of cognitive/general knowledge and language/communication and each of the following variables: school funding, school location, school classification, teacher credentials, teacher years of experiences, music inclusion, and time allotted to music instruction. Participants included 174 preschool students from 17 classrooms in an urban school district. This capstone used preexisting data from the school district including demographic variables of race, socioeconomic status (SES), prior setting, attendance, and the school-level variable of climate. A …
Nature Preschools: Putting Nature At The Heart Of Early Childhood Education, Ken Finch, Patti Bailie
Nature Preschools: Putting Nature At The Heart Of Early Childhood Education, Ken Finch, Patti Bailie
Occasional Paper Series
Describes nature preschools as places that go beyond the typical preschool teachings within the classroom. Activities at nature preschools may include child-centered outdoor investigations, unstructured play and exploration in rich outdoor settings, large, natural areas to explore, and special programs that might include making maple syrup or apple cider, meeting live animals, and discovering pond life.
Bringing The Wonder Of Nature Back To Early Childhood Classrooms, Heather I. Claffey
Bringing The Wonder Of Nature Back To Early Childhood Classrooms, Heather I. Claffey
Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations
Current research suggests that time spent in nature benefits all aspects of children’s development. However, children are spending little time outdoors. Additionally, there are few preschool programs that recognize the outdoors as an extension of the traditional classroom and even fewer college courses and training programs that specifically address outdoor education. The purpose of this project was to educate early childhood teachers about nature’s benefits and provide them with the knowledge necessary to implement their own outdoor classrooms. The trainings focused on seven topics related to the importance and development of an outdoor classroom: introduction to the outdoor classroom, benefits …
Total Communication Methods For Preschool Children With Autism: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Parent And Professional Perceptions, Leigh Beesley
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this transcendental, phenomenological study was to explore experiences of using a total communication system with preschoolers diagnosed with autism as explained by their parents and teachers. The research focused on the experience specifically relating to functional communication and social interactions. Determining resources that parents and teachers need that may have made the employment of the strategies more successful, was of importance to this study in order to determine implications, or future needed research. The participants in this study, determined by purposive sampling, included parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, and speech therapist located in an elementary school setting. The study …