Education Commons^™

Session C - Learning Before The School Years: Benefits For Life, Joe Sparling, Susan Krieg, Marion Meiers

Marion Meiers (1941-2018)

Concurrent session

Reflection On Student Action Research, Genan Anderson, Julie Nelson, Bryan Waite

Genan Anderson

This article is a summary by the authors on the research done by two student teachers of early childhood education, Joelle Fierro and Rachel Probst. These student teachers were concerned about how best to serve the ethnic diversity they would experience as preservice teachers, and they developed creative teaching methods, through reflection, to address the issue. One of the ideas that emerged from their reflection was their very creative use of the Writer’s Workshop to encourage the children to write in their own diverse languages, share translations and stories, and thereby grow in acceptance of, and friendship with, one another …

"Where Do The Bears Go?" The Value Of Child-Directed Play, Genan Anderson, Anita Spainhower, Ann Sharp

Genan Anderson

This article uses the socio-dramatic play of pre-K children to reinforce the rich learning that occurs in child-directed play. The teacher’s role in supporting the play through adapting the environment with props and space as well as intentional teaching through the use of open-ended questions, suggestions, modeling, and providing additional information is made explicit. The authors voice strong support for the importance of play in early childhood classrooms to build competence in common core standards and to assist in the development of executive functioning, problem solving, and self-regulation.

A Critical Look At Four Multicultural Reform Efforts In One Urban College Of Education, Mary Gove, Dinah Volk, Kristine Lynn Still, Grace Hui-Chen Huang, Sashelle Thomas-Alexander

Grace H. C. Huang

The article describes multicultural reform projects at an urban college of education including analyses of student's descriptions of their experiences in urban schools, the results of a faculty diversity self-study group and issues arising from culturally responsive pedagogy in an early childhood teaching class. The author's assertion that diversity education is an essential part of teacher education is discussed, and the importance of continuous critical analysis of teacher education is emphasized.

The Persona Doll Project: Promoting Diversity Awareness Among Preservice Teachers Through Storytelling, Mary Ellin Logue, V. Susan Bennett-Armistead, Soojoung Kim

Mary Ellin Logue

The Persona Doll Project describes an experiential intervention with undergraduate preservice teachers designed to increase awareness about diversity and apply this awareness to curriculum planning and advocacy for children. Sixty-three undergraduate students in a social studies methods class were each assigned a persona doll for the semester whose background differed from their own. Each was charged with becoming the advocate for the child, represented by the doll, by telling informed stories that would help other students better understand a level of diversity beyond what they knew from their own lives. Students heightened awareness of their own assumptions through narrative, inquiry …

Theory Guided Professional Development In Early Childhood Science Education, Soo-Young Hong, Julia Torquati, Victoria J. Molfese

Soo-Young Hong

The importance of early and developmentally appropriate science education is increasingly recognized. Consequently, creation of common guidelines and standards in early childhood science education has begun (National Research Council (NRC), 2012), and researchers, practitioners, and policy makers have shown great interest in aligning professional development with the new guidelines and standard. There are some important issues that need to be addressed in order to successfully implement guidelines and make progress toward accomplishing standards. Early childhood teachers have expressed a lack of confidence in teaching science and nature (Torquati, Cutler, Gilkerson, & Sarver, in press) and have limited science and pedagogical …

Context Influences Preschool Children's Decisions To Include A Peer With A Physical Disability In Play, Karen E. Diamond, Soo-Young Hong, Huifang Tu

Soo-Young Hong

Understanding children’s decisions to include a child with a disability in activities is an important component of the social environment of children with disabilities. We examined preschool children’s understanding of the motor and social competence of hypothetical children with a physical disability, children’s decisions to include or exclude a peer with a physical disability in play activities, and children’s justifications of their inclusion/exclusion decisions. Children understood that a peer with a physical disability would have more difficulty with activities requiring motor skills than social skills and were more likely to include a peer with a physical disability when the activities …

Head Start Classrooms And Children’S School Readiness Benefit From Teachers’ Qualifications And Ongoing Training, Seung-Hee Claire Son, Kyong-Ah Kwon, Hyun-Joo Jeon, Soo-Young Hong

Soo-Young Hong

Background Teacher qualifications have been emphasized as a basis of professional development to improve classroom practices for at-risk children’s school readiness. However, teacher qualifications have often not been compared to another form of professional development, in-service training. Objective The current study attempts to investigate contributions of multiple types of professional development to school readiness skills of low-income preschoolers. Specifically, we examined the significance of teachers’ education level, degree, teaching certificate, teaching experiences as well as specialized in-service training and coaching support as these teacher trainings are linked to preschoolers’ school readiness through proximal classroom practices. Method We used a multi-level …

Two Approaches To Teaching Young Children Science Concepts, Vocabulary, And Scientific Problem-Solving Skills, Soo-Young Hong, Karen E. Diamond

Soo-Young Hong

The present study examined the efficacy of two different approaches to teaching designed to facilitate children’s learning about science concepts and vocabulary related to objects’ floating and sinking and scientific problem-solving skills: responsive teaching (RT) and the combination of responsive teaching and explicit instruction (RT + EI). Participants included 104 children (51 boys) aged four to five years.Small groups of children were randomly assigned to one of the two intervention groups (RT, RT + EI) or to a control group. Responsive teaching (RT) reflects a common approach to teaching young children, and the combination approach (RT + EI) includes explicit …

Child Care For Working Poor Families: Child Development And Parent Employment Outcomes: Community Child Care Research Project, Final Report, James Elicker, Carolyn Clawson, Soo-Young Hong, Tae-Eun Kim, Demetra Evangelou, Susan J. Kontos

Soo-Young Hong

The results of the Community Child Care Research Project provide new data describing the child care experiences of low income working families in 4 communities in Indiana. Because the study participants were volunteers rather than randomly selected, and because the research design was correlational rather than experimental, conclusions drawn from these fi ndings necessarily have limitations. The fi ndings cannot be confi dently generalized to other low income working families and child care providers, nor can the links between child care quality and children’s development be assumed to be causal. For example, while it is quite possible that higher quality …

Young Children’S Decisions To Include Peers With Physical Disabilities In Play, Karen E. Diamond, Soo-Young Hong

Soo-Young Hong

The authors examined factors related to preschool children’s reasoning about including a hypothetical peer with a physical disability in different play activities. They hypothesized that children’s inclusion decisions would be influenced by features of the physical environment, attention to issues of fairness and equity, and individual child characteristics. Participants comprised 72 children enrolled in inclusive preschool classrooms. Children’s ideas about inclusion and their inclusion decisions were gathered in response to vignettes reflecting experiences that children are likely to encounter in preschool. The authors found that children were significantly more likely to say that they would include a child with a …

The Effects Of An Intervention That Includes In-Class Coaching On Preschool Teachers And Children, Amber K. Oliveira

Amber K Oliveira

The impact of high quality early learning experiences on a child's development is profound. Teacher quality has been deemed an important predictor of classroom quality, but currently teachers in Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) in the state of Florida are required to meet minimal training requirements. The purpose of this study was to examine an intervention including in-class coaching as a means of professional development to better prepare preschool teachers. The present study included and examination of the changes in environmental quality, child outcomes, and teacher perceptions after the intervention. Scores obtained were compared before and after the intervention. A two-tailed t-test …

Nurturing A Healthy Mind: Doing What Matters Most For Your Child's Developing Brain, Michael C. Nagel Dr

Michael C Nagel Dr

No abstract provided.

Teaching “Other People’S Children” In Obama Era: Challenges And Promises, Zeynep Isik-Ercan

Zeynep Isik-Ercan

No abstract provided.

Strategies For Developing 21st Century Skills Through Visual Literacy, Connie Mcdonald, Steven Mcdonald, Annyce Maddox

Connie McDonald

Students are being required to assimilate more types of information, in multiple formats, and to do so in a more efficient manner than in previous decades. These students are digital natives who need to develop 21st century skills in core subjects including reading . Our focus will be on strategies to assist students as they develop new literacies in reading for the 21st century through visual literacy.

Developing Comprehension With New Literacies, Connie Mcdonald, Laura E. Jones

Connie McDonald

How can teachers help students develop comprehension strategies and skills in the era of new literacies? Traditional and online texts are similar in some aspects but very different in other ways. The focus of the presentation is on developing comprehension in elementary students by connecting traditional and online texts with new literacies.

Implementing Professional Development To Promote Literacy Practices, Carol M. Trivette

Carol M. Trivette

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Diary Of A French Girl: Surviving Intercultural Encounters, Shelley Kinash

Professor Shelley Kinash

Experimental Evaluation Of A Scale-Up Model For Teaching Mathematics With Trajectories And Technologies, Julie Sarama, Douglas H. Clements, Mary E. Spitler, Alissa A. Lange

Alissa A. Lange

Australian College Of Educators’ Excellence In Education Award, Shelley Kinash

Professor Shelley Kinash

Tertiary Educator Identity: We Know Who We Are, Shelley Kinash, Stephen Hughes

Professor Shelley Kinash

Enhancing Family Involvement, Genan Anderson, Anita Spainhower

Genan Anderson

Ideas for involving families in early childhood preschool and care.

The Implications Of Standardized Testing At Head Start, Kathleen A. Strub-Richards Dr.

Kathleen A Strub-Richards

No abstract provided.

Learning Centers For Toddlers, Genan Anderson

Genan Anderson

Provides practical suggestions for structuring the environment in toddler classrooms to facilitate discovery and learning and minimize guidance challenges

The Mini Golf Project, Kathleen Strub-Richards

Kathleen A Strub-Richards

The Mini Golf Project was a collaboration between the preschoolers and the teachers at a Reggio Inspired preschool in Massachusetts. In this long term project, 3-5 year olds, and their teachers, co-constructed a viable miniature golf course.

Putting Children In Charge Of Reading, Genan Anderson

Genan Anderson

Practical curriculum and family involvement ideas for preschool teachers to use to encourage and facilitate literacy and literature skills in children

A Review Of 2000-2003 Literature At The Intersection Of Online Learning And Disability, Shelley Kinash, Susan Crichton, Weol Soon Kim-Rupnow

Professor Shelley Kinash

Kindergartners Perception Of The Classroom Computer, Kathleen Strub-Richards

Kathleen A Strub-Richards

Computers have an overwhelming influence in the school and home environment. Computers are available in many early childhood classrooms and young children have easy access to them. This case study examined the youngest members of the elementary school’s perception of the classroom computer. A seven-week research study explored the role of the computer in a kindergarten classroom. Sixteen kindergartners were interviewed and observed. The children’s perceptions of the computer were recorded through conversations, interactions with the computer, classroom observations and computer lab observations. Computer programs, computer integration and the role of the teacher were examined. Results from the interpretation of …

Guiding Staff Training? Vygotsky And Gardner Can Help, Genan Anderson

Genan Anderson

Provides practical ideas to use the basic theories of child development in scaffolding the training of preschool teachers to develop and implement appropriate curriculum.

Yes, Michael, Genan Anderson

Genan Anderson

Ideas for coaching an autistic child in pro-social behaviors in an inclusion environment.