Early Childhood Education Commons^™

The Effects Of Isolated Affordances On Preschool Counting Improvement When Using A Digital Coloring App, Katherine Papazian

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Counting is an important preschool math skill that is necessary for building a strong foundation in mathematics. Previous research has demonstrated that guided counting activities can improve counting ability in preschoolers and that drawing on paper while learning can deepen processing, but research has not included digital drawing as a potential means of deepening processing while children count. This study developed a novel touch-screen app, which used a guided coloring activity to encourage effective counting skills and serve as a home numeracy tool that could be employed by all parents, including those with math anxiety. To evaluate the benefits of …

Computational Thinking And Coding For Young Children: A Hybrid Approach To Link Unplugged And Plugged Activities, Daisuke Akiba

Publications and Research

In our increasingly technology-dependent society, the importance of promoting digital literacy (e.g., computational thinking, coding, and programming) has become a critical focus in the field of childhood education. While young children these days are routinely and extensively exposed to digital devices and tools, the efficacy of the methods for fostering digital skills in the early childhood classroom has not always been closely considered. This is particularly true in settings where early childhood educators are not digital experts. Currently, most of the efforts in standard early childhood settings, taught by teachers who are not digital experts, appear to revolve around “unplugged” …

Measuring Preschool Parents’ Attitudes Towards Science: Development And Psychometric Evaluation Of A Parent Version Of The Dimension Of Attitudes Towards Science Instrument., Alexandra E. Adair

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Presently, no measure or theoretical framework exists for preschool parents’ attitudes towards science. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a measure of preschool parents’ attitudes towards science with a corresponding theoretical framework, as well as explore related constructs. To develop the measure, I adapted Wendt and Rockinson-Szapkiw’s (2017) English translation of van Aalderen-Smeets & Walma van der Molen’s (2013) Dimensions of Science (DAS) scale by making it appropriate for use with preschool parents.

The Preschool Parents Dimensions of Science Scale (PP-DAS) was pilot tested and revised before being administered to 330 preschool parents in the United …