scholarly journals Reinforcing preschoolers’ phonemic awareness through the use of tablets

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-36
Author(s):  
Evaggelia Skaraki ◽  

This study aimed to implement an intervention program to examine whether tablets enhance kindergarten children’s phonemic awareness. Seventy-four (74) kindergarten children (40 boys and 34 girls) aged 4 to 6 years from 4 public kindergarten classrooms participated in the study, from which 38 children formed the experimental group while 36 children formed the control one. During the intervention program, children in the experimental group were trained through tablets in initial phoneme identification, initial phoneme deletion, and phoneme segmentation, while the control group trained in the same tasks without tablets. Results showed statistically significant differences in favor of the experimental group. In conclusion, the present research found that digital media help educational practice, but it is also how teachers use digital tools to facilitate learning.

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
David Passig ◽  
Timor Schwartz

Background The ability to think analogically is central to the process of learning and understanding reality and there is a broad consensus among researchers that we can improve this ability. Immigrants who have emigrated from developing to developed countries tend to experience tremendous challenges in their early years as immigrants. Their children often find themselves in a situation where it is clear that their low achievements are the result of cultural mediation, which expresses itself not only in a language gap, but also in cultural and basic technological disorientation. Purpose The goal of this study is to help find efficient ways of nurturing analogical thinking in children who have emigrated from developing to developed countries and express difficulties in analogical thinking, and to point out the advantages inherent in the use of immersive 3D Virtual Reality technology for this goal. Population The participants in this study included 56 children, aged 4 to 7 years, whose parents immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia during the last ten years. The experimental group (n=28) practiced solving analogies that were presented in 3D VR, while the control group (n=28) practiced solving the same analogies with a pictorial version of the items that was presented with cards. Research Design The research instrument employed for evaluating Analogical thinking was the CCPAM measure, which includes 10 questions on Conceptual Analogies and 10 questions on Perceptual analogies. We designed the intervention program according to the CCPAM test. The CCPAM test was administered in three intervals: a. Prior to the beginning of the intervention. b. Immediately after the intervention, which included two meetings of 15 minutes each, during which the children were given exercises in solving analogies. c. Three weeks after the end of the intervention, in order to test the ability to preserve the solution strategy (the follow-up test). Conclusions The results indicate that both programs of intervention—VR and picture cards— significantly improved the ability to solve both kinds of analogies—perceptual and conceptual. However, the children in the experimental group, who practiced analogies within an immersive VR environment, improved their ability to a statistically significant degree more than did the children who practiced solutions with picture cards. The children in the experimental group preserved the solution strategy three weeks after the intervention significantly better than the control group, and the improvement in solving conceptual analogies was greater than the improvement in solving perceptual analogies.


Author(s):  
Lorna Kwai Ping Suen ◽  
Janet Pui Lee Cheung

Early childhood is a formative period during which healthy habits are developed, including proper hand hygiene practices. The aim of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the effectiveness of a 4-week series of educational sessions that consider the cognitive developmental stage of children on increasing their knowledge and promoting hand hygiene practices. The intervention group (n = 33) observed the hand hygiene program, whereas another group served as the waitlist control (n = 20). Creative activities were planned for the illustration of hand hygiene concepts in terms of “right moments”, “right steps”, and “right duration”. Hand sanitizer coverage was evaluated using a hand scanner. After the intervention, the experimental group had higher knowledge level toward hand hygiene than the control group (p < 0.001). Significant improvements in hand hygiene performance at the left palm and dorsum (p < 0.05), right palm (p < 0.05), and overall hand coverage (p < 0.05) were observed in the experimental group. The study demonstrated that the knowledge and proper hand hygiene (HH) practice of children can be positively influenced by the use of an age-appropriate education program. The results of this study have implications for school health educators and parents for promoting HH practices among children at home and at the school level.


Author(s):  
Khadega M. Badraldien

The results of several studies have shown that children with learning difficulties suffer from low selfesteem compared to normal children, which may affect their integration with their normal peers, social adaptation, and their academic superiority in subsequent years. Positive education is one of the modern strategies in education which is intended to focus on the positive and desirable behavior of the child rather than focusing on the negative or bad behavior. The present study aimed to find out the effectiveness of a program based on the strategy of positive educationin the development of self-esteem for children who suffer from learning difficulties. The study used the pre-academic skills scale to diagnose and sort children with learning difficulties and the self-esteem scale to determine the level of appreciation for children with learning difficulties for themselves before and after the implementation of the program. Overall, the results of the study indicated that the positive education program helped in developing children’s self-esteem and appreciation for themselves. The results showed that children of the experimental group had better selfesteem than the control group, and the positive education program had a significant impact on the development of self-confidence and self image. The results also indicated that the experimental group was better in integration and social interaction than the control group. The study recommended using the strategy of positive education not only with normal children but also with those with learning difficulties. The study also recommended that parents' and teachers' awareness of the importance of positive education and its impact on the growth of the child's personality and abilities should be enhanced. 


Author(s):  
Fei Ha Chiew ◽  
Clotilda Petrus ◽  
Siti Zaidah Othman ◽  
Joe Davylyn Nyuin ◽  
Ung Hua Lau

This study investigated the effectiveness of a peer tutoring program that was implemented for Basic Solid Mechanics course, as an intervention program to improve students’ performance in the course. Ten tutors were chosen to provide tutoring services to an experimental group of 36 tutees. Tutees were required to answer an entry test before the intervention program, and another exit test after the program. A control group which shared the same instructor in their lecture classes was included in the study. Comparison between the performances for entry and exit tests of both experimental and control groups were made. Analyses showed an increase in the percentage of students that passed the exit test from the experimental group. The average marks for the experimental group in the exit test also increased, compared to their marks in the entry test. A Mann- Whitney U test conducted indicated a significant difference between the gain scores of the experimental group and control group. A further metaanalysis revealed a large effect size, signaling the practical significance of the results. The findings demonstrated the effectiveness of the peer tutoring intervention program on students’ performance of the course.


Kinesiology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Mayorga Vega ◽  
Francisco Javier Redondo-Martín

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a one-session-per-week stretching program on hamstring extensibility among schoolchildren in the physical education (PE) setting. Thirty seven 9-year-old schoolchildren from two classes were clustered and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=19) or a control group (n=18). During PE classes, the experimental students performed a 3-minute stretching program once a week for the whole academic year (a total of 32 calendar weeks, but 28 weeks of intervention after excluding holidays). Hamstring extensibility (estimated by the classic sit-and-reach test) was assessed at the beginning (week 0), in the middle (week 18) and at the end (week 34) of the stretching intervention program. The results of the two-way analysis of variance showed that the PE-based stretching program improved statistically significantly the students’ sit-and-reach scores in the middle and at the end of the intervention (p&lt;.01). Since in PE many curricular contents need to be developed each academic year and the subject is also&nbsp;restricted by its limited curriculum time allocation, teachers could improve students’ hamstring extensibility by only a one-session-per-week stretching program. Therefore, in addition to the improvement of students’ flexibility levels, this intervention program might permit regular development of other PE curricular contents. This knowledge could help and guide teachers to design programs that guarantee a feasible and effective development of flexibility in the PE setting.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Markopoulos ◽  
Michael E. Bernard

This study evaluated the Bullying: The Power to Cope program (Bernard, 2012), which is designed to teach children the ideas espoused in the practice of rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) to employ in response to bullying. Self-report data were collected at pre- and post-test of children's cognitive, behavioural, and emotional coping responses to four written bullying vignettes. At pre-test, children's personal qualities of intrinsic resiliency were also measured. The sample consisted of 139 participants in Melbourne, Australia (n = 80 in the experimental group and n = 59 in the control group), aged from 10 to 14 years. Results indicated children in the experimental group improved in cognitive and emotional coping responses relative to children in the control group. Females showed greater improvement than males in coping responses to bullying as a consequence of the intervention. Entering levels of intrinsic resiliency did not moderate the effects of the intervention program on children's coping responses. The cognitive and emotional coping responses of females to bullying vignettes (pre-test) were significantly more negative and emotionally intense than males. The implications of these findings are discussed, as well as limitations and directions for future research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-72
Author(s):  
P. Lis-Velado ◽  
A. Carriedo

Se examinó la repercusión de la novedosa Liga Brave (2015) sobre las orientaciones de meta, el fair play, el esfuerzo, y la presión-tensión en 92 estudiantes de 2 colegios (grupo control: n = 45; grupo experimental: n = 47) con una media de edad de 10,38 años (DE =0,55). Durante 3 sesiones, el grupo control participó en una liga de fútbol sala tradicional, mientras que el grupo experimental participó en un sistema competitivo basado en el innovador formato de la Liga Brave (2015), donde las conductas de fair play determinan el orden en la clasificación. Se realizaron varias pruebas de contrastes de medias intra-sujetos, cuyos resultados reflejaron que el grupo experimental aumentó significativamente en la orientación a la tarea y en el esfuerzo percibido. Estos resultados sugieren que formatos competitivos como el que se propone podrían repercutir positivamente en la orientación a la tarea y en el esfuerzo durante las competiciones deportivas. This research analyzed the Brave League (2015) effects on the goal orientation, the fair play, the effort and the pressure-tension on 92 pupils from two state schools (control group: n = 45 and experimental group: n = 47) with an age average of 10.38 years (SD = 0.55). The Intervention program was applied to both groups in 3 sessions of one hour; the control group created an indoor football league, whereas the experimental group continued to elaborate a competitive system based on the Brave League (2015) format, where the conducts of fair play establish the order in the classification. Several contrast tests were taken of the subject average, which results showed that the trial group increased the orientation towards the task) and the perceived effort. These results infer that the competitive formats like the proposed could affect positively the orientation towards the task and the effort throughout the sports competitions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 331-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Hyeon Cheon ◽  
Johnmarshall Reeve ◽  
Tae Ho Yu ◽  
Hue Ryen Jang

Recognizing that students benefit when they receive autonomy-supportive teaching, the current study tested the parallel hypothesis that teachers themselves would benefit from giving autonomy support. Twenty-seven elementary, middle, and high school physical education teachers (20 males, 7 females) were randomly assigned either to participate in an autonomy-supportive intervention program (experimental group) or to teach their physical education course with their existing style (control group) within a three-wave longitudinal research design. Manipulation checks showed that the intervention was successful, as students perceived and raters scored teachers in the experimental group as displaying a more autonomy-supportive and less controlling motivating style. In the main analyses, ANCOVA-based repeated-measures analyses showed large and consistent benefits for teachers in the experimental group, including greater teaching motivation (psychological need satisfaction, autonomous motivation, and intrinsic goals), teaching skill (teaching efficacy), and teaching well-being (vitality, job satisfaction, and lesser emotional and physical exhaustion). These findings show that giving autonomy support benefits teachers in much the same way that receiving it benefits their students.


1999 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Hamilton ◽  
Jacqueline Goodway ◽  
John Haubenstricker

The purpose was to investigate the effectiveness of parental involvement on the acquisition of object-control skills of preschool children who are at risk for developmental delay or academic failure. The experimental group (n = 15) participated in an 8-week motor skill intervention program consisting of two 45-min lessons per week delivered by the children’s parents. The control group (n = 12) participated in the regular motor skill program, which consisted of movement songs delivered by the parents. All children were pretested and posttested on the object-control subscale of the Test of Gross Motor Development (Ulrich, 1985). Both groups performed in the lower 20th percentile on the pretest. A 2 X 2 (Group X Test) ANOVA revealed that the experimental group improved significantly in the object-control subscale score from pretest to posttest, whereas the control group did not change. The results provide support for including parents in the instructional process of children who are at risk for developmental delay or academic failure.


2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-176
Author(s):  
Riva Mandel

The author examined the effect of teaching the Pattern and Sequence (useriation) unit from the intervention program Bright Start on the development of seriational mathematical thinking in kindergartners of Israeli, Ethiopian, and Russian origin. In addition, the author examined the effect of the teaching of this unit on the capacity for cognitive change in this area within the study group of children. Bright Start is a plan for the development of thinking in early childhood. This program, developed by Haywood, Brooks, and Burns (1986, 1992), is based on four developmental theories:(a) Feuerstein’s theory of structural cognitive modifiability and mediated learning experience; (b) Piaget’s stages theory of cognitive development; (c) Vygotsky’s social-historical theory of cognitive development; Haywood’s transactional perspective on human abilities.This study was focused on one unit of the program, the unit dealing with the development of seriational thinking. The teaching of this unit, like the remaining units in the program, is based on the mediational teaching style. The main emphasis of the study was placed on the comparison of three groups of different origin in Israel; therefore, no control group was examined.40 kindergartners from a disadvantaged area in Israel’s central region were examined, of whom 9 were native Israelis, 11 were of Russian origin, and 20 were of Ethiopian origin. The chidren were given several tests before and after the program. The examination consisted of three stages. At the beginning of the school year, the children underwent three tests to assess their ability to solve problem tasks when creating series with different elements. Subsequently, the intervention plan was taught with the aim of fostering cognitive skills of planning, comparison, relating to several sources of information, and restraining impulsiveness. Towards the end of the year, the children were again examined, and they underwent the three tests that they had done in the beginning of the year, checking their ability to solve tasks when creating series with different elements. In addition, the extent of internalization of the various skills was examined, as well as the capacity to apply skills to the area of arithmetic.As stated, this study focused on children of Ethiopian and Russian origin in comparison to native Israeli children. The decision to focus on children of Ethiopian origin derived from gaps that emerged in the learning process of this population as a result of the cultural difference that characterizes it. The children of Russian origin were part of the kindergarten’s population. They too manifested gaps as a result of cultural and social changes occurring among immigrants from the former Soviet Union.The purpose of the study was to demonstrate that intervention in specific thinking processes—in this case seriation from Bright Start at kindergarten age—will result in greater effectiveness and a significant cognitive ability to change in this area, particularly in children of Ethiopian origin whose initial cognitive level was poor. The hypothesis was confirmed that the children of Ethiopian descent did indeed evince initial inferiority visa-vis the other two groups, but after the intervention program they improved their performance and narrowed the gaps in comparison to the other groups. It is noteworthy that, according to the theory, cognitive processes are not related to any particular content or culture, but are suited to everyone. These processes were found to be beneficial to all of the children, but the cognitive change in seriational thinking as a result of the intervention program was particularly conspicuous in children of Russian origin.The effect of the intervention program was expressed in the ability to apply acquired skills to unstudied areas. Internalization of cognitive skills was apparent, as was the improved ability to comprehend a series and the acquisition of mathematical skills in all of the kindergarten children.The findings of this study have didactic implications relating to the significance of teaching seriation to kindergarten children. In addition, the study indicates the need for early education programs adapted to the population of children of Ethiopian and Russian origin in Israel.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document