The purpose of this study is to analyze the play behaviors of children aged 60-72 months with respect to individual differences, cultural differences, and special needs differences. The study employs the basic qualitative research method. Fifty-two children enrolled in four different pre-school classes were given toys that featured diversity. The…

Verbs serve as the architectural centerpiece of sentences, making verb learning pivotal for language acquisition. Verb learning requires both the formation of a verb-action mapping and the abstraction of relations between an object and its action. Two competing positions have been proposed to explain the process of verb learning: (a) seeing a…

Word learning in young children requires coordinated attention between language input and the referent object. Current accounts of word learning are based on spoken language, where the association between language and objects occurs through simultaneous and multimodal perception. In contrast, deaf children acquiring American Sign Language (ASL)…

Executive function (EF) predicts children's academic achievement; however, less is known about the relation between EF and the actual learning process. Furthermore, more research is needed to better understand how different aspects of the learning environment interact with EF to influence learning. The current dissertation includes two studies to…

Research Findings: The current study explored the ethnotheories of 6 Chinese families regarding their young children's play in Shanghai, the most Westernized metropolis in China. A triangulation of multiple data sources was established through in-depth interviews, home visit observations, and 1-week recordings of child's daily play activities. The…

The development of reading skills from age seven until age 19 was investigated for children who were referred for special education preschool intervention using latent growth curve analysis (n=206). Approximately one-third of the study sample did not require special education services after preschool, providing a natural comparison group. Reading…

Examined the contributions of 4 individual difference predictors for recall of object names in 93 children of 3 and 4 years. Results suggest that motivational factors contribute directly to young children's recall proficiency and do not mediate strategic study behavior. (RJC)

What children do in play is simultaneously influenced by the properties of the play object and the skills of the child. Properties of objects lend themselves to re-engagement in investigative play or support for shared action. Repeated play with particular objects increases the number of actions possible with these objects. The process of…

Described in this documentary report are the school lives of seven children and their approaches to learning over a period of 5 years. Chapter 1 presents short introductory vignettes. Each child illustrates a distinctive mode or approach to learning: formalist/traditionalist, reasoner/problem-solver, patterner/adapter, mapper/explorer,…

In recent research, sequences of hypotheses observed during problem-solving have been categorized according to six hypothesis sampling systems that vary in efficiency. Three systems were characterized as strategies (focus, dimension check, hypothesis check) because they always lead eventually to solution. The remainder were called stereotypes…

This paper reports on an experiment to determine: (1) the effects of two different styles of television program format on the ability of preschool children to recall program content and (2) the cumulative effect of sustained viewing of particular programs upon spontaneous play behavior. Three groups of preschoolers (totaling 58) were exposed to…

This report explores the possibility of constructing a conceptual framework to account for variations in learning styles observed among preschool disadvantaged children. It begins with a review of the literature on preschool intervention programs relating to ways disadvantaged children approach new experiences; gather, organize, and process…