Matching Items (6)
Description
Preschool children with language delays often struggle to learn new concepts. Proven strategies such as modeling, prompting, reinforcing responses, direct teaching, and hands-on experience matter to young children with language delays. Also important are social interactions and shared experiences with more knowledgeable persons. Within a cultural context Funds of Knowledge, that is the talents, traditions, and abilities families possess and pass down to their children may be a context for these. However, despite their importance the value Funds of Knowledge have has not been explored with parents of children with special needs. This action research study used a mixed-methods design to understand if Funds of Knowledge could be used as context to improve communication between parents and their children and build trust between parents and a teacher. Seven families participated in the study. Quantitative data were gathered with surveys and were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Qualitative data consisted of transcripts from home-visit interviews, parent presentations, and a focus group, and were analyzed with a grounded theory approach. Results indicate parents entered the study with trust in the teacher especially in terms of having competence in her abilities. Data also show that parents used the language strategies provided to improve communication with their children. Data also indicate that the use of a Funds of Knowledge activity allowed parents to share their knowledge and interests with their children and children in the classroom, feel empowered, and express emotions. From these findings, implication for practice and further research are provided.
ContributorsGonzalez, Alissa Quintero (Author) / Zambo, Debby (Committee member) / Hansen, Cory (Committee member) / Villamil-Rubin, Aura (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This study investigated the effects of different types of play-embedded instruction on preschoolers' vocabulary learning during a vocabulary intervention known as Say-Tell-Do-Play (STDP). The goal of this study was to determine whether or not two types of play - Story Drama and a Vocabulary Matching Game - enhanced the effectiveness of the STDP strategy. To investigate this goal, the researcher implemented the STDP instructional routine for 17 children with three different picture books and their corresponding play activities and a control condition (Drawing) in a counterbalanced order. Descriptive statistics were utilized to understand the effects of these different play activities on the children's receptive and expressive vocabulary learning. Findings showed that the STDP vocabulary instructional strategy had a much larger impact on children's receptive vocabulary than on expressive vocabulary learning. The play activities did not seem to make much difference in the learning of receptive and expressive vocabulary. The results indicated that the STDP strategy is an effective way to teach receptive vocabulary. There was a lack of evidence that the different types of play significantly affected children's vocabulary learning.
ContributorsSong, Mi-Jung (Author) / Christie, James (Thesis advisor) / Enz, Billie (Committee member) / Blanchard, Jay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Food insecurity and childhood obesity are both major public health concerns in the United States of America. Research has not found a definite relationship between childhood obesity and food insecurity to date, with conflicting results being found due to differences in sample sizes and protocol for measuring key variables. Preschoolers (children aged 2-5 years) are a population of particular interest as there tends to be improved health behaviors and greater adaptability to change at this period of growth and development. This study aims to evaluate if there is a relationship between food insecurity and childhood obesity with diet quality as a mediator among preschoolers in the Phoenix area. A secondary data analysis from participants (n=154) from the SAGE (Sustainability via Active Garden Education) research project was used to evaluate food insecurity status, diet quality components (kcal, saturated fat, added sugars, and servings of juice, fruits, and vegetables), and anthropometrics (waist circumference and BMI percentile). No significant associations between food insecurity status, diet quality components, and anthropometric data were found. There was an increased rate of food insecurity and childhood overweight/obesity in this sample compared to state and national averages. Further research of high quality is necessary to determine whether a relationship exists between childhood obesity and food insecurity exists and in what context. Additionally, practice and policy will need to be implemented to decrease rates of food insecurity and childhood obesity among Phoenix preschoolers.
ContributorsGutierrez, Marisa (Author) / Bruening, Meg (Thesis advisor) / Whisner, Corrie (Committee member) / Lee, Rebecca E (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Research suggests that some children with primary language impairment (PLI)
have difficulty with certain aspects of executive function; however, most studies examining executive function have been conducted using tasks that require children to use language to complete the task. As a result, it is unclear whether poor performance on executive function tasks was due to language impairment, to executive function deficits, or both. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether preschoolers with PLI have deficits in executive function by comprehensively examining inhibition, updating, and mental set shifting using tasks that do and do not required language to complete the tasks.
Twenty-two four and five-year-old preschoolers with PLI and 30 age-matched preschoolers with typical development (TD) completed two sets of computerized executive function tasks that measured inhibition, updating, and mental set shifting. The first set of tasks were language based and the second were visually-based. This permitted us to test the hypothesis that poor performance on executive function tasks results from poor executive function rather than language impairment. A series of one-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were completed to test whether there was a significant between-group difference on each task after controlling for attention scale scores. In each analysis the between-group factor was group and the covariate was attention scale scores.
Results showed that preschoolers with PLI showed difficulties on a broad range of linguistic and visual executive function tasks even with scores on an attention measure covaried. Executive function deficits were found for linguistic inhibition, linguistic and visual updating, and linguistic and visual mental set shifting. Overall, findings add to evidence showing that the executive functioning deficits of children with PLI is not limited to the language domain, but is more general in nature. Implications for early assessment and intervention will be discussed.
have difficulty with certain aspects of executive function; however, most studies examining executive function have been conducted using tasks that require children to use language to complete the task. As a result, it is unclear whether poor performance on executive function tasks was due to language impairment, to executive function deficits, or both. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether preschoolers with PLI have deficits in executive function by comprehensively examining inhibition, updating, and mental set shifting using tasks that do and do not required language to complete the tasks.
Twenty-two four and five-year-old preschoolers with PLI and 30 age-matched preschoolers with typical development (TD) completed two sets of computerized executive function tasks that measured inhibition, updating, and mental set shifting. The first set of tasks were language based and the second were visually-based. This permitted us to test the hypothesis that poor performance on executive function tasks results from poor executive function rather than language impairment. A series of one-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were completed to test whether there was a significant between-group difference on each task after controlling for attention scale scores. In each analysis the between-group factor was group and the covariate was attention scale scores.
Results showed that preschoolers with PLI showed difficulties on a broad range of linguistic and visual executive function tasks even with scores on an attention measure covaried. Executive function deficits were found for linguistic inhibition, linguistic and visual updating, and linguistic and visual mental set shifting. Overall, findings add to evidence showing that the executive functioning deficits of children with PLI is not limited to the language domain, but is more general in nature. Implications for early assessment and intervention will be discussed.
ContributorsYang, Huichun (Author) / Gray, Shelley (Thesis advisor) / Restrepo, Maria (Committee member) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Green, Samuel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Embodiment refers to the interactions between the brain, the body, one’s behavior, and the surrounding physical and social worlds (Glenberg, 2010). Embodied cognition can be utilized to teach various aspects of human behavior, especially life skills. Psychologists have defined self-regulation as managing one’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to achieve goals (Rosanbalm & Murray, 2017; Dettmer et al., 2020). In this study, researchers examined the interaction of these concepts to determine whether embodied cognitive tasks could facilitate self-regulation skills in a sample of preschoolers and kindergarteners. Researchers recruited twenty-six participants aged three to six from ASU’s Child Study Lab. Researchers matched participants on PPVT scores, and one from each pair was randomly assigned to the traditional (control) group while the other was assigned to the embodied (experimental) group. In phase one, the embodied group received four sequential thought lesson plans based on physical manipulation of materials. The traditional group received four sequential thought lesson plans in a traditional, two-dimensional format. In phase two, all participants received four traditional-style impulse control lesson plans. Researchers used a factorial ANOVA to analyze both groups’ pre and post-test data in each phase. In phase one, the children in the embodied group displayed greater improvements in sequential thought skills than their counterparts in the traditional group, who only slightly improved overall. In phase two, the previously-embodied group ended with a higher average post-test score than the traditional group. This interaction effect could be attributed to the differences in training methods received in the sequential thought phase. This study would need to be replicated with a larger, more representative sample to determine a statistically significant effect.
ContributorsConway, Bryn (Author) / McKinney, Keagan (Co-author) / Glenberg, Arthur (Thesis director) / Kupfer, Anne (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
Embodiment refers to the interactions between the brain, the body, one’s behavior, and the surrounding physical and social worlds (Glenberg, 2010). Embodied cognition can be utilized to teach various aspects of human behavior, especially life skills. Psychologists have defined self-regulation as managing one’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to achieve goals (Rosanbalm & Murray, 2017; Dettmer et al., 2020). In this study, researchers examined the interaction of these concepts to determine whether embodied cognitive tasks could facilitate self-regulation skills in a sample of preschoolers and kindergarteners. Researchers recruited twenty-six participants aged three to six from ASU’s Child Study Lab. Researchers matched participants on PPVT scores, and one from each pair was randomly assigned to the traditional (control) group while the other was assigned to the embodied (experimental) group. In phase one, the embodied group received four sequential thought lesson plans based on physical manipulation of materials. The traditional group received four sequential thought lesson plans in a traditional, two-dimensional format. In phase two, all participants received four traditional-style impulse control lesson plans. Researchers used a factorial ANOVA to analyze both groups’ pre and post-test data in each phase. In phase one, the children in the embodied group displayed greater improvements in sequential thought skills than their counterparts in the traditional group, who only slightly improved overall. In phase two, the previously-embodied group ended with a higher average post-test score than the traditional group. This interaction effect could be attributed to the differences in training methods received in the sequential thought phase. This study would need to be replicated with a larger, more representative sample to determine a statistically significant effect.
ContributorsMcKinney, Keagan (Author) / Conway, Bryn (Co-author) / Glenberg, Arthur (Thesis director) / Kupfer, Anne (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2022-05