Doris Bergen

Play from birth to twelve : contexts, perspectives, and meanings

Selected Entries: Historical Contexts of Childs Play *Play as Children See It *Play and Technology *Sociologists and Play Research * Playful Ways of the Performing Artist * Play Among Education Professionals * Infant and Toddler Play *Play and Language *Gender Identity and Play * Language of Childrens Feelings *Role of Play in Assessment *Structuring the Study of Play *Pretending Together * Meaning in Play with Objects * Constructive Play *Games with Rules *City Play *Play as Ritual in Health Care Settings *Peer and Sibling Influences on Play *Play Between Generations *Challenge and Risk-Taking in Play *Play with Violence *Educational Implications of Play with Computer

Breaking ground in cross-cultural research on the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia): A multi-national study involving 73 countries

Abstract The current study examines whether the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia) can be assessed reliably and validly by means of a self-report instrument in different countries of the world. All items of the GELOPH (Ruch and Titze, GELOPH〈46〉, University of Düsseldorf, 1998; Ruch and Proyer, Swiss Journal of Psychology 67:19–27, 2008b) were translated to the local language of the collaborator (42 languages in total). In total, 22,610 participants in 93 samples from 73 countries completed the GELOPH. Across all samples the reliability of the 15-item questionnaire was high (mean alpha of .85) and in all samples the scales appeared to be unidimensional. The endorsement rates for the items ranged from 1.31% through 80.00% to a single item. Variations in the mean scores of the items were more strongly related to the culture in a country and not to the language in which the data were collected. This was also supported by a multidimensional scaling analysis with standardized mean scores of the items from the GELOPH〈15〉. This analysis identified two dimensions that further helped explaining the data (i.e., insecure vs. intense avoidant-restrictive and low vs. high suspicious tendencies towards the laughter of others). Furthermore, multiple samples derived from one country tended to be (with a few exceptions) highly similar. The study shows that gelotophobia can be assessed reliably by means of a self-report instrument in cross-cultural research. This study enables further studies of the fear of being laughed at with regard to differences in the prevalence and putative causes of gelotophobia in comparisons to different cultures.

Play and Social Interaction of Children With Disabilities at Learning/Activity Centers in an Inclusive Preschool

Abstract This study of nine preschool children with disabilities in an inclusive program with typical peers examined the types of play and social interactions in which they engaged in their chosen learning/activity centers. The following learning centers were used in this study: art (paints and drawing materials); creative expression (making teacher-directed products using cutting); writing (typewriter, letter writing, and printing materials); housekeeping/dress-up (kitchen setup, various apparel); computer (softwareprograms); woodworking (hammers, wood blocks, and foam blocks); Lego® (multi-colored blocks); and science (nature materials). Findings indicated differences among the children in the amount of time they spent in various centers, the number of different types of play in which they engaged, and in the amount of time spent in play of various types. The children also differed in the number of observed segments in which peers (typical and atypical) were present, number/type of peer interaction events, number of segments in which teachers were present, and number/type of teacher interaction events. Children with various types of disabilities had different patterns of play, and case study examples describe some of these differences. Implications for practice include the effects of teacher presence in centers as catalysts for involvement of children with disabilities, and the importance of teacher awareness about the influence of individual child preferences, and type and extent of disability, on their play experiences. Suggestions for teacher facilitation of peer interactions to extend their length and social complexity are given.

Effects of Infant-Parent Play with a Technology-Enhanced Toy: Affordance-Related Actions and Communicative Interactions.

Infant-parent play with toys is an early form of social communication, and the toy features (i.e., affordances), as well as the childs language competence, contribute to the developmental level of the play and the types of play actions that occur. This research, conducted in cooperation with a toy manufacturer, investigated how the affordances of a technology-enhanced toy were used by 26 infant-parent pairs during six clinical sessions of play with the toy. The types of play, the features of the toy that elicited play, the humor elicited by the toy, and the communicative interactions of the parent and child were observed. Results indicated that certain affordances of the toy were used in exploration, practice play, and social games and were related to episodes of child laughter. The communicative interactions of the parents and the language patterns used in the sessions grew in complexity as the childrens language facility increased. The affordances of the toy played a role in a variety of parent-child interactions and joint attention experiences.

Assessing the winning teams program of interactive satellite-based training

This research assessed an interactive satellite-based training program integrating interactive audiovisual experiences with face-to-face interactions. Key elements were content created by experts, high-quality video segments, satellite-based interaction, off-line interactions among teams of parents and caregivers, workshops, and team building exercises. For pragmatic reasons, it was necessary to develop brief assessment instruments concurrently with training. A large set of survey items were created from draft materials and reduced empirically through piloting to those with the best psychometric properties. To avoid the appearance of traditional testing, knowledge was assessed with Likert items. Surveys measured participant satisfaction, knowledge, attitudes, and the application and articulation of concepts. Participant satisfaction was high. Participants increased positive attitudes and learned appropriate vocabulary. Training was more effective than no training or watching videotapes. The program appears to represent a viable model of training that could successfully be applied to Internet technologies.

Understanding mathematics achievement: an analysis of the effects of student and family factors

Educators are increasingly recognising the importance of improving students’ mathematics achievement. Much of the current research focuses on the impact of instructional variables on mathematics achievement. The goal of this study was to examine the influence of less researched variables – family and student factors. Participants were 747 economically disadvantaged elementary students grades K-8 in Ohio. Predictor variables included: (a) 13 factors from a parent survey on both child and family circumstances and (b) reading achievement, measured by a norm-referenced achievement test. Outcome variables included three mathematics scales from the same achievement test. Regression analyses examined the impact of the predictors on the outcomes. Reading achievement significantly predicted mathematics achievement for all three outcomes. Parent pessimism and parent-perceived school/cognitive competence of children also emerged as significant predictors for two of the three mathematics outcomes. Implications for research, policy and practice will be shared.

An Observational Study: Examining the Relevance of Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Classroom Adaptations, and Parental Participation in the Context of an Integrated Preschool Program.

Preschool programs are often based upon the phi- centers were videotaped for approximately 30 minutes losophy of quality integration between typically devel- in three randomly selected 10-minute intervals. Parents oping children and children with special needs (Hanson, and preschool teachers were also interviewed concernGutierrez, Morgan, Brennan, & Zercher, 1997). Preble ing their views on the integration process. The data were County Preschool is located in Camden, Ohio. It ser- then content analyzed, a technique that permits replicavices five rural school districts. The population of this ble and valid inferences to be drawn from data that is mostly farming community is approximately 45,000. visual, oral, and written in format. Data pertaining to The preschool operates a program for 3- to 6-year-olds these interactions were gathered through videotaped obwho are typically developing and who have special servations, interviews, and field notes. These data were needs in the areas of social-emotional development, then triangulated to derive common themes. Pseudcommunication, fine/gross motor skills, and adaptive be- onyms have been used for all preschool children. haviors. The first author visited the morning preschool ses- Preble County Preschool Staff sions three times a week during a 3-month period. This was done to (a) gain a greater insight into how preschool The morning staff at the Preble County preschool programs were practicing integration, (b) acquire knowl- consists of two special education teachers, one general edge of how developmentally appropriate practices were education teacher, four instructional assistants, and two being used throughout the learning centers, (c) examine parent helpers. A map of the preschool building showing how the special education preschool teachers made ap- the learning centers is given in Fig. 1. propriate adaptations for their special needs children, and (d) explore the role of parents as they participated Breaking Into Groups: Typical Preschoolers in activities with their children.

Technology in the Classroom: Education or Edu-tainment?

As one who has written often about the value of play as a medium for learning and development, I have long been a proponent of ”playful” learning experiences. Ideal playful learning experiences allow children some control over the ways they learn, motivate them to learn based on personal interests, and “bend“ reality so that taking the risks inherent in learning has no long-term negative consequences. I once developed a schema of play and learning for teachers to use that connected different types of learning to different types of play (Bergen, 1998). The schema included a category called ”work disguised as play,” which is the way teachers often try to help children learn required skills that have little inherent interest and meaning for them. For example, playing a counting or adding game is a traditional example of teachers’ efforts to make learning math palatable. I urge teachers to be honest about labeling work as ”play” or “game.” Do not pretend that these activities are ”really” play; instead, tell children that they are ways to make learning required information more fun. Remember, if the work-play experience is devoid of some level of child control, motivation, and reality-bending, children will not consider it to be playful. Recent research shows that children are not fooled by work disguised as play (Fein & Wiltz, 1998; Marshall, 1994). They distinguish between what they have to do and what they choose to do, even if the label “play” is used by the teacher on the ”have to’s.” As one child put it, ”It’s play if you don’t have to finish!” The Lego/ Logo program was an early attempt to use technology to DORIS BERGEN

Play as a Mediator of Autism: Concerns and Possibilities

The published literature on potential treatments for young children with autistic tendencies has suggested a variety of ways to assist such children in gaining positive developmental progress. At one time most of these recommended options focused on methods using ideas from behavior modification theory and this theoretical approach still is advocated today and conducted by many practitioners, especially in relation to suggested language and social skill treatments for children with autism [1]. Many of these approaches involve parental training in the use of the reinforcement techniques [2,3]. Publications evaluating the effectiveness of this methodology have indicated that some of the studies showed positive effects, especially on language responses, and some have showed only minimal effectiveness [4,5]. However, for many years the techniques, based on behavior modification theory, have been the prevailing model of treatment reported in the literature.

Involving Early Childhood Stakeholders in Program Evaluation: The GGA Story

When we advocate for quality in early childhood care and education settings, we must remember that quality itself is culturally and contextually bound, and can look very different in different countries, communities, and cultures. While in one culture, quality may mean that children participate in food preparation as part of the center community, that type of participation may not be appropriate or valued in another culture. With the development of the Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA) in 1999, its authors created a globally applicable measurement tool for quality in early childhood care and education programs that left room for the cultural and contextual differences inherent in any assessment of quality. One important element of the GGA is its inclusion of internal stakeholders. This idea of inclusion—both of diverse students and of parents and community members—is critical to ensuring quality care and education for all young children.