Ithel Jones

The Effects of Recess Timing on Children’s Playground and Classroom Behaviors

Three field experiments were conducted to determine the effects of different recess timing regimens on children’s classroom and recess behaviors. Experiment 1 involved children in Grades K, 2, and 4. The timing of their recess was experimentally varied by 30 minutes. Students’ classroom behavior before and after recess was observed as was their outdoor recess behavior. Children’s prerecess inattention varied as a function of deprivation duration. Further, children, but especially boys, were more socially interactive on the playground following the long deprivation, compared to the short deprivation. Recess behaviors did not relate significantly to postrecess inattention. However, inattention rates were higher before recess than after. Experiment 2 utilized a similar paradigm with a sample of second and fourth graders from the same school. Experiment 2, generally, replicated results from Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, which utilized a replication sample design, children s recess was also manipulated, but the recess period was indoors. Results of the two samples replicated each other and the preceding experiments. Results are discussed in terms of play deprivation theory and massed versus distributed practice.

Block Play Performance Among Preschoolers As a Predictor of Later School Achievement in Mathematics

Abstract In 1982, an intact group of 37 preschoolers (age 4) attending a play-oriented preschool were tested using the Lunzer Five Point Play Scale (1955) to obtain a block performance measure. To statistically control for social economic status (SES), IQ and gender, the McCarty Scales of Childrens Abilities (1972) were given, the gender determined, and an SES score obtained (Hollingshead & Redlick, 1958). In 1998, after these same participants had completed high school, their records were obtained. Outcome measures for the 3rd, 5th, and 7th grades included standardized tests and report card grades in mathematics. High school achievement was determined by using 1) number of courses, 2) number of honors courses, 3) advanced math courses taken, and 4) grades. While controlling for IQ and gender, the block performance measure was correlated and regressed against these outcome variables. No significance was found at the 3rd- and 5th-grade levels by evaluating report card grades and standardized math scores. At 7th-grade, there was a significant correlation between blocks and standardized math scores, but not report card grades. At the high school level, there was a positive correlation with all high school outcome variables. There was no correlation between block performance and standardized math tests or grades at the elementary school levels. However, at the beginning of middle school, 7th grade, and in the high school grades, a positive correlation between preschool block performance and math achievement was demonstrated.

The Effects of Social Relationships, Writing Media, and Microgenetic Development on First-Grade Students’ Written Narratives

This study examined the effects of social relationships, writing media, and microgenetic development on first-grade students’ written narratives. In the within-subjects design, children’s written products and verbalizations were compared across different writing contexts, computer-supported writing and pencil-and-paper writing. Participant relationships were also manipulated to determine the influence of friendship on the outcome measures in the two writing contexts. At the same time, a microgenetic approach was adopted to examine temporal changes in students’ written texts. The results indicated that students’ narratives composed with a word processor were lexically denser and more cohesive than their narratives composed with pencil and paper. Students’ talk during computer-supported writing episodes included more metacognitive terms than their talk during pencil-and-paper writing. Similarly, the relative frequencies of metacognitive talk of friends and nonfriends differed. Results are discussed in terms of the facilitative effects of computer-supported writing and close relationships on metacognitive processes.

Joint reading between mothers and their head start children: Vocabulary development in two text formats

The intent of this study was to examine the ways in which Head Start childrens vocabulary was developed when they and their mothers engaged in joint reading contexts. Nineteen dyads were observed while interacting around expository texts presented in two formats: familiar (newspaper toy advertisements) and traditional (trade books). Dyads in this study were observed in their homes across four observations while reading a series of presented texts. Childrens ability to identify words from the texts read was measured as was their comprehension of a standardized receptive vocabulary list. Mothers talked more than children in all contexts; furthermore, different forms of talk were observed around the different text formats. Correlational and sequential analyses indicated that childrens word recall was best predicted by responsive maternal strategies, such as encouraging children to talk about the text, and childrens modelling maternal strategies. Word recall and vocabulary, however, was significantly corr...

Social Relationships, Peer Collaboration and Children's Oral Language

This study examined the influence of peer collaboration and social context on childrens use of literate language. Literate language is defined as a specific oral language register. It was hypothesised that friend, compared to non-friend dyads would evidence more literate language in the form of talk about cognitive and linguistic processes. Same gender dyads of 7- and 8-year-old children were observed during collaborative writing tasks in friend or non-friend groups, and measures of oral language were collected. The findings suggested that different peer relationships differentially effect childrens oral language in the areas of conflicts, social regulation, and metacognitive and literate language. The data support the proposition that different sorts of peer relationships and instructional settings affect childrens interactions and early literacy development. The results are discussed in terms of the role of social regulation in the context of peer collaboration.

Family Composition, Parental Involvement and Young Children's Academic Achievement

This study examined whether first‐, second‐, and third‐grade students’ achievement in language and mathematics was affected by factors from both the family context, including family size, number of adult caregivers, and parents’ educational level, and the type of school related activities practised by parents. Participants in the study were 333 students (grades 1‐3) whose parents had completed and returned a questionnaire designed to measure parents’ attitude toward school and the extent of their involvement in school related activities. Academic achievement was related to measures of family composition (family size, number of adult caregivers, and parents’ educational level). After controlling for race and gender, parents’ educational level was associated with the students’ scores on achievement tests. Furthermore, students whose parents engaged in learning activities at home were more likely to obtain higher achievement (language) scores. The study lends support to current practices commonly found in early childhood programs for involving parents in their childrens schooling.

A Longitudinal Study of the Predictive Relations Among Construction Play and Mathematical Achievement

This longitudinal study began in 1982 with 37 four year old children who attended the same child care center for at least one year. The participants were assessed on their construction play products of blocks, Legos, and carpentry using the Lunzer Five Point Play Scale. An IQ score was obtained using The McCarthy Scales of Childrens Mental Abilities. Gender was also used as a control variable. In 1998, 27 of these participants were found and standardized test scores in mathematics for grades 3, 5, 7, and high school were correlated with play scores. The California Acheivement Test as well as high school higher mathematics classes and honors format classes were noted. Results showed that grades 3 and 5 had little significance found between a participants play performance and mathematical achievement. At grade 7 and in high school each area of construction play and standardized test scores were found to be significant.

Social contexts of learning literate language: The role of varied, familiar, and close peer relationships

Abstract Two prominent theories in evolutionary biology have stressed the role of social contexts in the evolution of primate cognition. One theory holds that cognition evolved in the context of individuals having to keep track of their interactions with a variety of conspecifics. In the other theory, cognition evolved in the contexts of familiar and close social relationships. In this paper, we present two experiments examining the effects of varied, familiar, and close social contacts on preschool childrens literate language and story re-reading. We hypothesized, based on developmental evolutionary theory, that closeness, in the form of increased familiarity and friendship, would maximize childrens expression of emotional terms, conflict/resolution cycles, collaborative responses, literate language, and story re-readings. In Study 1, children were exposed to one of two conditions. In the more familiar condition, initially unfamiliar children interacted with the same peer across four separate observations. In the less familiar, varied condition, a focal child interacted with a different unfamiliar peer on four separate occasions. Consistent with predictions, children in the more familiar condition increased their use of emotional terms and literate language and story re-reading with time. In Study 2, a familiar group (as defined in Study 1) was compared with children in bestfriend dyads. As predicted, friends outperformed familiar peers initially, but between-group differences decreased across time while childrens performance in the familiar group increased across time. Results are discussed in terms of the role of familiarity in the evolution of cooperation and cognition.

Integration of science and mathematics methods and preservice teachers’ understanding of constructivism

Abstract The study examined the integration of science and mathematics methods courses and preservice teachers’ understanding of constructivism. The participants were 50 preservice teachers who were enrolled in early childhood education mathematics and science methods courses, and an early childhood practicum. The two methods courses were integrated and the instructors adopted a collaborative approach, including common syllabi, texts, assignments, and teaching strategies. The preservice teachers completed e‐journal reflection that were subsequently coded and analyzed. The findings suggested that the instructional approach enabled students to develop and refine their understanding of constructivism.

Collaborative Writing and Children’s Use of Literate Language: A Sequential Analysis of Social Interaction

Research in children’s oral language and early literacy learning currently emphasizes the facilitative role of social context. This study examined the sequential interactions of first-grade students during collaborative writing to determine the ways in which peer collaboration relate to literate language use. Same gender dyads of seven- and eight-year-old children were observed during collaborative writing tasks and measures of oral language were collected. Sequential analyses of social interaction suggested that children’s use of literate language during collaborative writing tasks is related to various forms of social regulation such as offering assistance, checking, or guiding. The data support the proposition that social forms of regulation elicit literate language and self-regulation strategies. The results are discussed in terms of the role of social regulation in the context of peer collaboration.