Lisa Kelly-Vance

The impact of mentoring on academic achievement of at-risk youth

Abstract Planned mentoring programs have flourished as one possible solution to the problems affecting youth. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted evaluating mentoring programs in spite of the generally accepted belief that only positive effects can result from their implementation. The present study examined the impact of mentoring on the academic achievement of at-risk youth involved in Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Academic achievement tests were individually administered to 12 boys in the treatment group (i.e., had a mentor) and 13 boys in a control group (i.e., were on a waiting list to receive a mentor) pre- and post-test over a nine month period. Results indicated that boys in the treatment group made significantly higher academic gains than the control group, even after controlling for ability. Implications of these results are discussed.

The Effects of Stereotyped Toys and Gender on Play Assessment in Children Aged 18-47 Months

The goals of the present study were to identify the impact particular stereotyped toys have on young childrens complexity of play; to identify how these behaviours may influence childrens cognitive development using play assessment; and to ascertain the toys that would be most appropriate for use in play assessment sessions. A total of 30 children who ranged in age from 18-47 months were observed playing for 30 minutes in a playroom. Analyses revealed that higher levels of play complexity were only manifested when children played with female stereotyped toys. The implications for practitioners of this and other findings are discussed.

A Systematic, Reliable Approach to Play Assessment in Preschoolers:

Play assessment is gaining attention as a measure of the developing skills of young children. The procedures and methods of coding child behaviours vary considerably across researchers and practitioners. Because of this, definitive statements about the use of play assessment cannot be made without further research. The present study is an attempt to report a set of standardized procedures for play assessment along with an empirically based coding scheme (PIECES). The reliability of this system of play assessment is also investigated. High inter-observer reliability was found along with moderate test-retest correlations for both the typically developing (r = 0.48) and exceptional (r = 0.58) children. Thus, this version of play assessment holds promise as an observation system for intervention and progress monitoring in early childhood. The authors stress that more research is needed in this area before play assessment can either be used in early childhood or discounted as an inappropriate tool.

The impact of a collaborative family/school reading programme on student reading rate

Student reading skills are below grade level in many schools and professionals are constantly searching for new ideas to enhance reading curricula. To address this problem in one elementary school, a parent/school reading programme was implemented. Parents were encouraged to increase the amount of time spent reading with their children at home and the school provided easily accessible reading materials, suggestions for encouraging reading at home, prizes and special activities. Programme participants demonstrated a higher increase in reading rate and accuracy than the matched peers. Prior to implementation and at the end of the reading programme, parents and students who chose to participate in the programme reported positive attitudes toward reading together. Implications of these results are discussed and an emphasis is placed on expanding research in the area.

The Use of Play Assessment to Evaluate the Cognitive Skills of Two-and Three-Year-Old Children

Play assessment is increasing in popularity despite the lack of empirical support. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of play assessment with young children and determine its efficacy in determining cognitive levels of development. Eight 2-year-olds and eight 3/2-year-olds were observed playing in an unstructured format. Results indicated that Exploratory Play becomes more complex with age and is displayed more than Pretend Play in an unstructured play session. Childrens play primarily consisted of Exploratory Play, Pretend Play and Problem Solving and Planning Skills. Several of the Supple mental Subdomains measured by play assessment were not observed to occur in the spontaneous play format. A tendency for increasing complexity of play across time in session was also found.

A Play and Language Intervention for Two-Year-Old Children: Implications for Improving Play Skills and Language

The purpose of this study was to develop an intervention for 2-year-old children to enhance play and language skills. The intervention was implemented over a 4-week period and included components of reading, modeling, and positive reinforcement of language and play. Specifically, children were read a story and played with a matching toy set. Participants included 10 children, all age 2, who attended a child care center. Five participants received the play intervention, and five were used as comparison. All children were assessed using the Play in Early Childhood Evaluation System (PIECES), the Preschool Language Scale (PLS), and a Vocabulary Assessment. The results of this study showed that children who received the intervention increased pretend play more than the comparison group and also increased comprehension and expressive communication skills more than the comparison group. Implications for early childhood educators and parents are discussed.

Assisted Reproduction Versus Spontaneous Conception: A Comparison of the Developmental Outcomes in Twins

The use of assisted reproductive technology is increasing rapidly. Research, although sparse, has resulted in inconsistent findings as to the developmental prognosis for infants conceived by assisted reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilization and the use of fertility drugs. In the present study, the authors compared twins who were spontaneously conceived with those who were conceived through assisted reproductive technology. The authors found differences in birth weight and gestational age. Infants conceived by assisted reproductive technology fared worse than did those who were spontaneously conceived. The authors found no differences between the groups in mental development at 24 months of age, but they found evidence of differences in physical development. Implications of the findings are discussed.

A Perceptual Motor Intervention Improves Play Behavior in Children with Moderate to Severe Cerebral Palsy

For children with moderate or severe cerebral palsy (CP), a foundational early goal is independent sitting. Sitting offers additional opportunities for object exploration, play and social engagement. The achievement of sitting coincides with important milestones in other developmental areas, such as social engagement with others, understanding of spatial relationships, and the use of both hands to explore objects. These milestones are essential skills necessary for play behavior. However, little is known about how sitting and play behavior might be affected by a physical therapy intervention in children with moderate or severe CP. Therefore, our overall purpose in this study was to determine if sitting skill could be advanced in children with moderate to severe CP using a perceptual motor intervention, and if play skills would change significantly as sitting advanced. Thirty children between the ages of 18 months and 6 years who were able to hold prop sitting for at least 10 s were recruited for this study. Outcome measures were the sitting subsection of the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), and the Play Assessment of Children with Motor Impairment play assessment scale, which is a modified version of the Play in Early Childhood Evaluation System. Significant improvements in GMFM sitting scores (p < 0.001) and marginally significant improvement in play assessment scores (p = 0.067) were found from pre- to post-intervention. Sitting change explained a significant portion of the variance in play change for children over the age of 3 years, who were more severely affected by CP. The results of this study indicate that advances in sitting skill may be a factor in supporting improvements in functional play, along with age and severity of physical impairment.

Evaluation of a Summer Reading Program to Reduce Summer Setback.

Summer setback, which is defined as a decline in academic achievement over the summer months, occurs in many academic areas but seems especially problematic in reading. We assessed students from a midwestern parochial school serving predominantly students from a low–socioeconomic status background for their reading achievement before they left for summer break in the spring and again at the start of the school year in the fall. We observed a significant decline in reading achievement. However, we observed a reduction in the effects of the setback in students who participated in a 3-week summer reading program that incorporated evidence-based reading fluency and comprehension strategies. Participants in the program significantly increased their reading achievement over the course of the summer program and started the school year with percentile ranks in reading that were higher than those at the end of the previous school year.

TĖVŲ MOKYMO PROGRAMOS EFEKTYVUMAS UGDANT VAIKŲ ŽAIDIMO GEBĖJIMUS

Background. Young children learn about their world through play but some lack developmentally appropriate play skills and their learning may be compromised. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of parents teaching play skills to their children. Methods and Results. Parents of preschoolers were taught ways to enhance their children’s pretend play and then engage in parent-child play daily for six weeks. Children in the parent training group (n=5) showed more growth in their play than the children in a comparison group (n=4). Every child in the parent training group showed an increase in pretend play, whereas in the comparison group, one child increased, two remained about the same, and one decreased. Conclusions. Implications for the delivery of early childhood services are discussed regarding the effective use of parents as implementers of play interventions. keywords: early childhood, play, parent training. THE EFFECT oF A PArENT TrAININg ProgrAM oN CHIldrEN’S PlAY In early childhood, early identification and subsequent intervention allows for the building of essential skills that can prevent further problems. Recognizing the important role that parents, defined as the primary caregivers of the child, fulfill in the lives of their children, as well as the shift in educational law, early childhood intervention strategies should be family-centered (Individuals with Disabilities Education 1 Address for correspondence: Psychology Department, ASH 347R, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182-0274; phone: 402-554-3563; e-mail: lkelly-vance@ unomaha.edu. Jessica Dempsey, Lisa Kelly-Vance, Brigette Ryalls 118 Improvement Act, 2004; Wehman, 1998). As the emphasis of prevention and early intervention grows, it is important to consider how to best enhance children’s development of skills in a way that supports the active involvement of the family. Engagement in play is a central activity of early childhood and current empirical evidence supports the use of play-based assessment and intervention to identify and improve skills (Fewell & Rich, 1987; Kelly-Vance, Needelman, Troia, & Ryalls, 1999; Kelly-Vance & Ryalls, 2005; Kelly-Vance, Ryalls, & Glover, 2002; Linder, 1993; Stagnitti & Unsworth, 2004). Play interventions are family-centered, but research is limited in the involvement of parents in enhancing play (Kelly-Vance & Ryalls, 2008). This study investigated the effect of training parents on specific play teaching strategies and their children’s subsequent play.