Victoria R. Fu

Predicting Imaginative Play in Preschool Children

as original problem solving with ideational fluency as an essential component (Guilford, 1956, 1967; Mednick, 1962; Wallach & Kogan, 1965). These investigators and others (Getzels and Jackson, 1962; Torrance, 1974) developed measures of original problem-solving based on ideational fluency. These measures are frequently used in research designed to validate the aforementioned formulations of creativity (Milgram, Milgram, Rosenbloom, & Rabkin, 1978; Ward, 1968, 1969). In these tests the verbal and visual stimuli are considered the problems and the subjects’verbal responses the solutions. Considerable evidence for the

Stimulus Specificity in the Measurement of Original Thinking in Preschool Children

Summary A patterns task consisting of six stimuli, three presented in two-dimensional form and three presented in three-dimensional form were administered to 47 preschool children. The three-dimensional patterns task generated a greater number of responses than the two-dimensional task. Moreover, the two-dimensional task was related to intelligence whereas the three-dimensional task was not. In the second phase of the study the greater fluency elicited by the three-dimensional pattern task was found to be a function of the added dimension and not of the specific stimuli used. The implications of the findings for Mednicks response hierarchy formulation and the creativity-intelligence distinction are discussed. The findings demonstrate the importance of developing measures of original thinking which are specifically appropriate for use with preschool children.

Teaching in the zone of proximal development: Implications for responsive teaching practice

This article draws upon current conceptual and empirical understanding of Vygotskys sociocultural theory of development in suggesting implications for early childhood teaching within the zone of proximal development (or responsive teaching). Discussion centers on the following key Vygotskian ideas: teaching-learning as a profoundly social process that enables children to exceed the reaches of their current developmental level; intersubjectivity or shared understanding as a basis for collaborative activity; and activity settings as social contexts for dynamic teaching and assessment. Examples of responsive teaching practice in early childhood classrooms are provided.

SELF-ESTEEM OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS AS RELATED TO WEIGHT

The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale was administered to 550 14- and 16-yr.-old (± 6 mo.) girls. Self-esteem scores were categorized by weight and weight by height. Scores on the Quetelet Index for obesity were correlated with self-esteem scores. Mean self-esteem of the low- and middle-weight by height group was significantly higher than the mean of the high-weight by height group. In analyzing weight alone, the self-esteem of the middle-weight group was significantly higher than the self-esteem of the high-weight group. The correlation of the obesity index and self-esteem indicated that as weight increased self-esteem decreased.

Familiar versus Unfamiliar Stimulus Items in Measurement of Original Thinking in Young Children

Two sets of stimuli on the Unusual Uses task varying in familiarity were presented to 78 preschool-age subjects. Familiar items yielded greater ideational fluency than unfamiliar ones and generated both more popular and unusual responses. The importance of increased fluency is discussed in relation to Mednicks response hierarchies and the distinction between creativity-intelligence.

Children's thinking about family characteristics and parent attributes

Abstract Children (N = 61; 31 boys. 30 girls) from prcschools, first grades, and fourth grades were interviewed on their thinking about family and parental roles. Older children were more likely than younger children to recognize the multiple roles of parents and the multiple functions of a family, as well as the interrelationships between these factors. Qualitative analyses of the childrens responses clarify some of the assumed developmental differences in childrens thinking on family and parental concepts.

A Developmental Study of Ethnic Self-Concept among Preadolescent Girls

Summary The present study explored the developmental changes in the self-concepts of 634 nine-, 432 ten-, and 452 eleven-year-old girls from Euro-, Afro-, and Mexican-American backgrounds, respectively. The lower SES group had a significantly lower mean self-concept than the middle SES group. The Euros had a higher self-concept than the Afros, and both of these groups had significantly higher self-concepts than the Mexican-Americans. Also, 11-year-olds had a significantly higher mean than both the nine- and 10-year-olds. Furthermore, ANOVA showed that the two-way interaction between race and SES was not the same for the three age groups. The pattern of interaction was similar for the nine- and the 11-year-olds but different for the 10-year-olds. Self-concept scores increasing with age may be a function of development, cognitive maturity, and the mastery of social skills as well as ethnic membership, sociocultural environment, and the accessibility of opportunities.

Original Thinking in Israeli Preschool Children

Original thinking, as measured by the Wallach and Kogan Creativity Battery, was examined in 41 Israeli preschool children. A larger proportion of original responses was generated by these preschoolers than by older children or adolescents. Original thinking was unrelated to Wechsler preschool intelligence scores. Quantity and originality of ideational output were strongly related. A more marked order effect — popular responses occurring earlier and original responses later in the response sequence — was found in high original subjects than in low. These findings duplicate those found with preschool children in the United States and indicate that the Guilford-Mednick conceptualization of original thinking has validity beyond a given Western society.

AN INSIDE PERSPECTIVE OF PARADIGM SHIFTS IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT LABORATORY PROGRAMS: BRIDGING THEORY AND PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION

Child development lab schools have long played a significant role in contributing to our understanding of child development and new and innovative educational practice. In this chapter, we argue that lab schools need to be continually reinvented and reconstructed to meet changing societal and institutional demands. As models for the early childhood community, lab schools should be on the leading edge of what theory and research informs us are best practices in early childhood education and child development. Here we tell the story of the Virginia Tech Child Development Lab School’s efforts to reconsider and reconstruct our philosophical approach, practices, and policies and move closer to bridging theory and practice as a family-centered, teacher-inquiry based, community of learners. It demonstrates a paradigmatic shift in thinking about children, families, early childhood teacher education, and the role of lab schools in general.

The Effects of Stimulus Dimension and Mode of Exploration on Original Thinking in Preschool Children.

This study was concerned with the effects of stimulus dimension (two vs. three dimensions), mode of exploration (visual or haptic), and the combination of these two variables on preschool childrens responses to pattern meanings and unusual uses tasks of original thinking. Eighty children (aged 4 years 10 months to 5 years 5 months) were randomly assigned to four task conditions. To determine the construct validity of each type of stimulus presentation, four criteria were identified and examined. The findings indicated that in measuring original thinking, in terms of ideational fluency, presentation of tasks in 3-D yields higher scores than in 2-D form and that permitting visual and haptic exploration does afford higher scores than does use of visual only. That is, the 3-D in comparison with 2-D tasks generated more responses overall and more unique high quality responses in particular. Furthermore, the combination of 3-D with visual and haptic exploration is the only condition studied to meet all criteria for construct validity as specified in this study. The occurrence of increased fluency and the relationship between fluency and high quality original responses are discussed in relation to Mednicks (1962) response hierarchy and to the creativity-intelligence distinction (Wallach, 1970, 1971).