No description available.

Thesis (M.I.T.)--The Evergreen State College, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed 7/16/2009). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-70).

Recent research suggests that summer reading programs may benefit elementary-aged children with learning disabilities and reading difficulties. However, there exists limited literature on how both play-based learning (PBL) and scaffolding can be used to improve reading outcomes in non-school settings. The purpose of this qualitative research was to examine PBL, scaffolding, and perceived reading outcomes in a 6-week play-based summer reading program. The conceptual framework guiding this research is that PBL, when combined with scaffolding, results in either the maintenance or the improvement of reading outcomes. Fourteen individuals (5 support workers, 4 parents, 5 children) who were enrolled in a play-based summer reading program between 2019 and 2021 participated in semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that PBL and scaffolding can lead to perceived reading progress and increases in confidence and motivation, as well as an absence of a summer learning slide. Additional themes relating to the role of the support workers, program organization and friendship/belonging emerged. Implications for the literacy learning of elementary-aged children with disabilities and reading difficulties are discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.(Psychotherapy))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-205).

Genom hela förskollärarutbildningen har lekens betydelse för barns lärande varit tydlig och att vi som förskollärare har ett ansvar att se till att leken ligger till grund för allt som vi gör i förskolan. Syftet med denna studie är att belysa förskollärares förhållningssätt till barns lek i planeringen av verksamheten och på så sätt bidra med kunskap kring hur leken kan ta form i förskolans verksamhet. Genom intervjuer, som analyserats med fenomenografi som metodansats, har de två deltagande förskollärarna visat en uppfattning där de tar barnens lek på allvar. Resultatet visar att förskollärarna har ett förhållningssätt som genomsyras av en barnsyn där barn ses som medmänniskor. Förskollärarna planerar verksamheten på ett sådant sätt att leken får ta en stor plats där också barnen får inflytande. Förskollärares förhållningssätt är ett intressant fenomen som jag efter att ha genomför denna studie menar får konsekvenser för barns lärande och utveckling i förskolan. / Throughout the preschool teacher education, the importance of play for children´s learning has been clear. We as preschool teachers have a responsibility to ensure that play is the foundation of everything we do in preschool. The purpose of this study is to shed light on preschool teachers´ approach to children’s play in the planning of the activity and in that way contribute with knowledge about how play can take shape in the preschool activity. Through interviews, analyzed with phenomenography as a method approach, the two participating preschool teachers have shown a perception where they take children’s play seriously. The results show that preschool teachers have an approach that is permeated by a view of children where children are seen as fellow human beings. The preschool teachers plan activities in such a way that the play can take a large place where the children also have an influence. Preschool teachers´ approach are an interesting phenomenon that after completing this study I mean will have consequences for children´s learning and development in preschool.

This action-based, qualitative research project involving 7 early childhood educators working in a well-established preschool child care program examined the influences of job-embedded professional development on children’s experiences of mathematics. Data was collected through observations, journals, conversations, interviews, and surveys, and then analyzed using a grounded theory model. A number of themes emerged, the strongest being those related to teachers’ increased awareness, interpretation, and support of children’s explorations in mathematics during play. This project provides an example of a successful model of teacher development for early childhood educators, and contributes to the growing field of research in mathematics education related to teacher noticing, but at the preschool level. Further, with the introduction of full day kindergarten and the emphasis on play based learning this project provides many rich examples of the mathematics present in children's every day play that can be used in future teacher development.

This action-based, qualitative research project involving 7 early childhood educators working in a well-established preschool child care program examined the influences of job-embedded professional development on children’s experiences of mathematics. Data was collected through observations, journals, conversations, interviews, and surveys, and then analyzed using a grounded theory model. A number of themes emerged, the strongest being those related to teachers’ increased awareness, interpretation, and support of children’s explorations in mathematics during play. This project provides an example of a successful model of teacher development for early childhood educators, and contributes to the growing field of research in mathematics education related to teacher noticing, but at the preschool level. Further, with the introduction of full day kindergarten and the emphasis on play based learning this project provides many rich examples of the mathematics present in children's every day play that can be used in future teacher development.

Denna studie har som syfte att undersöka hur pedagoger i förskolan uppfattar undervisningsbegreppet. Via våra frågeställningar vill vi vidare ta reda på hur pedagogerna uppfattar undervisningsbegreppet i förhållande till sitt uppdrag formulerat i läroplanen och hur de tillämpas i den pedagogiska verksamheten. Vi har valt att genomföra en kvalitativ forskning med en fenomenografisk ansats då den gör det möjligt för oss att ta del av en variation olika uppfattningar. Utifrån ett kvalitativt frågeformulär kommer vi att samla in svar i textform som vi sedan analyserar och tolkar för att kunna urskilja en variation i resultatet. Vårt forskningsämne kommer att placeras in i ett redan existerande forskningsfält och centralt för vårt valda ämne är begrepp som samspel och kommunikation och därför tar vi fäste i utvecklingspedagogiken och Vygotskijs sociokulturella perspektiv. De båda perspektiven beskriver olika aspekter av utveckling och lärande, vilka är centrala i diskussionen kring undervisningbegreppet. Resultatet visar att pedagogerna uppfattar undervisning som målstyrda processer där pedagoger och barn i samspel utvecklar ny kunskap. Vi kan dock urskilja en variation i det faktiska användandet av begreppet då en grupp pedagoger medvetet väljer att inte använda sig av eller tala om det. Vår slutsats är att det sker undervisning i förskolan trots att pedagoger väljer att inte ge uttryck och utrymme för begreppet.

The purpose of this study was to investigate young children's perspectives related to their experiences in child care. Researchers used individual interviews and drawings in an early childhood program in Denmark and one in the United States as the basis for examining children's perspectives on their everyday lives in child care. Observations documented the everyday cultural practices for the children in the two child care centers and provided a foundation for interpreting the interviews and the drawings. The information collected was analyzed to determine what aspects of child care young children like best and least, as well as their thoughts on the adults and peers in their center.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to research relating to the perspective of what students consider important to conduct the leisure-time centre so as to ensure a meaningful leisure time. The focus of the study in in highlighting the views and opinions of the students. Earlier research is based on different studies, which focus on questions such as students development, students views on transitions and students social experiences. In this study the result is analyzed through a theoretical framework based on various theories of play. The three main theories consist of didactic positions, the effects of the environment on students' state of being, and the purpose of play. The method used for this study consisted of eight qualitative, semistructured interviews conducted in groups of three students from the third grade, performed at two schools. By analyzing the result, three aspects could be discerned as important for the students, which forms the basis for the studies discussion. These three aspects are the importance of an inviting and appealing environment, the possibilities for a social community, and the role of the teacher as a figure for safety in the everyday running of the leisure-time center. Furthermore, it can be discerned that play is a central aspect, which permeates everything which the students request from the leisure-time center.