BABES (Beginning Alcohol and Addictions Basic Education Studies) is a drug and alcohol prevention program designed to provide children with un-biased, non-judgemental information concerning alcohol and drug use. The program includes elements of social skills training and empowers children to make informed decisions.The purpose of this study was three-fold: to study the reliability of the BABES instrument, to investigate the effectiveness of the BABES program by administering the BABES instrument and to determine how children's knowledge levels were affected by the program.One hundred and five children were randomly selected from two local day care centers and from Head Start of Delaware County, Indiana. Consents were obtained for 61 children. Preschoolers from Head Start children and from one of the day care centers completed the Pre-Attitude Assessment Inventory and the BABES test. The Pre-AAI was administered prior to BABES and immediately following the prevention program, whereas the BABES test was given at both of those times and also during a two-week follow-up assessment. Children from the other day care center were utilized to check the reliability of the BABES instrument. They received the BABES test two times.A MANOVA was used to analyze the pre, post-test, and follow-up scores on the BABES test. In addition, difference scores were calculated for the Pre-AAI to determine if a knowledge gain was present, and finally, a Pearson R correlation was conducted to determine the test-retest reliability of the BABES instrument.The results showed that the BABES instrument appears to be a fairly reliable instrument and that the children participating in BABES learned more AOD related concepts as presented in BABES than those children who were not exposed to the prevention program. However, children in the experimental group also experienced a negative knowledge gain of different types and/or behaviors associated with AODs. / Institute for Wellness

The first purpose of the present study was to determine whether the duration of preschool children's drawing and writing activity could be increased by introducing the process of dictation and dramatization of children's own stories. The second purpose of this study was to determine whether taking dictation from preschool children and facilitating the dramatization of children's dictations had an impact on print awareness. Samples of convenience were selected from a child care center in a small midwestern city. Results were based on the participation of 16 3- to 5-year-old children in the intervention group and 21 3- to 5-year-old children in the control group.Each participant's print awareness level was measured at the beginning and end of the study using the Print Awareness Test (Huba & Kontos, 1986). Videorecordings were made of the activity that occurred at a designated writing table. The duration of each child's writing and drawing activity was recorded (in seconds). For three hours a week during the eight weeks of the treatment period, children in the treatment group were encouraged to dictate their own individual stories to an adult who wrote their stories and read the stories back to the children. During the last four weeks of the treatment period, children in the treatment group also were encouraged to dramatize their own stories.The findings of the study were:1. A significant difference in children's print awareness was found in both the treatment and control groups (p<.05). There was no difference in print awareness change scores between the treatment and control groups.2. There was a moderate positive correlation (.471) between the number of stories dictated during the first four weeks of intervention and changes in print awareness scores within the treatment group.3. There was no significant difference between the control and treatment groups in the duration of writing and drawing at the end of the study. However, within the treatment group, during the time children were dictating and dramatizing their own stories, the duration of writing and drawing was significantly greater than either before or after intervention. / Department of Elementary Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

No description available.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

This thesis provides an analysis of video recordings and written observations of four preschool-aged children as they spontaneously explored art materials within a group setting. The focus of analysis is the extent to which subjects interacted with other children and adults during art material use, and the effect of interaction on the subjects' uses of materials. For each subject, data are categorized and presented according to location, type, and approximate length of activity; presence or absence of others; and types of interactive behavior: watching, verbal interaction; imitation; and distraction from the activity. Descriptive passages are presented which detail specific episodes of interaction, and behaviors of adults interacting with subjects are also described. The conclusions argue for heightened awareness of social interaction as a factor in children's art experiences. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

本論文透過兩項研究，探討家長與幼兒在家進行數字棋盤遊戲時，應如何與幼兒互動，以培養幼兒的數字感及學習數學的興趣。 / 研究1旨在檢視香港幼兒數字感的發展趨勢，以及不同級別幼兒參與數字棋盤遊戲的能力。此外，研究1會考察家長與幼兒進行數字棋盤遊戲時的表現，並探究其與幼兒數字感及學習數學的興趣的關連。因此，研究1收集51名香港三至六歲幼兒在八項數字感測試的得分，以及其學習數學的興趣水平，並邀請這些幼兒與其家長進行一個數字棋盤遊戲。研究結果發現，在不少數字感測試項目中，各級別幼兒之間都存有顯著的差異。一般而言，低班幼兒已具備參與數字棋盤遊戲的能力。當家長與幼兒進行數字棋盤遊戲，並輪至他們移動棋子時，他們很少邀請幼兒參與其中。雖然「辨讀棋子移動後所停留方格中的數字」、「辨讀棋子移動時所經方格中的數字」及「辨識棋子移動後所停留方格中的數字與其他數字的關連」三項行為在家長與幼兒互動時甚少出現，但有關行為的出現程度與幼兒部份數字感元素有著正向的關連。 / 研究2旨在了解當家長接受親子活動策略訓練後，家長定期與幼兒進行數字棋盤遊戲，能否培養幼兒的數字感及學習數學的興趣。因此，研究2以實驗形式，邀請四組共91位家長與其低班幼兒在家進行不同的親子活動 (經訓練的遊戲組、遊戲組、紙筆練習組，以及控制組)，然後比較各組幼兒在前後測的表現。研究結果發現，對數學能力非特別優異的幼兒而言，數字棋盤遊戲與紙筆練習兩者均能提升幼兒數字序列背誦及兩位數字認讀的能力。當家長接受訓練後，家長定期與幼兒進行數字棋盤遊戲，更能提升幼兒加法運算的能力。不論家長接受訓練與否，定期與幼兒進行數字棋盤遊戲能培養幼兒學習數學的興趣。 / 歸納以上研究結果，本論文顯示家長可透過與幼兒在家進行有關數字的活動，培養幼兒的數字感及學習數學的興趣。然而，不少家長與幼兒進行有關活動時，往往未有充分把握教學機會。因此，家長有需要接受有關方面的訓練。 / Through two related studies, this dissertation investigated how parents should interact with their preschool children during home numeracy activities, such as number board game playing, so as to promote children’s number sense and interest in mathematics. / In Study 1, I examined Hong Kong preschool children’s number sense development and their competence in playing number board game. Furthermore, I investigated whether parents had utilized number board game playing experiences to foster their preschool children’s number sense and interest in mathematics. The relations of the prevalence of various numeracy-related events during number board game playing to children’s number sense and interest in mathematics were also explored. Fifty-one Hong Kong three- to six-year-old preschool children were first tested on eight number sense tasks (including object counting, rote counting, missing number, numeral identification, numeral writing, numerical magnitude comparison, addition, and subtraction). Their interest in mathematics was also measured. Then, parents of these children were asked to play a number board game with their children in dyads. The parent-child interactions during the game were coded and analyzed. Results showed that third year kindergarteners (K3) performed better than second year kindergarteners (K2) on all number sense tasks except object counting and rote counting. K2 children performed better than first year kindergarteners (K1) on all number sense tasks except addition and subtraction. Usually, by K2, children could start to play number board games. When parents played number board game with their preschool children, they seldom elicited children’s participation during their turns to move the token. The events “announcing the final number“, “announcing the numbers passed through“, and “stating the numerical relations of the final number to other numbers only rarely occurred, though the prevalence of these events was positively associated with some components of children’s number sense (e.g., numeral identification, numeral writing, addition, and subtraction). / In Study 2, I investigated the extent to which offering a training program to parents on strategies of interacting with preschool children during number board game playing, together with regular playing of number board games with children, could promote children’s number sense and interest in mathematics. Ninety-one K2 children and their parents were recruited as participants; and an experimental design that involved the pre-test-post-test comparisons of four conditions (i.e., the game with a training condition, the game condition, the exercise condition, and the control condition) was used. Results showed that among children who were not very skilled in mathematics, number board game playing shared some similar educational benefits with completing mathematics exercises from books, such as promoting children’s rote counting and two-digit numeral writing skills. When parents received training, number board game playing could even promote children’s addition skills. No matter whether parents received training, number board game playing could promote children’s interest in mathematics. / Findings of these two studies suggest that home numeracy activities, such as number board game playing, can promote preschool children’s number sense and interest in mathematics. Nevertheless, parents may not be aware of the opportunities to incorporate numeracy into these activities. Therefore, training of parents is needed. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Cheung, Sum Kwing. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 195-211). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.iii / List of Tables --- p.vi / Abstract --- p.x / Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Study 1 --- p.47 / Method --- p.51 / Results --- p.62 / Discussion --- p.105 / Chapter Chapter Three --- Study 2 --- p.120 / Method --- p.127 / Results --- p.141 / Discussion --- p.173 / Chapter Chapter Four --- General Discussion --- p.184 / References --- p.195 / Appendix --- p.212

This study presents results describing the impact on acquisition of teaching basic spatial concepts through both music and play. Testing involved preschool aged children from a local Head Start facility and the speech-language clinic of a local university. The study followed a pre-/post-test design. Interventions occurred in two days over the span of one week. After the post-test, it was determined that there was no statistical significance differentiating learning between the two presentation modes. Concept pairs targeted through both contexts improved in almost the same ratio. It was discovered, however, that through only a short period of intervention (two sessions of 15 minutes each), almost all children developed statistically significant growth on concepts taught through both modes. The results indicate that in a short period of time gains can be made when a lesson focuses entirely on concept pairs using either music or play. / Department of Speech Pathology & Audiology

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of developmental instruction on the whole number computational abilities and mathematical attitudes of kindergarten children. Gender differences in mathematical achievement and attitudes were also explored.Ten traditional mathematics lessons were adapted by the researcher from the adopted mathematic program for the school system, Heath Mathematics, Connections, (Mangre, et al., 1992). Ten developmental mathematics lessons were created by the researcher following the guidelines of the NCTM Standards (1989) promoting the notion of a developmentally appropriate curriculum. The research designed both the Attitudinal Scale and Cognitive Abilities Test which were given both before and after the instructional treatment.The school corporation chosen as the site for the research was located in an urban area consisting of two small cities and the surrounding rural areas. The community consisted of people with diverse socioeconomic status and cultural backgrounds. The sample for the study consisted of 62 kindergarten students enrolled in four half-day classes in one elementary school. Complete data were available for 50 students. Four hypotheses were formulated and tested at the .05 level of significance.ResultsThe four hypotheses were analyzed using a 2 (method) x 2 (gender) MANOVA on the gain scores for both achievement and attitude taken together. Gain scores were obtained by subtracting the pretest score from the posttest score for both achievement and attitude.The findings of the study were:1. There was no significant difference between the whole number computational abilities of kindergarten children receiving developmental instruction and kindergarten children receiving traditional instruction.2. There was no significant difference between the whole number computational abilities of kindergarten boys and kindergarten girls receiving developmental and traditional instruction.3. There was no significant difference in the mathematical attitudes of kindergarten children receiving developmental instruction and kindergarten children receiving traditional instruction.4. There was no significant difference in the mathematical attitudes of kindergarten boys and kindergarten girls receiving developmental and traditional instruction. / Department of Elementary Education