Premium
The effect of teacher intervention on object manipulation in young children
Author(s) -
Heath Phillip A.,
Heath Pearl
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660190707
Subject(s) - psychology , intervention (counseling) , mathematics education , cognition , developmental psychology , object (grammar) , population , medicine , computer science , environmental health , artificial intelligence , psychiatry , neuroscience
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of limited oral and physical teacher intervention on object manipulation by preschool and early elementary children. The population consisting of 70 children, three, four, five, and six years old from two preschools and two kindergarten classes were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. Children were observed as they manipulated magnets in classroom settings. Experimental students had the objects placed in their hands and were orally invited to explore. Results showed that there were significant differences between the groups in total time spent with the objects, number of activities performed, and cognitive level of operation. No significant differences were found in the number of contacts or in the interactive effects of treatment and testing day. The findings suggest that teacher roles may have an effect on student exploration and quality of interaction with unfamiliar objects.