Abstract/Notes: Pretend play is common in childhood. Yet by age 4, children shown pretend and real activities in a book said they would choose to do the real activity over the pretend one. The present studies extended this research, examining children’s actual behavior in laboratory and school settings (Study 1, n = 32, M = 59.32 months; and Study 2, n = 16, M = 54.08 months), their choices about pretend roles (Study 3, n = 50, M = 59.48 months), and parents’ perspectives on what children prefer (Study 4, n = 83). As in prior work, 4-year-olds preferred real activities from a book; by 5, children also engaged more with real activities. In contrast, 3- to 4-year-olds preferred pretend roles and 5- to 6-year-olds were ambivalent. Parents correctly predicted children’s preference for real activities, but they did not predict that children’s reality preferences increase with age.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2019.1709469

ISSN: 1524-8372

Language: Korean

Published: Seoul, South Korea, 2000

Language: English

ISSN: 0449-3486

Language: English

ISSN: 1522-9734

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: Published by Cleveland Montessori Association (Cleveland, Ohio). Reprinted from Jubilee (September 1953), p. 46-53.

Language: English

Language: English

ISSN: 0045-3846

Abstract/Notes: This mixed-methods action research examined the effects of classroom talk lessons on children’s perceptions of collaborative group work in an online Montessori learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 19 Lower Elementary students and one teacher/investigator. All work was online, both synchronous and asynchronous. Students were presented with lessons in classroom talk, and practiced these skills during online collaboration in the creation of a student newsletter. Key findings were that students use of classroom talk behaviors and rigorous thinking increased slightly over the four-week period and students’ perceptions of their community identity and the value of their ideas increased over the course of the intervention, most notably in younger students. Teaching classroom talk had positive effects on student agency, depth of collaborative work, and grace and courtesy in this digital Montessori classroom. Respectful disagreement was identified as an area for future study.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2021

Language: English

Published: Central, South Carolina, 2023

Abstract/Notes: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires schools to be held accountable for academic performance. It is believed the pressure of accountability will lead teachers to narrow the curriculum by engaging students in test preparation activities. The purpose of this two-phase, explanatory mixed methods study was to examine elementary teachers’ perceptions of the impact of the Stanford Achievement Test 10 (SAT-10) and the Alabama Reading and Math Test (ARMT) on classroom teaching practices from a sample of third-grade, fourth-grade, and fifth-grade teachers in three large school systems in Alabama. The purpose of the first, quantitative phase of the study, was to reveal teachers’ perceptions of the impact of high-stakes testing on curriculum and instructional approaches, the amount of time spent on critical thinking skills, the amount of time spent on test preparation activities, and the perceived impact of state tests on students and teachers by surveying 123 third-grade through fifth-grade teachers in three large Alabama school systems. In the second, qualitative phase of this study, purposeful sampling strategy and maximal variation sampling strategy were employed to interview nine teachers who responded to the survey in the first, quantitative phase of the study to explore the results from the statistical tests in more depth. Findings suggested urban teachers spent more time on critical-thinking skills than rural and suburban teachers, and low-socioeconomic, rural teachers experienced more stress caused by high-stakes testing than their geographical counterparts. All teachers independent of socioeconomic status or school geographical location reported they increased their focus on reading and math, which were the subjects assessed on high-stakes tests and de-emphasized subjects not tested such as social studies and science. Finally, most teachers reported they decreased the teaching of critical thinking skills due to the SAT-10 but increased the teaching of critical thinking skills due to the ARMT. Due to the lack of research regarding high-stakes testing in Alabama elementary schools, there was a need for teachers to discuss the specific impact of testing on classroom teaching practices because they work directly with students and are cognizant of the challenges that teachers face.

Language: English

Published: Birmingham, Alabama, 2010