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Abstract What maximizes instructional impact in early childhood? We propose a simple intervention employing “Pedagogical Questions”. We explore whether swapping some instructional language with questions in psychosomatic storybooks improves preschoolers’ memory, learning, and generalization. Seventy-two preschoolers were randomly assigned to one of three conditions and were read storybooks employing eitherDirect Instruction,Pedagogical Questions, orControlcontent. Posttest measures of psychosomatic understanding, judgments about the possibility of psychosomatic events, and memory for storybook details showed that children in thePedagogical Questionscondition demonstrated greater memory for relevant storybook details and improved psychosomatic understanding. Our results suggest that pedagogical questions are a relatively simple educational manipulation to improve memory, learning, and transfer of theory-rich content.
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How does caregiver–child conversation during a scientific storybook reading impact children's mindset beliefs and persistence?
Abstract This study explores how caregiver–child scientific conversation during storybook reading focusing on the challenges or achievements of famous female scientists impacts preschoolers' mindset, beliefs about success, and persistence. Caregiver–child dyads (N = 202, 100 female, 35% non-White, aged 4–5, ƒ = .15) were assigned to one of three storybook conditions, highlighting the female scientist's achievements, effort, or, in a baseline condition, neither. Children were asked about their mindset, presented with a persistence task, and asked about their understanding of effort and success. Findings demonstrate that storybooks highlighting effort are associated with growth mindset, attribution of success to hard work, and increased persistence. Caregiver language echoed language from the assigned storybook, showing the importance of reading storybooks emphasizing hard work.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1652224
- PAR ID:
- 10658549
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Child Development
- Volume:
- 95
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0009-3920
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 1739-1753
- Size(s):
- p. 1739-1753
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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