The effects of observational learning on preschoolers' literacy-related behaviors and knowledge.
Item
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Title
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The effects of observational learning on preschoolers' literacy-related behaviors and knowledge.
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Identifier
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AAI9830723
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identifier
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9830723
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Creator
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Horner, Sherri L.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Barry J. Zimmerman
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Date
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1998
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Education, Educational Psychology | Education, Reading | Education, Early Childhood
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Abstract
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Previous reading research has documented wide discrepancies in preschoolers' letter-name knowledge. Also, most interactions within alphabet book-reading episodes revolve around the pictures rather than the print. Previous social cognitive research has documented that people can learn behaviors and concepts through observing models. One purpose of this study was to investigate whether preschoolers can learn to ask questions and make comments about letters by observing a model ask questions about letters. Another purpose was to investigate whether preschoolers can learn letter names by commenting about letters.;The participants were sixty-two preschoolers who attended Head Start. Three modeling episodes between an adult and a child model within a shared book context were videotaped. The child's behavior varied for each of the three modeling episodes: she asked either picture-related questions, print-related questions, or no questions.;Children were randomly assigned to the print-questions videotape, picture-questions videotape, no-questions videotape, or no-video tape group. Each child watched the appropriate videotape twice, on separate days, individually with the researcher. Directly after viewing the videotape, the researcher read an alphabet book to the child. Next, the child was given the letter-name task as a posttest.;Both hypotheses relating to the effects of observational learning were verified. Children who observed a model ask questions asked more questions than children who did not observe a model ask questions. Children who observed a model ask questions about the letters made more letter-related comments than children who did not observe a model ask questions about the letters. However, the hypothesis about learning letter names was not validated. Children who made print-related comments did not learn more letters than children who did not make print-related comments.;In conclusion, this study has shown that young children's literacy-related behaviors can be changed observational learning was shown to be a highly effective means of changing preschoolers' behavior within shared book-reading episodes. Preschoolers were able to ask questions and make print-related responses after observing a child model those behaviors. However, an increase in print-related responses did not translate into an increase in letter-name knowledge.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
