Constructionism is defined as the understanding that children actively construct knowledge through the interactions they have with their surrounding environment by building ideas. This can be stimulated by interacting with meaningful objects that allow them to express and materialize their ideas. Hence, building and playing with sandcastles, Legos, dolls, and collectible cards should be considered as models for designing new tools for children’s play. 

Digital manipulatives (interactive, web-based representations of manipulatives like base-ten blocks) allow for a hands-on, engaging alternative to traditional digital tools by promoting exploratory learning and encouraging creativity and collaboration. Research shows Digital manipulatives enhance engagement, verbal interaction, and social skill development. However, early childhood curriculums often separate play from digital tool use, suggesting a need to better integrate children’s play with digital learning tools through deeper understanding of their play experiences

This study looked at Digital manipulatives and how they influence constructionism and found that children were able to explore and use the functions of the Digital Manipulative without any sort of help. Additionally, the children created their own play rules through negotiations with each other on how to handle the block, allowing autonomy and being able to create things on their own, which resulted in playful interactions and collaborations. The children also used the blocks for both creating visual narratives and for construction material, ensuring that children were able to engage in a diverse range of activities and not be confined to the computer. The blocks also gave democratic interactions, giving kids equal power to interact with the device, further encouraging social interaction and collaboration.

Overall, digital manipulatives have the ability to transform early learning by making digital experiences more playful, collaborative, and engaging. However, there’s still a gap between how play is understood in educational settings and how digital tools are used. In order to start bridging this gap, we need to rethink how children can play and how technology can support, NOT replace, those meaningful experiences!

To read more, click here!

Alexandra Lagaros, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday!

The answer to last week’s Trivia Tuesday is…it boosts emotional and social skills! Pretend play allows for children to express themselves and explore different roles and situations, allowing them to understand and regulate their emotions.

This week’s question is: At what age is acquiring a second language with near-native proficiency the easiest?

A. Before puberty
B. Between puberty and adulthood
C. During Adulthood
D. There is no specific age, it varies widely from person to person

 

Tune in next week to find out the answer to this week’s question!

In her Ted Talk on what an ideal kindergarten looks like in the 21st century, Doris Fromberg evaluates how kindergarten can better meet the developmental needs of young children. One primary aspect of education that Fromberg emphasizes is the value of play amongst young children. Fromberg discusses how kindergarten is not only important in the development of educational skills, but also immensely important in the development of of social skills. Kindergarten is often the first form of organized schooling for many young children and the importance of developing social skills amongst their peers during this time should not be underestimated.

Another theme of Fromberg’s talk is the negative effects of high stakes and standardized testing amongst youth. Fromberg shockingly compares standardized testing to “sanctioned child abuse” and argues there are essentially no positive effects of standardized testing amongst children that young. Fromberg argues that kindergarten should be taught from a more humanist approach as opposed to the strictly structured curriculum that many kindergartens follow.

Sleep is important for child development. Good sleep helps kids grow well, think clearly, control their emotions, and stay healthy. Even though we know sleep is important, scientists still face some problems when they try to study it—like not using the same tools to measure sleep or not looking at sleep changes over time.

We need to look at sleep in a bigger way, by thinking about everything that affects it—like the child’s body, their family, school, and the culture they live in. Researchers should work together from different fields, like health, education, and psychology, to understand how sleep connects to how kids develop and learn.

We should use better tools to study sleep, such as devices that can track how long and how well kids sleep. Plus, more studies that include kids from different backgrounds would be helpful so we can learn what’s true for all children, not just a few.

In conclusion, if we study sleep more carefully and work together across different areas, we can help make sure all kids get the sleep they need to grow up strong and healthy.

Interested in learning more? Click here!

Jess Vo, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday!

The answer to last week’s Trivia Tuesday is… 18-24 months! Around this age, many toddlers start to understand and say words like “boy” or “girl,” but they are still learning what those words really mean.

This week’s question is: Why is pretend play (like playing house) important for young children?
A. It helps them fall asleep faster
B. It boosts emotional and social skills
C. It helps with hand-eye coordination
D. It teaches them math

Tune in next week to find out the answer to this week’s question!

With the rise of technology, music became more accessible, and more genres have emerged! Such genres can impact the lives of the listeners; for example, someone may benefit greatly from instrumental or classical music when studying. In this article, the researchers look at how different genres of music can impact adolescent’s cognitive abilities, stress, etc. 

Jazz was surprisingly the most helpful in improving calmness and decreasing stress in the participants. Classical music greatly increased calmness, which caused lower energy levels in the participants, whereas Hip-hop increased their energy levels and mood. Interestingly, Pop music had no effect in either variables. In addition, they found that calmness and energy are respectively correlated with stress and mood. 

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Created in Australia, the kids TV show, Bluey, became an international hit among children and families. Though episodes are quite short, each highlights life lessons and emotional growth. For children, the visually appealing graphics and talking dogs foster their imagination, encouraging creativity. However, older audiences not-so secretly enjoy watching this kids’ show as well! One could say that their inner child is healed while watching the therapeutical elements of the show. 

Children may not notice, but older viewers and adults can recognize the adult subtext that’s often in children’s media. In Bluey, the adult subtext is not inappropriate or crude like in other media to garner attention, but the attention from adults in this show comes from the characters being relatable in everyday life. Bluey’s parents are shown to make mistakes, talk about serious topics, or get emotional – all realistic behaviors that real parents engage in. The show closely mirrors real family dynamics, making it comforting and reassuring for parents to see. 

To watch the full Ted Talk, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Previous research has shown a consistent positive correlation between the arts and both children’s and adolescents’ intellectual development. Specifically, musical education and participation have shown the strongest association, as creating music is a complex task that engages multiple brain systems. 

This article explores whether this positive association between music and learning is causal or not, as existing research is speculative at best. Using data from a large, nationally representative sample, researchers found that there is no evidence that education in the arts causes better academic or personal outcomes (higher GPA, self-esteem, etc.). However, children who chose to engage in arts when they were younger are more likely to stay engaged in the arts later in life, meaning it is good to encourage children to get involved in the arts at a young age.

 

To read more, click here!

 

Alexandra Lagaros, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

In Rusbult’s investment model of romantic commitment, satisfaction and investment correlates with commitment within a romantic relationship. Thus, it can predict the stability of relationships, and even friendships, as the author predicts. The only difference between a romantic relationship and a friendship is that they aren’t exclusive. Individuals can have multiple friends but only one romantic partner (not including polyamory relationships). 

The researchers applied Rusbult’s model onto adolescent best friendships to predict their friendship stability. After analyzing data from adolescent boys and girls of both stable and nonstable friendships, the model was proven to be applicable in friendships and predictive abilities of stability. The better friendship stability, the higher levels of satisfaction, investments, and commitment there would be! These variables are also more important for girls than boys. 

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

In her Ted Talk on childhood trauma Doctor Nadine Burke Harris discusses the long term affects of childhood trauma on an individuals psyche along with the types of care that can help someone combat the negative affects of adverse childhood experiences. Dr. Harris describes how trauma can trigger a fight or flight response in individuals and if this response is constantly activated, individuals can experience long term negative health affects such as chronic stress, anxiety, depression, heart disease and even death.

However, Dr. Harris also discusses methods to combat these adverse childhood experiences. She emphasizes the importance of more holistic approaches in regards to treating individuals with trauma based disorders and how these approaches can assist in breaking the cycle of trauma that many individuals who are victims of adverse childhood experiences often go through.

 

Jay Schieffelin