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1. Mirtes Corrected Final tmg.pdf (1.42 MB)

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Contemporary Play: An Analysis of Preschool Discourse During Play Situations While Engaged Using Technology and While Using Traditional Play Materials

Mirtes, Christina M
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1408724754

Abstract Details

2014, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, Curriculum and Instruction.
This study provided a preliminary analysis of discourse among preschool children while playing in contexts using traditional play blocks compared to while playing with a two-dimensional block building application on an iPad®. Participants in the single-subject study were 8 four-year-old children who progressed through a repeated measures alternating treatment design in pairs. During each play session, the children’s discourse was recorded and transcribed by SALT transcription services providing a detailed discourse analysis and summary. These reports provided data to indicate if there was a difference in length and complexity (MLU) and in productivity (MTL) by comparing each child’s average number of spoken words in the entire interaction (MLU) or per discourse turn (MTL) in each condition. A Wilcoxon signed-ranks test examined the difference for the group of children’s average MLU and MTL in condition A (blocks) compared to condition B (iPad®). Results indicated a significant difference with MLU’s being greater during play contexts using the traditional play blocks compared to the iPad®. However, there was not a significant difference when comparing MTL’s between the two conditions. An additional investigation was conducted focusing on the children’s vocabulary richness. This was accomplished by comparing each child’s number of different words (NDW) in each condition. Results indicated a significant difference with NDW’s being greater during the play contexts when children were playing with traditional play blocks compared to the iPad®. With the rapid onset of technological advancements, young children are increasingly including hand held devices as part of their contemporary play routines. The results of this study inform practice that there was a difference in young children’s language; as it was longer, more complex and had greater vocabulary diversity while playing with traditional blocks as compared to the iPad®. Implications regarding these findings are discussed highlighting contexts that influence play behaviors among preschoolers and how it relates to child development and possible areas of consideration for best practice in Early Childhood Education. Implications for future research are discussed.
Joan Kaderavek, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Laurie Dinnebeil, Ph.D (Committee Member)
Judy Lambert, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Ruslan Slutsky, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
108 p.
Early Childhood Education; Educational Technology
iPad; technology, play, blocks, preschool, ECE, NAEYC, Common Core, best practice, language, discourse analysis, MLU, MTL, NDW, CLSA, materials, environment, people, morphemes, syntax, pragmatics

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Mirtes, C. M. (2014). Contemporary Play: An Analysis of Preschool Discourse During Play Situations While Engaged Using Technology and While Using Traditional Play Materials [Doctoral dissertation, University of Toledo]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1408724754

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Mirtes, Christina. Contemporary Play: An Analysis of Preschool Discourse During Play Situations While Engaged Using Technology and While Using Traditional Play Materials. 2014. University of Toledo, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1408724754.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Mirtes, Christina. "Contemporary Play: An Analysis of Preschool Discourse During Play Situations While Engaged Using Technology and While Using Traditional Play Materials." Doctoral dissertation, University of Toledo, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1408724754

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

toledo1408724754
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© 2014, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Toledo and OhioLINK.