Promoting preschool children’s narrative ability through play-based learning
Submitted by:
Elissavet Chlapana
Abstract:
Narrative ability is one of the most essential goals of language comprehension, given its significant short-term and long-term contribution in children’s reading and academic performance (e.g. Babayiğit et al., 2021; Bianco et. al., 2012; Pinto et al., 2016; Suggate et al., 2018). The use of appropriate teaching approaches in kindergarten is very important for helping young children develop their narrative ability from the beginning of their school life. As far as preschool education, play-based learning is one the most well-documented and developmentally appropriate practices which is used to promote children’s early learning (Pyle et al., 2017).
Considering the above, the purpose of the present study is to examine the effect of a two-month intervention program, which is based on play-based learning, on the development of preschool children’s narrative ability. To investigate the purpose of the present study, a semi-experimental study having an experimental group (N=16) and a control group (N=16), was carried out. For examining groups’ equivalence, children’s receptive and productive vocabulary and their verbal memory were evaluated with standardized criteria at the beginning of the intervention. Before and at the completion of the intervention, sample children participated in two oral language tasks which required from them to retell a story read to them in small group settings and produce individually a new story. Morrow's (1990) and Petersen et al.’s scales (2008) were used to analyze children’s oral language texts and estimate their narrative ability.
For designing the intervention program activities and in relation to the main purpose of the present study, instruction of targeted language comprehension skills was embedded through appropriate activities in the spectrum of play-based learning. Specifically, the classroom teacher was trained by the researcher into the intervention program practices which aimed at helping children: (a) develop comprehension skills, such story structure recognition, inference making, self-monitoring, visualization, and (b) retell and produce narrative texts. The proposed practices included literacy activities, such as story reading, and different types of games, such as dramatic and constructive game, which were conducted with and without the support of ICT. The teacher’s personal notes kept in the classroom diary alongside with the recordings of selected activities were used as additional tools for describing children’s response to the intervention program activities.
The results of the present study, as assessed through quantitative and qualitative criteria, highlighted the significant contribution of the intervention program to the children's narrative ability. At the same time, they are considered useful, as they are expected to provide kindergarten teachers useful guidelines for using different methodological approaches which can help preschool children enhance their narrative ability, building through this way a strong foundation for the development of their future literacy skills.
Babayiğit, S., Roulstone, S., & Wren, Y. (2021). Linguistic comprehension and narrative skills predict reading ability: A 9‐year longitudinal study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(1), 148-168.
Bianco, M., Pellenq, C., Lambert, E., Bressoux, P., Lima, L., & Doyen, A. L. (2012). Impact of early code‐skill and oral‐comprehension training on reading achievement in first grade. Journal of Research in Reading, 35(4), 427-455.
Morrow, L. (1990). Assessing children’s understanding of story through their construction and reconstruction of narrative. In L. Morrow, and J. Smith (Eds.), Assessment for instruction in early literacy (pp. 110–134). Prentice-Hall.
Petersen, D., Gillam, S., & Gillam, R. (2008). Emerging procedures in narrative assessment: The index of narrative complexity. Topics in Language Disorders, 28(2), 115–130.
Pinto, G., Tarchi, C., & Bigozzi, L. (2016). Development in narrative competences from oral to written stories in five-to seven-year-old children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36, 1-10.
Pyle, A., DeLuca, C., & Danniels, E. (2017). A scoping review of research on play‐based pedagogies in kindergarten education. Review of Education, 5(3), 311-351.
Suggate, S., Schaughency, E., McAnally, H., & Reese, E. (2018). From infancy to adolescence: The longitudinal links between vocabulary, early literacy skills, oral narrative, and reading comprehension. Cognitive Development, 47, 82-95.
Elissavet Chlapana, Assistant Professor
Department of Preschool Education, University of Crete
chlapane@uoc.gr
Antonia Koniou, preschool teacher
Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs
antkoniou@gmail.com