Working with Teachers' Pedagogical Strengths: The Design of Executive Function Activities for Play-based Programs

Abstract

EVIDENCE FOR THE PREDICTIVE effect of executive functions (EF) on school readiness and later school achievement has been noted. However, some studies show that EF activities are not sustained beyond the study period due to limited engagement by teachers and children. In light of this problem, this paper presents the pedagogical outcomes of a pilot study where teachers used ‘playworlds’ (Lindqvist, 1995) to embed EF into their programs. Five preschool teachers and five assistant teachers participated in the study over 10 weeks. Focus group interviews of all participants were conducted. A cultural-historical analysis showed that teachers developed motivating activities that promoted the sustainable development of EF in contexts of high child-engagement and motivation. The pedagogical features and implications for early childhood education are reported.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bascandziev

, Powell

L. J.

, Harris

P. L.

, & Carey

(2016). A role for executive functions in explanatory understanding of the physical world. Cognitive Development, 39, 71–85.

Bodrova

, Leong

D. L.

, & Akhutina

T. V.

(2011). When everything new is well-forgotten old: Vygotsky/Luria insights in the development of executive functions. In Lerner

R.M.

, Lerner

J.V.

, Bowers

, Lewin-Bizan

S. Getsdottir

, & Urban

J.B.

(Eds.), Thriving in childhood and adolescence: The role of self-regulation processes. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, Number 133 (pp. 11–28). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Carlson

S. M.

(2011). Editorial. Introduction to the special issue: Executive Function. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 108(3), 411–413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2011.01.004

Center on the Developing Child. (2012). Executive function: Skills for life and learning (In Brief). Retrieved from the CDC Harvard University website: https://46y5eh11fhgw3ve3ytpwxt9r-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/InBrief-Executive-Function-Skills-for-Life-and-Learning-2.pdf.

Diamond

(2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168.

Edwards

(2010). Being an expert professional practitioner: The relational turn in expertise. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.

Edwards

(2011). Building common knowledge at the boundaries between professional practices: Relational agency and relational expertise in systems of distributed expertise. International Journal of Educational Research, 50(1), 33–39.

Fleer

(2015). Pedagogical positioning in play—teachers being inside and outside of children's imaginary play. Early Child Development and Care, 185(11–12), 1801–1814. https://dx-doi-org.web.bisu.edu.cn/10.1080/03004430.2015.1028393

Fleer

(2016). An everyday and theoretical reading of perezhivanie for informing research in early childhood education. International Research in Early Childhood Education, 7(1), 34–49.

10.

Fleer

, Veresov

& Walker

(2017). Re-conceptualizing executive functions as social practices in children's playworlds, Learning Culture and Social Interaction, 14, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2017.04.003

11.

Fleer

(2017, in press). Digital playworlds in an Australia context. In Bruce

, Bredikyte

, & Hakkarainen

(Eds.), Routledge Handbook of play in early childhood. London, UK: Routledge Press, Taylor and Francis Group.

12.

Hakkarainen

(2006). Learning and development in play. In Einarsdottir

, & Wagner

J.T.

(Eds.), Nordic childhoods and early education: Philosophy, research, policy, and practice in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden (pp. 183–222). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

13.

Hakkarainen

, Brédikyté

, Jakkula

, & Munter

(2013). Adult play guidance and children's play development in a narrative play-world. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 21(2), 213–225. https://dx-doi-org.web.bisu.edu.cn/10.1080/1350293X.2013.789189

14.

Hall

G. E.

, & Hord

S. M.

(2014). Implementing change: Patterns, principles, and potholes (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

15.

Lindqvist

(1995). The aesthetics of play: A didactic study of play and culture in preschools. Uppsala studies in education, 62. Stockholm, Sweden: Uppsala University.

16.

Lindqvist

(2003). The dramatic and narrative patterns of play. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 11(1), 69–78.

17.

Razza

, & Raymond

(2015). Executive functions and school readiness: Identifying multiple pathways for school success. In Robson

, & Flannery Quinn

(Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of young children's thinking and understanding (pp. 133–149). New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis group.

18.

Röthlisberger

, Neuenschwander

, Cimeli

, Michel

, & Roebers

C. M.

(2012). Improving executive functions in 5- and 6-year-olds: Evaluation of a small group intervention in prekindergarten and kindergarten children. Infant and Child Development, 21(4), 411–429. https://dx-doi-org.web.bisu.edu.cn/10.1002/icd.752

19.

Veresov

, & Fleer

(2016). Perezhivanie as a theoretical concept for researching young children's development. Mind, Culture, Activity: Symposium on Perezhivanie, 23(4), 325–335. https://dx-doi-org.web.bisu.edu.cn/10.1080/10749039.2016.1186198

20.

Vygotsky

L. S.

(1994). The problem of the environment. In van der Veer

& Valsiner

(Eds.), The Vygotsky reader (pp. 347–348). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

21.

Vygotsky

L. S.

(1997). The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky, Volume 4: The history of the development of higher mental functions ( Rieber

R.W.

, Ed., Hall

M. H.

, Trans.). New York, NY: Plenum Press.

22.

Vygotsky

L.S.

(2016). Play and its role in the mental development of the child. International Research in Early Childhood Education, 7(2), 3–25.