Curiosity and Playful Learning
We are investigating how curious children learn through play. Guided play is thought to promote an ideal learning environment because it provides the optimal balance of child directed play with adult support. However, some argue that direct instruction can sometimes be best for children, especially in situations where children have little background knowledge. An individual child’s level of curiosity may be one factor that affects how children learn in guided play or direct instruction. We aim to look at how a child’s curiosity and the interactions with adults impact their learning through play. Children will play some games with our researcher via Zoom where they will get to explore and solve mental problems. We will then review videos of the session to take a closer look, so video recording is required for this study.
Eligibility criteria include: ages from 4 to 6 years, normal or corrected-to-normal hearing, typically-developing, native English speakers, access to a device with a screen no smaller than 13 inches
Experiment information: 1 session lasting no longer than one hour administered via Zoom. Instructions will be sent to parents for logging into the session prior to meeting.
If you and your child are interested in participating in this research, please contact our researcher, Natalie Evans (infantlab@temple.edu). Please include Natalie’s name in the subject line.
