Prompting Children's Belief Revision About Balance Through Primary and Secondary Sources of Evidence

Young children's science learning from narrative books: The role of text cohesion and caregivers' extratextual talk

One way to support young children's factual learning is through shared book reading (reading books with a knowledgeable other). Many books that teach factual content are narrative in structure, in which factual content is embedded within a fictional storyline. However, there are gaps in our understanding of factors influencing children's factual learning from narrative books. In this experiment, 38 caregivers and their 4- to 5-year-old children from the Southeastern United States participated. Each caregiver read to their child two narrative books on science concepts. The books varied in their levels of cohesion (e.g., drawing connections between textual elements and providing details and comparisons). We coded caregivers' extratextual talk while reading for the extent to which it emphasized science information (informational highlighted talk) or went beyond the text to provide further related information (informational elaborative talk). Children's recall of the books' science and story content was tested in free and probed recall formats. We found that children had higher recall of the story content, even though caregivers emphasized the science content through their highlighted extratextual talk. Caregivers used more elaborative extratextual talk with the low cohesion book, perhaps as compensation for the book's lack of cohesion. However, children's recall of the science content was most strongly predicted by the books' cohesion and caregivers' highlighted extratextual talk. These results emphasize the important role that books' textual features and caregivers' extratextual talk during book reading have on young children's factual learning from narrative books.

The influence of books' textual features and caregivers' extratextual talk on children's science learning in the context of shared book reading

During early childhood, reading books with one's caregiver (shared book reading) is a valuable means of supporting learning. Yet, there are gaps in our understanding of the influence of shared book reading on young children's science learning. The current research bridges this gap by examining the pedagogical quality of science books in preschool-aged children's environments and investigating how such books influence children's learning and caregivers' extratextual talk during shared book reading. In Study 1, we coded 60 science books that were readily available in young children's environments within the United States. The books were designed for English speakers and recommended for preschool-aged children. We coded the books for the extent to which they were Coherent (elaborated on facts presented by providing details, examples, comparisons, etc.) and included Embedded Questions. However, many books were low in Cohesion and Embedded Questions and were of low pedagogical quality. In Study 2, we tested thirty-eight 4- to 5-year-old children (55% female, 76% White) and their caregivers in the Southeastern United States. We assessed the influence of books' levels of Cohesion and Embedded Questions and of caregivers' Elaborative extratextual talk during shared book reading on children's science learning. Children learned more from books high in Cohesion, irrespective of levels of Embedded Questions and caregivers' Elaborative Talk. Additionally, children learned more from books high in Embedded Questions when caregivers used more Elaborative Talk. This research highlights the importance that books' textual features and social interactions during shared book reading have in promoting early science learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).