Research Findings: Research has demonstrated the developmental and educational benefits of play. Despite these benefits, teacher-directed academic instruction is prominent in kindergarten. There is increasing acknowledgment in curricula and policies of the challenges presented by a lack of play in classrooms and the need to support academic…

This article reports on an action research project undertaken by a team of four Grade 2 teachers who work in a school for gifted learners. Focused on implementing a structured printing and spelling curriculum in addition to providing instructed support for planning, organizing, and vocabulary use for different genres of writing, both qualitative…

During a multifaceted classroom-based study, 22 7- and 8-year-old children had opportunities to develop their understanding of visual art and design elements and diverse narrative structures in picturebooks. The culminating activity of the case study research involved application and transformation of knowledge of the instructional foci as the…

Using both child-guided and adult-guided learning, Intentional Teaching in the early years can be a powerful tool for enhancing young children's numeracy skills. As Epstein (2009) notes, this can include providing "opportunities for children to represent things by drawing, building and moving" (p. 47). This paper investigates how…

A pre-experimental case study design was used to explore the value of intrinsic motivation in mobile eBook reading among 30 Grade 1 child participants. Data collection comprised pre- and post-test motivation questionnaires and researcher field notes. Child participants' enjoyment of mobile eBooks corresponded to 3 motivational aspects of intrinsic…

Research in the study of students' writing concludes that vocabulary use is a key variable in determining the holistic quality of the writing. In the present study, 77 writing samples from a mixed group of Grade 3 children were analyzed for features of linguistic diversity using public domain vocabulary-profiling software. The writing was also…

What is childhood like today? Is it a world fraught with endless joy, fun, and games, or are children experiencing a much different reality? A child's social interactions can be a source of great enjoyment and are essential to early development. Conversely, young children routinely experience tension, ambiguity, and conflict as they navigate the…

Research has shown the benefits of parent involvement for student participation in education. Parent advocacy is a critical form of involvement by parents for children who are young, have disabilities, and are making transitions. Studies have classified forms of parent advocacy but have not illuminated the components necessary for effective parent…

Kindergarten has become increasingly academic in nature. One of the primary dilemmas arising from this shift is the tension between the use of developmentally appropriate practices and the obligation to teach academic standards. To gain a deeper understanding of how kindergarten is enacted in the evolving curricular landscape, we look beyond these…

Number sense is critical to the development of higher order mathematic abilities. However, some children have difficulty acquiring these fundamental skills and the knowledge base of effective interventions/remediation is relatively limited. Based on emerging neuro-scientific research which has identified the association between finger…

The new Québec curriculum is different from other curriculum reforms in that it is based on a competency approach, both cross-curricular and disciplinary. It thus means a move from knowledge-based to competency-based assessments which represents a real challenge to parents who may find it hard to understand learning assessments and their child's…

This exploratory netnographic study describes how a sample of Ontario kindergarten teachers perceive the new Ontario Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) curriculum. Discussions from teacher message boards, the comment sections of online news articles, and interviews with kindergarten teachers were analyzed and coded using a qualitative approach. Analysis…

This qualitative case study explored the experiences of eight observing teachers, a demonstration teacher, and a program department consultant, who over a nine-month period participated in a demonstration classroom professional development initiative. Analyses of participants' experiences documented how the initiative created a catalyst for…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 13th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2016), October 28-30, 2016, which has been organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS), co-organized by the University of Mannheim, Germany, and endorsed by the…