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Little scientists: Children prefer storybooks that explain why and how things happen:
Children have an insatiable appetite to understand why things are the way they are, leading to their apt description as "little scientists." While researchers have been aware of children's interest in causal information, they didn't know whether it influenced children's preferences during real-world activities, such as reading.
A new study in Frontiers in Psychology finds that children prefer storybooks containing more causal information. The results could help parents and teachers to choose the most engaging books to increase children's interest in reading, which is important in improving early literacy and language skills.
Children have a burning urge to understand the mechanics of the world around them, and frequently bombard parents and teachers with questions about how and why things work the way they do (sometimes with embarrassing consequences). Researchers have been aware of children's appetite for causal information for some time. However, no one had previously linked this phenomenon to real-world activities such as reading or learning.
"There has been a lot of research on children's interest in causality, but these studies almost always take place in a research lab using highly contrived procedures and activities," explains Margaret Shavlik of Vanderbilt University, Tennessee.
"We wanted to explore how this early interest in causal information might affect everyday activities with young children -- such as joint book reading."
[...] The study gives the first indicator that causality could be a key to engaging young minds during routine learning activities. Future studies could investigate if causally-rich content can enhance specific learning outcomes, including literacy, language skills and beyond. After all, learning should be about understanding the world around us, not just memorizing information.
Journal Reference:
Margaret Shavlik, Jessie Raye Bauer, Amy E. Booth. Children’s Preference for Causal Information in Storybooks. Frontiers in Psychology, 2020; 11 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00666
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2020, @11:16PM
These only invite violation of copyright.
I know how I felt in a classified-centric environment, where I often barked up the wrong tree, while highly paid men who knew what I did not, seemed to be amused at my futile attempts. Not seeing the whole picture, my designs we're often far from optimal. Hell, I even have to fight spelling correctors. I try to get the job done with the tools I have. At least this one just puts apostrophes in at unintended locations.
The CAD system I had to use on government contractor work was far worse. It connected wires behind my back, and showed me things were connected when they weren't. It was required for me to use it.
There is profit if one knows something and can keep others ignorant. Just like the witch doctor's did.
These kids are gonna be just as frustrated as I am to have broken stuff, and be criminalized for trying to make it work. This kinda stuff needs to be done outside the jurisdiction of the United States Congress.
We just sell stuff to each other, fill out tax forms, and make planes that don't fly.