Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, 39231 Kalmar, Sweden.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 12;18(2):588. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18020588.
This study focuses on the development of executive functions in preschool children during a series of science activities. A longitudinal play-based learning intervention was designed and implemented following the design of an educational experiment. Data were collected through visual ethnography in hot situations with adult supervision. Results show how entwined the concepts of inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility are within young children's development. The development of cognitive flexibility or attention shifting readily occurred when there were fictive characters (such as the king and his royal family), but changing perspective toward a nonfictive environment (i.e., taking other children's perspectives) was a more difficult and time-consuming process. This process began in an individual perspective and expanded to acknowledging others' perspectives, then moved toward creating common perspectives or alternative narratives. Results show that science activities can be a bridge for preschool children to transfer their use of executive functions, from fairytales and games toward everyday tasks.
本研究关注的是在一系列科学活动中，学前儿童执行功能的发展。采用基于游戏的学习纵向干预设计，并按照教育实验的设计进行实施。通过成人监督下的热点情境中的视觉民族志收集数据。结果表明，在幼儿发展过程中，抑制控制和认知灵活性的概念是如何紧密交织在一起的。当存在虚构角色（如国王和他的王室成员）时，认知灵活性或注意力转移的发展很容易发生，但转向非虚构环境的视角（即，采用其他孩子的视角）是一个更加困难和耗时的过程。这个过程始于个体视角，然后扩展到承认他人的视角，再发展到创建共同视角或替代叙事。研究结果表明，科学活动可以成为学前儿童将执行功能从童话故事和游戏转移到日常任务的桥梁。
