Effects of geometric toy design on parent–child interactions and spatial language

Abstract

Geometric forms have formal definitions. While knowing shape names is considered important for school-readiness, many children do not understand the defining features of shapes until well into elementary school (Satlow & Newcombe, 1998). One reason is likely that they do not encounter enough variety in the shapes they see (citation removed). The present study observed 60 parents and their 3-year-old children during play with geometric toys, exploring how spatial language varied with the nature of the shape-toy set (canonical shapes versus a mix of canonical and unusual or less-canonical variants) and whether geometric shapes were presented as tangible, traditional toys or shown on a touchscreen tablet app. Although children in the app condition heard more shape names than the other conditions due to the language produced by the app itself, children used more overall words and more spatial language with tangible toys that included varied shapes. In addition, parents used more shape names with sons than with daughters and tended to adjust their use of spatial language more in response to varied shape sets with boys, although these findings need replication to evaluate generality. These data suggest that including non-canonical shapes in tangible shape toys may provide a low-cost, high-impact way of refining adult-child interactions that might facilitate children’s early geometric knowledge.

Triangulating Multi-Method Assessments of Parental Support for Early Math Skills

“…In one experimental manipulation, Polinsky et al (2017) found that providing parents with prompts to discuss spatial content while playing with their children at a museum led to increases in parents' spatial talk as well as children's spatial talk and, in turn, children's performance on a spatial task. Furthermore, much like parental number talk, the frequency of parents' spatial talk varies systematically across different types of activities (Ferrara et al, 2011;Zosh et al, 2015;Ho et al, 2018;Lee et al, 2019;Verdine et al, 2019;. We extend this further by considering the relations between frequencies of number and spatial talk between parents and children as they engage in different activities.…”

The Impact of a Construction Play on 5- to 6-Year-Old Children’s Reasoning About Stability

“…However, it is also of interest if children's Mass knowledge can be supported in regard to their developmental constraints. Playful interventions with building blocks have supported the acquisition of different mathematical and spatial skills in other studies (e.g., Ferrara et al, 2011;Fisher et al, 2013;Borriello and Liben, 2018;Thomson et al, 2018;Verdine et al, 2019).…”

“…Promoting young children’s science learning aims at helping them adjust their theories and should consider children’s developmental constraints by considering children’s everyday activities, e.g., their play ( Copple and Bredenkamp, 2009 ). One possibility for such science-related play could be construction play in the form of block play, which is an important leisure activity for young children ( Rubin et al, 1978 ; Pellegrini and Gustafson, 2005 ; Borriello and Liben, 2018 ; Verdine et al, 2019 ). An adult’s guidance might be integrated into children’s play in the form of scaffolding, which might support children’s science learning (cf.…”

A Multidimensional, Multisensory and Comprehensive Rehabilitation Intervention to Improve Spatial Functioning in the Visually Impaired Child: A Community Case Study

“…In an interactive and entertaining setting, active exploration was stimulated with the use of real objects, placed in different space plans, and through verbal guidance also exposing the child to spatial language (e.g., spatial location words like “up” or “down,” deictic terms like “here” or “there,” dimensions, shape terms, spatial orientations, etc.). This use of language seems to help to elicit more spatial language production and to build later skills such as the ability to do spatial transformations and analogies ( Verdine et al, 2019 ) and it is recommended also in parent-child interactions. Playing with toys that incorporate shapes (e.g., shape sorters), labeling them, and discussing shape properties may be among the earliest spatial experiences parents provide ( Verdine et al, 2016 ).…”