Pedagogical questions promote causal learning in preschoolers

Abstract

What maximizes instructional impact in early childhood? We propose a simple intervention employing “Pedagogical Questions”. We explore whether swapping some instructional language with questions in psychosomatic storybooks improves preschoolers’ memory, learning, and generalization. Seventy-two preschoolers were randomly assigned to one of three conditions and were read storybooks employing either Direct Instruction, Pedagogical Questions, or Control content. Posttest measures of psychosomatic understanding, judgments about the possibility of psychosomatic events, and memory for storybook details showed that children in the Pedagogical Questions condition demonstrated greater memory for relevant storybook details and improved psychosomatic understanding. Our results suggest that pedagogical questions are a relatively simple educational manipulation to improve memory, learning, and transfer of theory-rich content.

Learning about germs in a global pandemic: Children’s knowledge and avoidance of contagious illness before and after COVID-19

“…However, despite the fact that children do not seem to have sophisticated causal knowledge about illness transmission until the age of 7 or 8, children may be capable of learning causal biological theories at much earlier ages. Indeed, even preschool-aged children demonstrate an understanding of causal relationships across various domains, demonstrating the potential for training (Blacker & LoBue, 2016;Bonawitz, Fischer, & Schulz, 2012;Bonawitz et al, 2019;Coley, 2012;Conrad et al, 2020;Daubert et al, 2020;Flavell, et al 1995;Gelman & Wellman, 1991;Gopnik & Meltzoff, 1997;Inagaki & Hatano, 1993;Kalish, 1996;Perner, 1991;Schulz, Bonawitz, & Griffiths, 2007;Shultz, 1982;Spelke, Breinlinger, Macomber, & Jacobson, 1992). Further, one recent study even showed that children as young as five can learn about a topic as complex as natural selection by providing them with causal information in an informal picture book interaction (Kelemen, Emmons, Schillaci, & Ganea, 2014).…”

The unanticipated side effects of an attachment intervention: Parents ask higher quality questions.

“…In particular, pedagogical questions may also involve the adult taking the lead, using questions to direct the child to a learning goal, rather than asking questions based on what children are already doing. Importantly, pedagogical questions are common in everyday conversation (Yu et al, 2019) and can be helpful for children’s learning (Daubert et al, 2020). However, they can also be used to ask children questions that the parent already knows the child can answer—a way of perhaps “showing off” what the child knows for the parent’s satisfaction.…”

How Children Develop Healthy Behavioral Choices to Promote Illness Prevention

“…It is still unclear, however, whether such causal knowledge interventions can be used with children younger than age 7 or 8. Daubert et al (2020) found that teaching preschoolers causal mechanisms for psychosomatic events increased their ability to identify psychological events as causes of illness, but this research did not explore broader learning about germs or contagion, and it did not measure children’s healthy avoidance behavior. Other work has uncovered suggestive associations between causal knowledge and germ-avoidant behavior.…”