In the present study we investigated experimentation abilities of children with learning problems in early childhood education, i.e. kindergarten (4-6 years old). An essential part of science education is learning via the scientific method, of which experimentation is the central component. We studied experimentation abilities in 28 kindergartners…

Research Findings: The present study compared effects of explicit instruction on and practice with the phonological form of words (form-focused instruction) versus explicit instruction on and practice with the meaning of words (meaning-focused instruction). Instruction was given via interactive storybook reading in the kindergarten classroom of…

We examined the effects of adaptive word retrieval intervention on a classroom vocabulary program on children's vocabulary acquisition in kindergarten. In the experimental condition, word retrieval was provided in a classroom vocabulary program, combining implicit and explicit vocabulary instructions. Children performed extra word retrieval…

The present longitudinal study aimed to investigate the development of word decoding skills during incremental phonics instruction in Dutch as a transparent orthography. A representative sample of 973 Dutch children in the first grade (M[subscript age] = 6;1, SD = 0;5) was exposed to incremental subsets of Dutch grapheme-phoneme correspondences…

We investigated the sustained effects of explicit versus implicit instruction on the breadth and depth of children's vocabularies, while taking their general vocabulary and verbal short-term memory into account. Two experimental groups with 12 and 15 kindergarten children respectively learned two sets of 17 words counterbalanced to be taught first…

Systematic-phonics instruction appears to be more effective than nonsystematic phonics instruction for teaching reading (Ehri, Nunes, Stahl, & Willows, 2001). In the present study, a systematic phonics approach was directly compared with a nonsystematic phonics approach for kindergarten children. Both approaches were delivered using computer…

Background: The conclusion from a vast literature on literacy acquisition is that letter knowledge is one of the best predictors of literacy development. The question of the best way to teach children letter sounds has not, as yet, been answered satisfactorily. Aims: The aim of this study was the evaluation of a computer training program using…