CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
This chapter presented the review of literature; the chapter is arranged into three sections, the theoretical review, actual literature according to the study objectives and summary to the reviewed literature. The literature was reviewed from both published and unpublished documents which are both in electronic and non-electronic form.
Theoretical review
Emergent Literacy Theory
The Emergent Literacy Theory states that there are levels of literacy behaviours which children acquire before they formally get into classroom which facilitates the acquisition of reading and writing skills at a conventional level. Emergent literacy theorists believe that literacy development starts in the maternity ward and is continuous and ongoing. This early literacy development provides educators with instructional guidance to promote early literacy growth among their pupil’s (Din, & Calao 2010. Theorists believe that children’s development in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing are all interrelated. In other ways, Emergent Literacy Theorists believe that children’s listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills begin at birth, it also emphasizes the importance of a literacy rich home environment. Components of a literacy rich home environment include; having large number of books available in the home, Newspapers and Magazines, Parents read a variety of materials and Reading is associated with pleasure, Parents frequently read to children (Harter & Heng 2011).
Marie Clay’s studies on emergent literacy indicated that children know a great deal about reading and writing before they come to school, and they are able to experiment with and apply their knowledge in various ways (Clay, 1975). Reading readiness seemed to be an inaccurate term, since Clay’s research showed that there was not a specific sequence of skills children needed to master prior to reading and writing. The children she studied seemed instead to “emerge” into literacy—with writing, reading, and oral language abilities developing together Karakus T., (2012).
Emergent literacy was recently defined as “the view that literacy learning begins at birth and is encouraged through participation with adults in meaningful activities; these literacy behaviors change and eventually become conventional over time” (Lopez-Morteo & Lopez 2014). From a very young age, children who are exposed to oral and written language gradually gain control over the forms of literacy. Print-related knowledge develops similarly to the way children learn oral language (Morrow, 1997). When children are actively engaged with interesting and meaningful reading and writing experiences, they develop literacy knowledge early in their lives (Mitchell, & Savill-Smith 2004).
Different types of computer games
According to Klopfer, et al., (2009) following are the different computer games that schools can adopt to enhance the literacy skills developed of the children in kidegarten.
Designed to help children develop their creativity, reading, and vocabulary skills, “ItzaBitza” features written prompts for children to draw what the character on the computer screen is asking for. For example, a farmer might be looking for his barn and asks the child to draw one. After the drawing is complete, it comes to life onscreen to add a little fun.
Crazy Machines: The Wacky Contraptions Game
“Crazy Machines” puts the power of inventing in the child’s hands. Players can build and test innovative machines to flex their creativity and knowledge of the basics in physics, electricity, gravity, and particle effects.
An oldie but a goodie, “Oregon Trail” still attracts the attention of elementary school-aged children. They absorb lessons on geography and history skills while being challenged to overcome difficulties people experienced back in the 1800s. It takes critical thinking and real-life problem-solving techniques to play this game, and it’s a fun and unique environment for educational stimulation.
Available in a few different versions for various age groups, “Math Missions” is set in a funny, cartoon city that engages children and provides them with innovative activities to develop their math skills, with everything from counting change and pattern blocks, to fractions and working with weights and measurements.
Kids may not always want to make the healthiest food choices, but if they learn more about what they eat (rather than just hearing mom and dad tell them what not to eat), they can take these decisions into their own hands. In the web games for “Fizzy’s Lunch Lab,” kids are exposed to a mix of nutritional information, healthy eating tips, and basic recipes — all with fun from their host Fizzy, of the PBS Kids Web-only series.
This free PBS Kids online game creates a vast ecosystem with games and missions to teach kids about biology and the environment. With two different simulation options, kids can either control microbes or an animal and plant ecosystem. The game also requires players to read instructions, which encourages reading comprehension as well.
As they grow older, your kids are going to need to use the computer for a lot more than clicking or pressing certain buttons to play games. Why not get them started early by perfecting their typing skills with this interactive game? It teaches typing hand positions and movements and tests their typing speeds for fun rewards at the end of each level. BBC Schools offers this game for free online.
On the Spelling City website, you can find a vocabulary and 30 different language arts games specified for different age groups. One of the best aspects of this site is that you can import your own spelling list to personalize the learning experience, and reinforce the spelling lists children need to know for school in a fun and engaging way.
Between computers, the Internet, and mobile apps, educational games for children abound, and these eight computer games are a great place to start to get your elementary-school student learning the fun way.
Empirical Literature review
The Effect of Participation as a Computer Game Strategy on Literacy skills development
Participation is a computer game strategy and it has affected ordering of letters skills at the kindergarten level of education in the following;
Participation as computer game strategy provides an opportunity to the child to learn through their own contribution, and through the contribution of their fellow students. Through discussion, the child can gain practice in thinking through problems, organizing concepts, formulating arguments, testing their ideas in a public setting, evaluating the evidence for their own and others’ positions, and responding thoroughly to critical and diverse points of view(Bonk, & Dennen, 2004). Ewens (2000) suggests that compared to traditional lecture style teaching, encouraging classroom participation promotes a higher level of reflective thinking, and problem solving, including application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, and that information learned through discussion, is generally retained better than information learned through lecture. For example, participation has been found to significantly influence critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and increased student motivation. Students who are active participants have been shown to retain more information after the end of the course, and perceive more satisfaction with the course as opposed to students who do not participate(Bonk, & Dennen, 2004).
Scholars have also argued convincingly that the exchange of ideas within the classroom, is essential to child learning. Classroom participation is very important for student learning, because the students are not passive vessels in which we pour information. But to teach themselves, they need to question, discuss, share their ideas, and insights with others. Teachers must be able to present their material, effectively manage their classrooms, facilitate maximum student involvement, and ultimately, enhance students’ learning. Classroom participation has been suggested to facilitate students in developing critical understanding, self-awareness, appreciation for diverse perspectives, and an ability to be proactive. During class participation, students are active, and are responsible for their own learning (Çankaya, 2016).
There are so many benefits of classroom participation as a result of computer game for children in the classroom. Classroom participation can help students to perform better in school. According to Burguillo, (2010), higher levels of classroom participation also tended to score slightly higher on personality traits of openness and consciousness. Classroom participation can send positive signals to students about the kind of learning and thinking such as growth in critical thinking, active learning, development of listening, and speaking skills needed for career success, and the ability to join a disciplined conversation. Din, (2010), identified that when students see that their participation is being graded regularly and consistently, they adjust their study habits accordingly to be prepared for active participation. Students’ enthusiasm, involvement, and willingness to participate affect the quality of class discussion as an opportunity for learning.
Participation through the use of computer games can be used to balance who’s learning in class and how much. When the children participate in the ordering of letters following what the computers are doing, the teacher can be able to see the level of learning of each child and those that are still behind will be considered. However if children are not given a chance to participate in class, they won’t be able to learn how to form letters because the teacher will not be able to know who knows and those who does not know(Castells, 2000).
Participation as a computer game strategy create a climate in which children are encouraged to ask questions. Make it clear to children that you want them to ask questions. Point out that their questions help you by indicating where you might not have been clear. Emphasize that there is no such thing as a dumb question, and make sure to not allow children to ridicule a classmate’s questions. This will therefore help a child to top ask questions concerning how he or she can be able to order the letters and hence making the child to obtain literacy skills (Huang Wen-Hao, 2010).
Participation as computer game strategy helps to take the student’s questions and comments seriously. The children reluctance to ask a question or volunteer an answer might be due to a lack of confidence. Help him or her gain the courage to participate by showing respect for his contributions and giving thoughtful answers to his questions. Listen attentively while he is talking; do not interrupt him or her. Try to find something positive to say about his comments, such as “That’s an interesting step. I never thought about it that way” or “That’s a really creative idea (Karakus 2012).”
2.4 How demonstration as a computer game strategy affect literacy development.
Demonstration is a computer game strategy and it has affected ordering of letters skills among the kindergarten level in the following ways;
Demonstration as compeer game strategy can help to ensure attention among the children. When the demonstration is taking place by the computer, the child will make sure that is attentive to maters whatever step the computer is following in the formation of letters. This is because the child will be sure that in case he or she missed one step, he or she will not be able to form how that letter is formed. This therefore will make the child more attentive and hence improving on their ability of learning how to form letters (Castells, 2000).
Demonstration as a computer game strategy builds confidence in the child, in most cases the child might not be confidence in him or herself that he or she can be able to form a letters. However when the child sees the demonstration of the formation of letter. He or she will gain that confidence that he or she can also form it. This is because the demonstration will show the steps that the child has to follow in the formation of letters and it will show the final letter formed which will give the child more confidence to form it(Lankshear & Knobel, 2006).
Demonstration as a computer game strategy gives patience ion a child. Since the demonstration is step by step, the child will be patience to wait until the last step when the letter is formed. The child wall be able to follow each step of the formation ad at each step the child will be learning until the last step when the letter is formed. Unlike other strategies, the computer game strategy is interesting to the child and this will make the child to love the prices and be patience to wait and see the outcome (Lee, 2015).
Demonstration as a computer game strategy can help the child to also questions concerning the entire process of forming letters. The child will be following each step in the demonstration and the step where the child finds him or herself not will be able to ask the question such that the facilitator or the teacher can explain to the child before the end of the demonstration. This means that the teacher will have to pause the computer and answer the child question before the end iof the formation such that the child is not left behind (Mitchell, 2004).
Demonstration as a computer game strategy leads to systemic learning. This is because the child will be able to learn step by step as the process or procedure continues. In formation of letters, it is important to learn each step followed such that you are not left behind. Therefore at each step where the computer will demonstrate them, the child will be mastering each step and this will help the child to learn note on the formation of letters and hence improving on the formation of letters by the child(Lee, 2015).
Demonstration by the use computer games hells a child to analyses the formation of letters. The child will watch the demonstration many times to ensure that he or she analyses the important steps followed and also to see that he or she can come up with the best sample. The child will keeping analyzing the formed letters and he or she will ensure that at the end of the demonstration, the child will be able to have the best results and also to learn more on how to form a letter without a mistake(Lim, 2014).
Demonstration is important as comport game strategy in that it will make the child to master the steps followed in the formation of letters,. There are many steps that are supposed to be followed in formation letter and if the child is demonstrated on these step, the child will be able to learn each and very strep. This will therefore help to make the child not forget the different critical steps and this will be the best way of learning how to form different letters(Lopez-Morteo, 2014).
Demonstration by use of computers is the quickest way of learning forming letters, unlike other methods of teaching the child to form letters, when the child is demonstrated by the computer on the steps that he or she is supposed to follow in formation of letters. The child will be able to learn in the shortest period of time in case of the interest that the child will have from viewing the demonstration from the computers(Cameron, 2015).
Demonstration provide opportunities for the children to practice his or heridea in the formation off letters by taking the time to copy from the demonstration taking place. The idea is to help the child feel more comfortable talking with one person so, in time, he will feel more confident speaking up whatever is not understanding. Find a few minutes every so often to talk with him about his favorite activities and interests. Or speak with him when he is doing an art project or a writing assignment. Ask questions, so he can explain what he is doing, but be sure the questions are non-threatening (Becta, 2001).
2.4 Influence of observation on literacy skills development
Observation is a computer game strategy and it has affected the reading skills of children at the lower primary school level in the following ways;
According to (Ping Lim, 2015) observation enhances better understanding among the children in the learning this is because the children are able to view and have a good knowledge regarding what is going in the class room.
Papastergiou, (2010) contends that observation as computer game strategy has helped or enhanced reading in preschool through developing auditory perceptual skills such as auditory detection, discrimination, recognition, sequencing, and memory.
When the children observe they learn numerous skills to allow for vocabulary development, proper grammar skills, future reading skills, and the ability to listen in background noise. These skills, when weak, can be enhanced by repatterning how the ear responds to surrounding sounds.
Using computer games strategy children in a group are at different skill levels and make progress or learn new skills at different rates therefore its easier for them to observe and then make their own conclusions. Hoskins and Stoltz (2015) indicates that through observation children are able to share ideas and this develops their understanding of a specific topic which helps in developing their literacy skills in a specific area of study.
The ability to have different variation in the computer games strategy enhances the children to be able to observe the key activities in the computer games this enhances literacy skills development among the children. When the computer games is designed in a way that demonstrates variation of a given subject the children can easily observe the variation figures thereby enhancing literacy skills development among the children.
Some of the computer games contain repetitive tasks that interest the children and are able to observe the computer games this enhances literacy skills development. This can be done with observing activities that exercise the specific weaknesses over a long period of time.
Observation as a computer games strategy enhances learning skills since when the children start to learn they are able to understand what is going on through observation. This enhances reading and learning skills among the children there by leading to enhancement of literacy skills development.
Observations as a computer game strategy in enhancing reading become extremely important when the child enters a learning environment such as a preschool. They are equally important to their social development as they attend and imitate in conversations. Through observation of the computer games children are able to learn and understand what is performed by the computer games more to that through observation children are able to learn and develop their literacy skills.
A preschool child also enjoys listening to music, songs, and stories. Some children enjoy music but can’t listen to conversation for long periods of time. Other children can listen and attend only as long as a visual picture is also present like the television. Each of these children have different listening skills, some of which can have a negative response in a school environment. However observation can help a child to understand what is important and be able to engage in the activity after the observation exercise (Cameron, 2015).
Bonk, (2004) notes that observation is important in ensuring that the child gets reading skills. However, for the preschool child observation is essential in helping a child develop and reach their fullest potential. Through observations children learn to make decisions that help to develop their knowledge and be able to be better learners. If the child finds out that decision can be made without any obstacle, he will learn that if there is a need to make a decision, he or she will be able to decide and this will enable observation to be carried out.
Children commonly learn through observation and paying attention to what they see and hear around them. As they gain more knowledge and experience, they develop their own ideas, interests and preferences. They filter important facts and opinions through active listening. Moreover, they concentrate on the main points of discussion and events to know the consequences. Understanding such things enables children to guide their self-inquiry and discover their individual possibilities(McFarlane, 2012).
McFarlane, (2012) further notes that children commonly learn through observation and paying attention to what they see and hear around them. As they gain more knowledge and experience, they develop their own ideas, interests and preferences. They filter important facts and opinions through active listening. Moreover, they concentrate on the main points of discussion and events to know the consequences. Understanding such things enables children to guide their self-inquiry and discover their individual possibilities.
Observation is vital in building a child’s cognitive, behavioral and affective aspects this is because when the children observe their also imitate and this drives their skills and knowledge. It is essential they develop this ability to interact and communicate with the world efficiently. By building the foundation and being competent in the auditory and thought awareness facets, children are prepared and equipped to face intellectual, social and emotional endeavors. There are numerous advantages when these two skills are developed and honed(Lopez-Morteo, 2014).
If your child is struggling with his attention skills, a few signals could arise. He could have issues with following directions, having conversations with others or learning new words. He could also struggle with basic preschool concepts, like counting or learning different colors. Many children outgrow these problems over time, as they begin imitating better once they realize that they do not know these things. In other children, however, intervention from a language specialist might become necessary(Becta, (2001).
According to (Kebritchi, 2014) observation gives a chance fopr the children to improve on the skills of paying attention , listening, vocabulary, grammar and reading ability. If the child is not getting some think from an example or from the imitator, he might struggle to pick up on mistakes he is making with his speech, since he will not hear what others have to say. Reading skills can also suffer if the child does not have adequate listening skills, since he might not pay attention to the words when someone else is reading to him.
When the child begins school, observation increases his listening skills and attention span increase in importance. At this age, she or he will begin interacting with other children regularly and will have to retain information based on these interactions. The child’s self-concept and social life are dependent on what he or she learns from the observation (Kiili, 2007).
observation can be used to devselop important speaking skills. In many professional contexts, people need to be able to speak up in a group. They may need to offer information, ask questions, or argue for a different solution. People don’t learn to speak up in a group by reading about how to do it’s one of those skills best developed with practice. And it’s one of those skills that develop better with feedback. If imitation is being used to teach children this public communication skill, they will need feedback(Huang Wen-Hao, 2010).
Albert Bandura, one of the pioneers of observational learning, notes that learning can take place by imitating or hearing about other people’s actions. For example, if a child sees his brother get high marks and is rewarded, the child would then strive for a better grade to get an incentive. This is how children draw from the behavior modeled by various people, be it family members, friends or television characters; in turn, they develop a unique pattern of behavioral responses and expectancies. Hence, they need to improve their capacity to listen carefully and focus on the task at hand(Karakus, 2012).
Children who are focused on observation and understanding subject matter grasp the content more clearly and easily. Children who are active listeners can incorporate the things they hear faster in their framework of knowledge than a more passive counterpart. These children may also exhibit better concentration and memory. Alert and observant children thus have a higher chance of good grades and outstanding comprehension of lessons and also learning how to read (Karakus, 2012)
Conclusion
In conclusion it is vital that schools adopt the use of computer video games in their teaching curriculum. According to literature from the different authors above, the video games have played a very big role in the literacy skills development among the kindergarten children through helping a child to participate in the learning, the child can imitate what the computer is doing and also the computer can demonstrate to the child what to do. However there are some gaps that the above authors left out that needs to filled like on how best schools can use computer games to achieve the best literacy skills among the kindergarten. The above literature was compared with the findings that were got after data collection exercise and a conclusion was drawn on the purpose of the study.
Hypothesis of the study
- Computer games as a strategy enhances Literacy skills development among kindergarten children.
- Computer games as a strategy dose not enhance Literacy skills development among kindergarten children.
