The development of preferences for conventional linear representations of temporal events

When thinking about time, English-speaking adults often spontaneously recruit a “mental timeline” (MTL) representing events sequentially along a linear path from left to right (LR). The origins of the MTL are debated, but cross-cultural differences in the direction and orientation of the timeline suggest that factors such as writing direction play an important role in shaping it. Here, we explore the developmental emergence of the mental timeline by asking whether pre-literate children prefer linear representations of sequential temporal events, and if so, whether they specifically prefer LR representations of temporal narratives. English-speaking adults and 3- to 5-year-old preschoolers were told 3-step stories (e.g., “First there was an egg, then the egg hatched, and a baby chick came out!”) and then asked to choose which of two triplets of images best illustrated the story. Results indicate that, given scaffolding, 3- and 4-year-old children preferred LR to unordered horizontal sequences, and 4-year-olds also preferred top-to-bottom (TB) to unordered vertical sequences. However, preferences between directions – for LR over right-to-left and TB, and for TB over bottom-to-top – emerged later, and in tandem, around age 5. Together, these results show that directional biases in space-time mappings are shaped gradually in childhood, and are not initially LR-specific. Moreover, preliminary data suggest that children’s preferences for conventional linear representations of time are correlated with their emergent writing skills, suggesting that literacy is key to the development of the MTL.

Demystifying simultaneous triliteracy development: One child’s emergent writing practices across three scripts focusing on letter recognition, directionality and name writing

It has long been acknowledged that immigrant children who are originally exposed to home languages become rapidly socialized into using only English. Although many children ultimately develop receptive skills in their home language, they often become English dominant and rarely have the opportunity for literacy development. There is also a common misperception that allowing children to acquire three languages and scripts simultaneously is either too difficult or too confusing, or both. That children do not realize their full multilingual, multiliterate potential is not only a loss to their cognitive, emotional and academic development but also a violation of their language rights. As a way to help demystify simultaneous triliteracy development, I study my own child as a motherscholar. He is growing up in the United States as a simultaneous trilingual and triliterate in three alphabetical languages using two non-Roman scripts, Korean and Farsi, as well as a Roman script, English. I examine the ways in which he makes sense of and communicates in his literate world from age three to six by focusing on his emergent writing practices, particularly letter recognition, directionality and name writing in three distinctively different scripts. Social semiotic and translanguaging theories have guided my analysis of video and audio data as well as artefacts pertinent to his writing. Qualitative analysis rooted in an ethnographic case study approach demonstrated that he recognized different orthographic symbols across scripts but made linkages between them, applied correct directionality in scripts but with flexibility, and stamped a trilingual identity and met audiences' needs through name writing. The findings show the trilingual child engaging in a more flexible and creative process of letter designing as well as name writing in three scripts in more sophisticated and nuanced ways. The study provides insights into educational practices for multilingual children at preschools and schools.

Helping parents reexamine children’s emergent writing performance through parent–teacher portfolio sharing conferences

This study documented how the teacher conducted one-on-one portfolio sharing conferences with the parents to help them understand their children’s emergent writing performances. Data included the selection and analysis of children’s writing samples, parent–teacher conferences, and teacher interviews. The results indicated that parents’ perspectives on children’s writing reflect their concerns regarding their children’s transition to elementary education and limited understanding of emergent writing development. After the parent–teacher conferences, the parents demonstrated better understanding of emergent writing, became more confident about their children’s writing performance, and affirmed the benefits of parent–teacher sharing conferences. Lastly, the study increased teachers’ understanding about parents’ perspectives and improved the teacher–parent relationship.

Identifying Patterns in and Relationships Between Rural Canadian Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Children’s Graphic Representations and Their Talk

In this paper, we report on the first phase of an initiative we undertook to develop a classroom tool to document and describe children’s emergent writing. Here, we describe the process through which we developed an analytic framework to assist us in identifying patterns in young Indigenous and non-Indigenous children’s graphic representations in response to three formal tasks. Participating children lived in 11 northern, rural communities in two Canadian provinces. The resulting patterns, consistent with those described in the literature on children’s emergent writing, suggest the need to explore further how children use the verbal mode while representing meaning graphically.