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Dissertation Information for Stuart Reifel

NAME:
- Stuart Reifel
- (Alias) Robert Stuart Reifel

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Education

SCHOOL:
- University of California, Los Angeles (USA) (1981)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: AN EXPLORATION OF BLOCK PLAY AS SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION

Abstract: "Representation, or the ability to use symbols, develops as the person matures, becoming more differentiated and integrated over time. The purpose of the study was to describe the development of representational block play in early childhood. Werner and Kaplan's (1963) conceptualization of symbol formation served as a framework for data collection and analysis. This study described the development of the relationship between the person (the child) and the symbolic vehicle (building blocks), with regard to a given referent (a story) as described to the researcher (the addressee).

Twenty 4-year-olds and 20 7-year-olds formed the sample, with an equal number of boys and girls in each age group. Each child was individually read a fairy tale, then was asked to use a set of building blocks to show the story. The child then described (i.e. labeled) each constructed representation. Construction and descriptions were viedotaped.

Analysis of data provided evidence to support Werner's theoretical description of the development of representation. Within the syncretic-discrete dimension of representation (i.e., blocks standing for content or meanings such as houses, paths, characters), younger children appeared to be more syncretic (combining meanings from various sources, not necessarily related to the referent), while older children's appeared to be more discrete (more reflective of the fairy tale as referent).

Thirty-nine of the 40 children demonstrated physiognomic transformations of materials; they used blocks to stand for somthing else. Only three children used blocks as either a thing-of-action or as a personification, that is moving blocks as if the blocks were living characters or speaking to or for the blocks. Four children demonstrated recognizable affective reactions to the blocks, feigning fear in reaction to representations.

Evidence was also found for development from diffuse to articulated, referring to structural features, or forms, or representations. The mean proportion of distinguishable structures for younger children was significantly lower than the proportion for older children, whose representations are more fully articulated. One sex difference was found for the distinguishability of representational forms for 4-year-olds; girls' representations were less distinguishable than boys'.

Formal aspects of representational activity are more fluid for younger children, who change the physical structure of their block representations during construction more frequently than do older children.

Interpretation of the data is consistent with Werner's description of development. Early representation with blocks is syncretic (meanings from the story are fused with non-story content) and diffuse (structures are not as distinguishable). In later childhood, representation is discrete (more focused on the story as referent) and articulated (each block structure is more recognizable as a represented object.) These developmental changes can be interpreted in terms of the increasing ability of the child to use blocks as a symbolic vehicle.

The ideas described in this study can be used to interpret the representational play activity of children. When evaluating children's block play behavior, it seems clear that younger children can be expected to combine various referential meanings in their constructions and that they will produce structures that are not necessarily well articulated. Older children will represent a referent more discretely, showing more of what they have learned about the referent. From this knowledge, (1) pedagogic strategies for building on children's previous learning can be designed, and (2) inferences can be made about children's representations."

MPACT Scores for Stuart Reifel

A = 0
C = 1
A+C = 1
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:33:07

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Students under Stuart Reifel

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- Suellen S. Adams - University of Texas, Austin (2006)