Committee Chair

Warren, Amye

Committee Member

Ferrier, David E.; Griffin, Jayne

Department

Dept. of Psychology

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

While it is established that play is important for development, researchers do not have a measure that examines both play type and complexity. Existing measures are limited to examining play type without complexity, complexity of a specific play type, or ethnographic measures. Based on a combination of scales in the literature, I developed the Dimensions of Play Framework as a tool for observational quantitative measurement of play in children's museums. The purpose of this initial study was to investigate interrater reliability using a time-sampling method. Video tapes of 140 children interacting with either a simple or elaborate version of a clay exhibit were collected for analysis. Three rounds of coding by undergraduate assistants demonstrated moderate agreement yet failed to yield acceptable interrater reliability for hypothesis testing (Kappa > .70). Results indicate more should be done to structure the framework and determine the appropriate method of measurement to accompany it.

Acknowledgments

I want to thank my thesis chair, Dr. Amye Warren, not only for the support and guidance she has offered to me throughout this journey, but also for the seemingly endless energy and passion that she has for the entire psychology department. I would also like to express gratitude to my thesis committee members, Dr. David Ferrier and Jayne Griffin, for serving on my committee and offering insightful comments and questions that pushed me to new levels of understanding. I also want to express gratitude for my research assistants, Madeleine Condoure, Claudia Divincenzo, Hannah Kollmansperger, and Faith Humberd for their time spent and feedback throughout the coding process. Finally, I want to thank my partner, Chris Scoggin, and all of my friends for buoying me when I felt I was sinking and reigniting my fire when I wanted to give up. Their support has been an endless source of strength and resolve.

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

12-2020

Subject

Museums; Non-formal education; Play assessment (Child psychology)

Keyword

development; informal learning; museum exhibits; museum studies; observational studies; play

Discipline

Psychology

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

vii, 46 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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