Research Symposium

BIO

Wendy Xie is a freshman at Florida State University participating in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), a program within the Center for Undergraduate Research and Engagement (CRE). She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in English while also on the pre-law track. Through the guidance of her research mentor, Yarui Chen, and their advisor, Dr. Beth M. Phillips, Wendy has developed stronger analytical, attention to detail, coding, communication, and comprehension skills while being able to gain hands-on experience in the research process. As a result of her dedication to the research, she was offered an opportunity to continue working under their lab through Directed Individual Study (DIS). In the future, she plans to further expand her research experience by applying for additional DIS and research opportunities.

Wendy's future goals include continuing her education in graduate school. She is interested in applying to a psychology program with the goal of obtaining a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) and becoming a licensed psychologist. She is dedicated to providing support to individuals in need and assisting in their well-being. Additionally, she is also interested in applying to law school to pursue a Juris Doctor (J.D.), in hopes of becoming a criminal defense attorney. She is passionate about promoting justice and advocating for protecting individuals' rights.

Correlations Between Macrostructure Narrative Skills Exhibited by Pre-school Children.

Abstract

Past research has identified a general tendency: children’s narrative ability aligns with their cognitive and learning development. One study found more frequent use of attempt than consequence descriptions in children when retelling narratives, possibly indicating that consequences are a more challenging element for children to include (Schachter & Craig, 2006). This research aims to examine the relationship between macrostructure elements in children's oral narratives exhibited by 3-5 years old preschool children. We hypothesize that children tend to focus more on macrostructural elements (e.g., attempt and consequence) because these elements often reflect cause-and-effect relationships. The children are shown a series of cartoon videos, and then tasked to retell the story. We coded narratives using Diehm et al.’s (2020) scheme, including character, setting, plot, initiating events, reactions, attempts, consequences, and ending. Each element was scored 1 if present, 0 if not. The results indicated that producing more of one story-grammar element was generally associated with greater production of others, suggesting that macrostructure skills tend to cluster rather than develop in isolation. Equipped with this insight, educators can gain a deeper understanding of young learners’ developmental needs and subsequently design more targeted instructional strategies to support narrative skill growth.

Keywords: Pre-School Children Macrostructure Narrative Skills