TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring a Novel Tool to Measure Wandering Behavior in the Early Childhood Classroom
AU - Wallisch, Anna
AU - Irvin, Dwight
AU - Kearns, William D.
AU - Luo, Ying
AU - Boyd, Brian
AU - Rous, Beth
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2022/4
Y1 - 2022/4
N2 - Wandering, or random movement, affects cognitive and social skills. However, we lack methods to objectively measure wandering behavior. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the use of the Ubisense real-time location system (RTLS) in an early childhood setting to explore wandering in typically developing (TD) children (n = 2) and children with or at risk for developmental disabilities (WA-DD; n = 3). We used the Ubisense RTLS, a tool for capturing locations of individuals in indoor environments, and Fractal Dimension (FD) to measure the degree of wandering or the straightness of a path. Results of this descriptive, observational study indicated the Ubisense RTLS collected 46,229 1-s location estimates across the five children, and TD children had lower FD (M = 1.36) than children WA-DD (M = 1.42). Children WA-DD have more nonlinear paths than TD children. Implications for measuring wandering are discussed.
AB - Wandering, or random movement, affects cognitive and social skills. However, we lack methods to objectively measure wandering behavior. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the use of the Ubisense real-time location system (RTLS) in an early childhood setting to explore wandering in typically developing (TD) children (n = 2) and children with or at risk for developmental disabilities (WA-DD; n = 3). We used the Ubisense RTLS, a tool for capturing locations of individuals in indoor environments, and Fractal Dimension (FD) to measure the degree of wandering or the straightness of a path. Results of this descriptive, observational study indicated the Ubisense RTLS collected 46,229 1-s location estimates across the five children, and TD children had lower FD (M = 1.36) than children WA-DD (M = 1.42). Children WA-DD have more nonlinear paths than TD children. Implications for measuring wandering are discussed.
KW - children
KW - education
KW - engagement
KW - environment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85122135643&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85122135643&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/15394492211065705
DO - 10.1177/15394492211065705
M3 - Article
C2 - 34967257
AN - SCOPUS:85122135643
SN - 1539-4492
VL - 42
SP - 137
EP - 145
JO - OTJR Occupation, Participation and Health
JF - OTJR Occupation, Participation and Health
IS - 2
ER -