Using 'Thinking Tags' with Kindergarten Children: A Dental Health Simulation

摘要

According to many dental professionals, the decay effects from the accumulation of sugar on teeth are a very difficult concept for young children to learn. Playing the dental hygiene game with Thinking Tags not only brings context into the classroom, but allows children to work with digital maipulatives that provide instan feedback. Instead of watching a demonstration of the accumulation of sugars on a screen or being told about dental health, this simulation allows 5-year old children to experience improving or decaying dental health without any real adverse effects. Small, wearable, microprocessor-driven tags were brought into the kindergarten classroom to simulate the decay process, providing information and creating a discussion about teeth. This program was effective and enthusiastically received by this age group.