The Intervention of Task and Exploratory Teaching Method in the Outdoor on Motor and Social Development of Preschool Children

The environment is an essential element for human development, and children are more affected by the environment other than age groups. Considering the importance of childrenchr('39')s motor and social development and the type of teaching method on different aspects of development,, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of task and exploratory teaching methods in outdoor space on motor and social development of pre-school children.

This research was semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design and control group. The sample study consisted of 45 girls and boys aged 4-6 years old in Tabriz in 2018 that selected by purposeful sampling method and randomly assigned into two experimental and one control groups. Experimental groups received intervention in 12 sessions of 4 hours, while the control group did not receive the intervention. The dependent variables were measured using the Peabody Motor Development Test (1983) and the Social Skills Observation Matrix (Walker, Calvin & Ramsay, 1995). To analyze the data, covariance analysis was used.

The results showed that the use of exploratory teaching method led to improvement of the gross (F= 22/34), fine (F= 47/70) and social development (F= 76/70) of pre-school girls and boys (P≤0.05).

According to research findings, it can be concluded that the educational method and living environment play an important role in their development, and if the environment is richer and focuses on exploratory learning in the natural environment, this impact is greater and will improve childrenchr('39')s motor and social development.