Developing a computer-assisted health knowledge quiz for preschool children

Area of Science:

• Child Health Education
• Educational Technology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Assessing health knowledge in preschool children presents challenges due to short attention spans.
• Traditional assessment methods may not effectively engage young children or capture their full knowledge.
• Computer-assisted tools offer potential for more engaging and reliable assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability and internal consistency of a computer-assisted health education knowledge quiz for preschool children.
• To compare the reliability of different subscales within the quiz (Nutrition, Safety, Environment, Dental, Smoking, Fitness).
• To assess the acceptability and advantages of a computer-assisted format over traditional methods for this age group.

Main Methods:

• A computer-assisted, multiple-choice picture identification quiz was administered to 51 preschool children (mean age 3.6 years).
• Test-retest scores were analyzed using Pearson's product moment correlation coefficients to assess overall and componential stability.
• Cronbach alpha coefficients were calculated to determine the internal consistency of the quiz subscales.

Main Results:

• The computer-assisted quiz demonstrated high overall reliability (r = .82, p < .01).
• Test-retest correlations were strongest for Nutrition, Safety, and Environment (r = .56 to .81).
• Reliability for Dental, Smoking, and Fitness subscales was lower but still significant (r = .37 to .48).

Conclusions:

• A computer-assisted knowledge quiz is a reliable tool for assessing health education knowledge in preschool children.
• The computer-assisted format is highly acceptable to young children, fostering cooperation and effort.
• This digital approach offers advantages over paper-and-pencil tests for assessing children with limited attention spans.