THE EFFETS OF EDUCATIONAL TOYS TRANINIG DESIGNED TO DEVELOP VISUAL PERCEPTION SKILLS ON THE SKILLS OF VISUAL PERCEPTION IN CHILDREN

In this study, the effets of educational toys traninig designed to develop visual perception skills on the skills of visual perception in children were investigated. The educational toys are designed in accordance with the five visual perception steps determined by Frostig. The research was carried out with a sample of 103 preschool students [35 (34 %) experimental group, 33 (32 %) control group and 35 (% 34) placebo group]. For 14 weeks, three session per week, thirty five-forty five minutes, visual perception training with educational toys was applied to experimental group. Simultaneously, visual perception training with educational toys availeble on the market were conducted in placebo group while no treatment was applied to the control group. Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception developed by Dr. Marianne Frostig was administered to experimental, placebo and control groups before treatment, after the treatment and one year afterwards the treatment. In the study, the following findings were obtained: Visual perception training program with educational toys was effective on increasing the levels of childrens' sub-dimensions Frostig Developmental Test of Visial Perception, and this effect had remained the same after the end of one year follow-up period. Comparison of the pre-final test and follow-up test scores of the sub-dimensions of visual perception according to gender, showed no statistically significant diffrences.