A Practical Report on the Instruction of how to Use Chopsticks and Setting Dishes on Trays at an After-School Childcare Club

Abstract

This paper reveals how children improve the correct way of using chopsticks and proper way of setting dishes on trays at an after-school childcare club through photographic evidence.

The preliminary self-evaluation questionnaire survey shows that 80% of the children investigated consider that they are good at using chopsticks, but in fact, those who can handle them properly account for only 25%, indicating a clear gap between the children’s perception and the results obtained through the photographic data. The research also reveals that 65% of the children can set dishes properly on trays. After an intervention, approximately 35% of the children are able to master chopstick use and 90% are able to learn tray setting.

Limited instructions of how to use chopsticks to the group as a whole appear to be less effective. To master these skills, it is necessary for children to practice them repeatedly in addition to receiving individual guidance. On the other hand, tray arrangement can be mastered through visual aids, such as photographs, and only require minimal guidance.