Purpose
The study investigates how kindergarten teachers contextualise technology tasks in kindergarten and how they incorporate the learning process as part of these tasks. The research question is: How can kindergarten teachers support children in building and construction activities in kindergarten?
Result
The study highlights the importance of the kindergarten teacher taking an active role in building and construction activities in kindergarten. The study points to what one might call a map, which combines general didactic strategies (i.e., engaging, guiding, coordinating, and demonstrating) with technology-specific areas (i.e., process, product and concepts), resulting in specific construction-didactic strategies. This didactic map is a step closer to answering the question of how building and construction tasks in kindergarten can be designed and used by kindergarten teachers to support children’s technological learning. The researchers believe this map can be used as a type of didactic toolbox when discussing and planning building and construction activities in kindergarten.
Design
The study is part of a larger action research project carried out over a period of 13 months at two kindergartens (with the same coordinator) in a medium-sized city in Sweden. Participation in the project was voluntary, which resulted in eight kindergarten teachers forming the action research group, together with the lead author of the study. The data material consists of five implemented internal technology tasks. Each activity consisted of one or two kindergarten teachers and four children. These technology activities lasted between 1 to 1.5 hours and were recorded on video.
References
Boström, J., Hultén, M., & Gyberg, P. (2022). Rethinking construction in preschool: discerning didactic strategies in Swedish preschool activities. International journal of technology and design education, 32(4), 2039–2061.
Online year: 2021
Issue year: 2022
Review year: 2022
Financed by
Linnaeus University, Sweden