Categorization Activities in Norwegian Preschools: Digital Tools in Identifying, Articulating, and Assessing

The study investigates digital literacy practices among children in Norwegian kindergartens and some of the ways in which children acquire basic digital literacy through participation in situated activities. The research question is: How do children participate in categorization practices in kindergartens where digital tools are used?

The results show that children’s digital literacy skills include visual, verbal, audio and embodied skills that become relevant and therefore accessible for learning, in the interaction between the children, and between adults and children, by serving as norms and guidelines for what constitutes correct categorizations (geometric shapes, green and red emotions) in the situated activities. These are acquired and actualized by the children in the interaction with their peers. The study shows that digital media is integrated into the kindergarten’s routines and social life when it comes to categorizing the environment: They are part of how the children are instructed to experience, interpret and act in the world. The results also show that different digital technologies create different conditions for children’s participation. Interaction between peers was more common when using mobile technologies, such as smartphones and tablets. When using immobile technologies, such as smart boards, the activities were most often structured as adult-led classroom teaching.

The study is based on an ethnographic methodological perspective, where the analysis is based on 70 hours of video recordings documenting the activities of 45 children between the ages of 5 and 6 and eight kindergarten teachers participating in digital activities. Three kindergartens participated in the study.

Aarsand, P. (2019). “Categorization Activities in Norwegian Preschools: Digital Tools in Identifying, Articulating, and Assessing”. Frontiers in Psychology, (10):1-13.