Applying Technology to Inquiry-Based Learning in Early Childhood Education

Feng, Wang; Kinzie, Mable B.; McGuire, Patrick; Pan, Edward

doi:10.1007/s10643-009-0364-6

Cited by 107 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…Instead of exploring the qualities of the technology, as found by many scholars (i.e. Bølgan, 2012;Carlsen, 2013;Kjäl-lander & Moinian, 2014;Lafton, 2012;Sandvik, 2012;Sandvik et al, 2012;Wang et al, 2010;Wolfe & Flewitt, 2010;Ødegaard & Knudsen, 2012), the technology seems to be framed by some of the participating preschool teachers as something to fight against, something that can be resisted, and something that needs to made less threatening.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A professional use of ICT in preschool is seen to support learning (Carlsen, 2013), cooperation (Sandvik, Smørdal, & Østerud, 2012;Wang, Kinzie, McGuire, & Pan, 2010) and communication , and it can also stimulate new forms of play (Bølgan, 2012). These are but a few of the areas where there is research on what qualities, and challenges, ICT brings to the field of early childhood education.…”

Section: Digital Media and The Preschoolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) This, furthermore, draws attention to the importance of choosing suitable software and hardware, as these obviously influence the character of children's activities and interactions . For instance, the use of tablets support interaction between children, as tablets are easy to handle and invite screen sharing (Wang et al, 2010). It seems that when communicative practices become all the more multimodal, ICT-supported communication enables active and cooperative participation among young children .…”

Section: Digital Media and The Preschoolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This means that the participatory dimension of technology such as tablets and interactive whiteboards encourages dynamic active involvement in terms of production and co-production by children themselves. In this vein, Wang et al (2010) argues that media-supported cooperation can make visible differences between a child's own thinking and that of others, and deepen understanding for the group as well as for the individual.…”

Section: Digital Media and The Preschoolmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

‘We have to be professional’ – Swedish preschool teachers’ conceptualisation of digital media

Hernwall¹

2016

NJDL

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This paper describes how a group of preschool teachers participating in a design workshop sketched ideas for how ICT (information and communication technology) can be developed in relation to preschool practice. The design process, which was modelled on creative research methods and future workshops, is presented in detail. The main findings, based on a data-driven analysis of verbal and written statements and design sketches, show that ICT is mainly conceptualised as either a possibility in the support of specific competences (such as language development) or a threat to, for example, the notion of real communication and also to well-established conceptualisations of preschool practice. Keywords Preschool Teachers, Future Workshop, Design THEME AND OBJECTIVEIn times when digital media are ubiquitous, and more and more children use an increasing variety of digital media at an earlier age than ever before, such media are still new phenomena within many formal educational settings in general, and in preschool practice in particular. Even though there are testimonials of benefits from using digital media in preschool, from research as well as practice, the actual use of information and communication technology (ICT) in preschool is limited. This article addresses this complexity, by investigating Swedish preschool teachers' conceptualisation of digital media, in order to better understand what possibilities, and obstacles, preschool teachers experience in using digital media in their everyday pedagogical profession. The assumption is that it is of uttermost importance that pedagogical staff within formal educational settings develop a critical understanding and an adequate use of such media, in order to better meet the needs and expectations of young children.In this vein, a workshop with twelve preschool teachers was conducted in January 2014, focusing on how ICT in general, and tablets in particular, can be used and developed to support the development of young children. The introductory literature review will therefore focus on what qualities ICT brings to preschool (and early childhood education) practice, rather than elaborating on studies concerning the challenges of implementation (Howard, Miles, & Rees-

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Digital Media and The Preschoolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Digital Media and The Preschoolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Digital Media and The Preschoolmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

‘We have to be professional’ – Swedish preschool teachers’ conceptualisation of digital media

Hernwall¹

2016

NJDL

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“…Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, and Chinn (2007) described inquiry learning as acquiring content and discipline-specific reasoning skills and practices by collaboratively engaging in investigations. Enactment varies with teachers' roles (Hmelo-Silver & Barrows, 2008;Wang, Kinzie, McGuire, & Pan, 2010) and understanding of processes of knowledge production within disciplines taught (Levy et al, 2013); therefore, several ways exist to undertake inquiry-based instruction (Keys & Bryan, 2001;Songer, Lee, & McDonald, 2003). We used a socialconstructivist framework: "Education as inquiry provides an opportunity for learners to explore collaboratively topics of personal and social interest using the perspectives offered by others as well as by various knowledge domains" (Harste, 2001, p. 1).…”

Section: Theoretical Underpinningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

First-Year Teachers’ Uphill Struggle to Implement Inquiry Instruction

2016

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This longitudinal study of six first-year teachers focused on conceptualizations of inquiry-based pedagogy, self-efficacy for inquiry-based teaching, and its actual enactment. Data included a self-report survey of self-efficacy for inquiry-based instruction, individual interviews at the beginning and end of the year, and five distributed classroom observations. At year's end, selfefficacy for inquiry teaching declined, as did frequencies of concepts teachers used to describe inquiry enactment. Inquiry descriptions reflected a set of interrelated procedures more than inquiry as conceptual knowledge. Novice teachers were observed least enacting pedagogical actions that required enabling students to communicate findings and the most in student engagement; however, over time frequencies of student engagement declined. Consistent patterns were observed between shifts in self-efficacy and inquiry enactment and shifts between self-efficacy and conceptualizations of inquiry enactment. We found beginning steps toward links between teacher's conceptualizations and classroom practice.

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