Preschoolers' Engineering Play Behaviors: Differences in Gender and Play Context

Gold, Zachary S.; Elicker, James; Choi, Ji Young; Anderson, Treshawn; Brophy, Sean

doi:10.7721/chilyoutenvi.25.3.0001

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…However, at the early childhood level, engineering is more scarce-Bagiati and colleagues [19] conducted a review on early childhood engineering curricula and materials, and concluded that "pedagogically and content-reliable sources are limited in number and difficult to identify among the plethora of information." Even so, there has been recent work on early childhood engineering, Gold and colleagues demonstrated that large block play elicited more engineering behaviors in preschoolers than play in traditional playgrounds and play in the dramatic play area [20]. Further, Davis, Cunningham, & Lachapelle [21] designed an engineering curriculum called "Wee Engineer" specifically for early childhood classrooms.…”

Section: Early Childhood Science and Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Childhood Science and Engineering: Engaging Platforms for Fostering Domain-General Learning Skills

2018

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Early childhood science and engineering education offer a prime context to foster approaches-to-learning (ATL) and executive functioning (EF) by eliciting children’s natural curiosity about the world, providing a unique opportunity to engage children in hands-on learning experiences that promote critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, persistence, and other adaptive domain-general learning skills. Indeed, in any science experiment or engineering problem, children make observations, engage in collaborative conversations with teachers and peers, and think flexibly to come up with predictions or potential solutions to their problem. Inherent to science and engineering is the idea that one learns from initial failures within an iterative trial-and-error process where children practice risk-taking, persistence, tolerance for frustration, and sustaining focus. Unfortunately, science and engineering instruction is typically absent from early childhood classrooms, and particularly so in programs that serve children from low-income families. However, our early science and engineering intervention research shows teachers how to build science and engineering instruction into activities that are already happening in their classrooms, which boosts their confidence and removes some of the stigma around science and engineering. In this paper, we discuss the promise of research that uses early childhood science and engineering experiences as engaging, hands-on, interactive platforms to instill ATL and EF in young children living below the poverty line. We propose that early childhood science and engineering offer a central theme that captures children’s attention and allows for integrated instruction across domain-general (ATL, EF, and social–emotional) and domain-specific (e.g., language, literacy, mathematics, and science) content, allowing for contextualized experiences that make learning more meaningful and captivating for children.

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Section: Early Childhood Science and Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Childhood Science and Engineering: Engaging Platforms for Fostering Domain-General Learning Skills

2018

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“…Engineering education scholars initiated this approach using qualitative studies and naturalistic field observations that showed preschoolers naturally engaged in constructive play behaviors indicative of engineering processes: collaborative discussion, goal communication, knowledge integration, problem-solving, and building highly complex and organized block structures (e.g., Bagiati & Evangelou, 2016;Brophy & Evangelou, 2007). Building on this work, Gold et al (2015Gold et al ( , 2021 empirically documented specific language-and action-based engineering play behaviors that reflect broader design processes in diverse preschool samples (Table 1; Preschool Engineering Play Behaviors, P-EPB; Gold et al, 2017).…”

Section: Engineering Play Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results from these initial studies as well as qualitative work within engineering education (e.g., Bairaktarova et al, 2011) established that block play and other kinds of constructive contexts (e.g., tangible manipulatives, pretend play activities) were ideal contexts to observe and understand preschool play processes that reflect early engineering thinking. For example, regardless of gender or socioeconomic status (50% enrolled in head start), children demonstrated significant amounts of engineering play during free play with large foam blocks and creative dramatic play with symbolic materials such as dolls and dress-up clothing (Gold et al, 2015). Moreover, recent research revealed that preschoolers' engineering play was positively associated with mathematics and spatial performance, including in a subsample of children with disabilities, providing evidence that engineering play with blocks is connected with early cognitive domains for children with and without disabilities (Gold et al, 2021).…”

Section: Engineering Play Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Planning is an understudied cognitive ability that overlaps with EF component skills and executive control processes (Crook & Evans, 2014 Note: The Preschool Engineering Play Behaviors (P-EBP) observation instrument is copyrighted and not to be used in research or for other educational purposes without permission of the author (Gold et al, 2017). Abbreviation: STEM, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.…”

Section: Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Engineering play with blocks as an informal learning context for executive function and planning

Gold

Elicker

Evich

et al. 2021

J of Engineering Edu

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Background: Engineering play is an emerging framework for understanding young children's constructive block play as an engineering design process. Few studies have evaluated engineering thinking, language, or behavior in preschool-age children, especially quantitative evaluations that systematically document specific early engineering behavior. More research is needed to support diverse children's engineering education in ecologically valid classroom contexts and understand relations with the key cognitive domains that predict school readiness.Purpose/Hypothesis: The present study investigated the associations of executive functioning and planning skills with preschoolers' engineering play behaviors with wooden unit blocks, tested the moderating role of disability status in these associations, and provided additional reliability and validity data on the Preschool Engineering Play Behaviors (P-EPB) measure. Design/Method: Participants were 110 preschoolers (44% female; 25% children with disabilities) observed and coded during 15-min block play sessions with a peer partner. Children completed separate formal assessments of executive function and planning.Results: A one-factor engineering play variable including six behavior categories (i.e., communicating goals, problem-solving, explaining how things are built/work, following patterns and prototypes, logical and mathematical words, and technical vocabulary) was significantly and positively associated with executive function and planning for children with disabilities. Conclusions: Results provide new knowledge about early engineering measurement and implications for teaching and learning engineering across multiple academic disciplines and with children from diverse developmental backgrounds.

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“…A possible method that would develop young children's identity as potential engineers is the use of dramatic inquiry (DI), a dialogic inquiry and dramatic play-based pedagogy (Edmiston, 1998;Edmiston, 2014) and other artistic approaches such as art and dance. Studies have shown that during play students exhibit behaviors that are consistent with those used during the engineering design process (Gold et al, 2015;Park et al, 2018) and earlier engineering play can help them to be more successful in later engineering challenges (Tõugu et al, 2017). Tõugu et al (2017) asked families with young children in a museum setting to solve an engineering design problem together using spatial play.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engineering Design Challenges in Early Childhood Education: Effects on Student Cognition and Interest

Malone

Tiarani

Irving

et al. 2018

European Journal of STEM Education

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This mixed methods study is one of the first to evaluate the effects of the incorporation of dramatic inquiry, dance, visual arts and physical education into preK-3 science, technology, engineering and mathematics units on student conceptual understanding of technology and engineering. The study used data collected from over 200 student surveys and focus group interviews with 14 teachers. The use of integrated STEAM units supported significant improvement in 4 to 8 year old students' understanding of engineering and technology. We report an average 55% increase in student understanding of what engineers do, and a 36% increase in their understanding of technology. The effect sizes for both assessments showed mostly large effects for all grade levels. The pre test scores across all grade levels were not significantly different. By implementing these integrated units with our younger students, we aimed to nurture their interest and understanding of engineering and technology across grade levels. This study results imply that students may not learn about these important topics outside of school hours; thus, it is important they become acquainted with these topics during school hours. Our work suggests that engineering units with dramatic inquiry should be introduced beginning in kindergarten.

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Preschoolers' Engineering Play Behaviors: Differences in Gender and Play Context

Cited by 25 publications

References 19 publications

Early Childhood Science and Engineering: Engaging Platforms for Fostering Domain-General Learning Skills

Early Childhood Science and Engineering: Engaging Platforms for Fostering Domain-General Learning Skills

Engineering play with blocks as an informal learning context for executive function and planning

Engineering Design Challenges in Early Childhood Education: Effects on Student Cognition and Interest

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