Building with focus on stability and construction: using a story as inspiration when teaching technology and design in preschool

Abstract

In this study children's learning of the concept, stability, during some building activities were investigated. It was also examined how a story can create meaning, having the children build for some animals in the story. Two preschool teachers and 10 children participated. Data consisted of video-recordings from activities with the children and was analysed through thematic coding. The findings showed that the children enjoyed to build and showed an understanding of how to build stable constructions, however without using the word stable. There were connections to the story and new stories were also made by the children during building activities.

Rethinking construction in preschool: discerning didactic strategies in Swedish preschool activities

“…In accordance with what earlier research has pointed out (e.g., Campbell, 2010;Mawson, 2007;Siraj-Blatchford & Siraj-Blatchford, 1998;Stables, 1997;Walan et al, 2020), this study highlights the importance of the preschool teacher taking an active role in construction activities in preschool. However, this study also digs deeper into what that active role may mean from a technology didactic standpoint.…”

“…Fleer, 2000;Plowman et al, 2010) and from a 'intent of construction-perspective' (cf. Walan et al, 2020). Our analysis shows that the teachers in our study took on the role of the guiding hand and through guiding questions and scaffolding tried to enhance the children's learning (i.e., help the children develop construction skills and collaborative skills).…”

“…Siraj-Blatchford and Siraj-Blatchford (1998) found that through teacher-led scaffolding, preschool children were able to produce more elaborate constructions than children who only had access to the material in a more traditional free play kind of environment. And Walan et al (2020) point out that when it comes to preschool children's successful technological construction, guiding questions like "What kind of material could you use if you want to build a stable construction?" play an important role (cf.…”

Att möjliggöra tekniklärande i konstruktionsaktiviteter : Att möjliggöra tekniklärande i konstruktionsaktiviteter

“…., 2010; Siraj-Blatchford & Siraj-Blatchford, 1998Stables 1997and Walan et al, 2020. However, the results of this study indicates that if the goal is to create construction activities that are as inclusive as possible, being the active preschool teacher is only the first step.…”