Technology education in preschool: providing opportunities for children to use artifacts and to create

Sundqvist, Pernilla; Nilsson, Tor

doi:10.1007/s10798-016-9375-y

Cited by 26 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Their choices of material are strongly influenced by social and cultural understanding of designing constructions in a human society, a normative perspective (De Vries 2005) not necessarily shared by the children. The results of our study support the findings of Sundqvist and Nilsson (2018), regarding teachers' beliefs about technology in pre-school. During the construction activity, teachers in our study acted as providers for the children's activities by setting the scene with materials that held potential for their use.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…This is because the content is reminiscent of teaching and school subjects. As the teachers do not have the tradition of teaching specific subjects, they feel unsure about how to plan and teach (Sundqvist and Nilsson 2016). Traditionally, teaching is associated with school and many Swedish preschool teachers do not feel comfortable using teaching as a concept for their professional work.…”

Section: Participants and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the present study, we focus on what happens in preschool activities when children are involved in construction technology. Based on the research findings regarding teachers' attitudes (Sundqvist and Nilsson 2016), this study focused on children's construction technology activities in preschools to contribute new knowledge about teachers' and children's volitions during construction play. Construction technology has a long tradition in preschool (Bjurulf 2013), but knowledge of technology and the concepts used need to be discernible and highlighted for the children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pre-school children’s expressed technological volition during construction play

Thorshag

Holmqvist

2018

Int J Technol Des Educ

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Technology volition is the will to develop knowledge of, and use, the physical world to design products, processes and systems. The aim of this study was to contribute new knowledge of children's technology volition when they identify, build and improve technical constructions, and how teachers support this learning. Analysis focused on moments when children's volition was expressed in a construction activity. In total, eleven preschool teachers and 49 children, aged 4-5 years, from three preschools, participated. Data consists of video-recordings from four activities, two each in preschool A and B, showing children's expressed technological volition, as well as field notes about the teachers' preparations. Results show how differences among children's expressed volition is connected to their imagination of how materials can be combined to construct 'houses' and 'vehicles' from everyday objects. Building a house resulted in a focus on how to make the building solid and water resistant, and inspired children to learn about materials for different purposes in houses such as the floor, walls and an angled roof. Building a vehicle encouraged children to talk about speed, movements and fuel. Results show how children indicate and express their discernment of how materials are combined to create constructions, and how they discover ways in which materials change during the building process. For some of the children it was difficult to see the potential of a material other than its original use, while others used their imagination to find opportunities to use materials to make new objects.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Participants and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pre-school children’s expressed technological volition during construction play

Thorshag

Holmqvist

2018

Int J Technol Des Educ

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“…Technology is both implicitly and explicitly mentioned in the three ECE curricula studied (Department of Education, 2014; Ministry of Education, 2017; Skolverket, 2010). However, the teachers in this study agree with Sundqvist and Nilsson‘s (2016) claim that although technology should be taught in early childhood settings, teachers have limited understanding of technology education and how to teach it, mainly due to the fact that neither had had professional training in technology education. The teachers in the study found that the ECETOCF offered guidance in their ongoing communications with their students while developing their understanding of technology.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…The researcher through her extensive knowledge and experience of technology education developed the Technology Observation and Conversation Framework (TOCF). The process also included a review of current research related to technology (Ministry of Education, 2018; Snape & Fox-Turnbull, 2013; Spendlove, 2015; Sundqvist & Nilsson, 2016; Williams et al, 2012). Literature based on the building of learning capacity (Clarke, 2014; Claxton, 2007; Claxton et al, 2013) was also carefully considered.…”

Section: Technology Observation and Conversation Framework (Tocf)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing the learning of technology in early childhood settings

Fox-Turnbull

2019

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

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This article describes a study of early childhood teachers’ understanding of teaching and learning in children 4 and 5 years of age in technology education. The research aimed at assisting teachers’ understanding of learning in technology using a developed framework. This study investigated the development of dispositions and attitudes including the building of children’s confidence and self-belief in their capabilities, within four aspects of learning and across five predetermined behaviours relevant to technology education. The study employed qualitative research methods to assist teachers with the use of an observation and conversation framework aimed to improve their ability to assess formatively their children and their own ability to give specific feedback. Observations and interviews were used to gauge teachers’ developed understandings of children’s learning in technology. The study shows that the framework used benefitted teachers and children. It allowed for insight into understanding how and what children learn in technology and teachers’ understanding of technology.

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The Nature of Technology

Cullen

Guo

2020

Critical Questions in STEM Education

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Technology education in preschool: providing opportunities for children to use artifacts and to create

Cited by 26 publications

References 18 publications

Pre-school children’s expressed technological volition during construction play

Pre-school children’s expressed technological volition during construction play

Enhancing the learning of technology in early childhood settings

The Nature of Technology

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