Multimodal interaction for science learning in preschool: Conceptual development with external tools across a science project

ABSTRACT

This paper studies the scaffolding of conceptual development for children aged 4–5 years old during a science project at a Swedish preschool. It specifically examines how bodily knowledge and language are used in interaction, and how conceptual knowledge can be scaffolded with the use of external tools and artefacts. The science project was tracked for seven weeks and the analytical focus is on situations where a computer and a projected screen are used. The study shows how interactions afforded by the set-up provide a virtual-physical setting where teachers and children can interact using both language and bodily modes. As such, it provided an interactional space where teachers can scaffold children’s tactile understandings towards conceptual knowledge by building on the children’s prior experiences, and knowledge is cumulated over time during the project. This is accomplished by focusing attention on the topic and through the use of tools in interaction. Possible implications and uses for early childhood education are discussed in the light of these results.

KEYWORDS:

• Conceptual development
• early childhood education
• affordances
• digital tools

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Robin Samuelsson http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8110-6506

Notes

1 The official name of the science project was: ‘Beyblades and the centrifugal force’, as presented at teacher-parent conferences and to the municipality. It should be noted, however, that centrifugal* occurs only once in the corpus of recorded and collected data, when a PowerPoint slide aimed at parents and the municipality officials is displayed. It should be noted that the phenomenon most present is centripetal force. However, since the word spinning is used throughout the project by children and the teachers in interaction with children, it is also used throughout this paper.

2 The ethical guidelines of The Swedish Research Council (2011) have been followed in regards to the written consent of participant parents, teachers and confidentiality in handling of data. In addition to this, the children themselves have been informed and repeatedly asked to reconfirm their participation during the project to ensure the study was ethically sound from a child perspective.

3 For results regarding other activities during the project, see Samuelsson (2018).