This qualitative research synthesis examines the design of existing studies on making and maker-oriented activities with digital tools (Digital Making) in early childhood settings. This synthesis also provides an overview of teachers’ understanding of Digital Making, and how teachers implement Digital Making in their teaching practice. To be included in this synthesis, studies needed to (a) focus on Digital Making, (b) include evidence of early childhood teachers’ perspectives on Digital Making, (c) include children aged three to eight as Digital Makers, and (d) be situated in a formal educational setting. Given that young children’s making activities with digital tools are limited by children’s exposure to digital materials, I also considered studies in which children manipulated digital devices in ways that enabled them to develop foundational maker orientations and skills. Although 274 studies were considered, only seven studies met these criteria. Analyses show that the seven selected studies are grounded in the theoretical perspectives of constructivism, embodiment, and empowerment as an essential part of early childhood learning. These seven studies were conducted in a range of contexts with many different kinds of digital tools such as programable robots, remote toys, iPads, and 3D printers. Teachers viewed Digital Making as child-centred and engaging. They also reported using making and maker-oriented activities to support children’s learning of problem-solving skills, social skills, and digital literacies. To better integrate Digital Making at scale, however, more training and support for teachers is likely needed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/43440 |
| Date | 06 April 2022 |
| Creators | Zhao, Youjia |
| Contributors | Hagerman, Michelle Schira |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ |
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