Post on 05-Aug-2015
transcript
Nature of Interactions among Young Children and Adult Caregivers
in a Children’s Museum
Caitlin McMunn Dooley, Ph. D. Meghan M. Welch
cdooley@gsu.edu
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Play, Play, Play!• Museum learning = play (Association of Children’s
Museums, 2013; Henderson & Atencio, 2007; Mayfield, 2005; Payley, 2005)
• Play is “dialogic” (Henderson and Atencio, 2007; Lillard et al., 2012; Styles, 2011)
• Interactions in play can influence learning (National Academy of Sciences, 2001)
• Play influences literacy (Roskos & Christie)
• Museum studies focus onadult-led interactions (Eckhoff, 2008; Luke & McCreedy, 2012; Shine & Acosta, 2000 )
Dialogic learning in a children’s museum can be maximized by “supporting children’s interactions with peers and adults”
(Henderson & Atencio, 2007,
p. 245)
RQ #1: What is the nature of child- and
adult-led interactions at a children’s museum?
RQ #2: How might those interactions support
literacy learning?
Context, Participants
InterviewsCaregivers: 12 mothers, 5 fathers, 2 teachers, 7 Staff members, 5 children
Observations30+ children and their caregivers and nearby staff members (2.5 summer mo.)
Urban children’s museum in downtown SE
Methods• Naturalistic study (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994 )
• Qualitative, inductive analysis (Strauss & Corbin, 1998; Harry, Sturges, & Klinger, 2005 )
Data Collection two hours 1-2 x weekly• Field notes• Photos• Interviews (staff, visitors)
Why do you come to the museum?
What does your child learn here?
Does your child learn literacy here?
A mom and her 2-3 year-old son enter and head towards the banana slide. The mom says to the boy, “up the stairs – up the banana – see the banana?” The boy continues up the banana and starts to slide down. “1,2,3 down the banana – good job, you did it,” says the mom.
Analysis• Constant comparative, iterative
analysis process
Interview Themes: Caregivers v. Staff
Agreements:• Kids learn via “discovery”, hands-on• Literacy is conventional books/abcs (staff added symbols, signs)• Museum supports social, peer-to-peer skills• Adults should interact
Disagreements:• Staff said peer-to-peer needs adult support; Caregivers did not note• Staff said adults should label, model, and explain; caregivers
apologized for not interacting• Staff articulated academic learning; caregivers only identified ball
exhibit has supporting academic learning
Learning?
Interview Themes: Kids
Who is leading?What do they do?
Findings: Interactions170 meaningful units
8981 Adult-led
Child-led
Findings: Interactions
1. S
how and tell
2. Le
arning
3. Teach
ing
4. R
efocusin
g
5. P
articip
atory Play
6. A
dvocating
7. D
isciplin
ing0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Children led 81 in-teractionsAdults led 89 interac-tions
Display areas encourage “show and tell”
Recommendations for Exhibit Design
Questions & Discussion
Caitlin McMunn Dooley, Ph. D. Meghan Welch
cdooley@gsu.edu 404-413-8226