Bringing Life-Relevant Embodied Learning With E-Textiles Into Classrooms: Tensions With Classroom Rules and Academic Norms

• In Event: 34.079 - Interactive Stitch Sampler of Equitable Learning and Teaching With E-Textiles in K–12 Education

Abstract

OBJECTIVE & PERSPECTIVES. With e-textiles and an accompanying sensor technologies, children can learn about science and conduct life-relevant scientific inquiry using their own bodies (Byrne, et al., 2018). Unlike traditional classroom science experiments, learners use e-textile Live Physiological Sensing and Visualization tools, such as BodyVis (Norooz, et al., 2016), to explore their own anatomy and conduct life-relevant inquiry (Clegg, et al., 2017; Kang, et al., 2016). Prior work, however, has not addressed how to adapt interest-driven learning with e-textiles to meet classroom norms. Our approach to promoting self-expression with e-textiles is focused on helping learners plan and implement life-relevant or personally-interesting inquiry questions. Our analysis and findings are focused on ways in which classroom norms promoted or came into tension with learners' development and implementation of interest-based investigations.
METHODS & DATA. Through a design-based research project (Sandoval & Bell, 2004), we designed tools and activities to support children’s learning about anatomy and scientific inquiry. In 2016 and 2017, we partnered with three teachers from a Washington, DC area public elementary school to conduct four, one-hour sessions with our tools. We conducted two participatory design sessions (Fails, Guha, & Druin, 2013) with the teachers to design the learning activities. After the sessions we interviewed the teachers individually. We structurally coded (Saldaña, 2015) teacher data by theme (e.g., design suggestion for learning activities, classroom ecosystem). This process revealed themes regarding the tensions faced in our first deployment and suggestions for the better adapting to the classroom environment.
FINDINGS. We present tensions between self-expressive e-textile learning activities and classroom norms that were identified by the teachers, and how we partnered to overcome these tensions.
Classroom Management. Year one sessions deviated from the classroom norms in that children were free to move around the classroom, talking and acting out physical activities. Teachers expressed that, while the sessions were exciting, the environment was too chaotic and distracting for science learning. For our second deployment, we partnered with teachers to integrate more classroom management practices.
Personal Relevance. Teachers noted that not all small group inquiry projects addressed testable, life-relevant questions. Teachers suggested that learners need more scaffolding to tease out what activities were testable and personally-interesting. In year two we scaffolded the question development process with a testable question criteria, which contributed to more small groups asking testable questions, however, the number of questions in which children linked to their own personal interests stayed the same.
Assessment. Because small groups determined their own life-relevant question and procedure, teachers struggled to assess participation and learning across the small groups or individuals. To address this tension, we developed grade-specific, open-ended assignments that prompted learners to describe the aspects of their inquiry. These were submitted to the teacher for participation grading and feedback.
SIGNIFICANCE. As learning with e-textiles moves into the classroom, tensions emerge between interest-driven learning and classroom science learning that need to be addressed. Our findings contribute to how educators can implement e-textile programs in elementary classrooms and broadly, how educators can use e-textiles to meet NGSS (2013).

Authors

• Virginia Byrne, University of Maryland - College Park

• Seokbin Kang

• Leyla Norooz, University of Maryland - College Park

• Jon Froehlich, University of Maryland - College Park

• Tamara Lynnette Clegg, University of Maryland - College Park