Playfulness in Children's Science Inquiry

• In Event: Educational Responsibilities in Problem-Based Education (PBE): Principles, Practices, and Networks Creating and Supporting PBE

Abstract

Aims
Research evidence suggests that early science education benefits from playful activities (e.g. Teo, 2017). However, little is known about playfulness in problem-based early science inquiry and learning (Merritt, Lee, Rillero & Kinach, 2017). By drawing on socio-cultural theorizing and Vygotsky’s conceptions of imagination and play, this paper redresses this dearth of research by investigating playfulness in children’s science inquiry during problem-based early science education. We ask, how does playfulness mediate children’s science inquiry?

Theoretical background
According to the socio-cultural approach, play and imagination are central to meaning-making processes in which children construct science practices and knowledge (Fleer, 2013, 2017). For Vygotsky (1967), the essence of playful engagement is a creation of an imaginary situation mediated by available tools (Lindqvist, 1995). Playfulness can support children’s developing understanding of scientific concepts and processes as imagination and realistic problem- solving merge (Hakkarainen, 2008). Here, language and other semiotic tools play an important role through which children and adults can share and co-create knowledge of scientific concepts and processes (Authors, 2020).

Methods
The data consist of video recordings (34 h), observational field notes, and artefacts. In the first phase, the video data, supported by field notes and artefacts, were open-coded with the MAXQDA program to identify interactional episodes in which playfulness emerged. Playfulness accounted for an imaginary situation in which objects and actions were imbued with new meanings (Vygotsky, 1967, 2004). In the second phase, the selected episodes were analyzed using a multimodal analysis grid (Taylor, 2014) to identify the characteristics of playfulness.

Data sources
The study was situated in three Finnish preschools with children aged 5 to 6 years old (N: 31) over a 5-week period, in which the researchers and teachers realized a teaching unit, Poetry Science. Poetry Science sessions merge science inquiry with playful pivots (Vygotsky, 1967) including imaginative poems, a finger puppet, and laboratory coats and safety goggles to create an imaginative space in which children can have an active role in problem-generation across the following phases: i) orientation, ii) investigation, and iii) conclusion (Authors, 2018).

Results
The results show how playfulness mediated the children’s science inquiry in four distinct ways: i) Playfulness created an imaginary science situation fostering positive affect and engagement, ii) Playfulness encouraged the children to apply new meanings to science objects and processes, iii) Playfulness supported the children in combining imaginary situations with science inquiry, and iv) Playfulness engaged the children in science talk in an imaginary situation evidenced in their communication of scientific processes and evaluating results.

Scholarly significance
The study suggests that playfulness affords children rich opportunities to engage in science inquiry as active producers and users of knowledge. Here, appreciating children’s own cultures and modes of communication supported their science inquiry. Material tools, such as poems, scientific accessories and equipment, acted as vital pivots that triggered and maintained the children’s playful engagement in scientific inquiry. The study shows the importance of material tools, the teacher and the pedagogical context for supporting children’s engagement in playful science inquiry.

Authors

• Jenni Vartiainen, University of Helsinki

• Kristiina P. Kumpulainen, University of Helsinki