Under Pressure? Shifting and Sharing Agency Across Digital and Physical Materials in Collaborative Design (Poster 50)

• In Event: Saturday Poster Sessions 7:45 am
  In Poster Session: Informal Learning Research Poster Session

Abstract

Because learners most commonly contend with problems that have a single right answer, learning to frame problems can be challenging. We investigated the evolution of learners’ agency—shared with digital and physical materials—as they framed problems, gained coding capacity and as new materials, like pressure sensors, were introduced, and how these shaped their design ideas. We collected data during a week-long camp for children (ages 10-15, N=12) focused on networks, design, and flow coding. We conducted interaction analysis of video and audio recordings, supplemented with artifacts and ethnographic interviews. Learners who more clearly framed a design problem evaluated materials and their affordances for fit, whereas those who struggled to frame engaged in a more exploratory fashion with materials.

Authors

• Madalyn Wilson-Fetrow, University of New Mexico

• Sherry H. Hsi, BSCS Science Learning

• Vanessa Svihla, University of New Mexico