Leaning Into Learning: Tangible Topologies of Kindergarten Coding Activities

• In Event: Meaning-Making, Negotiation, and Framing in Learning Interactions and Apprenticeship

Abstract

Tangible coding robots are designed for children to move around with them on the floor. Compared to screen-based or table-top coding, floor-based coding introduces social and spatial concerns that must be negotiated among children and teachers. Drawing together perspectives on the body from children’s geographies with interaction analysis approaches, this paper examines socio-spatial dynamics of floor-based coding activities. Through grounded analysis of video recordings of Kindergarten coding activities, we present a typology of embodied spatial positions children assumed, developing a notion of tangible topologies, or positional arrangements that establish and shift relations of power. We suggest implications for studies of early learning environments and STEM learning designs, where some gendered and racialized bodies are more subject to exclusion than others.

Authors

• Deborah Silvis, Utah State University

• Jody E. Clarke-Midura, Utah State University

• Jessica F. Shumway, Utah State University

• Victor R. Lee, Stanford University