Playful and Cultural Learning at the Grocery Store: Qualitative Analysis of Latine Families’ Interactions

• In Event: Children’s Informal STEM Learning Within Family Interactions: Cultural Strengths of Families from Non-Dominant Communities

Abstract

Playful Learning Landscapes (PLL) is an evidence-based initiative that blends findings from learning sciences and community-based participatory research (Hirsh-Pasek, 2020). PLL transforms public spaces into playful learning hubs that are aligned with cultural norms and resonate with community members. Researchers and Latine caregivers virtually co- designed grocery store signs as PLLs that are reflective of the community members' values and everyday cultural practices (Belgrave et al., 2022).

Grocery store signs that promote caregiver-child interactions can increase math-related talk and the quantity and quality of conversations among families (Ridge et al., 2015). Recent work identified cultural values that arose from value mapping, storytelling, and interviews with Latine parents (Bermudez et al., 2022). In this paper, we focus on two salient themes extending from that work: familismo and cultural heritage representation.

Through a qualitative lens, we present preliminary findings of a pilot study to answer these questions: How do Latine families engage in science learning practices as they engage with PLL? How do interactions while engaging with PLL reflect their cultural values?

Latine caregivers (n = 21) and their children (n = 24) participated in a two-hour virtual co- design session to play and interact with three grocery store signs (Figure 1). The signs prompted child-caregiver dyads to engage in (a) a playful activity on weight conversions, (b) conversations on how to select products, and (c) predicting food weights. The signs, grounded in Latine families' experiences, were meant to elicit science and math practices. We identified video excerpts that addressed our research questions and deductively coded them (Saldaña, 2015) to examine dyad interactions. We present two vignettes (Table 1) that highlight interactions reflecting science practices and cultural values.

In the first vignette, Maria and her child used the prediction sign to guess the weight of a few potatoes. Maria scaffolded the child to make an observation and encouraged the child to use a weighing scale. The sign did encourage playful participation and engagement in observation, questioning, and prediction (i.e., scientific practices).

In the second vignette, Rose and her boys pretended to be buying a sports drink and a can of powdered chocolate. Rose pretended to send her sons to different aisles to get the products because that was one of the things they did as a family to help each other. The sign prompted Rose to ask the boys about the reasons they bought their products. For example, one boy mentioned they bought food for all of the family without excluding anybody, reflecting the cultural value of familismo. The children understood that for their family, it was important to include everybody and help each other.

Detailed qualitative analysis of the interactions helped us identify, not only scientific practices but values and cultures of each family. Signs will be placed in actual grocery stores this fall and we will present updated findings from naturalistic observations and additional qualitative coding.

Authors

• R Mishael Sedas, University of California - Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Karlena D Ochoa, University of California - Irvine

• Vanessa Noemy Bermudez, University of California - Irvine

• Julie Salazar, University of California - Irvine

• Ashlee Belgrave, University of California - Irvine

• Annelise Pesch, Temple University

• Kathy A Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University

• June Ahn, University of California Irvine

• Andres Sebastian Bustamante, University of California - Irvine