KU PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND LEARNING
Quarterly
KU Children’ s Services JANUARY 2017
PURSUING AN EVIDENCE BASE FOR TECHNOLOGY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION BY DR KATE HIGHFIELD
When we consider our teaching pedagogy and practice, linking to research is essential. This can happen in many ways, whether that be researching and reflecting on our own teaching, engaging in action research and practitioner inquiry, reading and learning about educational research and using that to impact our practice. As educators, we have all experienced the impact of research in some way, to a lesser or greater extent.
As a researcher I am excited by the pursuit to underpin a solid evidence basis around practice. Understanding and reflecting on research enables us to develop our practice and strive for settings that truly enable children. Unlike many other areas of educational research, which can be based on decades of data, technology research presents particular challenges. Specifically we often have a time lag, a difference between when technology emerges and then when its use is examined in teaching. For example as the technologies such as tablets and iPads are developing( and coming into our settings) so quickly, research may not yet be available to specifically explore best practices with these. While we have amazing Australian researchers examining technology in early childhood contexts [ see for example Professor Susan Danby http:// staff. qut. edu. au / staff / danby / and Professor Suzy Edwards https:// lsia. acu. edu. au / people / susan-edwards / at times because technology evolves so quickly we may not have research based evidence on how to best use these tools in our practice. When this happens we need to draw on other forms of evidence and remember that technology is just one of the tools we use in teaching.
In the article following, you will read how Laure Hislop, an Early Childhood Teacher, has faced this dilemma. She has not only drawn on current technology research in early childhood, but also on what we know as best teaching practice and sound pedagogy. She focused first on the children she was working with and then looked at ways to engage, extend and enable children in their learning pathways. For those wanting to look at this idea further, the work of Professor Iram Siraj-Blatchford, on sustained shared thinking, is highly relevant.
Digital documentation, as described by Laure, provides an opportunity for parents and educators to engage in partnership and helps make learning visible for all members of our educational community, including the children. By making learning visible we provide opportunity for children to revisit their learning and to sustain and extend their learning. These opportunities to reflect, revisit and re-engage are powerful for our young thinkers.
The example of using a large screen also links well to research, as Laure seeks to enable the joint construction of knowledge. Here the opportunity to inspire coengagement links to research on co-engagement and seeks opportunity for others, including teachers and children to extend learning through the zone of proximal development. By making children’ s thinking visible – sharing learning and sharing experiences – we are truly providing opportunities for effective learning.
IN THIS ISSUE: INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY USE – CO-VIEWING AND RE-ENGAGING