Affordances and Constraints of Scaffolded Learning in a Virtual World for Young Children

In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of virtual worlds aimed at populations between the ages of 6 to14 years. This article examines the content and design of one such site, Webkinz World, as a sociocultural context for informal learning. Focusing on the design and activities of this site sheds light on the ways in which Webkinz World supports learning, especially for nascent users, and the apparent limits of these structures as users gain more expertise. with school-based skills, such as sophisticated learning and literacy practices (Apperley, 2010; Gee, 2003; Salen, 2007; Steinkuehler, 2007), collaborative problem solving (Squire, 2005), informal scientific reasoning (Steinkuehler & Duncan, in press), and informal science learning (Fields & Kafai, 2009; Kafai, 2008; Kafai & Giang, 2007). The majority of the aforementioned research has focused on games targeting adolescents and adults; however, of late, there has been a veritable boom in the arena of virtual worlds for elementary school aged children. Sites such as Webkinz World, Club Penguin, Barbie Girls, and Poptropica are wildly popular, with registered user bases that number in the millions (Compete, Inc., 2009). In spite of the sheer numbers of children who frequent such DOI: 10.4018/ijgbl.2011040104 International Journal of Game-Based Learning, 1(2), 52-64, April-June 2011 53 Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. spaces, there is very little research on the kinds of activities and learning that children are engaging with in such spaces. Some exceptions include Marsh’s (2008, 2010) ongoing work exploring how virtual worlds such as Club Penguin and Barbie Girls may impact young children’s learning, literacy, and digital literacy development, and how online spaces may allow children to experiment with different social roles (March, 2010) through their play. Merchant (2009) also studies the use of immersive 3D spaces in classrooms and describes how “innovative digital literacy practices such as those involved in virtual world game play can easily disrupt classroom routines and call into question deeply held assumptions about literacy, literacy instruction and even the teacher-pupil relationship that lies at the heart of the educational process” (p. 39). However, these studies do not explicitly address the process of learning, especially the affordances of these virtual sites for supporting and cultivating knowledge. In other words, little is known about the design features and structures of these popular virtual worlds that enable children to move from novice to mastery in both the goals of the sites as well as the available content. This article addresses this gap in the research by providing an examination of the content and design of the site, Webkinz World, as a context for informal learning. In particular, we examine how the game is designed in ways that both support and hinder children’s learning. By focusing on the design and activities of this site, this study explores the ways in which Webkinz World can support learning, especially for nascent users, and the apparent limits of these structures as users gain more expertise. SocIocuLturAL theory AnD ScAffoLDeD LeArnInG This article is grounded in a sociocultural perspective that stresses the centrality of social and cultural resources to processes of thinking and learning. Sociocultural theory posits that a child’s mental functioning emerges from the manipulation of cultural material and development of psychological tools (Karpov & Bransford, 1995). This includes play that is mediated by tools and artifacts, as well as symbolic systems such as language. From this perspective, a space such as Webkinz World may serve multiple roles in children’s learning. For instance, the computer provides the sociocultural context for activity and interaction as well as many of the cultural artifacts and tools that are used in such activities. In addition, the computer also serves as the more capable or expert other that structures learning experiences within the virtual world. Thus, the design of such environments plays a significant role in shaping children’s learning experiences therein. According to sociocultural theorists, children learn a great deal from the “appropriation of modes of speaking, acting, and thinking that are first encountered in collaboration with adults or more capable peers” (Minick, Stone, & Forman, 1993, p. 5). This type of supported learning is often discussed in terms of scaffolded learning or learning within the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978). According to Vygotsky (1978, p. 86), the ZPD “is the distance between the actual developmental level” of a child “as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers.” In this formulation, the more capable other assists the child in reaching his/her problem-solving potential through “recruitment of the child’s interest, reduction in degrees of freedom, maintaining goal orientation, highlighting critical task features, controlling frustration, and demonstrating idealized solution paths” (Stone, 1993). In essence, the adult or more capable other structures the learning experience to support the learner’s success. In this article, we extend this metaphor of scaffolded learning to our understandings of how the computer, as a more capable other, may provide similar supports for players’ learning in Webkinz World. In addition, we focus on the 54 International Journal of Game-Based Learning, 1(2), 52-64, April-June 2011 Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. ways that incomplete scaffolding and/or lack of clear goals for potential development may limit the ZPD and impede children’s deeper learning and subsequent cognitive development.