Investigating preschoolers' problem solving strategies in computer-mediated collaborative environments

This study aims at investigating gender's influence on the collaborative behaviours among preschoolers in the context of a collaborative problem-solving task with computers. The collaborative task was mediated using the puzzle-solving game Incredible Machine. Their approaches towards the problem-solving task were examined while they worked in one of three gender groups girls, boys, mixed. In order to classify the verbal interactions during their collaboration, Mercer's and Yelland's model was adopted as a means to understand the cognitive dimension of children's talk around computers. In addition, Inkpen's taxonomy of mouse usage across the group members' was adopted in order to deeply understand their expressed low level interaction styles. Analysis of results demonstrated significant deviations for all gender pairs, which are presented and discussed in detail.

[1]  Rena Upitis,et al.  Exploring Common Conceptions About Boys and Electronic Games , 1994 .

[2]  Neil Mercer,et al.  Children's social development, peer interaction and classroom learning. , 2007 .

[3]  Agnès Blaye,et al.  Collaboration as a facilitator of planning and problem solving on a computer‐based task , 1991 .

[4]  Kellogg S. Booth,et al.  Drag-and-Drop vs. Point-and-Click Mouse Interaction for Children , 1996 .

[5]  Neil Mercer,et al.  Using Computer-based Text Analysis to Integrate Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Research on Collaborative Learning , 1997 .

[6]  Nicola Yelland,et al.  The strategies and interactions of young children in LOGO tasks , 1994 .

[7]  Hamish Macleod,et al.  Computers and Children of Primary School Age: Issues and Questions , 1986 .

[8]  Claire O'Malley,et al.  The effect of multiple input devices on collaboration and gender issues , 2001 .

[9]  Celia Hoyles,et al.  Logo mathematics in the classroom , 1989 .

[10]  Miwha Lee,et al.  Gender, Group Composition, and Peer Interaction in Computer-Based Cooperative Learning , 1993 .

[11]  Paul Light.  Collaborative learning with computers , 1993 .

[12]  Jean Underwood,et al.  Children's Thinking During Collaborative Computer‐based Problem Solving , 1993 .

[13]  Nicola Yelland.  Knowledge Building with ICT in the Early Years of Schooling , 2011 .

[14]  Regan L. Mandryk,et al.  Understanding children's collaborative interactions in shared environments , 2003, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[15]  Joan Swann.  Schooled Language: Language and Gender in Educational Settings , 2008 .

[16]  Jean Underwood,et al.  Gender Differences in a Cooperative Computer-Based Language Task. , 1990 .

[17]  Kori Inkpen Quinn,et al.  Give and take: children collaborating on one computer , 1995, CHI 95 Conference Companion.

[18]  Nicola Yelland,et al.  The Future Is Now: A Review of the Literature on the Use of Computers in Early Childhood Education (1994 - 2004) , 2005 .

[19]  Neil Mercer,et al.  Computers and Reasoning Through Talk in the Classroom , 1996 .

[20]  David Wray,et al.  Classroom Interactions and Social Learning: From Theory to Practice , 2001 .

[21]  Kellogg S. Booth,et al.  Adapting the human-computer interface to support collaborative learning environments for children , 1997 .

[22]  Kellogg S. Booth,et al.  Turn-Taking Protocols for Mouse-Driven Collaborative Environments , 1998 .

[23]  Kori Inkpen,et al.  Drag-and-drop versus point-and-click mouse interaction styles for children , 2001 .

[24]  J. Cooper,et al.  Sex Bias in Educational Software: The Effect of Designers' Stereotypes on the Software They Design1 , 1987 .

[25]  E. Patterson,et al.  Analysis of Factors Influencing the Contribution of Talk to Learning During Collaborative Group Work in Science , 2009 .

[26]  David W. Johnson.  Circles of learning: Cooperation in the classroom , 1986 .

[27]  Nicola Yelland.  Collaboration and learning with Logo: does gender make a difference? , 1995, CSCL.

[28]  Karen Littleton,et al.  Social and communicative processes in computer-based problem solving , 1994 .

[29]  Joan Swann.  What do we do about gender , 1992 .

[30]  Joan Hall,et al.  Gender, Experience and Attributions to the Computer , 1991 .

[31]  Gita Z. Wilder,et al.  Gender and computers: Two surveys of computer-related attitudes , 1985 .

[32]  Joan Swann,et al.  Girls, Boys, And Language , 1992 .

[33]  Peter Scrimshaw,et al.  Computers and talk in the primary classroom , 1997 .

[34]  Julie-Ann Edwards,et al.  Exploratory talk in peer groups: exploring the zone of proximal development , 2005 .

[35]  Neil Mercer,et al.  The quality of talk in children's joint activity at the computer , 1994 .

[36]  Nicola Yelland,et al.  Creating Microworlds for Exploring Mathematical Understandings in the Early Years of School , 2002 .

[37]  Kori Inkpen,et al.  Three Important Research Agendas for Educational Multimedia: Learning, Children, and Gender , 1998 .

[38]  Mariela Tovar,et al.  Collaborative Problem-Solving with Logo: Effects of Group Size and Group Composition , 1987 .

[39]  Frank Monaghan,et al.  'DON'T THINK IN YOUR HEAD, THINK ALOUD': ICT AND EXPLORATORY TALK IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM , 2005 .

[40]  Kori Inkpen Quinn,et al.  Playing together beats playing apart, especially for girls , 1995, CSCL.

[41]  C. Howe,et al.  Conceptual knowledge in physics: The role of group interaction in computer-supported teaching , 1992 .

[42]  Kori Inkpen Quinn,et al.  The Effect of Turn-Taking Protocols on Children's Learning in Mouse-Driven Collaborative Environments , 1997, Graphics Interface.

[43]  Andrew Tolmie,et al.  Gender and Dialogue in Secondary School Physics. , 1993 .

[44]  Alan Durndell,et al.  The effect of computer use on gender differences in attitudes to computer , 1990 .

[45]  David Wray,et al.  Researching Classroom Interaction and Talk , 2010, Educational Research and Inquiry.

[46]  Neil Mercer,et al.  Talk about texts at the computer: using ICT to develop children's oral and literate abilities , 2003 .

[47]  Celia Hoyles,et al.  Groupwork with computers , 1989 .

[48]  Neil Mercer,et al.  The Guided Construction of Knowledge: Talk Amongst Teachers and Learners , 1995 .

[49]  Douglas R. Barnes.  From communication to curriculum , 1976 .

[50]  Douglas R. Barnes,et al.  Communication and learning in small groups , 1977 .

[51]  Marlaine E. Lockheed.  Women, girls, and computers: A first look at the evidence , 1985 .

[52]  Karen Littleton,et al.  Talking and thinking together at Key Stage 1 , 2005 .

[53]  Neil Mercer,et al.  Software design to support discussion in the primary curriculum , 1998, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[54]  Paul Light,et al.  Interaction, gender, and performance on a computer-based problem solving task , 1992 .

[55]  Karen Littleton,et al.  Widening access to educational opportunities through teaching children how to reason together , 2004 .