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Literacy Learning at the Children's Museum (LRA 2013)
- 1. Nature of Interactions among Young Children and Adult Caregivers in a Children’s Museum Caitlin McMunn Dooley, Ph. D. cdooley@gsu.edu Meghan M. Welch COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
- 2. Play, Play, Play! • Museum learning = play (Association of Children’s Museums, 2013; Henderson & Atencio, 2007; Mayfield, 2005; Payley, 2005) • Play is “dialogic” (Henderson and Atencio, 2007; Lillard et al., 2012; Styles, 2011) • Interactions in play can influence learning (National Academy of Sciences, 2001) • Play influences literacy (Roskos & Christie) • Museum studies focus on adult-led interactions (Eckhoff, 2008; Luke & McCreedy, 2012; Shine & Acosta, 2000 )
- 3. Dialogic learning in a children’s museum can be maximized by “supporting children’s interactions with peers and adults” (Henderson & Atencio, 2007, p. 245)
- 4. RQ #1: What is the nature of child- and adult-led interactions at a children’s museum? RQ #2: How might those interactions support literacy learning?
- 5. Context, Participants Interviews Caregivers: 12 mothers, 5 fathers, 2 teachers, 7 Staff members, 5 children Observations 30+ children and their caregivers and nearby staff members (2.5 summer mo.) Urban children’s museum in downtown SE
- 6. Methods • Naturalistic study (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994 ) • Qualitative, inductive analysis (Strauss & Corbin, 1998; Harry, Sturges, & Klinger, 2005 ) Data Collection two hours 1-2 x weekly • Field notes • Photos • Interviews (staff, visitors)
- 7. Why do you come to the museum? What does your child learn here? Does your child learn literacy here?
- 8. A mom and her 2-3 year-old son enter and head towards the banana slide. The mom says to the boy, “up the stairs – up the banana – see the banana?” The boy continues up the banana and starts to slide down. “1,2,3 down the banana – good job, you did it,” says the mom.
- 9. Analysis • Constant comparative, iterative analysis process
- 10. Interview Themes: Caregivers v. Staff Agreements: • Kids learn via “discovery”, hands-on • Literacy is conventional books/abcs (staff added symbols, signs) • Museum supports social, peer-to-peer skills • Adults should interact Disagreements: • Staff said peer-to-peer needs adult support; Caregivers did not note • Staff said adults should label, model, and explain; caregivers apologized for not interacting • Staff articulated academic learning; caregivers only identified ball exhibit has supporting academic learning
- 11. Learning?
- 14. Findings: Interactions 170 meaningful units 81 Adult-led 89 Child-led
- 15. Findings: Interactions 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Children led 81 interactions Adults led 89 interactions
- 20. and tell” Display areas encourage “show
- 22. Questions & Discussion Caitlin McMunn Dooley, Ph. D. cdooley@gsu.edu Meghan Welch 404-413-8226
Editor's Notes
- Child-centeredDAPPrevious research on children’s learning in museums focus on:Conventional/academic literacy learningAdult-oriented perspectives and guidance (most often as evaluations of adult-led activities)Not in “children’s museums”
- Chose populated exhibit areasChanged location day to dayFocused on “vignette” or activity as bounded unit during observationsMoved to individuals to interview them after watching for a while…only approached folks who seemed “receptive”
- A mom and her 2-3 year-old son enter and head towards the banana slide. The mom says to the boy, “up the stairs – up the banana – see the banana?” The boy continues up the banana and starts to slide down. “1,2,3 down the banana – good job, you did it,” says the mom.
- Step 1: discussions of all data among co-researchersStep 2: Focused on interviews for primary data set; coded caregivers and then staff members’ interview dataStep 3: Compared those to children’s commentsStep 4: Found differences in perspectives about interactions, so investigated interactions specificallyStep 5: Constant comparative analysis of activity units from observational dataStep 6: Compared categories to photos and researchers’ notes/ analytical memos to theorize differences.
- EMPHASIZE back-and-forth nature of interactions!children asking questions and adults answeringchildren labeling an object and adults explaining how that object is used
- Show and tell: Looky here! Labeling; Commentating CHILD ONLYLearning: Asking; prompting; physical (reaching, gesturing); exploring a new mode (tasting!) CHILD ONLYTeaching: telling, explaining, modeling ADULT ONLYRefocusing: language, gesture, or movement that clearly shows a desire to move somewhere lese or engage in different activityParticipatory play: “playing along”Discipline: correcting behavior of the otherAdvocating: getting help from different person (beyond focal group) ADULT ONLY
- Literacy-related signage for adults (encourages “teaching”)
- No signage or symbols in some areas.
- Litearcy signage for children
- Literacy signage and props that encourage participatory play
- Show and tell…
- Suggestions for exhibit design:Include more “show and tell” spaces for kids to display and demonstrate their learning (mirrors, stands, cameras, display areas)Include more icons/symbols so that children can explain and/or ask more; prompting asking with a symbol like a question markCreate blank labels for kids to make their own or fill it inIncorporate auditory/visual recording devices for kids to commentate their learningSuggestions for staff/visitor experience:Professional development for staff on literacy learning beyond conventional abcsExplicit connections for adult caregivers about literacy-related supportsReframe documents currently available for visitors to emphasize interactions that are “typical” for children and adults and how they support learning.