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Asia-Pacific
Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 7, Issue 1, Article
5 (June, 2006) Beverley JANE Online reflections about tinkering in early childhood: A socio-cultural analysis
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Asia-Pacific
Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 7, Issue 1, Article
5 (June, 2006) Beverley JANE Online reflections about tinkering in early childhood: A socio-cultural analysis
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Introduction to the tinkering and girls debate
This article contributes to the 'tinkering for girls' debate by reporting on a study that identified how female primary teacher trainees felt about their tinkering experiences in early childhood. Socio-cultural theory provides a potentially useful perspective on the gender issues surrounding the debate.
Science educators generally agree that 'tinkering' (the process of dismantling technological artefacts) is practical activity that engages students and potentially enhances their understanding of science concepts. Tinkering provides opportunities for students to discover how the mechanisms in tools, gadgets and simple machines work. Suitable artefacts for students to tinker with include torches, water taps, door locks, telephones and worn out household appliances such as toasters and irons. Fleer and Jane (1999, 2004) recognise that students have much to gain when they are encouraged to tinker with everyday technological products. However, some research shows tinkering to be less appropriate for very young girls, who think that deliberately pulling apart an object is being destructive.
A literature search located several examples of practice by science teachers who implement tinkering activities with the specific aim of fostering participation and problem-solving ability of both girls and boys. One such teacher was Mary Budd Rowe, who challenged her primary class to solve a physical science problem. She observed pairs of children as they worked experimentally to find solutions to the problem, and noted that initially the girls appeared less successful in their efforts compared to the boys. She attributed this difference to the girls being less familiar with using the necessary tools. One strategy she tried was to provide opportunities for the children to tinker with the tools prior to setting the class another problem. This time she noticed a difference in the girls' performance because they, like the boys, also found timely solutions (Butler Kahle, 2003). Another example is the work of the McClintock collective (1988), a group of female science educators in Australia, who as pioneers generated innovative, gender-inclusive science curriculum materials. The collective strongly advocated providing girls with opportunities to tinker, because they were convinced that tinkering increases girls' participation in science. A third example involves Norwegian teachers, who try to equalize children's experiences by providing tinkering time in the classroom. As the girls and boys tinker, they become familiar with the materials and equipment, including the tools needed to solve problems in future lessons.
While these examples are supportive of tinkering for girls, the issue of girls and tinkering is not clear-cut. Fleer (1990) argues against the idea of tinkering at the early childhood level. In one study she analysed the conversations of a group of Year 2/3 girls as they dismantled a clock. Instead of trying to understand how the clock worked, the girls focussed on identifying suitable parts for making a robot. They happily tinkered with the clock for the purpose of finding parts to be used later in constructing their robot. In contrast, observations of a similar age group of boys revealed that they eagerly pulled the clock apart by unscrewing each component. Then they moved on to another tinkering task: dismantling a radio. Fleer also noticed a difference in language between the two groups. The girls operated from a constructive framework, whereas the boys approached the task from a destructive framework, drawing on their previous experiences of tinkering in their home environment.
A similar gender difference was evident when 25 pre-school children participated in an activity of their own choosing. The boys participated more in dismantling artefacts on the tinkering table than the girls. Observations showed that most girls avoided the tinkering table entirely, or merely glanced at what was happening there, and immediately moved on to participate in a different type of activity.
Copyright (C) 2006 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 7, Issue 1, Article 5 (June, 2006). All Rights Reserved.
