Keywords

1 Introduction

Educational experiments have been theorised as an effective research method for studying young children’s development from a cultural-historical perspective (Hedegaard, 2008). In an educational experiment, researchers intentionally transform “practices in the problem area to bring out the central relations” (Hedegaard, 2008, p. 182). This transformation of practices for more motivating conditions for children’s development can only be done through authentic cooperation with educators in implementing pedagogical interventions (Hedegaard, 2008). In traditional educational experiments through site visits, it is vital for researchers and research participants to work together to formulate and revise the intervention by considering both the planned activities and children’s actual activities (Hedegaard, 2008). However, in digital educational experiments, where researchers have limited access to the direct research site due to being physically remote, families, as the research participants, have to take up more responsibilities in implementing pedagogical interventions and data collection. In other words, in digital educational experiments, families must assume the role of competent educators for their children and the role of co-researchers. Existing literature shows the feasibility of training families to take up pedagogical roles such as teaching their children literacy or improving their children’s behavioural issues at home through research interventions (Purcell-Gates et al., 2014) as well as the feasibility of positioning families as co-researchers to collect video data related to their children’s development and their everyday practices at home even though there are some challenges and limitations (Aarsand, 2012). However, more needs to be known about the study design principles that support families to take up the pedagogic position as competent educators for implementing pedagogical intervention and the researching position as co-researchers for data collection, especially when the educational experiments must be conducted remotely and digitally, like the situations we have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through reporting a digital educational experiment design of a doctoral research project conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, this chapter aims to share some experiences regarding how a storytelling and mini-workshop design empowered families to successfully take up the roles of educators and co-researchers in the digital educational experiment. It starts with a brief discussion of guiding principles for the digital educational experiment design, followed by the study design, then data examples to show the outcome of the study design, which is then culminated with a brief conclusion.

2 Two Guiding Principles for the Digital Educational Experiment Design

2.1 Pedagogic Design: Mini-workshops and Storytelling Sessions

The quality of the research data generated in educational experiments significantly depends upon the intervention implementers’ pedagogical understandings and practices (Hedegaard, 2008). When the educational experiment is conducted in family settings, either the researcher needs to have the ability to implement systematic intervention and transform children’s social situation of development in the digital activity settings created (Nedovic, Chap. 15, this volume), or they need to support participating families to develop the motives and competence as competent educators to implement Conceptual PlayWorld (CPW) intervention in their family settings systematically. The second approach is adopted in the design of this particular digital educational experiment. Therefore, pedagogic design thinking must be applied to the study’s design (Rai, Chap. 12, this volume). In other words, researchers’ interactions with families need to support families in enhancing their understanding and competence in independently implementing CPW sessions at home. Due to the busyness of modern family life, mini-workshops and storytelling designs are applied to engage and motivate families in digital educational experiments. Details of the design will be explained in the next section. For a more expansive reading on how educational experiment model has been used to work with families read (Rai & Fleer, under review).

2.2 Collective Digital Activity Settings: Mutual Alignment in Motives

Authentic collaboration occurs when the researcher and families have a mutual alignment of motives. The researcher needs to ensure the study design allows the researcher and families to communicate and negotiate their motives for participating in the research activities, the demands they place upon each other to achieve their objects of the research activities, and their efforts to meet each other’s demands. Therefore, another principle underpinning the study’s design is to maximise opportunities for clear mutual communication of expectations and demands as well as making the best effort to meet each other’s demands. The following study design section explains strategies for creating mutual alignment in motives.

3 Study Design and Implementation

The purpose of this educational experiment is to explore the implementation of the five characteristics of the CPW model to allow for “an evolving theoretical understanding and for the creation of new and better practice conditions for” infants and toddlers’ STEM development in family settings (Hedegaard, 2008, p. 182). The data were collected in two research rounds: one in March and one in July 2021, with nine families in each round. For each round, three sets of timeslots were offered for families to choose according to their convenience. Therefore, the number of families in each group varied, generally around two to five. The chosen storybook for this Conceptual PlayWorld is “We Are Going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen.

The digital educational experiment starts with a pre-CPW semi-structured interview with each family, which allows the researcher to learn about the families’ current institutional practices and their motives for participating in the research activities. The researcher communicates to the families about their role as educators and co-researchers in the digital educational experiment, for they are expected to implement the pedagogical characteristics of CPW and to collect video observations, which will be shared and discussed in the mini-workshops. The researcher also explains to the families regarding the research aim, the research design, and their rights to withdraw from the research at any time without any reason. Thus, families are aware of their multiple roles in the digital educational experiment as research participants, educators, parents, and co-researchers. Families are also encouraged to share with the researcher regarding what support might benefit them during the study process.

After the pre-CPW interview, each group has ten half-hour storytelling and mini-workshop sessions, two sessions each week for five weeks. Each half-hour storytelling and mini-workshop session includes the following activities:

  • Greeting rituals (singing a hello song and making an acknowledgement of the country)

  • The researcher tells the story with the support of props, such as dolls, teddy bears, and virtual pictures, hoping that the storytelling creates a motive orientation for infants and toddlers to become interested in the We Are Going on a Bear Hunt story imaginary play.

    A set of 5 photographs. In 4 photographs, mothers with their children, in one photo, a mom holds a drawing on the right hand and holding a baby doll on the left hand, and in another photo, only a woman is represented.

  • In the mini-workshop presentation in each session, one or two pedagogical characteristics of the CPW are introduced alongside the recommendation of concrete play ideas and the sharing of implementation examples from families. Families are encouraged to share and discuss their confusions, challenges, learnings, and new plans for implementing CPW at home in small groups. Supported by the collective practice space created in digital activity settings of Zoom mini-workshops, when one family in the community gains a new play idea or learning of CPW, other families benefit from the new idea and learning, enabling the collective advancement of theoretical and practical understanding of the implementation of CPW for infants and toddlers in family settings. The researcher also openly shares her nervousness and uncertainty as a beginner doctoral researcher conducting the research and encouraging families to share their emotional experiences, either positive or negative, related to the implementation of CPW during the sessions or in emails between sessions. The ten mini-workshops are each planned with a digestible amount of information for families yet gradually support families to understand and implement CPW systematically at home. The actual plan and implementation of the mini-workshop are shaped and guided by families’ changing demands. Emails summarising the key points of the zoom session alongside mini-workshop presentation slides are sent to families after each session so that even if they occasionally miss sessions, they can catch up by reading the emails. The following is a plan of the ten workshops with the demands that families and researchers place upon each other.

  • Goodbye rituals (singing goodbye songs and reminding time for the next meeting)

Mini-workshop number

Mini-workshop focus

Demands the researcher placed on families

Demands families placed on researcher

1

Creating imaginary spaces at our home

Families were expected to create we are going on a bear hunt imaginary spaces at home

Families expected to see examples of how these imaginary spaces could be created, so the researcher also created imaginary spaces at home for her imaginary daughter

2

Enriching interactions within imaginary spaces (video clips such as ‘talking about temperature [hot, warm, cold] during feeding time’ and ‘using the concept of temperature to enrich interactions in the snowstorm space’ recorded by the researcher with her imaginary daughter were shared with families)

Families were encouraged to share videos of their interactions with their infants and toddlers in the imaginary spaces created.

Families reported the challenges of recording digital videos at home alone. The researcher created a design for a reusable self-made phone camera holder using easily accessible everyday recycled materials in home settings and shared the design with families.

3

Creating play inquiry or problem scenarios in the CPW (examples of we are going on a bear hunt problem scenarios such as ‘how can we find a bear’? ‘Oh, no, shoes stuck in the freezingly cold snow’, or ‘we do not want to go through the water, it is too cold, how can we go across the river?’ Were provided by the researcher)

Families were encouraged to develop their problem scenarios and solutions for we are going on a bear hunt CPW. [see one example in the data example section]

The researcher explained the concept of problem scenarios and provided a few examples of problem scenarios.

4

Offering digital resources (such as printable bear paw prints and a digital picture book about bears) to support the creation of the problem scenario of ‘how can we find a bear’ which is the central problem scenario innate in the we are going on a bear hunt storybook

Families continued to be encouraged to share ideas and videos of problem scenarios they created.

Some families experienced challenges in not having enough resources, and the researcher responded to this demand by creating and sharing digital resources.

5

Some clarifications for CPW (based upon questions asked by families such as ‘how long CPW session should last?’, ‘What to teach in CPW?’, ‘Whether it is important to keep the imaginary spaces there but what happens if we do not have enough room at home?’)

Families were encouraged to reflect and share their experiences implementing CPW.

Families shared further challenges and confusion they experienced while implementing CPW. The researchers offered further conceptual tools such as ‘adults’ pedagogical positions’ and the idea of ‘pop-up CPW.’

6

STEM concepts in everyday life (a list of potential STEM concepts in our everyday experiences were introduced)

Families were expected to reflect upon the opportunities for teaching STEM concepts in their everyday lives and CPW.

The researcher did some research and compiled a list of STEM concepts families might experience daily.

7

Families were encouraged to be more conscious of the STEM teaching opportunities in our everyday life and CPW.

Families were encouraged to explore further regarding how to use STEM concepts to enrich interactions in imaginary spaces and to create problem scenarios that require the use of the concept for problem-solving.

The researcher shared examples of STEM concept teaching ideas she learned from various families.

8

Sharing digital resources with families, such as songs, stories, STEM concepts, play objects, and activity ideas, which they could use to enrich their interactions in CPW. Concepts of teaching strategies were introduced to families.

Families were encouraged to implement CPW at home and further plan how they might be able to continue to enrich their interactions in the CPW. They were also encouraged to become more conscious about their pedagogical positions and strategies.

Based on each child’s and family’s STEM exploration interests, the researcher researched and shared more digital resources with the families. Pedagogical strategies observed in their interactions, such as ‘observing, acknowledging, modelling, and co-constructing’, were made conscious to families.

9

Sharing useful websites, explaining how to identify a need for a particular resource and idea, and searching resources on the internet.

Families were encouraged to enrich their play by searching for new resources and ideas.

The researcher drew upon her previous experience as an experienced early childhood teacher, and she shared with families how to search for new digital resources and play and teaching ideas on the internet.

10

Reviewing all five characteristics of CPW again

Families were encouraged to continue the we are going on a bear hunt CPW and plan and design a new CPW based upon a new storybook after the CPW intervention.

The researcher shared digital resources such as ‘conceptual PlayWorld planning hints’ and ‘CPW starters for families template’ with families.

4 Data Showcasing the Effectiveness of the Study Design

4.1 Families as Motivated Co-researchers

When families’ motives are understood, and their demands met, families are more motivated to stay in the study. The following is a summary of the participation and the data collected by each family in the study. In sum, families collected around 5.5 hours of high-quality home-recorded video data.

March round 2021

A table represents data for the age of the child at the start of C P W, story session participation, home recorded data, pre interview duration, post interview duration, and recorded data sum for 9 families. Family 7 has no data in the post interview.

July round 2021

A table represents data for the age of the child at the start of C P W, story session participation, home recorded data, pre interview duration, post interview duration, and recorded data sum for 9 families. The ages of children that are mentioned in years are highlighted in families 4, 5, and 8.

4.2 Families as Competent Educators

After mini workshop 3, one family came up with a problem scenario about getting across the muddy area without getting dirty. Their creative solution for this problem was to create stepping stones (they pretended onions as stones), and they introduced mathematical concepts such as counting how many stepping stones they needed to get across the muddy area (see Image 13.1: counting; Image 13.2: Going across the mud through stepping stones). Before the zoom session, the family also asked the researcher about this play idea, and the researcher responded to her in an email with an encouragement. Then, after the researcher received the video recording of this interaction, the researcher commented in the email response, trying to further motivate the family by making some positive comments alongside the researcher’s common-sense interpretation of the video data. The original email response commented on three videos that the family had shared that day, and the following excerpt focuses on the particular “getting across the muddy area” video:

Your problem scenario of going through the mud in the imaginary world is so creative! It’s sooo amazing! And I absolutely love it when you intentionally teach mathematical concepts such as counting stepping stones! I can see how engaged Jay (pseudonym) was. He listened to you counting the ‘stepping stones’ so attentively! And he was so excited about the mud, and he explored the mud through his senses, such as touch, taste. I love watching your interactions with Jay. (2nd April 2021 email)

Another example is an email from a family participating in the CPW educational experiment in July 2021. The family took the initiative to reach out to me and told me that they had continued applying the pedagogical characteristics they acquired from the CPW mini-workshops after the data collection. The following is a short quote from the family’s email sent to us two years after the data collection:

I’d like to think that both kids have somewhat excelled in their learning by using this skill to become more immersive and unlock their imagination (which seems to make the memories richer and deeper). I also think that as a parent, it has helped me to learn about how to play with them in a more engaging way and become more 'present' with them when we play. So, the program has dual benefits in our instance. (25th April 2023 email)

Image 13.1
A photograph of a women with a child in her lap. They are seated in front of a large bowl, partially filled with mud. The woman holds an onion with some more onions on the floor next to her.

Counting

Full size image
Image 13.2
A photograph of a woman with a child on her lap playing the stepping stone game. They are seated in front of a large bowl partially filled with mud, with three onions kept on its surface. The child puts his or her leg on the first onion.

Going across the mud through stepping stones

Full size image

5 Conclusion

This digital educational experiment shows that families have the competence and motive to take up diverse roles in digital educational experiment as research participants, parents, educators, and sometimes also act as co-researchers. The mini-workshops with families create new demands and offered conditions for families to try their innovative ideas in their family settings. The collaborative design of the educational experiment supports mutual alignment of motives between the researcher and families thus building a common knowledge (Edwards, 2011; Rai, 2019) to support responsive pedagogic action. It is argued that the mini-workshop and collaborative design of Conceptual PlayWorld supported digital educational experiment design and empowered families to assume the diverse roles in digital educational experiments.