Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 11(2):147-155 (2003) ISSN: 0128-7702© Universiti Putra Malaysia Press

Collaborative Interactions Among Preschool Children in aComputer Environment

MOHD SHARANI AHMAD & MOHAMAD IBRANI SHAHRIMIN ADAM ASSIMDepartment of Human Devewpment and Family Studies,Faculty of Human Ecology, Universiti Putra Malaysia,

43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Keywords: leT integration, computer supported collaborative learning, early childhood education,multimedia environment, social interaction

ABSTRAK

Kajian ini melaporkan penyelidikan mengenai pola interaksi kolaboratif yang ditunjukkan olehkanak-kanak prasekolah berumur 5 tahun dalam suasana pendidikan berkomputer. Kaedahk<yian kes digunakan di sebuah prasekolah di kota metropolitan untuk memeriksa paten interaksikolaboratif di kalangan kumpulan kanak-kanak bersekitarkan komputer dalam suasana kelassebenar. 243 interaksi telah dikenal pasti dan diklasifikasikan kepada 16 pola interaksi. Faktor­faktor yang memudahkan interaksi kolaboratif telah dikenal pasti seperti: kesesuaian software;kompetensi komputer sebelumnya dan sikap terhadap komputer; tolak ansur di kalangan kanak­kanak; tujuan sosial kanak-kanak; struktur persekitaran pembelajaran yang menyeronokkan;

, kesefahaman dalam sistem gilir sewaktu menggunakan komputer; dan susun atur tanpapengasingan. Kesannya, kajian ini menunjukkan guru-guru prasekolah berada dalam kedudukanyang lebih baik menggabungkan komputer dalam pengajaran di kelas dan untuk meningkatkaninteraksi sosial di kalangan kanak-kanak sewaktu menggunakan komputer seperti penggunaanalatan pembelajaran dan alatan aktiviti lain.

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on a study which investigated the collaborative interaction patterns exhibitedby five-year-old pre-primary children in an educational computer environment. A case studymethod was used in one pre-primary centre in a metropolitan city, to examine the patterns ofcollaborative interaction among young children whilst engaged, in dyads, with the computerwithin a naturalistic classroom environment. A total of 243 interactions were identified andclassified into 16 interaction patterns. Factors facilitating and inhibiting collaborative interactionwere identified as: developmental appropriateness of the software; preexisting computer competencyand attitude towards computer; mutual friendship between collaborators; children's social goals;appropriate structure of enjoyable learning environment; mutual understanding of the turn­taking system; and non-isolated physical settings. In effect, this study shows that early childhoodeducators will be in a better position to integrate the computer into their classroom and topromote positive prosocial interaction among children whilst engaged at the computer, if it wereto be afforded the same status as other traditional early childhood learning materials and activities.

INTRODUCTION

Computer technology plays a central role ineducation. However, most of this technology hasnot been fully integrated to make child-eomputerand child-ehild interaction optimal (Crook 1995).While there were earlier concerns of computersbeing too abstract and difficult for youngchildren to use (Hattie and Fitzgerald 1987;

Clarke 1990), many educators now believe thatcomputers can be used to promote learning anddevelopment in early childhood education ifthey are used appropriately. Children need tobe aware of the nature and uses of computers inorder to meet the challenges presented by thepresent and future technological society.

Mohd Sharani Ahmad & Mohamad Ibrani Shahrimin Adam Assim

Computers in Schools

The growing use of computers in offices,factories, homes, and schools is often cited as areason for introducing computers to children atever earlier ages. Hattie and Fitzgerald (1987)reported that, students of upper primary andlower secondary years demonstrated very positiveattitudes towards computers. Clarke (1990)advances the argument that most primary-agedchildren display a high interest in usingcomputers, with boys demonstrating a greaterinterest than girls. As indicated by Silvern andSilvern (1990), as long as computers areemotionally satisfying, satisfy the "need to know",and provide self-constructive activity, then usingcomputers with young children is as appropriateas any other "good" early learning activity.Hohmann (1994) argues that for preschoolersand kindergarteners, the addition of computersand appropriate software to their environmenthas positive social consequences and appearsnot to disrupt other classroom social interactions.Hohmann (1994) advances the argument thatcomputer activity can also enhance youngchildren's self-esteem and effectively promoteself-control.

Computers in Early Childhood Classrooms

Children have their own style of learning aboutthemselves and the world. They acquire skillsand learn about their world through explorationand discovery, through trial and error, andthrough experiencing cause and effectrelationships (Berk 1994; Berk 2000a; Berk2000b; Haugland and Wright 1997). Childrenneed to be aware of the nature and uses ofcomputers in order to be able to cope with thepresent and future technological society(Lipinski, Nida, Shade and Watson 1986; Nastasiand Clements 1992; Lomangino, Nicholson andSulzby 1999; Nicholson, Gelpi, Young and Sulzby1998; Teng 1997; Solomon 1998; Haugland2000b). Computers allow for development,adaptation and delivery of tools which mayfacilitate more effective thinking, problem solvingand learning (Papert 1993; Haugland and Wright1997). Together with an appropriate program,children are able to experience enjoyment byplaying games in education (Haugland andWright 1997; Haugland and Shade 1988; Teng1997; Papert 1993).

Learning to use computers can also assistchildren's development. The computer provides

us with the view that it is not an end in itself (anew task for children to master) but one moretool for children to use in discovering andmastering the world of familiar experience(Hohmann 1994). Research has also convincinglydemonstrated that teachers who are involved inintegrating computers into their early childhoodclassrooms often believe that with appropriatestrategies and techniques, computer activitiescan support autonomy and facilitate the normalactivities of early childhood classrooms(Hohmann 1994). Early childhood educatorsoften develop effective learning techniques anddevise appropriate strategies to incorporatecomputers into the classroom. Such strategiesare comfortable for teachers and in harmonywith the social and emotional needs of youngchildren (Shade 1994; NAEVe 1996; Haugland1997b).

Research has indicated that the computerarea in the classroom is rich ground for socialinteraction, as children frequently prefer workingwith peers to using the computer alone (Bergin,Ford and Hess 1993; Haugland 1997a; Haugland2000a). According to Haugland (1997a),speculations on characteristic patterns ofinteracting with computers may serve to organisedistinctive patterns of interacting aroundcomputers. Thus, it is argued that there is aneed to research task structures and the way inwhich they promote different styles of interaction(Crook 1994).

Collaborative Interactions in Early Childhood

The word 'collaboration' is often used in researchon computer-mediated collaborative learning inthe fields of education, psychology and computerscience, even though the elements embeddedwithin the definition can be interpreted indifferent ways (Dillenbourg 1999). Literaturereveals that collaborative computer use is oftenassociated with the social nature of interactionsoccasioned by the social demands of complexcollaborative activities on computers (Lomanginoet al. 1999; Permutter, Behrend, Kuo and Muller1989; Haugland and Wright 1997). Lomanginoet al. (1999) and Nicholson et al. (1998)convincingly demonstrate the successfulness ofchildren's computer-mediated collaborativecomposing activities within the early childhoodclassroom context. However, in both studies, thenotion of collaborative interaction implicitlyrefers only to composing activities, which are

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Collaborative Interactions Among Preschool Children in a Computer Environment

task-focused and concentrated on localized taskcompletion.

Clements and Nastasi (1988) state that theinvestigation of social interactions within differenteducational environments is significant, not onlybecause social development is a fundamentaleducational goal, but also because these valuableinteractions are essential components ofchildren's cognitive growth. Literature alsoconfirms that the social effects of usingcomputers in the classroom are "overwhelminglypositive" (Bergin et al. 1993). However,Lomangino et at. (1999) suggest from their studythat teachers need to be aware of both thepositive and negative peer discussions andbehaviours that often accompany youngchildren's collaborative interactions. Identifyingthese interactions may provide understandingand empower teachers to carefully structure othercollaborative activity settings for success.Information about these discourses will assisteducators to make informed judgments on thelearning benefits and potential of educationalcomputer software packages, and their suitabilityand potential to foster positive collaborativebehaviour among young children. Also,information pertaining to the patterns ofcollaborative interaction occurring betweenyoung children whilst engaged in educationalcomputer programs will assist in providingguidelines for the development of children'seducational software. It is important to ensurethat future educational computer softwarepackages are structured and developed so as tobest maximise young children's collaborativebehaviour, so they may scaffold one another'slearning. Moreover, it is up to the teachers ofyoung children to ensure that computers live upto their potential. The educational goals ofcomputer usage can only be achieved, however,if the teachers, early childhood educators, andresearchers are informed of the relevant issues,demand that computer programs used withchildren are appropriate, and contribute to boththeoretical and experimental data bases to guidecomputer use with children (Silvern and Silvern1990).

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Over the preschool years, cooperative playbecomes common in most early childhoodclassrooms, although solitary and parallel playare also frequent (Berk 2000a). Central to the

neo-Vygotskian analysis of social interactions,the emphasis on negotiation and jointconstruction of understanding between childrenhas been previously studied (Mercer 1999;Littleton and Hakkinen 1999). Even thoughpreschoolers do not have a mature understandingof relationship, interactions between friends arealready more positive, emotionally expressive,rewarding, and they may also assume greaterresponsibility for keeping a conversation going,cooperating, planning, and setting goals for aplay theme than with adults or other siblings(Berk 1994; 2000a; 2000b). Moreover, theseresponsibilities concerning social interactionshave been demonstrated in the studies of youngchildren whilst collaboratively engaged at thecomputer (Mercer 1994; Mercer 1999; Lomanginoet al. 1999; Nicholson et al. 1998)

More recently, educationists have drawnupon theories such as those of Vygotsky (1978)to show that learning takes place in a socialcontext, and thus cognitive and social frameworkscan be structured by teachers to mutually supportlearning (Littleton and Hakkinen 1999). Forexample, Vygotsky (1978) saw make-believe playas the ideal social context for fostering cognitivedevelopment in early childhood. Language wasseen as the foundation for all higher cognitiveprocesses, including controlled attention,deliberate memorisation and recall, categorisation,planning, problem solving, and self-reflection(Berk 2000a). As children repeatedly see thatothers hold viewpoints different from their own,the egocentric speech gradually declines and isreplaced by social speech, in which childrenadapt what they say to their listeners (Werstch1991).

The benefits of collaborative computeractivity have both theoretical and empiricalsupport from the developmental theories ofVygotsky which stress the importance ofinteraction with others for learning (Lomagninoet al. 1999, Teng 1997; Burgess and Trinidad1995). While Piaget emphasized social interaction,and more specifically peer interaction, from theperspective of its specific role in the developmentof logical reasoning (Wertsch 1985), Vygotsky(1978) however, conceptualised social interactionas being at the core of the developmental process.

Research Study

Given the fact that computers are an integralpart of education, with most primary schools

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having at least one computer between twoclassrooms and most having one computer perclass, including preschools and pre-primaries(Burgess and Trinidad 1995; Trinidad 1992),and given the importance of social interactionand discourse with others in extending children'slearning, it is important to investigate theappropriateness of collaborative computer socialinteractions in the naturalistic classroom setting.The specific questions this study sought to answerwere:• What are the patterns of collaborative

interaction exhibited by five-year-old pre­primary children whilst engagedcollaboratively with the computer?

• What factors facilitate collaborativeinteraction of five-year-old pre-primarychildren whilst engaged collaboratively withthe computer?;

• What factors inhibit collaborative interactionof five-year-old pre-primary children whilstengaged collaboratively with the computer?

METHOD

Subjects

Subjects for the study were six pairs of children,aged five years, from a Kuala Lumpur pre-schoolcentre. Six children were randomly selected bythe classroom teacher, and assigned to the study.Each of the six randomly chosen children inturn subsequently chose a partner with whom tocollaborate and interact at the computer.

Procedure

The participants were observed and interviewedusing a semi-structured questionnaire to guidethe researcher to ascertain data from fourrecurring themes in relation to the researchquestions. The themes were:

attitude and experience towards computersat home and preschool;knowledge about software (computer gamesand educational software);

accessibility to computer(s) at home andpreschool; andcooperative activity with friends in relationto computer activity.

The classroom teacher was also informallyinterviewed to gain relevant information on thechildren's general social skills, computerexperiences and her educational philosophy andbeliefs in relation to computer use in the earlychildhood environment. Each child wasvideotaped once, together with their partner fora total of 10 minutes. All observations tookplace during the children's daily classroomactivities.

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

The interaction patterns of each dyad, obtainedfrom verbal transcripts and audio taped interviewsbetween the participants and the researcher werepresented in written and narrative forms. Thefindings served to construct the emergingpatterns of, and factors associated with, thecollaborative interactions. The results are alsopresented and discussed in the context of threevariables: teacher variable; children variable, and;software and environment variable. Overall, therewere 243 interactions exhibited by twelve five­year-old pre-school children, over a period ofthree weeks of observation. Prior to eachobservation session, the classroom teacher wouldinvite the subjects to take and randomly choosea child and assign them to the researcher. Eachof the six randomly chosen children in turnsubsequently chose a partner with whom tocollaborate and interact with at the computer.On two separate occasions, two of the childrenselected by the teacher to participate in thisstudy were chosen again by two other participantsas their partners. Sex/gender dyads by case andcontrol of the mouse device are shown in Table1.

Data collected from the naturalistic non­participant observations were analysed according

TABLE 1Sex/gender dyads by case and control of the mouse device

ControllerPartner

Case 1

FemaleMale

Case 2

FemaleFemal

Case 3

FemaleMale

Case 4

FemaleFemale

CaseS

MaleMale

Case 6

FemaleFemale

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to three sources. These were after the study ofMercer (1994); a partial application of the Systemfor Observation of Children's Social Interactions(SOCSI), developed by Brown, adorn andHolcombe (1996); and the study of Nastasi andClements (1992). A second coder reviewed thevideotapes and recorded observations to ensureinter-rater reliability. Initially, the researcherdecided that agreement between coders couldbe checked by looking at totals of categoriesacross each dimension in the interaction patterns.However, this was not considered sufficientlyrigorous since a measure of agreement acrosstotals would not necessarily mean a closeagreement in the coding, making the validity ofany claims made from the results suspect. Anearly decision, therefore, was that agreementbetween coders would be measured pattern bypattern, comparing within a pattern each coder'sanalysis for each conversational sequence. Theinter-rater reliability proceeded as follows:(1) The coding was completed by the researcher,with some checking for consistency included atthis stage. (2) The coding rules and procedureswere given to the second coder along with asample of tapes so that the identification of thepatterns could be checked for reliability. It wasfound that there was 50% agreement on theidentification of relevant patterns, although only8% were in disagreement. The discrepancy arosebecause the second coder tended to define thesocial behaviours exhibited by the participants,without using the appropriate instruments (aslisted above), thus merging the fIrst coder'spatterns into a smaller number. (3) Theresearcher and the second coder then agreedon the defInition of a pattern and the secondcoder returned to step (2). There was a highdegree of agreement (91 %). (4) The secondcoder tested the reliability of the categories bycoding the conversation according to the agreeddefinition of a pattern. There was a high degreeof agreement on the categories of collaborativeinteractions (93%), and non-collaborativeinteractions (90%). The goal of the analysis wasto distinguish all collaborative and non­collaborative behaviour.

Directing partner's actions was the mostfrequently occurring interaction pattern (23.0%).Other interactions exhibited included: providinginformation (19.8%); asking for information/explanation (10.3%); self-monitor/repetition(9.5%); declarative planning (7.0%); disagreeing

with partner (6.2%); showing pleasure (6.2%);suggesting ideas (3.7%); defending control(2.9%); showing displeasure (2.5%); terminalresponse (1.2%); defending competence (1.2%);correcting others (1.2%); accepting guidance(0.8%); and sharing control (0.8%). Directingother's actions was exhibited in relation to theirpartner who was in control of the mouse. All theinteraction patterns exhibited by the childrenare presented in Fig. 1.

The frequency ofoccurrencesof interact/on patterns for sixcases

Frequency of occurrences

Fig. 1: The frequency of occurrences of interaction patterns

The fIrst research question examined thepatterns of collaborative interaction exhibitedby fIve-year-old pre-primary children whilstengaged collaboratively with the computer. Theresults of six observational sessions conductedduring the course of this research give valuableinsight into the collaborative interaction patternsof pre-primary children whilst engaged with thecomputer. According to Vygotsky's socioculturaltheory (1978), cooperative dialogues betweenchildren and more knowledgeable members ofsociety is necessary for children to acquire theways of thinking and behaving that make up acommunity's culture (Van der Veer and Valsiner1991). The findings of Case 2 (Table 2) andCase 4 (Table 3) suggest that even with minimalor no adult assistance, fIve-year-old childrenexhibit many constructive patterns of interactionwhilst working on computers.

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TABLE 2Case 2 - Girl 2 and Girl 3: Percentages of occurrences of interactions

Frequency of interaction patterns employed by both children throughout interaction

Directing partner's actionsProviding information/explanationSuggesting ideasAsking for information/explanationSelf-monitor/repetitionShowing pleasureExclaimingShowing displeasure

19.6% (11 out of 56 times)20.8% (10 out of 48 times)11.1% (1 out of 9 times)16.0% (4 out of 25 times)30.4% (7 out of 23 times)46.7% (7 out of 15 times)11.1 % (1 out of 9 times)16.7% (1 out of 6 times)

TABLE 3Case 4 - Girl 4 and Boy 2: Percentages of occurrences of interactions

Frequency of interaction patterns employed by both children throughout interaction

Directing partner's actionsProviding information/explanationSuggesting ideasAsking for information/explanationShowing pleasureExclaimingShowing displeasureDeclarative planningDisagreeing with partnerDefending controlTerminal response

Scaffolding is a term that is most oftenapplied to Vygotsky's theory of learning (1978) ,in which it is believed that cognitive developmentin children occurs through the interaction of achild with more capable members of the sameculture, such as adults or more knowledgeablepeers. These people serve as guides and teachersfor the child, providing information and supportnecessary for the child to grow intellectually.Even so, conflicts may arise within theseinteractions as exhibited by Girl 4 (in Case 3)and both Girl 7 and Girl 8 in Case 6 (as depictedin Fig. 2). Mercer (1994) suggests that whenconflict arises between children whilst they areengaged in collaborative interaction at thecomputer, disputational talk may occur.According to Mercer (1994), disputational talkdisplays the speakers challenging other speakers'views, or actions, without attempting to justifytheir challenge by building on previousutterances, or offering no information. In acertain context, Teng's (1997) terminal responsecategory of interaction pattern supports thefeatures of this negative behaviour. However,

21.4% (12 out of 56 times)16.7% (8 out of 48 times)33.3% (3 out of 9 times)8.0% (2 out of 25 times)6.6% (1 out of 15 times)11.1 % (lout of 9 times)33.3% (2 out of 6 times)11.8% (2 out of 17 times)26.7% (4 out of 15 times)28.6% (2 out of 7 times)66.7% (2 out of 3 times)

Mercer (1994, 1999) emphasized that the featuresand characteristics of these verbal interactionsare representational of the children's social modeof thought.

The second and third research questionexamined the factors that facilitate and inhibitcollaborative interaction of five-year-old pre­school children whilst engaged collaborativelywith the computer. Interaction patterns observedwithin all cases involved a continual process ofan integrated turn taking system for controlover the computer. The children's discoursereflected the successive efforts to gain physicalcontrol of the mouse device and share thetechnology with their partner. Children'sdifferential levels of computer competencieswithin the peer group were reflected in therange of social behaviours they displayed andthe amount of control over the technology andthe success of accepting suggestions and ideasfrom their collaborative partners. Even so, someof the collaborative partners exhibited differentinteractive patterns, thus reflecting the diversityof their social relationships, social configurations,

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Collaborative Interactions Among Preschool Children in a Computer Environment

Frequency of occurrence of interaction

30 r" ~""

2525

';)

~ 20 --Eo~ 15 "c:III::s

10 ":CTelI-

5

Categories of interaction pattern

Fig. 2: Frequency of occurrence of interactions exhibited in Case 6

and social goals. Based on the observation of allsix cases, these variables were identified aspossible factors, that may facilitate or inhibit thecollaborative interaction of five-year-old preschool children whilst engaged collaborativelywith the computer:• Social relationships between collaborators• Social goals of each child• Social status hierarchies among the children• Developmental appropriateness of the

computer program• Task structure of the computer program• Turn taking system applied by the teacher• The physical setting of the computer

environment• Prior experience and computer competency

of children• Interest in and attitude towards computer

Implications far Early Childhood Education

The findings of this study have been examinedand discussed in relation to the broadersociocultural and sociocognitive contexts thatshaped and produced the interactions of thechildren. Collaborative interactions, did notalways reflect accepted developmental theory.This highlights the need for research whichinvestigates the relevance and suitability of neo­Vygotskian theory. In view of the emphasis placedupon a drill and practice software package in

this study, this research investigation needs to bereplicated with an open-ended software and amore structured task, in order to determinewhether or not they differ in facilitating children'scollaborative interactions. Furthermore, it mayprovide valuable insight on how integration ofcomputers into the classroom is similar to theuse and integration of other typical earlychildhood materials and activities theories, in arange of socially and culturally diverse earlychildhood settings. Also, it is recommended thatresearch be conducted among children withspecial needs.

CONCLUSIONS

Computers are here to stay. Computers haveenormous potential as well as limitations. Byintegrating computer technology throughappropriate strategies, and promoting andmodelling prosocial behaviours, teachers canhelp children develop positive interactionpatterns during collaborative activities oncomputer. Therefore, it is imperative for earlychildhood educators to afford appropriate ICTsthe same status as other traditional earlychildhood learning materials and activities.

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(Received: 10 July 2003)

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