Teacher-Child Interactions and Scaffolding During Educational Technology Use

2012

Principal Investigator: Sudha Swaminathan
Student Researchers: Ariel Levesque, Erin Murphy, Suzanne Slater

The purpose of this study was to determine the best way to support and facilitate children's interactions with educational technology. Each teacher was video-recorded for 20-30 minutes using the iPad and/or Proscope with one or more children during free choice time. Researchers coded each two-minute portion of the videos on an adapted Teacher-Child Interactions instrument. "Good-fit" interactions were significantly higher than "poor-fit" interactions, and all teachers modulated their scaffolding to match both the level of guidance needed by the child & the content of their interactions. Children needed some guidance more frequently (67%), than much guidance (20%), or no guidance (12%).

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