Research
The Formation of Children’s Technological Concepts: A Study of What it Means To Do Technology from a Child’s Perspective
Authors:
John Twyford ,
University of Exeter, GB
About John
With the School of Education, University of Exeter, England.
Esa-Matti Järvinen
University of Oulu, FI
About Esa-Matti
With the Faculty of Education, University of Oulu, Finland.
Abstract
Constructivist theory epitomizes learning as an active, continuous process whereby learners take information from their environment and construct personal interpretations and meanings based upon prior knowledge and experience (Kozulin, 1998). In a socio-cultural interpretation, learning is understood to take part in a personalized social context. Thus, the acquisition of skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values are a process of enculturation, especially when the learner participates in authentic and context dependent activity (McCormick, Murphy, Hennessy, & Davidson, 1996; Koulaidis & Tsatsaroni, 1996). It follows that individual construction of technological knowledge occurs predominantly in socially interactive settings, which are shared with the members of the learning community, essentially through the meanings of context dependent language and actions (Gergen, 1995; Wertsch, 1991; Vygotsky, 1986).
How to Cite:
Twyford, J., & Järvinen, E.-M. (2011). The Formation of Children’s Technological Concepts: A Study of What it Means To Do Technology from a Child’s Perspective. Journal of Technology Education, 12(1), 32–48. DOI: http://doi.org/10.21061/jte.v12i1.a.3
Published on
22 Sep 2011.
Peer Reviewed
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