Designing Playful Inquiry-Based Mathematical Learning Activities for Kindergarten

Abstract

This study addresses issues related to the process of designing mathematical activities for kindergarten based on the constructs of playful learning and inquiry. The mathematical activities were designed for 5-year-old children in a Norwegian kindergarten setting. In order to address this design process, we focus at issues of mediating design principles and ideas to kindergarten teachers, who are the ones to orchestrate and implement the mathematical activities with children. The study is situated within a design research methodology in which observations, written and personal communication have been used as sources of data. Our analysis shows that the kindergarten teacher closely followed the written instructions given, that she only occasionally orchestrated an inquiry approach to the learning of mathematics, and a limited implementation of playfulness in the activities. These results were due to issues with too detailed written instructions, a possible experienced expectation to carry out all parts of the activities, a possible experienced power relationship between researchers and the kindergarten teacher as well as limited experience in orchestrating mathematical activities and lack of time to adopt playfulness and inquiry as a way of being.