Tinkering in the time of COVID: lessons from educators’ efforts to facilitate playful tinkering through online learning

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on children’s educational and play experiences. In this paper, we analyze and report on interviews with a sample of 14 educators who continued to facilitate playful tinkering experiences during online learning near the beginning of school facility closures related to COVID-19. After a review of relevant literatures on playful learning and making and tinkering, we discuss three themes that emerged in the data: (1) rethinking materials, where educators either moved to simplified activities or to those that could flexibly embrace the diverse materials found in children’s homes; (2) adapting in-the-moment facilitation, where educators sought new means to engage students and facilitate persistence and continued exploration; and (3) searching for emotional connections, where educators prioritized emotional connections with students, despite the challenges of technology-mediated interactions. We close with implications for the future of making and tinkering centered learning opportunities post-pandemic.