Introducing Circuits in West Room

 

–If I Built a Car, by Chris Van Dusen

 

Bing Nursery School has a longstanding tradition to support children’s learning through play by using five basic, open-ended materials: blocks, clay, paint, water and sand. These materials help children learn more about the world around them and about themselves. While preparing for the spring quarter, the West AM and PM teaching teams worked together and wondered how we could introduce circuitry concepts and materials to this framework. How would children gain a stronger understanding of the technology, its application and its uses in their play?

 

Through observations, the teachers recognized that the children were interested in circuits and that their play interests afforded many opportunities to connect with circuitry concepts. For example, the children were building their own robots and spaceships, both simple and elaborate, as woodworking projects. Children’s dramatic play included many pretend digital pieces of technology, such as cell phones and cameras, and they even talked about some of their experiences with building circuits at home. For example, one child manipulated a circuit kit at home with her older sister to create a scribble robot. On one occasion, the children wanted to create a night light for their dark tiger tunnel, which they built out of large hollow blocks. Opportunities like these further established a direct connection to how circuits could be useful in their play. At the same time, the children were drawn to books that centered around inventions, such as Chris Van Dusen’s If I Built a Car, and the teachers noticed that many of the themes in these books also surfaced in their pretend play. Given this information, the teachers aspired to expand upon the children’s interests and their own teaching practices by investigating circuitry concepts with very young children.

 

The discovery table served as an ideal space for introducing and highlighting these new materials, as it is often the first thing that children and their families notice on arrival. Designing a minimal yet captivating setup of the circuitry materials, the teachers hoped to draw the children’s attention to the table and promote self-directed exploration and manipulation of the component parts, including wires, conductor pieces, switches, lightbulbs, battery packs and a motor. Pictures of possible configurations were provided to guide the children in their building and to enhance their understanding of the parts of the circuit, but children were offered time and space to experiment with their own designs and demonstrate their creativity with the material.

 

Initially, the teachers observed the children using the circuit pieces as yet another building material in the class, by stacking the connector pieces, building perimeters around the circuit boards or creating elaborate designs of various shapes and heights. Once the children began to understand the capacities of the circuit boards on a deeper level, however, they began to focus more on the functionality of the system rather than its design. The children explored and tested setups of increasing size and complexity, gaining an impressive level of proficiency in their designs. One day, a child in West PM designed a system that spanned two circuit boards in which a lightbulb and a fan were controlled by a single switch. Intrigued by his machine, a younger child who was new to the class approached the table and watched for a while as he operated the circuit. After a period of observation, the younger child then contributed her own idea for the machine by gently touching the fan while it was spinning, causing it to fly up into the air. Clearly delighted with her discovery, she invited the builder to try it himself: “That was cool. Do you wanna try it?” This initiated a shared experience with the circuit boards that offered the children an opportunity for social collaboration, hypothesis-testing and the joys of discovery.

 

As the children developed increased expertise with the circuit boards, the teachers introduced new materials to expand the children’s thinking and experiences. Children began using simple circuits comprising LED lights and watch batteries in addition to the original circuitry materials that were presented at the discovery table. The children used their LED light and watch battery circuits to illustrate their ideas in their dramatic play and art expressions. For instance, one West AM child created a ski map that represented a favorite family skiing resort, complete with green and red light circuits to indicate whether the ski lift should go or stop in her drawing.

 

On another day, the children created simple motor circuits commonly known as a scribble robot. Teachers based its construction on the basic motor circuit components being explored at the discovery table—small motor, wires and battery packs—which the children then coupled with repurposed containers, tape and markers. The children’s first scribble robot structures were composed of markers as “legs,” and container-shaped bodies that were holding up the motor circuit above. Children witnessed the effects of changing their designs by adding a piece to the motor’s shaft to make their scribble robots shake, and by connecting the circuit wires to turn the robot circuits on and off. These experiences went beyond the discovery table’s basic on/off configuration with switches. Interestingly, the children brought their own perspectives and extensions to these experiences while engaging in the process of making their scribble robots. Alec suggested, “We need lights for its toes, too. The toes are right here by the markers. I’ll make some.” They then included many more simple LED lights and watch battery circuits on their scribble robots, so that the robots could have multiple eyes and toes.

 

The children began to see the circuits as another material or tool for their typical interactions in the classroom. It was wonderful to witness the children gain a sense of empowerment through technology at such a young age. They actively created their own inventions by using electric circuit materials in their play. Because the children saw themselves as capable circuit users, they were able to find ways to incorporate ideas from other people’s inventions. A parent from the West AM classroom, who is a Stanford professor of mechanical engineering, shared some of his own and his students’ inventions with circuits and common materials. The children saw how they used common materials like rubber bands, plastics and boots to build exoskeletons to help people walk. And the children watched simple circuits cause objects to jump into the air, and they were able to relate these more complex inventions to their own creations.

 

Upon reflection, the West Room teaching teams learned that circuit boards offered a wide scope of experiences to the children and afforded multiple levels of involvement in their exploration. Children learned about the basic concept of a circuit and took an active role in designing their own systems. While some children enjoyed the opportunity for independent experimentation, others worked collaboratively to design and test their machines, eagerly sharing their ideas and their observations with their peers. Simultaneously, many parents and family members were also actively involved in the children’s learning at the discovery table, offering insights from their own experiences with circuits and enjoying the opportunity to share expertise from their professional fields. The teaching teams gained a deeper understanding of the power of circuits to promote children’s cognitive and social growth by affording open-ended opportunities for hypothesis-testing, creative design and collaboration. We wonder how the children will continue to build on their understanding of electric circuits, and how they will implement these skills in their future.