Building Sustainable Digital Practices in Kindergarten Literacy and Arts Programmes (DigiSus)

Project summary

The DigiSus project will introduce a learning environment in kindergartens where MIT developed non-screen based technology will be explored along with existing screen based technologies in moveable experience labs, e.g in the shape of aesthetic interaction rooms (0- 3) years, and language stimulation rooms (3-5 years). The research focus and questions in this part of the DigiSus are:

What are important characteristics of sustainable digital practices (SDPs) in kindergartens?
How can such practices contribute to the overarching goals of kindergarten pedagogies?

And what kind of competence and competency framework is needed to implement sustainable digital practices in kindergartens?

The research design of DigiSus is primarily designed as a qualitative study, but with some elements of quantitative methods. The research design is inspired by action research and educational design research and can best be described as mixed methods. The overall research design of the project is structured around four key research phases: 1) Engage and analyze: 2) Design and enact; 3) Evaluate and validate; 4) Spread and implement. Research process and phases will all lead up to knowledge as competence agency connected to actional thinking and research based decision making.

DigiSus is a bottom up competence project involving all kindergartens in two municipalities, Tysnes and Stord, pre- service kindergarten teacher programmes and the research environment of two research centres and one research programme. The research will be carried out by a group of experienced researchers and teacher educators at West Norway University of Applied Sciences (Høgskulen på Vestlandet), and be anchored in the research centers Centre for Creativities, Arts and Science in Education (CASE), the research programme Creativity and Culture Pedagogies (C-ped), both located at Rommetveit Campus, Stord, and Center for Arts, Culture and Communication located at Kronstad campus, Bergen.