Developmentally appropriate digital environments for young children.

ABSTRACT

The developmental level of child information seekers affects their ability to interact with digital technology as a means to satisfy their information needs. Principles of child development and learning that inform developmentally appropriate practice must be considered when designing digital environments for the very young. Cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development impact a child's ability to interact successfully with a digital environment. These developmental considerations and design responses supportive of young children's information-seeking behavior, as well as perspectives of theorists in the area of child development and system design, are addressed.

INTRODUCTION

Today's child is brought up in the omnipresence of technology. A child may be exposed to digital technology even before he or she is exposed to books. Whereas the child of the recent past may have needed an introduction to computers and digital information upon beginning formal schooling, these things have very likely been a part of life for today's child from the beginning. One way that children learn is by observing their parents. Today's child may see his/her parents using computer technology more often than reading books. Digital technology has the potential to seduce young children with color, movement, sound, and interaction. It responds to a child's input in a most immediate and satisfying way. It empowers the child to make things happen instantaneously.

Given the ubiquitous nature of digital information and its significance in our culture as a means of communication, information getting, entertainment, and creative expression, it is important that children receive sufficient opportunities and appropriate experiences in its use. In our culture, digital technology is a tool for learning in much the same way as a pencil and paper; therefore, children need to gain facility in its use (Haugland, 1992). Knowledge and skill in this area are essential in order for children to successfully negotiate our culture. Unlike a pencil, however, digital environments have the potential to impose themselves more on a child through spoken words and moving images. Early exposure and availability of digital environments, both at home and school, make addressing design considerations for young children imperative (Liu, 1996). Computer technology, like any other tool, can be used appropriately or misused. Therefore, it is important that we use criteria when examining digital environments for children just as we would for any other learning tool or experience for children (National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], 1997).

PRINCIPLES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Domains of Development

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has articulated a position statement on principles of child development and learning that inform developmentally appropriate practice (NAEYC, 1997). Child development encompasses several domains: cognitive, social, physical, and emotional. These domains are closely related in that they overlap and influence each other. While the following pages will address these different domains as they relate to digital design, it is important to remember that the domains are interwoven within the child; while we may discuss each domain as a separate entity for the sake of clarity, in reality they are interlocking facets of a whole. For example, the development of oral communication in a child involves the cognitive domain in that understanding and language learning are necessary. It involves the physical domain in that the child must gain control of mouth muscles and breathing in order to correctly pronounce words. It involves the social domain in that it requires subjective language use in order to understand and be understood in a particular culture. It involves the emotional domain in that relationships with other people are built and maintained through oral communication. Growth in each of these domains influences the other. As a child becomes more adept at oral communication, s/he is able to develop social relationships. The ability to communicate orally with other people supports cognitive development in that the child will learn from other people. Developmentally appropriate practice recognizes this intertwining of domains, and experiences are designed to support and optimize growth across domains (NAEYC, 1997).

Developmental Sequence

Development occurs in a relatively ordered sequence, and later abilities, skills, and knowledge build on previous ones (NAEYC, 1997; Piaget & Inhelder, 1969; Erickson, 1963; Bruner, 1973). Kuhlthau (1988) has commented that children's information needs relate to their developmental level. Studies show that children as young as three years old can use computers (Liu, 1996). Children younger than three years old are still in Piaget's sensory motor stage of development, during which they learn through their senses by tasting, touching, and crawling; at this stage they are not good candidates for computer use (Haugland, 2000). Children who are in preschool or primary school are most likely in Piaget's pre-operational stage of development (Piaget & Inhelder, 1969). They understand the world from their own point of view. They are individualistic, self-centered, and expect others to have their perspective. This does not bode well for the use, for example, of a highly structured digital environment even if these children could read well enough to understand the directions for use (Cooper, 1997). Piaget's concrete operational stage follows pre-operation. Children are in approximately second or third grade by this time. They use trial and error and depend on manipulation of physical items to solve problems. Their understanding of concepts such as change and comparison is physical rather than abstract. Since their understanding is still grounded in what is concrete and physical, they may have difficulty using electronic metadata even if they can read the directions and move between screens (Cooper, 2002a). A list of alphabet citations may mean much less to children at this level than an electronic display of familiar book covers. While a digital representation of book covers is not concrete, there is an observable reference to that which children have experienced concretely and understand.

Another perspective on sequential development is offered by Erickson (1963) in his stages of psychosocial development. Children in kindergarten may still be in Erickson's stage of initiative vs. guilt. They want to explore but at the same time they want to please. They are moving toward the ability to use structured systems. An early elementary child may be in Erickson's industry vs. inferiority stage and learning to master more formal competencies. Each of these stages requires emotional support and a feeling of success and increasing confidence if the child is to move toward maturity in the emotional domain. Digital environments with built-in safety nets such as spell check are supportive of emotional development as well as cognitive development. Kuhlthau's (1993) Information Search Process includes significant examination of the affective nature of information seeking. These feelings are compounded for the very young because developmentally they lack the cognitive ability, physical coordination, and social experience that older information seekers have. Likewise, Belkin's (1980) Anomalous State of Knowledge may be more keenly felt by young children since they have a significantly smaller stock of knowledge and experience on which to base a question that will satisfactorily relate their information need. Their vocabulary is too small to express what they know they need to…