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Tablets and Apps for Promoting Nanoliteracy in Early Childhood Education: Results from an Experimental Study

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Abstract

Successful integration of digital technologies in the education of young children still needs to be solved. Despite a growing body of research focusing on learning through digital technologies in childhood, there are areas of knowledge where the impact of digital technologies has yet to be explored. A prominent example is nanoscience and nanotechnology (NST), a new interdisciplinary field that promises to solve long-standing global challenges. Considering that NST concerns elements that cannot be observed with the naked eye, their understanding by young children requires appropriate teaching methods. These distinctive aspects of NST align well with the capabilities of smart mobile devices, the critical feature of which is their ability to display interactive simulations and playful visualizations. This study investigates and compares the effect of using tablets and alternative experiential teaching on developing the ability to understand nanoscale elements. To implement the research, we conducted a week-long intervention, including experimental and control groups. Children in the experimental group participated in a nanoteaching session during the school curriculum, using educational software on tablets. The children in the control group participated in a precisely similar instruction but without using technology. To assess the children’s performance, the Nanoscale Elementary Knowledge Comprehension Test (TENANO) created for the needs of this study was used. The sample consisted of 101 s-grade primary school children in Greece. The results showed that teaching with tablets compared to alternative experiential teaching contributed significantly to developing young children’s nanoliteracy level. Moreover, gender and non-verbal cognitive ability did not seem to differentiate the development of children’s ability to understand nanoscale entities.

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Availability of Data and Materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

The research work was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) under the 3rd Call for HFRI PhD Fellowships (Fellowship Number 5503).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preschool Education, University of Crete, 74100, Rethymno, Greece

    Pandora Dorouka

  2. Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece

    Michail Kalogiannakis

  3. Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100, Rehovot, Israel

    Ron Blonder

Authors
  1. Pandora Dorouka
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  2. Michail Kalogiannakis
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  3. Ron Blonder
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Contributions

Conceptualization, investigation, drafting, and writing, PD; methodology, validation, review and editing, and visualization, PD; writing—review and editing, and supervision, PD; MK; RB. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pandora Dorouka.

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Requirements regarding informed consent, confidentiality, and data use were carefully adhered to, both verbally and in writing, informing school staff, children, and guardians of the purpose of the study and their rights not to participate. In particular, before starting the first phase of the research, the research protocol was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Department of Preschool Education of the University of Crete (1016/22-11-2021). The approval was approved by the Ethics and Research Ethics Committee of the University of Crete (REC-UOC) (no. 35/24.02.2022, https://www.ehde.uoc.gr/index.php/en), as well as by the Hellenic Institute of Educational Policy (IEP) (no. 3578/14-–03-2022).

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Statement Regarding Research Involving Human Participants and/or Animals

The research protocol was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Department of Preschool Education of the University of Crete (1016/22–11-2021). The approval was approved by the Ethics and Research Ethics Committee of the University of Crete (REC-UOC) (no. 35/24.02.2022, https://www.ehde.uoc.gr/index.php/en), as well as by the Hellenic Institute of Educational Policy (IEP) (no. 3578/14–03-2022).

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Dorouka, P., Kalogiannakis, M. & Blonder, R. Tablets and Apps for Promoting Nanoliteracy in Early Childhood Education: Results from an Experimental Study. J Sci Educ Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-024-10132-w

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