iPads in Kindergarten at Alexandra

In Kindergarten we are looking at using the iPads to address a few areas of need.  First we considered our focus groups:

• JK and SK girls [targeting girls’ engagement with the Kindergarten Science and Technology curriculum]
• 5 JK and SK students demonstrating a need to increase vocabulary and semantics, including 2 SK girls experiencing receptive and expressive language delays
• 1 SK boy [targeting enrichment]

Then we decided that our Diagnostic Assessment would be based on interviews to be recorded on video with each of the Kindergarten students. The responses to the interview questions would be our baseline starting points for each child. The following are the questions we used in our interviews:

1. Using a large moth - (a) I am placing an insect on a tray. Look closely at it. What can you tell me about it? Use your describing words to tell me what you know. What do you wonder (want to know) about it?  
2. Using a frog habitat - (a) Now I am going to show you a home built by people for a tiny frog to live in all year long. What do you see in his home?  What do you wonder (want to know) about it? (b) Most frogs live in big ponds outdoors - in the woods or marshes. It is getting colder now and soon it will be winter. What do you think happens to the water in the pond then? What do you think happens to the frogs then?   
3. Using class collected tree photos of leaf-bearing and evergreens - Let’s look at some pictures we took on the playground recently. We called this time of year “the fall” because leaves were changing colours and falling to the ground. What might we see when we go back and look at those trees [picture # 1, then picture # 2] now that is has been so rainy and windy?
4. Using a book about composting and a pot - I am going to show you the cover of a book called Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth . We will be reading this book soon. What do you think this book might be about? Look at the cover (front & back) and the pot Mrs. G. has brought in to help you make your predictions (guess).
5. Using both a bird nest and a bird house - I am going to show you 2 objects. One object is a nest. The other object is a birdhouse. What do you know about nests? What do you know about birdhouses? How are they the same? How are they different?  
6. Using a poster of lightning over a city - When I uncover the photo, I want you to just look at it and think about it and think about what you want to say about it.
7. Using binoculars and a magnifying glass - We are going to be trying to locate birds on our school playground. I am going to show you 2 objects –  a magnifying glass & binoculars. Which object do you think is going to help us do this best?  Explain using the word “because”.

 Video Clips

Here are some video clips of JK and SK girls. The JK girls show a lack of wondering in response to the interview questions. The SK girls appear more involved but not actively engaged. So…can the use of ipads promote more active engagement with the Kindergarten Science and Technology curriculum?

Here are video clips of 2 SK girls attempting to respond to the interview questions. The girls struggle with receptive and expressive language during the school day. So… can the use of ipads increase oral language skills [e.g., vocabulary, semantics, concepts]?

Here is a video clip of an SK boy. He reads easily [Primary Benchmark 19] and loves to do so as often as he possibly can. He is a reluctant participant in any other tasks/activities that he engages in during the school day; notwithstanding that he is a very capable student. This reluctance is seen in the video clip where he gives minimal responses to the interview questions. So…can the use of the ipad provide him with enrichment tasks/activities that he will find challenging, enjoyable and worth putting an effort into?

Summary

Now we are going to once again look at the interviews, this time with a view to deciding, after reflection, what apps we might select to promote growth within our focus groups.