Cooperative Inquiry Extended: Creating Technology with Middle School Students with Learning Differences

Item

Title

Cooperative Inquiry Extended: Creating Technology with Middle School Students with Learning Differences

Abstract/Description

Cooperative Inquiry is a method of developing technology in which children and adults are partners in the design process. Researchers use Cooperative Inquiry to empower children in the design of their own technology and to design technology that is specific to children's needs and wants. As Cooperative Inquiry is continually evolving and expanding, it is important to consider how researchers can extend this inclusive design approach to work with populations of children with disabilities. In a semester-long case study, researchers explored the use of Cooperative Inquiry in a classroom of middle school boys with learning differences, including mild to moderate autism, specific learning disabilities, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The participating class of 10 boys ages 11–12 designed a browser-based computer game using Cooperative Inquiry over the course of six design sessions. During the project, the children had overall positive experiences and were able to form partnerships with the adult researchers to develop the game. Based on the experiences of all the team members, researchers make recommendations for employing Cooperative Inquiry in special education classrooms. These include adding informal time during the design sessions, maintaining a high adult-to-child ratio, giving instructions using many modalities, and planning for high engagement. Through this work, researchers broaden Cooperative Inquiry's applicability to a new population in a classroom setting, and provide guidance for designing with populations of children with special leaning needs in the future.

Author/creator

Foss, Elizabeth

Guha, Mona Leigh

Papadatos, Panagis

Clegg, Tamara

Yip, Jason

Walsh, Greg

Date

2013

In publication

Journal of Special Education Technology

Volume

28

Issue

3

Pages

33-46

Resource type

en Research/Scholarly Media

Resource status/form

en Published Text

Scholarship genre

en Empirical

Language

en

Open access/full-text available

en Yes

Peer reviewed

en Yes

ISSN

0162-6434

DOI

10.1177/016264341302800303

URL

Official Publisher's Webpage (SAGE Journals)

Full-text PDF Shared by Author (ResearchGate)

Citation

Foss, E., Guha, M. L., Papadatos, P., Clegg, T., Yip, J., & Walsh, G. (2013). Cooperative Inquiry Extended: Creating Technology with Middle School Students with Learning Differences. Journal of Special Education Technology, 28(3), 33–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/016264341302800303

Cited in

Design Thinking and the Learning Sciences: Theoretical, Practical, and Empirical Perspectives

Abbreviation

J Spec Educ Technol

Item sets

OB Citations - Design Thinking and the Learning Sciences

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