Browsing by Subject "http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p14774"

The purpose of this thesis was to find out (1) how maker mindset and its components are visible in young children participating in a multidisciplinary technology project in early childhood education, and (2) how the components of maker mindset are connected to each other in the activities of the children participating in the project. The maker mindset has been studied little in the past, and even then only in adults and school-age children, so its manifestation may be different in children of early childhood education age. There is no established classification of the components of maker mindset, so the components of the maker mindset and their indicators were compiled based on selected literature and collected material. The components were classified as: growth mindset and resilience; engagement; sharing and community; play and curiosity; and creativity. The research material was collected as part of the Innoplay research project, which aimed to develop pedagogical methods for craft, technology and environmental education and mathematics (STEAM) teaching through invention, play and expression. The material was collected from the project's cooperative kindergarten in the spring of 2020, when the corona pandemic made everyday life difficult and also affected the collection of research material and the target group. There were a total of seven documented project sessions, and a total of twelve 3–5 year old children participated in the project during the documentation. In the analysis of the data, abductive content analysis was used, which combines a theory- and material-oriented approach, creating new information. The video material was transcribed and the events in the material were classified according to the components of maker mindset visible in them. All components of the maker mindset could be seen in the material, only creativity was clearly less present and it often appeared only after other components. The components of maker mindset were found to overlap and influence each other: one component rarely appeared without the other, and growth mindset and persistence often overlapped with commitment. Based on the analysis of the data, it can be concluded that maker mindset can be observed in children of early childhood education age in similar learning situations.