The development of a model of tinkering : a study of children's science
Creators: name: Parsons, Sharon
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2011

description: This study on tinkering evolved out of a review of literature on females and science. A review of this literature revealed a consistent conjecture raised by researchers to explain why females underachieve and also why they are underrepresented in the physical sciences field. The conjecture was that females do not tinker. Prior to undertaking an investigation into the nature of tinkering and how it might be related to this conjecture, it was necessary to clarify the nature of tinkering and how it might be related to the development of an understanding and interest in science. The present study offers this clarification by the way of proposing a model of tinkering. A children's science perspective was chosen as a theoretical framework for the interpretation of tinkering. Osborne &amp; Freyberg (1985) describe children's science by noting that some children's views of the world and meanings for words are unexpectedly different from those of adults in general and scientists in particular. Those views and different word meanings influence children's subsequent learning in science. Most studies investigating children's science have focused on children's conceptualization of scientific phenomena. The present study however brought a wider perspective to children's science by seeking to describe it as the intuitive methods which children learn from everyday experience. The findings therefore add a new dimension to the study of children's science by providing insight into the methods by which some children may acquire their intuitive knowledge of selected science concepts. Based on the results from preliminary and pilot studies ten target students were selected for the purpose of data collection. Subsequently six target subjects, representing a variety of levels of tinkering, were selected for final analysis. The analysis utilized a variety of data sources (survey, interview, and classroom observation) collected over a three-month period. The model of tinkering which was constructed conceptualizes tinkering as consisting of three general sets of characteristics. These characteristics were described in terms of the different types of tinkering observed, the different phases entailed in the tinkering process, and finally the different types of knowledge generated by this activity. The first characteristic, called the "a typology of tinkering", maps out the "purpose" and the "proficiency" of tinkering as it was observed in the target subjects. Four purposes were described: utilitarian, technological, scientific and pragmatic. The proficiency of tinkering was described in terms of categories: master, professional, amateur and novice. The second characteristic focussed on the nature of the process of tinkering. Since tinkering was conceptualized as a form of problem-solving, four different phases of tinkering activity were identified. A third characteristic identified the kinds of knowledge bases that appear to be constructed from tinkering activity. These were described in terms of verbal and actional knowledge. This study also constructed three sets of factors which influence tinkering: experiential, social and personal. These factors were metaphorically described as an apprenticeship. The experiential factors were noted as ranging from low to high levels. The social factors were described as having three levels of influence, namely mentor, family and friends, and school and other agencies. The personal factors were described as ranging from low to high levels of interest. Since the problem initially arose from the literature on females and science a discussion of gender differences in tinkering was also undertaken. This discussion utilized "women's ways of knowing" (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger and Tarule, 1986) to interpret the extensive data. The focus of the discussion was that tinkering is "disconnected knowing" for females and "connected knowing" for males. On the basis of this argument tinkering can be viewed as an activity which favors males.