Learning in pre-school – building on variation

The aim of this study is to describe qualitatively different ways in which teachers offer children (aged 4-5) to learn about phenomena in nature when visiting nature. The empirical data consist of video observations of children and teachers communicating with one another. 

Variation theory is presented as a framework for analysing the data. The theory assumes that variation is needed to support learning. However, the variation is not in methods but in variation of critical aspects needed to understand the object of learning. This means that how the specific content of learning is dealt with has effect on student learning. The object of learning can be differentiated in three types, the intended object of learning, the enacted object of learning and the lived object of learning. In this study the interest is about the enacted object of learning, i.e. what it was possible for the students to learn.

The study identifies two qualitatively different ways to present the object of learning to the students. One way is based on the principle of opening up dimensions of variation and the second way is built on presumed shared previous experience as a resource for making sense of a novel observation.

The implication of the different approaches for children´s learning is discussed.