Investigating children's interactions in preschool classrooms: An overview of research using automated sensing technologies

• Published in: Early childhood research quarterly 2024, Vol.66, p.147-156
• Main Authors: Elbaum, Batya, Perry, Lynn K., Messinger, Daniel S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Early Experience; Inclusion classrooms; Interaction; Interpersonal Communication; Language Acquisition; Language development; Measurement Equipment; Peer Relationship; Preschool; Preschool Children; Preschool Education; Proximity; Sensing technologies; Social Networks; Technology Uses in Education
• ISSN: 0885-2006; 1873-7706
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.10.005

•Sensing technologies convert audio or location data into measures of interaction.•Data can simultaneously be collected on all interactions occurring in a classroom.•Interactions with teachers and peers drive preschool children's language development.•Sensing technologies can support advances in both research and practice. New technologies that combine digital sensors with automated processing algorithms are now being deployed to study preschool classrooms. This article provides an overview of these new sensing technologies, focusing on automated speaker classification, the analysis of children's and teachers’ speech, and the detection and analysis of their movements over the course of the school day. Findings from recent studies utilizing these technologies are presented to illustrate the contribution of these sensing technologies to our understanding of classroom processes that predict children's language and social development. In particular, the potential to collect extended real-time data on the speech and movement of all children and teachers in a classroom provides a broader window on the variability of individual children's interactions with peers and teachers and their integration into classroom social networks. The article describes current challenges related to the use of sensing technologies in preschool settings, as well as advances that may overcome these challenges and allow for more in-depth investigations of children's early classroom experiences.