Scaffolding Authentic Scientific Inquiry Experiences for Early Elementary Learners using Wearable Technology

Wearable sensors show promise in engaging youth in scientific inquiry by leveraging physical activity and the body for life-relevant inquiry. Prior research, however, has found that elementary school-age children struggle with the learner-determined aspects of an authentic scientific experiment (e.g., asking a testable research question). We explore how to integrate wearable-based inquiry into early-elementary classrooms with Live Physiological Sensing and Visualization tools, including: designing age-appropriate scaffolds, adapting to teacher perspectives, and meeting Next Generation Science Standards. We conducted a two-year, iterative process of developing scaffolds and implementing them in four elementary classrooms (two teachers; 90 children). We present two case studies to demonstrate how our participatory designed scaffolds impact the authenticity of the learners’ wearable-based inquiry experience. Our findings contribute insights about facilitating wearable-based inquiry with elementary learners and specific supports for using sensor-based learning systems to meet Next Generation Science Standards.