The Participatory Design Process of Tangibles for Children’s Socio-Emotional Learning

Education researchers voice the need of technology that can aid in the scaffolding of socio-emotional learning of primary-school children. In particular supporting norms for conversing with peers can enhance children’s engagement in school activities, which can positively impact on their academic achievements in turn. This paper reports on a participatory design process of tangibles for socio-emotional learning, conducted with different children, education experts and designers over time. It focuses on a specific tangible, TurnTalk, for the scaffolding of turn-sharing in group conversations with 8–13 year old children. The paper discusses how the process was organised so that all participants had a voice in the development of the tangible, bringing in design possibilities, and how these were carried over in the next design solution. The paper focuses on the most recent version of TurnTalk and field study. It concludes by reflecting on the results of the study as well as on the benefits and limitations of the design process.