How to Support “Little Engineers:” Exploring Preschool Parent–Child Talk during an Engineering Bridge Challenge

Although considerable research demonstrates the value of parent–child discourse about early mathematics during informal learning, less is known about how family talk during engineering activities unfolds. The current study aims to describe and explore the dynamics of engineering and mathematical language that occurs between parents and preschool-aged children (n = 87; M = 59.27 months) while engaging in a bridge-building, engineering challenge. Most of the families in this sample were experiencing poverty and many spoke languages other than English at home. Video recordings of the bridge-building task were coded to examine the frequency of both child and parent engagement in engineering process talk. This analysis included talk about engineering processes related to goal setting, planning, testing, redesigning the bridge, and the use of mathematical language. Regression analyses demonstrated a significant association between parent engineering process talk and children's engineering process talk. Mediation analyses indicated that frequency of child mathematical language partially mediated the relation between parent and child engineering process talk; however, parent mathematical language was not a significant mediator of this relation. An exploratory mediation analysis was conducted, indicating that the relationship between parent mathematical language use and child engineering process talk was fully mediated by child mathematical language use during bridge building, suggesting that children's mathematical talk may facilitate their engagement in engineering discussions. This research, unique in its focus on engineering process talk in early childhood, addresses a gap in the literature on preschool informal engineering experiences.