DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL E-TEXTILES TO SUPPORT EXECUTIVE FUNCTION SKILLS OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY ERSİN KARA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN COMPUTER EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY FEBRUARY 2021 Approval of the thesis: DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL E-TEXTILES TO SUPPORT EXECUTIVE FUNCTION SKILLS OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN submitted by ERSİN KARA in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Middle East Technical University by, Prof. Dr. Halil Kalıpçılar Dean, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences Dr. Hasan Karaaslan Head of the Department, Comp. Edu. and Inst. Tech. Prof. Dr. Kürşat Çağıltay Supervisor, Comp. Edu. and Inst. Tech., METU Examining Committee Members: Prof. Dr. Hatice Sancar Tokmak Comp. Edu. and Inst. Tech., Mersin University Prof. Dr. Kürşat Çağıltay Comp. Edu. and Inst. Tech., METU Prof. Dr. Zahide Yıldırım Comp. Edu. and Inst. Tech., METU Assist. Prof. Dr. Volkan Şahin Elementary and Early Childhood Education, METU Assist. Prof. Dr. Arif Yılmaz Early and Elementary Education, Hacettepe University Date: 12.02.2021 I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name : Ersin Kara Signature : iv ABSTRACT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL E-TEXTILES TO SUPPORT EXECUTIVE FUNCTION SKILLS OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN Kara, Ersin Doctor of Philosophy, Computer Education and Instructional Technology Supervisor : Prof. Dr. Kürşat Çağıltay February 2021, 349 pages Executive Functions (EFs) have a critical role in being healthy, successful, productive, and flexible individuals. EFs show tremendous development through early childhood years; thus, supporting these skills in this period is highly important. This study aims to design, develop, and implement game-based educational systems that support EFs and curriculum-related objectives. E-textile technology has been utilized to develop these games since it enables building bodily interactive games and turning everyday objects into interactive interfaces. In this regard, two types of materials, a non-wearable e-textile material used as a desktop activity and two wearable e-textile materials that interact with three digital games on a tablet PC, were designed and developed. The study was carried out using Design-Based Research (DBR) as the methodology. The research was conducted in two cycles with six ECE teachers and ten preschool children participated in Cycle 1, and three teachers and nine children participated in Cycle 2. Children were video-recorded while engaging with the activities, teachers were interviewed, and the researcher’s design notes were used to answer research questions. The qualifications and limitations of the utilized e-textile technologies and suggestions regarding educational use of these technologies are presented within the scope of the study. The results also indicated v design features that might be associated with EFs using children’s performances and gameplay features. Keywords: Executive Functions, Wearable Technology, E-Textile, Preschool Education, Design-Based Research vi ÖZ OKUL ÖNCESİ ÖĞRENCİLERİNİN YÜRÜTÜCÜ İŞLEV BECERİLERİNİ DESTEKLEMEK İÇİN EĞİTSEL E-TEKSTİLLERİN TASARLANMASI VE GELİŞTİRİLMESİ Kara, Ersin Doktora, Bilgisayar ve Öğretim Teknolojileri Eğitimi Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Kürşat Çağıltay Şubat 2021, 349 sayfa Yürütücü İşlevler (Yİ'ler) sağlıklı, başarılı, üretken ve esnek bireyler olmada kritik bir role sahiptir. Yİ'ler, erken çocukluk yıllarında muazzam bir gelişme gösterir; bu nedenle, bu dönemde bu becerileri desteklemek oldukça önemlidir. Bu çalışma, Yİ'leri ve müfredatla ilişkili hedefleri destekleyen oyun tabanlı eğitsel sistemleri tasarlamayı, geliştirmeyi ve uygulamayı amaçlamaktadır. E-tekstil teknolojisi, bedensel etkileşimli oyunlar oluşturmaya ve günlük nesneleri etkileşimli ara yüzlere dönüştürmeye olanak sağladığından bu oyunları geliştirmek için kullanılmıştır. Bu bağlamda, masaüstü aktivitesi olarak kullanılan giyilemeyen bir e-tekstil materyali ve tablet PC’de üç dijital oyunla etkileşim kuran iki giyilebilir e-tekstil materyali olmak üzere iki tür eğitsel malzeme tasarlanmış ve geliştirilmiştir. Çalışma, metodoloji olarak Tasarım Temelli Araştırma (TTA) kullanılarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırma iki döngüde gerçekleştirilmiş olup; altı okul öncesi öğretmeni ve on okul öncesi çocuğu 1. Döngüye; üç öğretmen ve dokuz çocuk Döngü 2'ye katılmıştır. Araştırma sorularını cevaplamak için çocuklar materyallerle etkileşirken videoya kaydedildi, öğretmenlerle görüşmeler yapıldı ve araştırmacının tasarım notları kullanıldı. Kullanılan e-tekstil teknolojilerinin yeterlilikleri, sınırlılıkları ve bu teknolojilerin eğitsel kullanımına ilişkin öneriler çalışma vii kapsamında sunulmuştur. Sonuçlar ayrıca, çocukların performansları ve oyun oynama özellikleri kullanılarak Yİ'lerle ilişkili olabilecek tasarım özelliklerini de belirtmiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Yürütücü İşlevler, Giyilebilir Teknoloji, E-Tekstil, Okul Öncesi Eğitim, Tasarım Tabanlı Araştırma viii To my beloved family ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank many fabulous individuals who have helped me complete this study and, more importantly, made me feel supported. First of all, I would like to express my most sincere and deepest gratitude to my advisor, Prof. Dr. Kürşat ÇAĞILTAY, for his wise guidance, support, and patience throughout my doctorate journey. I would then like to thank my thesis monitoring committee members Prof. Dr. Zahide Yıldırım, and Assist. Prof. Dr. Volkan Şahin for their informative comments, feedback, and suggestions. I also would like to thank Prof. Dr. Hatice Sancar Tokmak and Assist. Prof. Dr. Arif Yılmaz their constructive criticism and comments during the dissertation defense. I am also grateful to The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) for providing me the scholarship under the title of BIDEB-2211 during my PhD education. I would like to express my warmest thanks to Mustafa Güleç and Sezin Eşfer, who provided me with invaluable friendship and continuous support. Also, I would like to thank my dear friends Kadir Yücel Kaya, Seçil Tısoğlu Kaya, and Mithat Çiçek. We had marvelous adventures together, and I am happy to have such great friends. I also want to thank Gülenay Vardarlı Korgan for her constant help and Mustafa Şat for his contributions. I am also grateful to Mehtap Gür, Nesibe Nur Zeybek, and Ebru Aydın, who altruistically helped me complete this study. I want to thank my beloved family, who believes in and supports me unconditionally and loves me devotedly. Notably, my dear parents, Ali Kara and Fidan Kara, selflessly provided me with the opportunities that made me who I am. I would like to continue by expressing my gratitude to my brother Eser Kara and Ezel Aygün. x They always managed to cheer me up and provided me with their unconditional support. Life is more enjoyable thanks to them. Finally, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to dearest Elif Manuoğlu for her support, inspiration, and patience. Her dedication, passion, and involvement in my life mean a lot to me. Thank you for everything! xi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. v ÖZ ............................................................................................................................ vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................... x TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ xii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ xvii LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. xviii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................ xxi CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background of the Study ............................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose of the Study ...................................................................................... 3 1.3 Research Questions ....................................................................................... 5 1.4 Significance of the Study............................................................................... 5 1.5 Limitations of the Study ................................................................................ 6 1.6 Definition of Terms ....................................................................................... 8 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................. 9 2.1 Defining Executive Function Skills............................................................... 9 2.1.1 Working Memory ...................................................................................... 9 2.1.2 Inhibitory Control ...................................................................................