A Moment of Learning
Throughout our day, we observe many rich learning moments that reveal the children's thinking to us. Many of these are short moments, so we must be sensitive so that we can capture them. However short they are, they can be monumental within a child's learning process. We would like to share a brief but important moment of learning, the moment when K revealed to us that a shift in her thinking had occurred.
During a shared morning of work between the 4’s and 3’s classrooms, we observed the children who were engaged in the message area. Initially the children were creating jewelry, using paper and what the children call the rainbow string. It was interesting to watch
one of the 3’s interacting and following the work of the 4’s with great intensity.
While observing the dynamics of this play, I watched as K left the jewelry-making process and shifted toward writing on small pieces of paper.
Wondering why she had made this shift, I realized that the other girls in the classroom were busy preparing for a hula performance outside. Had she overheard the other girls? I speculated that this could be the case, for in the past we have observed her writing on a small pieces of paper. When asked about this, she explained that the writing was for everybody to come to the performance. Was she perhaps making tickets for everyone? This piece of the performance was of great interest to her. Is this what she was doing?
Continuing to watch her work, I saw a sudden change in what she was doing. She abandoned the ticket-making process for the creation of a list of who was coming to the performance.
What happened next was unexpected. I heard her asking:
K: “What’s your name, Ms. Leslie?”
I said, “Ms.Leslie”
K: “No, what’s your name, Ms Leslie?
Her emphasis on "name" led me to look closer at her work and to pause for a moment and think about the context of her question. In doing so, I noted the change in materials that she was using.
I asked, “Do you want to know how to spell my name?”
K: “Yeah.”
For each letter of my name that I shared with her, she created a symbol/letter. This was not in a hurried or whimsical fashion; each mark was made with great intention and thought. To the casual viewer, these would seem to be “merely” marks. However, something far more had occurred and was being revealed in this moment.
Click on the blue link below, and watch as K assigned a mark for each letter told to her. Notice that as she ran out of space, she made her symbols smaller to try to keep them together rather than putting them on another line. Why was that?
When K finished, she showed my name to me. A moment later, I heard K talking out loud.
K: "H's name." When I looked toward K, I found her looking toward the message boxes, copying H’s name. She would look at the message box, write a letter/symbol, and look over again, repeating the process until she was satisfied that she had all the letters/symbols from H's name represented on paper.
Once again, we found K assigning a letter to a corresponding symbolic form.
Teacher Reflections:
Children are constantly trying to make meaning of their world. During ages 4 and 5, we find them shifting from making meaning from verbal thinking to making meaning from written symbols. This is a complicated yet powerful experience for children. In our learning community, we continuously are supporting the child's learning processes by allowing them to experience the powerful functions of print. One way we do this is through our ongoing plan-making for our day. This process has had a major impact in many areas of our learning community, from literacy to the work in the atelier to the organization of thinking processes and expression of thoughts.
This moment with K allowed us to see into her theories about the printed word. K clearly knew that a spoken name is different in representation than a written name. We also saw K's confidence as she realized that each person has their own set of graphic symbols or representations that must be grouped in a particular arrangement in order for it to be called a name.
K seems to in the midst of a huge leap into the world of literacy and the written word, for we found that she had developed a theory around “names.” This was evident in her question, "What's your name, Ms. Leslie?" When I responded, "Ms. Leslie," she said, "No, what's your name, Ms. Leslie?" Clearly she wasn’t after the verbal spoken name; she wanted the symbols that would turn the spoken "Leslie" into the written "Leslie." Her theory became visible as she assigned a graphic symbol to each letter that I told her. Again, each mark was purposeful and intentional.
During this learning moment, K was making her thinking visible to us through her spoken and unspoken actions. We found K to be beginning to grasp the value of words/names in her world and environment. K nailed down the meaning or intentions of her work a few moments later when we observed her using the message boxes to scaffold and support her as she added H to the list of those coming to the performance.
She could have easily asked me for the information to spell H, but instead we found K solving this dilemma using her own resources -- looking at the message boxes nearby. This moment demonstrated to us a shift from relying on others to solving her own problems. K clearly is learning how to learn.
We have since observed K connecting and cycling through this theory of hers around names. Today she created a bracelet for Ms. Leslie that included a name tag. She again asked me for my name. As I said each letter to her, she repeated the letter and assigned a symbol. Earlier she constructed a book in which she began writing symbols and letters that were close approximations of actual letters. She clearly has emerged into the powerful world of words as she now is formulating theories about the function of words and the graphic representations that are assigned to make up words.
After observing this moment how might we support K with future provocations for learning?
Seeing K’s interest in the written word now beginning to unfold, it is important for us to continue connecting this new knowledge in meaningful ways for her. Perhaps in her plan-making, we could have her make lists for us. Perhaps at home, her parents could make a list of a couple of items that are needed from the store, such as milk (which has two letters from her name in it), etc. We will also be watching for her to make more closer approximations of how the letters look.
In this learning moment of K’s, we captured only one small slice of the thinking that is occurring in our classroom learning processes each day. These small moments will impact K's (and each of your children's) future learning for a lifetime.
Posted at 1:48 PM| Permalink
The Power Of Children's Work: Looking In
Each day we look closely at the children's work in the classroom and in the atelier. We are always looking for possible entry points for provoking learning. We recently found one in the children's block-building play in the classroom.
We decided to offer the provocation of building but with a different medium - clay. We felt that this medium would stimulate many interesting questions and allow the children to discover strategies for working with clay, a familiar medium, in new ways. What would happen when the children began to build with the clay? Would we find many learning knots (moments when the materials challenge the children's thinking) and provocations?
While the children were working with clay in the atelier, we documented the work in multiple ways -- video, dialogue, and digital stills -- in order to capture their work and their thinking.
ZOOMING IN TO UNDERSTAND
We are going to let you see into the work of one child, M. M’s work is representative of all of the children’s work. (Sharing with you the thinking and work of M will allow you to see how the teachers are thinking and working as well.)
Perhaps our interest would deepen if we knew that M was creating a house. Indeed, we can see the beginnings of one. Yet we are still left wondering why the house was constructed as it was. Why, for example, did M make the circular impressions? How did he conclude that this is what he needed to do?
It is only when we dig deeper into the child’s thinking that we truly come to understand and value the work. What if we could slip into the atelier and become part of this moment with M and observe him working on the piece? What would this reveal to us? In observing him, would we be able to notice him making deliberate choices of materials? Would we see moments when he encounters a problem or when his thinking is being challenged by the materials?
Click on the link above to join M midway through his work. Let' s take a look.
LOOKING CLOSER THROUGH REVISITING
A key piece in helping us understand children's thinking is through the revisiting of their work. Having children revisit work through the documentation allows them to go back to that moment without having to tax their memories to recall the "facts." The documentation preserves the moment and the children's work. It allows the children to reflect on their thinking and build upon it for us.
The teachers were very interested in the revisiting process with the children and their work in the atelier. We framed several intentional revisits around each child's work. The first revisit involved the entire group going to the technology lab to view each other's work, using the SmartBoard and video documentation. Each child was asked if they would like to share something about their work that we were viewing on the video clips. This was an exciting process. We listened and observed children who up to this point had only revealed a word or two about their work but now talked on and on about what they did. We could see each child stepping back into the moment as they revealed many new details to us.
Excited by what we heard and recorded in the technology lab, we felt that the children might reveal even more details if we slowed the pace. We conducted two more revisits. In the first, the children had the actual work in hand when they told us about it. In the second, we had the children revisit with the clay piece in hand and the video clips in front of them. During this revisiting process, we documented the moment as each child viewed the original video of their work. WOW! It was amazing and powerful! We watched children literally tell us with their hands what their step-by-step process was. Children who lacked words in earlier revisits now found the words flowing with no difficulty! Children recalled and revealed more new details of their work.
UNPACKING M's THINKING:
Let us look closely at M's work through the revisiting process. We will be looking through two lenses: our own revisiting of the clips and the eyes of M as he reveals his thinking to us.
Let's look first at a moment during M's construction process. We observe M applying glue to the base of the clay slab. At first glance, this doesn't seem of great significance. We notice M taking an extra amount of time gluing one particular area of the foundation. Up until this point, M's strategy was to apply the glue quickly with one or two passes over the foundation or to apply it to each piece, but here we see him slowing down and repeatedly gluing. What caused M to work in this manner? Click on the blue words above.
During our revisit with M, he spoke about the broken piece. The teachers thought that M was referencing the wall and a broken piece along the wall. Listen as M clearly helped us to see otherwise. Click on the blue words below.
In revisiting the video, M recognized and pointed out to Ms. Jordan the broken piece. We clearly see that M was repairing the broken piece using the glue. It was as if he was using the glue as a patch to repair the crack.. We also discover when we look at the entire clip that we first shared with you that M used this same deliberate strategy at one other moment in his work. See if you can discover when this was.
(Hint: it occurred down the side around the circles.)
Let's look at another learning knot.
After M moved past the broken piece, he revealed another interesting moment in his thinking process. It came when he was working on one of the corners of his house. At first glance, one may think that M was randomly placing the clay pieces on the foundation. However, upon closer observation, we find that he was visually estimating and sizing each gap and what was required to fill in the space. He at first placed the next clay piece at the end of the "row," which enabled him to turn the corner. He realized that in doing this, a gap appeared. Click on the blue words below.
Once again we see M's skillful thinking process, as he worked through this provocation. In his abandoning and shifting of the placement of the clay block, he clearly showed to us that he was thinking about each placement and piece.
Let us look at one last learning knot.
Again we find the corner to be a moment of provocation for M. Click on the blue words above. In viewing this segment of his work, notice the two moments when he placed the clay pieces into the "holes" and abandoned their use. Here he shifted into a higher thinking mode as he saw that he wasn't able to achieve his goal. It is interesting that instead of bending the longer piece to fit, he abandoned that solution and went back to his pile of clay pieces, looking at them to determine which might fit. He could have easily bent his piece to help make it fit, yet he didn't.
Why?
Although he knew that these were clay blocks that he was working with and could bend, he seemed to stick with his general knowledge about wooden blocks -- that they are strong and don't bend. We determined this by watching him abandon the bending of a block just prior to this moment, when he attempted to fill in a large hole with a piece that was too large for it. You can see that the clay block buckled when he slipped it in place. Seeing it buckle, he removed the piece..
A NEW DISCOVERY
During the revisiting process of the video, M discovered something new about his work. Listen to this moment as he made the discovery. Click on the blue words below.
In the first video clip that you viewed, there was one key question posed to M at a point when he had lots of pieces left on the table. M said that he was done. The question helped to confirm for the teachers that M's thinking process was intentional.
REFLECTIONS:
In slowing down and looking closely at M's work, we begin to value the house that M built. We are able to see the thoughtful placement of each piece.
M's thinking about his work seemed to shift and deepen through the revisiting. Will this cause him to work differently with the clay the next time? Will he become more attentive to how he places each piece?
In each of these revisiting experiences, we saw a new view of the children and their thinking processes. Through revisiting in multiple ways -- video first, the actual clay piece next, and finally the clay piece with the video -- we discovered that each revisit revealed another layer of the children's thinking. We clearly found that the most powerful moments came when the children revisited with the actual clay piece in front of them. We were in awe of those moments.
Teachers' Note: Throughout this revisiting. while we were making meaning of M's work, we could have easily looked for the math, language, and motor skills that M exhibited. We could have even taken this a step further and looked at the learning standards that applied. However, in doing so we would have stopped ourselves from seeing the richness of the experience. We would have missed M's thinking, and more importantly, we would have missed the opportunity of sharing the children's thinking and letting you see the value of making their thinking revisitable.
Let us know your thoughts! We will share a few more of these moments with each of you soon.
Posted at 7:20 AM| Permalink
Parent Plans: Reflections from Parents
We want to share the parent reflections that have come in so far. Each of you described powerful moments. Each of you shared how your child found this process and connection powerful to them. Your thoughts revealed another view of children’s learning.KK:
1. Our first reaction to this provocation was excitement in being able to do "homework" with our child. She sees her teenaged sister always doing homework, and this was her chance to do "homework," too. We knew we could not draw, but that didn't scare us as our child is ably able to decipher scribbles. We did wonder whether she would remember our story line, though we had no fear that she would make up a story for us!
2. We thought to keep our plans simple as our actual days are fairly complicated and difficult to explain to our preschooler. So, we asked our daughter to describe what we did when we left the house each morning, and we filled in the "blanks" of what happens after she gets dropped off.
3. Our child corrected our plans with things we had failed to describe and provided us suggestions on what to do next!
4. We came to realize that our child is a lot more observant of what we do than we thought.
Teacher's Note: I found your observation of K filling in the gaps awesome. She clearly has a grasp of what happens during the day. I like how she provided you with suggestions as to what to do next. This is a piece of theory-making made visible.
TT:
1. Our initial reaction was, "How do we engage T?" What should we include in our plans that he could relate to and be excited by? Equally important, how do we avoid boring him with the more mundane aspects of our daily rituals?
2. Our process was to 1) decide what activities T would most like to see included in our plans, 2) draw multiple activities on scratch paper, and 3) decide which of these sketches looked remotely recognizable (is that a vacuum cleaner or a hockey stick?). We also decided against including sketches of M (younger sister) playing at Gymboree. We didn't want him to feel as if he's missing out on extra playtime.
3. We shared our plans with T after they were complete. He viewed it as a big game: "Guess what Mommy or Daddy is doing here." He laughed and giggled at our barely recognizable depictions.
We didn't really have an AHA! moment. It was just a joy to see how curious he was about everything. Looking at my crudely drawn shopping cart, T tried to determine what groceries I had placed in it, and had I included milk? And don't forget the chocolate! The funny thing is that we never buy chocolate. He only gets it as a treat at his nana's house. I think he was trying to manipulate me!
Teacher's Note: I think that this process shows us that what we see as mundane is exciting to children. I loved the fact that T entered the moment as he began to fill up the cart! Priceless!
MN
1. My first thought was, "What are we doing this weekend?" I then decided that I would depict the plans for Sunday. On that particular Sunday, the plan for the day was to take E and her friend to hula, pick them up and take them both home for lunch with M, go get the car washed, go and have some shave ice together, go to the grandparents' home to play with their cousins, go swimming in the pool, have dinner at their house, and then go home. Whew! It was a busy day.
I then decided to pick the highlights of the day for M. He really enjoyed the shave ice. It was the first time he had requested the rainbow flavor. In the past, he only wanted strawberry. He also really enjoyed swimming in the pool with his cousins.
I was a little worried about my artistic abilities because they are limited. I had to practice drawing the shave ice before I drew it on the note card.
2. As I stated above, I decided to pick the highlights of the day for M. I also chose to represent the plan with visual illustrations of the events. Since M can't read, I decided to draw the shave ice in rainbow colors and draw a picture of his grandparents' pool. Both drawings would be easily recognizable to M.
3. I recall telling M early that Sunday morning what the plans for the day were going to be. He'll usually ask on the weekend what we are going to do that day.
I didn't show M the plan until I had completed it that evening. He reacted by smiling from ear to ear. He seemed very pleased with it. He knew right away that this plan was what we did that day.
4. I don't know if I had an aha! moment, but I did have to really think about how I was going to depict the plan for M to understand it. I wanted him to be able to see the plan and understand what it represented. I really had to process my thoughts, and I did realize that this is the same thing that M is experiencing as well: the learning process in action. Clearly, the plan worked because M easily recognized the plan.
Thanks for the thoughtful exercise.
Teacher's Note: I LOVE how you as well as the other parents have shared your thinking to this point about how you felt and worked through the process. This is clearly what we hoped this would bring to the surface for you. Although we can never go back to being a child, through thoughtful and thought-filled provocations such as these you get to experience a small piece of your child’s learning and thinking processes. Processes that we now take for granted as adults are new to children.
Please continue sharing. As new reflections come in, we can add to these!
Posted at 6:57 AM| Permalink