Teacher, "What did you do this weekend?"
Child, "Nothing"
Teacher, "What?! Nothing?! You did not play???"
Child, laughs and replies "I played with my brother."
Teacher, "What did you play?"
Child, "Laser-tag."
Teacher, "Where did you play laser-tag?"
Child, "at home."
Teacher, "Oh, that sounds fun! Where did you get that from?"
Child, "Nana at Christmas."
Teacher, "That is a pretty fun present. What are you creating?"
Child, "I made cupcakes."
Teacher, "What are your favorite cupcakes?"
Child, "Pink ones."
Teacher, "Those sound yummy, I like plain vanilla ones."
Child, "I like those too."
Teacher, "What did you have for breakfast today?"
Child, "Mini-waffles, bacon, and juice."
Teacher, "I like mini waffles with syrup."
Child, "Me too, I had syrup this morning."
Teacher, "Who made you that delicious breakfast?"
Child, "My mom."
Teacher, "How lucky you are to have a mom who makes breakfast for you."
Child, nod his head.
While the teacher and child were conversing, not a lot of eye contact was taking place as each one was taking the time to create with the play dough. Instead of focusing solely on speaking with one another the teacher took this time to learn more about the child and his home. Letting a conversation flow in a manner that not as direct offers each participant a chance to express him/herself in a relaxed way.
The teacher did her best to keep engaging the child in the conversation by asking many questions s well as showing enthusiasm and excitement over the answers she was receiving from the child. Rainer Dangel & Durden (2010) explains how a teacher "incorporates many references to school activities and the children's homes and families in her conversations" (p. 77). Doing this promotes a level of thinking and language for the children to grow with. The teacher from my observation could have tried to offer the child more opportunities to lead the conversation as opposed to asking so many questions. Even if some silence was offered, this should have given the child an opportunity to begin his own questioning.
Since the year is almost done, the teacher does know this child and his family very well but if some of these questions were asked to a child who many not have breakfast made for him daily then it could be a difficult question to ask as the answer could stir strong emotions for the child. Also as the teacher is clearing leading this conversation, she has the control of where the conversation leads. Rainer Dangel & Durden (2010) share "another important consideration in examining teacher-child conversations is the role of power (who decides who talks, when, and about what)" (p.78). If there were topics the child did not want to talk about and the teacher persevered it could lead to the child not feeling worthy or interested in the conversation at all.
While I do try to gain information about a child and have simple conversations with him/her, I do try to let the child lead the conversation. I can often find some common ground or understanding about the topic and this leads to a further dialogue. The chart below is something I stumbled upon recently and it is something I want to work on implementing when my new class in the fall. I want to give children the power words and also that self-with and independence to feel as if he/she is thinking on his/her own. While I have been praised greatly by my coordinator at my current preschool in how I am able to speak with young children and in times of redirection how I am able to remove emotion and state facts for the child to understand, I think in just a regular conversation I need to step back and listen more instead of inserting myself too often.
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| Photo Credit: https://letsplaythespeechandlanguageway.com |
Reference
Rainer Dangel, J., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81.
"How can you get your kids to open up and talk with you? Most kids talk nonstop when they’re in preschool. In elementary school, many of them begin to clam up with their parents. But there are strategies to get your kids to talk with you, and the more they get used to it, the more natural it will become"(Markham, 2019).
ReplyDeleteThe conversation begins with the parent or teacher, but we should not be the ones leading all the time. There are times when the children should the conversation and often times as seen in the observation, they need a little nudge to keep talking.
Markham, L. (2019). Foolproof strategies for getting your kids to talk. Aha ! Parenting.https://www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/communication/foolproof-strategies-talk 26-May-19.
Mallory,
DeleteYou are correct. I often try to let the child begin the conversation but often I will ask a simple leading question to jumpstart a dialogue and often the child and take me for a ride, so to speak because the tangents that occur when speaking with young children. I think this is very important at the beginning of the year to establish the line of trust about communication with each child to build and grow upon as the year progresses.
As my son has gotten older and refuses to tell me anything about his day, I just require him to tell me one thing about his whole day when he gets off his bus. It can be a simple one word or full details about the class. I have to stop myself from asking for more information and be satisfied with his response, although I do cherish the days I get a lot of information. Even this past week he has a very difficult moment at school, which I knew of prior to seeing him at the end of his day, but as soon as he saw me he explained everything to me so I am glad we have this exchange daily.
Great blog! I especially loved the chart you shared as it helps to think about different ways to get children thinking on their own instead of doing as we tell them to. The conversation with the child is a lot lie many of the conversations that I have heard taking place at the meal tables in many of the Head Start classrooms that I have worked in. The teacher usually generates a conversation with the children at her table and they all join in. As the conversation continues the teacher tends to lead the conversation to gather the information that she is looking for. I tend to use drawings and share time to gather more information. As each child draws a picture to bring to share time, I give them the idea of what to draw, such as something special that happened this week, or something special about themselves. Through this activity, I have even heard one child rap a whole song for his friends. At least when he makes it famous I can say that I knew him in Head Start.
ReplyDeleteSarah,
DeleteThat is a truly wonderful idea on how to have children open up and begin a dialogue with you. In my class, we often accompany the children's art with a dictation of the picture and some days it is difficult for me to keep up with the paragraphs some children are providing me. I have loved over the years watching the shy/reserved child flourish into a chatterbox by spring break simply because he/she was not rushed into speaking with others. Each child needs to have time to explore the environment and observe. I know I take some time to open up to others so why would this be any different for a young child.