How do you know?
How could we check?
Could you give me more details?
How could we explain this?
How is this the same or different?
What is a different idea?
What is an example of that?
What ideas/thoughts do you have?
What is a new idea?
What if...?
What are some different possibilities?
What questions could we ask?
What did we learn?
What could we do differently?
What could we change?
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
Monday, 24 June 2013
The art of questioning
What is a question?
"Everything. It is a way of evoking stimulating response or stultifying inquiry. It is in essence the very core of teaching." John Dewy
What are we asking questions for?
What type of questions are we asking?
Most teachers would agree that we ask questions of children for the following reasons;
"Everything. It is a way of evoking stimulating response or stultifying inquiry. It is in essence the very core of teaching." John Dewy
What are we asking questions for?
What type of questions are we asking?
Most teachers would agree that we ask questions of children for the following reasons;
- to further children's understanding
- to stimulate thinking
- to help children co-construct meaning
- to promote children's collaboration with their peers
Art resources - what are we using and why
Critiquing the resources we give children and why we give them to them
Paint
One day while my children were using the paint, it dawned on me they were becoming increasingly frustrated wth this medium because they wanted to show intricate details in their work but the paint was not allowing for this. Paint can be clumsy and sloppy until children have the understanding behind the process of painting i.e. painting in layers, allowing each layer to dry before adding the next part. It is important to teach them how to hold a paint brush correctly, and to expose them to varying sizes of brushes so they are able to paint finer detail. We talk about the reasons for choosing certain brushes for example a big brush is good for painting the background because it covers a larger area more quickly than a fine brush.
Pens
In my class the children have a selection of ink pens that they can use when outlining their artwork. We had a series of mini lessons where we discussed the pens and the types of lines they could produce depending on the tip of the pen and then what we might think of when choosing each type of pen. For example a 'whispering' pen is a fine tipped pen and is great for delicate detail such as eye lashes, whereas a 'shouting' pen is great for big outlines like hair.
Paint
One day while my children were using the paint, it dawned on me they were becoming increasingly frustrated wth this medium because they wanted to show intricate details in their work but the paint was not allowing for this. Paint can be clumsy and sloppy until children have the understanding behind the process of painting i.e. painting in layers, allowing each layer to dry before adding the next part. It is important to teach them how to hold a paint brush correctly, and to expose them to varying sizes of brushes so they are able to paint finer detail. We talk about the reasons for choosing certain brushes for example a big brush is good for painting the background because it covers a larger area more quickly than a fine brush.
Pens
In my class the children have a selection of ink pens that they can use when outlining their artwork. We had a series of mini lessons where we discussed the pens and the types of lines they could produce depending on the tip of the pen and then what we might think of when choosing each type of pen. For example a 'whispering' pen is a fine tipped pen and is great for delicate detail such as eye lashes, whereas a 'shouting' pen is great for big outlines like hair.
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Listening - what does this mean?
"We have always maintained that children have their own questions and theories, and that they negotiate the theories with others. Our duties as teachers is to listen to the children, just as we ask them to listen to one another. Listening means giving value to others, being open to them and what they have to say. Listening legitimizes the other person's point of view, thereby enriching both the listener and the speaker. What teachers are asked to do is create contexts where such listening can take place."
Carla Rinaldi cited in Edwards, Gandini and Forman (1998)
How do we authentically listen to children?
Listening is not just about listening with your ears, it is about listening with all of your senses. Through listening with all of your senses you will be able to discover provocations for projects and direction in existing projects. Listening with all your senses is not easy. There are many things that stand in the way of authentically listening to children, for example, your values, pre-conceived ideas, assumptions, biases, 'rules' etc etc Listening is not about producing answers for children, rather it formulates more questions. These things challenge us when we try to listen to children.
I recently listened to a presentation by a fellow educator who felt challenged by what the children were 'telling' her. A group of boys in her group loved the cartoon character, Ben 10, they would bring in small figurines and re-inact the cartoon in the classroom. At first she tried to resist this interest and stop the play through 'rules'. Then she realised that the children valued this play and that she wasn't really listening to them. Based on this realisation she changed her tact and embraced this play, encouraging the boys to draw pictures, create sets and props using clay and cardboard, and re-inact the story lines. This developed into a project for the children.
I see my role as an educator to listen, recognise, support, challenge, extend children's thinking and theories by creating an environment where this is valued.
Carla Rinaldi cited in Edwards, Gandini and Forman (1998)
How do we authentically listen to children?
Listening is not just about listening with your ears, it is about listening with all of your senses. Through listening with all of your senses you will be able to discover provocations for projects and direction in existing projects. Listening with all your senses is not easy. There are many things that stand in the way of authentically listening to children, for example, your values, pre-conceived ideas, assumptions, biases, 'rules' etc etc Listening is not about producing answers for children, rather it formulates more questions. These things challenge us when we try to listen to children.
I recently listened to a presentation by a fellow educator who felt challenged by what the children were 'telling' her. A group of boys in her group loved the cartoon character, Ben 10, they would bring in small figurines and re-inact the cartoon in the classroom. At first she tried to resist this interest and stop the play through 'rules'. Then she realised that the children valued this play and that she wasn't really listening to them. Based on this realisation she changed her tact and embraced this play, encouraging the boys to draw pictures, create sets and props using clay and cardboard, and re-inact the story lines. This developed into a project for the children.
I see my role as an educator to listen, recognise, support, challenge, extend children's thinking and theories by creating an environment where this is valued.
Sunday, 9 December 2012
2012 Project - An investigation into Roundness
In this post I would like to give some background as to how this project and investigation into 'roundness' evolved.
In term 2 the Junior School were given the directive to produce a school show. The theme for the show was the 'Olympics' as it was topical at the time. Each class was asked to choose a country and to produce a dance item that reflected their culture of their country of choice.
I decided that our class would choose China as our country. I spent sometime researching on the internet about Chinese classical dance. Dance is not a strength of mine so I really wanted to find out what sort of movements they used in Chinese classical dance. In the course of my research I came across the Shen Yun which had a short promotional video. The company had interviewed dancers and had asked them to explain the underlying principles of Chinese classical dance. One of the concepts in Classical Chinese Dance that stood out to me was that of the roundness of movements, as opposed to ballet where the movements are quite straight.
Because I believe in child centered learning and that they are capable learners, I wanted the children to be involved as much as possible in the process of choreographing the dance. I decided this concept of roundness would provide an excellent foundation for our dance.
In visual art we looked at the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The children created their own Hundertwasser inspired art.
Over the term we explored this concept of roundness through a variety of ways including visual art, language, construction, and of course dance!
In visual art we looked at the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The children created their own Hundertwasser inspired art.
We used wire, pebbles and the OHP to explore the question ‘What is a line?’ We built up a visual concept of ‘roundness’ the children so the could start thinking about demonstrating 'roundness' with their bodies.
Through our exploration of roundness the children began building a bank of rich descriptive words such as; swirly, twirly, bumpy, wiggly, spirally, twisty, squiggly, jiggly to describe the movement of their bodies.
The children had been watching alot of the Olypmic games at home and so these conversations flowed into the classroom. Some of them where aware that the Olympics were in London which the children were keen to locate on a map. Other children in the class had travelled recently and were also aware of where they had been. This sparked an investigation into maps. I found various types of maps for the children to look at for example a map of the world, a map of New Zealand and a map of Auckland. This led to discussions about perspective and a 'bird's eye view'.
I organised the children into 3 groups and they had to collaboratively choreograph their dance and then record these movements from a bird's eye view. Some of the children found it challenging and frustrating to work in a group to design their dance, so there was alot of negotiating and problem solving that we as teachers supported the children through.
I organised the children into 3 groups and they had to collaboratively choreograph their dance and then record these movements from a bird's eye view. Some of the children found it challenging and frustrating to work in a group to design their dance, so there was alot of negotiating and problem solving that we as teachers supported the children through.
The value of recycling and sustainability
How do we show children we value recycling and sustainability?
I strongly value recycling so the children are encouraged to bring in things from home for us to use at School. For example cardboard boxes, glass jars, wrapping paper, ribbon, card etc
We have regular conversations about how we can use things in a beautiful or useful way again. I think there is a lot of value in children looking at things that we would normally throw away and imagine the many possibilities beyond its current use.
It also means that we are able to reduce our classroom costs because instead of buying these materials to use in projects, we collect them. I also try and look for things that can be used as storage containers in the classroom for example glass jars instead of buying them from the shops.
Transforming things that might have normally been thrown away, or that are ugly/broken, creates a sense of beauty amongst children. One such project that evolved in my classroom was centered around a horrible cheap plastic chair that we had inherited as a 'birthday chair'. Not content with using this chair I challenged the children to beautify the chair. The detail in their designs was breath-taking and we settled on using elements of each child's design in the chair. The children then set about transforming the chair using papier mache, wire and cardboard. They completed the chair by painting it. It truly is a birthday throne which the children cherish and adore sitting in when it's their birthday!
I strongly value recycling so the children are encouraged to bring in things from home for us to use at School. For example cardboard boxes, glass jars, wrapping paper, ribbon, card etc
We have regular conversations about how we can use things in a beautiful or useful way again. I think there is a lot of value in children looking at things that we would normally throw away and imagine the many possibilities beyond its current use.
It also means that we are able to reduce our classroom costs because instead of buying these materials to use in projects, we collect them. I also try and look for things that can be used as storage containers in the classroom for example glass jars instead of buying them from the shops.
Transforming things that might have normally been thrown away, or that are ugly/broken, creates a sense of beauty amongst children. One such project that evolved in my classroom was centered around a horrible cheap plastic chair that we had inherited as a 'birthday chair'. Not content with using this chair I challenged the children to beautify the chair. The detail in their designs was breath-taking and we settled on using elements of each child's design in the chair. The children then set about transforming the chair using papier mache, wire and cardboard. They completed the chair by painting it. It truly is a birthday throne which the children cherish and adore sitting in when it's their birthday!
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Materials available in the classroom
What choices are we making and why? The materials that we choose to have available to the children reflect our image of the child. If we believe children are capable, what resources are we providing them with?
In my classroom the children have access to a variety of materials such as clay, wire, recycled materials, and a variety of other open ended resources for them to express their ideas with.
I have a strong sense of sustainability and recycling, so there are many different types of materials that are collected and available to the children.
Children are given time to explore many different types of materials in order that they will become familiar with the characteristics and properties of these materials. The children are then able to select the materials they want to use to represent their ideas.
In my classroom the children have access to a variety of materials such as clay, wire, recycled materials, and a variety of other open ended resources for them to express their ideas with.
I have a strong sense of sustainability and recycling, so there are many different types of materials that are collected and available to the children.
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