Building Solid Foundations for Early LearningSupporting School Readiness

Presented byVeronica Broussard(Vicki), Head Start Facilitator

Patricia Reder, Title I Curriculum Coordinator

Interactions Providing Feedback

• What does it look like?

Teachers:

• Engaging in back-and-forth exchanges with children that expand their understanding.

• Asking children to explain their thinking.

• Encouraging children’s efforts.

• What it does NOT look like.

• Teachers providing children with simple yes/no or wrong/right responses.

PROVIDING FEEDBACK THAT SUPPORTS ENGAGEMENT AND LEARNING

BACK-AND-FORTH EXCHANGES

Engage in back-and-forth exchanges that expand and elaborate on children’s learning.

For example:

Teacher: I can see you are all enjoying playing with bears. Who can tell me something special about bears?

Child: They sleep for a long time!

Teacher: That’s right, they hibernate! When do they hibernate?

Child: In the winter time.

Teacher: Yes, during the winter season! Who knows where they go to hibernate?

Exchanges continue…

EXPLAIN THINKING

Ask children to explain their thought processes.

For example:

Teacher: How do you think the boy feels in this picture?

Child: I think he’s sad.

Teacher: Why do you think that?

Child: Because his friends are in the water having fun and he can’t swim.

Teacher: Yes, he might feel a little frustrated.

ENCOURAGE EFFORTS

Encourage children’s efforts and help them stick with challenging activities.

For example:

Teacher: I can see how hard you are working to put that pattern together. Keep going, you almost have it!

Child: I’m done!

Teacher: You did it! Friends, look at Maria’s pattern. She worked so hard to complete it.

Source: The Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL)

IN THIS CLIP, THE TEACHER…

Supports children’s Science Knowledge

& Skills

Engages in back-and-forth exchanges so that children understand why spiders need webs.

Learning Activity

Classroom Scenarios

WHEN CAN I PROVIDE FEEDBACK THAT SUPPORTS ENGAGEMENT & LEARNING?

Small group is an optimal forum for focused back-and-forth exchanges.

Teachers may provide feedback throughout the school day in all classroom activities.

Tips for Teachers :Providing Feedback

Now It’s Your Turn

• Teachers can provide feedback that supports engagement and learning by:

• Engaging in back-and-forth exchanges

• Asking children to explain their thought processes

• Encouraging children’s efforts.

• Teachers may provide feedback throughout the school day.

• Teachers can improve the quality and frequency of the feedback they provide to children.

Language Modeling Expansions

What are extended Conversations?

Extended conversations are rich back-and-forth exchanges that help children develop more complex language and thinking skills.

Expanding on what Children Say Scaffolds Conversations

Look a plane!

Expansions provide additional language in response to children’s words to extend conversations.

I see a plane flying high in the sky. I go on a plane

with my grandma before.

You went on a plane with your grandma. Where did the plane

take you?

Learning Activity

Capturing Expansions(Video Activity)

How does EXPANDING ON WHAT CHILDREN SAY benefit children?

• Expands higher level thinking skills

• Provides opportunities for children to think about their thinking and evaluate their understandings

• Develops knowledge of new concepts and skills

• Enhances children’s understandings throughout the conversation

• Models back-and-forth exchanges

• Assists children in learning how to communicate more clearly and accurately

• Increases vocabulary• Helps children learn

more language to understand their actions and to express their ideas

Introducing Novel Words

Engaging in Thick

Conversations

Asking Questions

Expanding on What Children Say

Extended Conversations

How does Expanding on what children say benefit teachers?

I can add new information to the conversation.

Tells me what children understand and comprehend.

These conversations provide me with a great opportunity for ongoing child assessment and ideas for my curriculum planning.

Expand on children’s words to scaffold Language

Ways to Expand on MY Words

Make my phrase more complete.

Make my phrase more complex.

Add novel and interesting

words.

Expand on children’s words to scaffold thinking

Relate to my life.

Apply to my world.

Explain thinking.

Summarize my

thoughts.

Link to what I

already know.

Connect concepts.

Relate to my actions.

Ways to Expand on MY Words

Invite me to think deeper.

Learning Activity

Practicing Responses That Expand

Now it’s your turn!

• Expand on children’s words.

• Add more complex language.

• Add new information to support higher-level thinking.

Tips for Teachers: Expansions

Conversations Asking Questions

Learning Activity

Learning Through Meaningful Questions

What are extended conversations?

Extended conversations are rich back-and-forth exchanges that help children develop more complex language and thinking skills.

Asking questions

Asking children meaningful questions helps them focus on their own thinking and actions.

Learning Activity

Capturing Questions through Conversations

(Video Activity)

How does Asking Questions benefit children?

• Expands higher level thinking skills

• Provides opportunities for children to think about their thinking and evaluate their understandings

• Develops knowledge of new concepts and skills

• Enhances children’s understandings throughout the conversation

• Models back-and-forth exchanges

• Assists children in learning how to communicate more clearly and accurately

• Increases vocabulary• Helps children learn

more language to understand their actions and to express their ideas

Introducing Novel Words

Engaging in Thick

Conversations

Asking Questions

Expanding on What Children Say

Extended Conversations

How does asking Questionsbenefit teachers?

• Provides a lens into children’s perspectives• Informs teachers of children’s thinking processes• Assists with curriculum planning and assessment

Questions that continue conversation

• Focus on children’s interests and excitement• Request information teachers

do not already know• Match children’s language

abilities• Stimulate creative thinking• Show a teacher’s interest.

What are Open-Ended Questions?

• A question with many answers

• Require more than a one-word response

• Allow children to express their ideas and opinions.

Questions that Stop Conversation

• Intended to test • Rhetorical, no response

really needed• Too simple or complex• Close-ended examples:

• What is this called?• Are you having fun?• Did you play in the block area?• That’s a large tree, isn’t it?• How are the balls the same as the oranges?

Asking Children Questions

Open-Ended

Close-EndedMemorize

Recall

ApplyAnalyze

Problem SolvePredictCreate

Asking Meaningful Questions

Ask children about what they are doing. • What are you working on?• Tell me about your project.

Ask children to provide explanations. • Why?• How?

Ask children to make predictions. • What do you think will happen next?

Ask children to connect learning to their own lives.

• Have you seen one of these before?• What does this remind you of?

Supporting Children

Progression of difficulty (C.A.R.):

• Comment and wait.• Ask a question and wait.• Respond.

Adapted with permission.Cole, K., Maddox., M., Notari-Syverson, A., & Lim, Y.S. (2006). Language is the key: Video programs for building language and literacy in early childhood. Seattle, WA: Washington Learning Systems.StoryQUEST: Celebrating beginning language and literacy, first year annual report. (April, 2004). Unpublished report, California Institute on Human Services, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA.

Now it’s your turn!

• Use questions to extend conversations.• Focus questions on children’s interests.• Ask questions that access higher thinking skills.

−Provide explanations.−Make predictions. −Connect learning to their own lives.

• Support children when a question is too hard.

FALL 2012