ECEC 203: Improving Personal Practice - Reflection on the Pedagogy of Listening
In reading and
studying this week on the importance of play and the rights of the child, I
have been really challenged to look deeply at my role in this process. As well
as a worker within the early childcare setting, I find it’s really easy to go
to work and put on my professional ‘hat’ and participate more fully in what is
going on around me. At work, I engage in play with children, conversations with
children, and observing children. But what do these practices look like in my
day-to-day life? Are they embodied in who I am? How can I become more present
and available: to listen, observe, and learn collaboratively with the child? I
want to become more engaged not just with children in an early childcare education
setting, but also the children in my home that I live with every day?
I decided to
undergo an experiment. The framework of my experiment involved limiting my
behaviour in the following ways for one full day.
-
Today
I would refrain from distraction in the presence of children. There would be no
computer, no tasks, just observation, participation and conversation
-
I
would refrain from direction and instruction and instead practice active
listening
-
I
would ask more questions than statements
-
I
would allow as much play as wanted and participate in play when invited
-
I
would attempt to stay present in the moment and take mental notes, a few snap
shots on my phone, and record when necessary, using a pen and paper.
-
I
would praise and reward less. While encouraging and participating more.
-
I
would avoid my own work and, if I needed to complete a task, I would excuse
myself, complete the task in the office and return to be fully present as
quickly as possible.
Why I Chose
these Controls for the experiment:
Listening, does
not mean my absence from the conversation and observation does not mean my
absence from the activity. We know that listening is important but I think
educators, parents and adults can easily slip into the teaching mindset. Of course as SECD (Guiding and Teaching, n.d.) states, “parents are children’s
first teachers” (Guiding and Teaching, n.d., para.1). Clinton’s thoughts in the
Image of the Child raised this question for me: If I were to observe
myself, what kind of teacher would I describe myself as? Do I see my role as
the one who writes on the empty slate or fills the vessel or do I see children
as collaborators in a shared learning experience (Guiding and Teaching, n.d.)?
Vygotsky revolutionized
childhood development theory with his idea that children were not simply blank
slates to be written on but where contributors to the process. Vygotsky’s concept
of the zone of proximal development hinged on 3 key components (Guiding and
Teaching, n.d.):
1.) Children
have something to bring to the table and must be active participants in their
learning with ideas to contribute. There is a low level of achievement and
learning that children can and will do entirely on their own through their own
observation, play, and manipulation of things in their environment (Guiding and
Teaching, n.d.).
2.) Adults and
educators can elevate the learning by helping the child. It is the role of the
teacher to guide through careful preparation of the environment, guiding
conversation, and extending the activity (Guiding and Teaching, n.d.).
3.) More can be
achieved together. The zone of proximal development is realized when the gap
between what the child can do on their own and what the child can do with a
guiding and caring adult is closed and the space between these to achievements
is the zone of proximal development. Within this zone both the child and the
adult share a learning experience and both benefit (Guiding and Teaching, n.d.).
In an effort to
practice this theory, my role in the experiment could not be observation alone,
but needed to involve careful and restrained participation and conversation in
order to allow my children to contribute to the experience. Conversation would
be a necessary and key component. During the experiment, I wanted to focus on
acknowledging the importance of things the children said while asking more
meaningful questions and listening to their thoughts and ideas. BC Early
Learning Framework states that the goal of listening is not to produce answers
to create meaningful questions (Government of BC, 2019). I wondered what the
children and I would learn together if every question was up for grabs, able to
be put on the table, all possibilities explored and considered. I wondered what
we would learn together. Sir Collins points out the importance of conversation;
that “the conversation itself is the learning” (Guiding and Teaching, n.d.). I
was eager to explore what mutual learning could take place within a conversation.
I knew that my own tendency was to provide answers or statements including, “I
don’t know,” as a way to get away from uncomfortable feeling of not knowing the
answer or not having time to engage. I wondered how many opportunities I was
missing out on when I didn’t fully enter into conversation and share ideas with
the children. It was 7 am and one of my children that needs help getting out of
bed because of a disability was calling me. The day was beginning. I will
follow up at the close of the day with my own reflection.
What I Discovered
Our day was not a magical
unicorn day, but the tweaks within myself opened to door to some meaningful
conversations between myself and my three younger daughters.
“Where do we go when we die?”
“Mom what does ½ mean in
this recipe?”
These are just a few snapshots
of my day engaging in the experiment. They are normal moments made extraordinary
through the pedagogy of listening (Government of BC, 2019). I refrained from
providing quick answers to any of these questions. Rather I asked questions
back. I listened and the conversation went on and grew into learning. Their
thoughts added to mine and I found myself thinking about Grandmother’s, grocery
stores and community infrastructure, fractions, and living math. My mind was
growing along with theirs.
Rhizomes
Everywhere
BC Early Learning framework
offers four essential components of emerging pedagogical framework, “Pedagogy
of listening, critical reflection, collaborative dialogue, and pedagogical narration”
(Government of BC, 2019, p. 47). Rhizomes are a complex and interconnected root
system that support some plants including ferns (Rhizomes: Definition & Examples, 2016). The sprawling and branching root system is
intricate and expansive when fully unveiled under the surface; but is not made
plain by looking only at the simple fern above (Rhizomes: Definition
& Examples, 2016). So much is
going on under the surface. Old and young are connected in this root system
that branches horizontally much like the conversation and mutual respect that
occurs between children, adults, and educators in their lives. This root system
also causes the plant system to be more resilient and withstand harsh climates
and long winters (Rhizomes: Definition & Examples, 2016). This speaks to the speaks to the strength and
longevity of growth that happens when we carefully construct learning framework
through these four areas.
Making Room for
Ideas
Educators need to make room
for the conversations with children, families, and cultures. Pedagogical listening
makes room for the ideas of children, the story of families, and the stories of
culture. Clinton (n.d.) tells us, when educators ask questions with a narrow
answer in mind and praise correct answers, they limit the child’s creatively
and set the bar for ideas so much lower than what can be achieved through
conversing back and forth, stacking and building on ideas as we carry a
conversation forward (Guiding and Teaching, n.d.). We need to make room for
families to be involved in the process and work to listen to their story. What
do they love about their child, what do they struggle with, what are their hopes
and goals for their child and how do they want to be supported? Finally, making
room for culture. Children need to feel connected to their culture and their roots.
For Indigenous Children, connection to the land, knowledge of ancestral traditions,
and specific views of the larger family unit and roles within the family are important
things to stay connected to as they grown (Gerlach et al., 2008). All children
benefit from traditional ways of knowing through connection and care for
natural environments. There is so much room for educators to grow within
themselves and grow the conversation.
Reflection
How can you tweak your
conversational approach with children?
What is one story that you
have gleaned from a family of a child you work with helped you become a better
educator?
How can you become more in
touch with culture and customs of families in your care or Indigenous Peoples?
References
Government of British Columbia. (2019). British
Columbia early learning framework. Victoria, BC: Crown Publications, Queen’s
Printer for British Columbia.
Jamieson, J., Bertrand, J., Koshyk, J.
& Elfenbaum, M. (Eds.). (n.d.). The science of early child development
(North American ed.). [Online resource]. Winnipeg, MB: Red River College.
Retrieved from http://www.bc.scienceofecd.com/
Rhizomes: Definition & Examples. (2016, January 14).
Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/rhizomes-definition-examples-quiz.html.
Gerlach, A., Smith, M. G.,
& Schneider, J. (2008). Creating
pathways for the dreams of our children ~ Aboriginal early childhood
development and care. https://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/education2/creating_pathways-aboriginal_early_years,_little_drum_consulting,_2009.pdf
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