# data[].attributes.body
Education.vic.gov.au. (2006). Victorian Early Years Learning And Development Framework. [online] Available at: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/providers/edcare/veyldframework.pdf [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].

Rinaldi, C 2001, ‘The Pedagogy Of Listening: The Listening Perspective from Reggio Emilia’, Vol.8, no.4. Avaliable at: https://vucollaborate.vu.edu.au/d2l/le/content/201069/viewContent/2470523/View (Accessed 23 Oct. 2018)

Mlvpz.org. (2006). Making Learning Visible: Documentation Exhibition. [online] Available at: http://www.mlvpz.org/documentation/project6f5e.html [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].

Krechevsky, M, Mardell, B, Rivard, M & Wilson, DG 2013, Visible learners. [electronic resource] : promoting Reggio-inspired approaches in all schools, San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Brand, 2013., viewed 23 October 2018, <http://wallaby.vu.edu.au:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat06414a&AN=vic.b3929936&site=eds-live>.

# data[].attributes.body
Reflect/review

Some of these students who I took for the one on one group had expressed that they sometimes struggle with their concentration and listening when there is a large group. Listening is a skill that for some isn’t so easily developed and may need some extra time and care. When in the small group setting these students demonstrated the pedagogy of listening. ‘Listening is not easy. It requires a deep awareness and a suspension of our judgements and prejudices. It requires openness to change. It demands that we value the unknown’. (Rinaldi, C 2001).

Analyse

All of these students throughout this moment demonstrated that they are confident and involved learners. The willingness of each student to be involved and contribute to the activities shows that they are eager to learn and challenge themselves. ‘As children grow, so does their sense of inquiry and thirst for knowledge’ (Education.vic.gov.au, 2006, page 21). It amazed me to see even the student’s who seemed to struggle still giving it go and it made me reflect on my own primary school education. I thought about how sometimes if I found something to be difficult I would automatically want to give up. But not these students, the small group that I took for half a lesson really wanted to listen and be involved in their own learning.

Plan

Going back to the question I posed about whether or not smaller groups work better for children who struggle to comprehend certain tasks I feel this really does work especially for the students that I observed and helped. As a future educator it is important that I understand not all children are going to comprehend things as easy as others, it may take a bit more time and more one on one work within a small group to get them to understand. I wondered to myself if I had of had more one on one time within my primary schooling especially in Numeracy maybe I wouldn’t feel like it isn’t my strong point.

# data[].attributes.body
This was the question I came up with to share with the small group I was taking. I wanted it to be a simple question but still be a challenge for the students. We sat in a circle all together I explained what was happening and what I wanted them to do and then the learning began.

# data[].attributes.body
This was a pre assessment table I completed with the student’s that my mentor asked me to do. It was for 5 students who struggled in the understanding of Division in the last weeks class. I then was given the opportunity to take this small group and go over any questions they may have had and to work closely with them to help them understand the concept.

Mr. M loves using the pre assessment table as a guide to helping any students who may need more one on one time with a certain topic. He mentioned to me how important it would be for me to incorporate this type of method into my teaching practice one day. Not only would it help the students but also me when it comes to writing reports and seeing any changes or improvements the students have made.

# data[].attributes.headline
Do small groups work better for children who struggle with comprehending certain tasks within the classroom?

# data[].attributes.subject
Do small groups work better for children who struggle with comprehending certain tasks within the classroom?

# data[].attributes.body
This was part of the beginning of the lesson where Mr. M put up a visual description of a worded problem in which the students needed to record the number sentence and to try and solve the problem as well. As a class Mr. M went through a series of questions and encouraged many children to give answers and contribute to the discussion. Before the beginning of this lesson Mr. M had asked me to help identify any student’s who may be struggling with the concept and who need extra attention. Once the students went back to their tables and had a chance to complete other questions on the board I went around to a select few of students that Mr. M had told me about to see how they were feeling.

# data[].attributes.body
On Wednesday the 11th October the grade 5/6 class was completing their lesson in Numeracy. The topic they were looking at was Division. Mr. M had explained to me that the students had briefly gone over Division the week before and he was going to begin with a refresher. This primary school is lucky enough to have access to interactive white boards in which a lot of the work is demonstrated on.

# data[].attributes.headline
Completing my own pre assessment learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Completing my own pre assessment learning

# data[].attributes.body
Reflect/review

The way these students communicated and listened to one another demonstrated the Pedagogy of Listening in many ways. Firstly, with the use of the ‘Fish Bowl’ method taught students about the importance of listening to one another and communicating their thoughts in a respectful and polite manner. As described in (Rinaldi, C 2001),  ‘Listening should welcome and be open to differences, recognising the value of the other’s point of view and interpretation’. Which was clear to me from witnessing the students participating in both the class and table discussions.

Analyse

Throughout this moment all students demonstrated many outcomes according to the VEYLF. Especially the fact that all of the students had a strong sense of identity. Throughout this classroom all children that I witnessed were ‘Comfortable in the here and now of their lives and are able to grow and thrive because they feel they are secure and belong’. (Education.vic.gov.au, 2006, page 18). These students were also confident and involved learners as they participated and contributed to all of the class experiences and discussions. Lastly ‘Children are effective communicators’. (Education.vic.gov.au, 2006, page 22).

Plan

My question at the beginning of this documentation panel stated whether or not group work helps students. To me personally witnessing and observing this lesson group work is vital and should be included throughout a child’s education. It is important that students understand that not everyone can easily communicate their feelings and understandings but should be given the chance when in a group setting. I feel also that students learn from one another. When they tell a story or provide new information about something it will ultimately help their peers. As a future educator this type of learning style using a method such as the ‘Fish Bowl’ is something I will 100% incorporate into my teaching practice. It allows students to learn new life skills as well as be able to really listen to each other.

# data[].attributes.body
One conversation in particular arose between myself and a student. It was based on the writing:

Student A: Miss. Elyse do you know what really happened with the Titanic?

Me: It hit an iceberg didn’t it (laughing)

Student A: Well it actually was proven not long ago that it wasn’t the main cause. Apparently there was engine failure before they even came close to the ice berg

Me: Wow!! I had no idea, I just thought it was the iceberg

Student A: You probably think that because of the movie, but I read in an article that it wasn’t the main cause

This conversation I had with this student blew me away at how much knowledge he had. I am so used to being around younger children that I felt myself learning from these students.

# data[].attributes.body
I asked Mr. M what the fish bow method was and he told me this:

‘The meaning of the ‘Fish Bowl’ method is to help children to produce conversation and learn to agree/disagree with one another in a mature sense. It is a chance for all student’s to be heard and given the chance to explain themselves. It is an open space. My students know it is okay to disagree with another peer just as long as it is done in a mature and respectful matter’.

I sat with the group of 8 students and was able to witness the fish bowl method first hand. The conversations that were produced were astonishing. The students each needed to state what they thought the main idea the piece of writing was about and list 3 reasons why. Some students were able to do so, some needed more help. One thing I noticed was how respectful and mature each student was when the other was talking. Every student was really listening and allowing them to speak.

# data[].attributes.body
This is the piece of writing that students needed to read and begin their own table conversations about. I sat on a table with 8 students both in grade 5 and 6. Mr. M had mentioned prior that he wanted them to incorporate the ‘Fish Bowl’ method.

# data[].attributes.body
Mr. M: Student A, I just want to let you know I am going to come back and ask you the same question I am about to ask Student B. So make sure your listening so I can get an explanation from you.

Student A: Then proceded to answer the question as he had put his hand up willingly.

Mr. M: Then goes back to Student B, and he then explains what his peer had just said.

I liked his way of encouraging his student’s to communicate and involve themselves in the conversations instead of putting them on the spot. That way it removes any feeling of embarrassment if a student may not know the answer. Mr. M also really likes to allow his students to teach other students, as mentioned above he said he wanted one student to listen to his peer and recount what they might have said. It makes for a much more relaxed approach and was evident that many students were involved in the class discussions.

# data[].attributes.body
Before beginning the task Mr. Marasco set out for the student’s he read through the piece of writing and asked a series of questions such as

‘What is this article about?’

‘How is this article written?’

‘What is the main idea/context of this writing?’

Mr. M went through these questions with the student’s and encouraged many to answer. One thing I noticed about Mr.M’s teaching style was that he never put any student on the spot to answer a particular question. For example this was a recount that I remembered:

# data[].attributes.headline
Does group work help with student’s overall understanding about a certain topic? Or may their voice be lost if they don’t understand or are shy?

# data[].attributes.subject
Does group work help with student’s overall understanding about a certain topic? Or may their voice be lost if they don’t understand or are shy?

# data[].attributes.body
I was placed in a composite grade 5/6 classroom at St. Pauls Primary School in Sunshine West. Mr. Marasco is the teacher and the class is made up of 28 children. The placement began on Monday 8th October, I felt instantly welcomed by all teachers and student’s and I was very excited to begin. This moment I documented and observed took place on Tuesday 11th October and was part of the student’s reading and writing block. It was based on a written piece about the sinking of the Titanic which the children had to read and discuss their thoughts and have discussions.

# data[].attributes.headline
Learning to communicate effectively using ‘The Fish Bowl’ method

# data[].attributes.subject
Learning to communicate effectively using ‘The Fish Bowl’ method

# data[].attributes.body
Grade 5/6 classroom
Teacher: Mr. Marasco
Primary School: St Pauls Primary School Sunshine West

# data[].attributes.body
Reflect/Review

Sitting down with these children listening to their conversations with one another made me want to understand the true meaning behind the many questions these children ask. I understand that children have so many questions and are always asking ‘Why, how and what?’ that’s when I began to incorporate these simple questions into this learning experience.  When reading through the ’10 Gecko’s’ I stopped and asked these questions. According to (Rinaldi, C 2001),  ‘Listening is generated by curiosity, desire, doubt and uncertainty. This is not insecurity but the reassurance that every ‘truth’ is so only if we are aware of it’s limits and its possible falsification’.

Analyse

Throughout this moment the children demonstrated many outcomes according the VEYLF framework. In particular, they showed me that they are confident and involved learners, are also effective communicators as well as having a strong sense of identity. ‘When children seek and accept new challenges they show autonomy and agency’ (Education.vic.gov.au, 2006), page 18). Not only did this group of children work so well together as a group they were able to demonstrate that ‘They learn with their peers, sharing their feelings and thoughts about learning with others’ (Education.vic.gov.au, 2006, page 21). To me as a future educator it is important that children able to work within a group dynamic and be able to understand that not only will they be learning from a teacher but also from other students.

Plan
Going back to the question I posed at the beginning of this documentation panel, I questioned how children can so easily re read the same book over and over again without becoming bored of it. I realised that children love to read something they are familiar with and find easy to understand. Especially the Gecko book that I re read many times to different groups of children. They were able to comprehend what they needed to do by counting each of the Gecko’s. Something as simple as that sparks an interest and reassurance to children and encourages them to want to keep going. It also allows a chance for other students to encourage their peers by helping. I wondered about including a learning experience like this one into a classroom one day. I feel children learn best with direction and hands on activities. As a future teacher I want to incorporate fun and interesting books that will make kids want to read and learn. Sitting there listening and watching how intrigued they were showed me that they enjoyed themselves and the fact that they wanted me to keep reading the same book answers my question about why they love re reading the same books.

# data[].attributes.body
One girl in particular was seeming to struggle with the counting aspect, so I made sure to help her and encourage her friends as well if she got stuck. I think it is so important to teach young children the importance of the fact that not all your friends are up to the same stage that they might be individually. I sat there with this girl and even used my hands as a guide to counting the number of Gecko’s she saw on each page. It really surprised me how patient the other two children were whilst I took a bit more time with the other girl. It made me think about how I wanted to be perceived as a teacher and the core focus that I want children to understand which is that everybody learns differently and at sometimes a different pace which is okay.

# data[].attributes.body
These children sat here talking to one another, showing each other their favourite pictures in the books they were reading. One girl in particular came up to me and showed me the book mentioned above ’10 Green Gecko’s’.

Me: What did you want to show me?

Child A: Look Elyse I am able to count all the Gecko’s that I have found (pointing at the page in the book)

Me: Wow! That is amazing

Child B: Elyse can you read that book to all of us? We wanna read that one (pointing at the book)

Me: Sure thing let’s read it all together

Us four all sat on the floor together and read the book aloud to them but instead of me counting the Gecko’s on each page I encouraged the children to point and count. Not only was this helping them become stronger counters but also encouraged the children to take turns as each one did one page each.

# data[].attributes.body
When sitting with a group of children I asked them to go and pick their favourite books and sit and look at the pictures and try and read the book the best they could.

# data[].attributes.headline
‘Why is reading so fascinating to children? How can they sit there and re read the same book over and over again without getting sick of it? This is the question I asked myself’

# data[].attributes.subject
‘Why is reading so fascinating to children? How can they sit there and re read the same book over and over again without getting sick of it? This is the question I asked myself’

# data[].attributes.body
As you can see from the above photograph Nadia and Mel decided to make a book holder that resembled a tree. I thought this was a really special touch and the children absolutely loved to sit and read in this corner.

I sat in this corner with many children throughout my week, they would also ask me to come and sit with them to read them their favourite books. It made me excited that these children wanted to listen and read it is so important that reading is incorporated into a child’s learning early on as it is the foundation for many learning experiences in their future.

In particular there were a group of three girls who everyday I would sit in that corner with for at least an hour reading many books to them. One book that was their absolute favourite was called ’10 Green Gecko’s’ written by Phillip Gwynne and Lloyd Foye.

# data[].attributes.body
This pre kinder room was set up to encourage children to learn and be hands on. One main part of the room was the reading corner which was set up so beautifully and was inviting and relaxing. The educators Nadia and Mel wanted to create a space that encourage the children to want to read and develop those skills.

# data[].attributes.headline
There is so much to learn from this world once children begin reading and listening to stories

# data[].attributes.subject
There is so much to learn from this world once children begin reading and listening to stories

# data[].attributes.body
The pedagogy of listening that is taking place within this learning experience was that the children understood ‘That they have a voice, know how to listen and want to be listened to by others’ (Rinaldi, C 2001). For me in this moment I wanted to try and facilitate conversation whilst still allowing the children to complete the task without being distracted. When I sat there and listened to the children communicate they would ask each other questions and notice certain things one another were doing. ‘Listening produces questions, not answers’ (Rinaldi, C 2001 ), which was evident through this moment.

Analyse
Through the lens of the VEYLF framework these children showed me that they are confident and involved learners by wanting to participate in this activity and were egar to do so.

‘Children that are confident and involved learners have positive dispositions towards learning, experience challenge and success and are able to positively contribute to other children’s learning’ (Education.vic.gov.au, 2006, page 21)

Plan

This moment shared with these children makes me think about the many possibilities there are to share more learning experiences just like this one. As a future educator I want to make sure that I provide enriched experiences like this to promote a child’s willingness to learn and be creative and overall be confident and involved with their learning. As I witnessed from this moment these children were involved and wanted to read, draw and learn. Obviously not every child has those exact feelings so it is important for me as a future teacher to enable children to want to learn and be excited to learn. Rainbows were the prompt for this learning experience and this was something that interested the children, making sure there is something that excites them is important and something I learnt from this moment.

# data[].attributes.body
As you can see from the above pictures these two drawings are very different to each other. That’s what makes this learning experience so special because there is no right or wrong way, it’s how these children interpreted a rainbow to be in their own minds. I loved both of these drawings because it showed me just how different these two children were. I also thought about how they were sitting right next to each other and I noticed that neither of them looked at each other’s work instead just focused on their own.

# data[].attributes.body
This above conversation made me realise just how capable these children are at being creative and using prior knowledge to complete a task at hand. I was surprised that these two children knew the rainbow song as I had no idea they had learnt it before. It made me think about future learning experiences and how I could enhance this further

# data[].attributes.body
Here is a conversation I had with two of the children:

Me: So can you both tell me what you are drawing today?

Child A: I’m drawing my very own rainbow, I’m using my favourite colours

Child B: I’m using all colours to draw my rainbow, pink is my favourite colour to use

Me: I am glad your using some of your favourite colours! Do you both know the colours that make up a rainbow?

Child B: Yes, I know the song, Red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue, I can see a rainbow, see a rainbow, see a rainbow too.

Me: Wow, you knew the whole song! That is awesome, do you think you should include some of the colours you just sang on your paper?

Child A & B: Yes!!

# data[].attributes.body
I asked two children to sit with me and create their very own interpretation of what a rainbow is to them. I provided the children with blank pieces of paper and various coloured crayons. I provided them with an explanation what I wanted them to do, and then sat there and observed them. I wanted to watch how they began their drawings and then asked them both some questions whilst they were completing there rainbow drawing.

# data[].attributes.headline
‘How can a book prompt a child’s imagination, creativeness and willingness to learn?’

# data[].attributes.subject
‘How can a book prompt a child’s imagination, creativeness and willingness to learn?’

# data[].attributes.body
This particular book was very popular among the children as I noticed on my first day in the Prekinder room. I read it to a group of children on that day and was asked many times throughout my week to read it again.  I chose to use this book as the prompt to further enhance this learning experience and let it become an opportunity for a group of children to be creative.

# data[].attributes.body
Context

Nadia and Mel were the lead educators in the Prekinder room at Goodstart Early Learning centre in Hoppers Crossing. The children that made up this room were between the ages of 3 and 4. This learning experience took place on Tuesday 29th August and continued the next day as well. The purpose of this learning experience was taken from a conversation I had with a group of children over the course of these two days.

The learning prompt that facilitated the learning experience for these children was a book called ‘At the End of the Rainbow’ written by A H Benjamin and John Bendall Brunello.

# data[].attributes.headline
'I can sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow too"

# data[].attributes.subject
'I can sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow too"

# data[].attributes.body
Prekinder room
3 & 4 year olds
Room Educators: Mel and Nadia
Childcare: Goodstart Early Learning Hoppers Crossing