Educating for a Civil Society

• Chapters 9 & 10

Primary Science

• Chapter 6

In response to Educating for a Civil Society:

How have the ideas & concepts shared in this text impacted your thinking and practices as a professional working with young children?

In response to Primary Science:

This month, you have been working with your own investigations and learning more about helping children plan and interpret investigations. What are new areas of success/confidence for you regarding scientific investigations in early education? What are continuing or new challenges?

Chapter 6 of Primary Science focused on investigations. I appreciated the point that some investigations can be “minds-on” (Harlen, 2001, p.65), using evidence from secondary sources. I’ve been thinking about this a lot as we are about to delve into a study of space. In terms of my successes, this course (and text) has helped me to reinvigorate my science practices with young children, including those involving investigations. I have been reminded of the joy and importance of making space for lots of hands-on explorations in science. One of the challenges I still face is prioritizing and making time for child-led and planned investigations.

Chapter 9: 

There were a couple of quotes that really stood out to me. The work that we do day in and day out is extremely important and sometimes we forget that or take it for granted because we do what we do. “The only thing as difficult as learning and practicing the DLS is teaching for others to gain them. Early childhood professionals have a most complicated job – and are the most important teachers in the child’s life” (Gartrell, pg. 134). As we demonstrate thinking, intelligently and ethically and showing kids empathy and understanding daily, it helps to build this neuroplasticity in them to use going forward in their life. Children who have this type of support are more likely to use it throughout their lifetime versus children who have not had the same sort of experience. Hopefully, they will build an understanding and acceptance of others. There are things that happen daily in our classroom, and our little learners are always watching how we respond and react, this in return, teaches them how to do the same thing. We need to always keep this in the back of our minds. As difficult as that can be sometimes.   

Chapter 10

Having an inclusive team really stood out to me and I am so lucky to be part of such an amazing teacher team at our school. We stick together and realize that we all have things that we are going through, and we pick up the slack when somebody may be having a rough day. I know my team members have my back on any given day and I have theirs.   I also have a couple of colleagues that at lunchtime I can just say hey, let’s take a power walk and discuss the day as we do it! This can clear my head, and after being outside and exercising, you can come back with a whole new perspective within a few minutes. So powerful! 

The quote that really stood up to me, though, was in talking about practicing the DLS was,” The matter, comes down to caring adults who listen to children, with non-judgmental, thoughtful, guidance, and encourage children to express their intentions, goals, frustrations, and strategies in non-hurting ways”  (Gartrell, pg. 150). This is the crux of what we should be doing every single day with our students!   we want our students to feel accepted for who they are, and encourage them to be the best person they can be! 

My new areas of confidence come in providing opportunities for children to investigate questions they have without leading them to an answer. I enjoy, listening to what they want to learn about, and the information they have. 

I am actually very surprised with the information/questions they come up with.  I feel confident in letting them take the discussion wherever it needs to, without having any specific agenda myself.  

I try to base my class the following day on the discussion and interest that they have had previously.  

My new challenge is that I must admit I’m a little bit worried about interpreting the data because I’m not so sure I always have the correct information. However, I am willing to research and Google things to help myself find the answers. I have been pleasantly surprised, watching my young students become so interested in science and learning!

This text highlights the tremendous learning that is happening in the early years building social skills that will impact an individual's future relationships, inclusion, and success.  In Chapter 9, it says that “older individuals have years of experience and mostly developed neural architecture to help them with prosocial interactions.”  They have the ability to think through consequences, or cause and effect.  Children at a young age are just learning about cause and effect and experimentation in their social world is so critical to support the development of the Democratic Life Skills.  In my own practice, the reading has helped me add a layer of understanding and compassion as children are socially experimenting to build acceptance, express strong emotions, solve problems, accept differences, and finally to think intelligently and ethically. I have to pay close attention to not expect adult norms of social behavior from a children that are developing these skills.  Before intervening in a situation it is important to know the lay of the land and what the context is before making corrections or resetting expectations.  As an administrator, my role is often to step into a situation where I may not be aware of the context. I need to pay close attention to relationship building with children in this role, if I am going to have a positive impact on the DLS growth of children

In response to Primary Science:

What are new areas of success/confidence for you regarding scientific investigations in early education? What are continuing or new challenges?

I have been able to more thoughtfully apply productive questioning to my conversations with children.  This not only applies to science learning but also to social studies learning as we discuss our lives away from school as a group.  I would like to work on more intentional planning around investigations that apply broader thinking Prior to chapter 9, in my planning, I was not separating the different types of investigation; Information-seeking, Action-testing, Pattern-finding, and How-to-do-it investigations.  I am excited to more intentionally apply all of these types of investigations to a learning sequence.

_{My new area of confidence that I have for science investigations is for children to actively observe details in science investigations.  I am allocating a designated amount of time for children to have the necessary time to make thoughtful and insightful observations.  Through allocating time for the children to make insightful observations I have noticed that they are paying close attention to the characteristics of objects, the changes they undergo, or the patterns they form, they develop essential scientific skills.  By observing details I have noticed that they are making connections to past experiences, asking questions, and drawing conclusions based on evidence. As they are making connections and asking questions I am allowing them to take the discussion wherever it goes, and at the end of the discussion I am connecting it to our science investigation.  My challenge is incorporating child-led investigations during our science time because, in our kindergarten curriculum, we have topics and investigations that we must teach to stay on track.}

_{After reading Chapter 9  in Education for a Civic Society I had many takeaways from the readings.  The quote that stood out to me was,  “Children who attended high-quality ECE programs were less likely to be placed in special education, less likely to be retained in a grade, and more likely to graduate high school than peers who didn’t attend such programs.” (Gartwrell, 132)  This quote brought to light just how much early childhood education plays a vital role in shaping a child's future.  The impact of high-quality programs on reducing the need for special education services because it provide children with a strong educational foundation at an early age, these programs help address developmental delays and learning difficulties before they escalate. Early intervention through ECE can prevent the need for long-term special education support, ensuring that children have a better chance of thriving academically.  Furthermore, students who have participated in high-quality ECE programs are less likely to be retained in a grade. The engaging and supportive learning environment in these programs fosters cognitive and social development, ensuring that children acquire the necessary skills to progress successfully from one grade to the next. This early academic success boosts children's confidence and motivation, setting them on a path toward continuous achievement throughout their educational journey.  This chapter brought to light just how important early childhood education is and I think often I forget the impact that we all make in young children’s lives.}

_{In  Chapter 10 of Education for a Civic Society, the biggest takeaway that I got from this chapter was the importance for educators to have a support system. Early childhood educators play an invaluable role in shaping the minds and futures of our youngest learners. These educators must have a solid support system among their colleagues to navigate the challenges, celebrate the milestones, exchange best practices in the field of early childhood education, and help with stressors in their personal lives. By fostering a supportive environment, educators can combat burnout, enhance professional development, and ultimately provide a higher quality of care and education to the children they serve.  Personally, today, was a stressful day for me because I was dealing with the stressors of deadlines looming for certification.  I was super grateful for my friends/ colleagues who listened and offered support and encouragement and who validated my feelings.}

How have the ideas & concepts shared in this text impacted your thinking and practices as a professional working with young children?

As an assistant in a preschool classroom, I have been thinking about DLS 1 and DLS 2. We have a student in our classroom who has experienced early childhood trauma and has a handful of mistaken behaviors. By keeping DLS 1 in mind, I spend a fair amount of time trying to make this student feel welcome and part of the group. I also give them positive attention and affection. I can see that they are responding positively to this approach. Their ability to get their needs met in non hurtful ways is improving. I am so impressed! 

Lately, I have also been thinking about DLS 3-4 and how I might be able to foster those in children. I have made a subtle shift from guiding problem-solving between children, to asking the children how they think they could solve a problem. It is pretty cool to see what they come up with. I like how this empowers them to practice solving their own problems, and will hopefully inspire DLS 3. 

In chapter 9, I liked the sidebar on taking turns. It was helpful to read about the importance of “lengthy engagement on an activity” supporting deep learning and the potential to inspire lifelong pursuits (Gartrell, 2023, p. 135). In chapter 10, I liked how one vignette described two co-workers going on morning walks together before work began. I feel that good personal connections at work make a world of difference in productivity. 

In response to Primary Science:

This month, you have been working with your own investigations and learning more about helping children plan and interpret investigations. What are new areas of success/confidence for you regarding scientific investigations in early education? What are continuing or new challenges?

I am thinking about the process of discussion with students about science topics. I am also mindful of holding back my opinion or judgments about scientific facts to allow room for students to conduct their investigations in an open, safe, low-pressure environment. The reading in Primary Science helped me determine what type of investigation I am doing for my Life Science Investigation and why. It helped me consider when working with young children, I must allow for active investigations to occur during the planning process. This is because young children can not plan an investigation before doing it. They must plan it as they are doing the investigation. I think I am making progress with asking productive questions. I am also becoming better at noticing when science lessons can occur in our classroom. I see how my class seems to need a little warming-up period regarding productive questions. I may not get responses to my productive questions the first time around. The more I ask the questions, the more they are responding. I am still working on how to gather a group and hold a discussion around a science topic. This type of group discussion may involve brainstorming investigations or summarizing results. I am gaining an understanding of the importance of these discussions and strategies on how to hold them. I hope to practice them during our Instructional Sequence.  

New areas of success/confidence -

1. One of the things I’ve noticed in making connections within investigations (based on my experience with the seed investigations and with ongoing ice and water investigations) is that one of the clearest ways to promote making (and sharing) connections is to create situations where children are adding more (or less) of something. This can really support them in finding patterns in their observations.

2. Young children can graph! I set up the x and y axes, and my kindergartener eagerly filled out a bar graph to show how long it took for pea seed roots to emerge. With support, my fourth grader set up a line graph as well. It is really important to be organized about what data you’re collecting and how you’re organizing it when sharing it with children, and I am feeling confident in that aspect as well.

Continuing or new challenges -

1. While children in pre-k are continually investigating the things in their worlds, planning for scientific investigations is a little different. It seems like they are in more of a pre-planning stage for this where they can come up with questions for investigation, but they still need a lot of support in figuring out what they really want to know and how they can investigate it. A continuing challenge lies in balancing the actual creation of a plan for investigation and encouraging young children to participate in making that plan. I want to set children up for success in terms of finding a plan that they feel invested in and that they will stick with over time, so when making plans for projects and investigations, I find myself inserting my own ideas pretty often. I think it’s important to expose them to tools, methods, ideas and procedures to support them in building a foundation for planning. I also think lots of support, coaching and modeling can invite their thoughts and questions to help them feel like part of the process, even when I find myself pushing towards a particular way to investigate the questions they’re asking (both verbally and through their repeated actions).

Educating for a Civil Society:

Something that has been sticking with me from the reading is the continued reference to how seeing “faulty attempts” with DLS 3-5 is something to celebrate. It means children are experimenting with these prosocial concepts as they grow!

Something else that was mentioned in the chapter was “objective selection processes” such as using alphabetical or age order. I’ve been reflecting on this because we often have times where children are rushing to be first. The more I consistently use objective means (such as picking name cards out of my pocket) for lining children up, calling them to make a plan or selecting them for a turn with something, the more capacity they will build for being able to enter into transitions calmly.

"Young children might show instances of use of DLS 5, but certainly they cannot show this skill consistently" (Gartrell, 2023 pg. 132). This was a great reminder as an educator to remember that children who show this skill from time to time have not fully mastered DLS 5 and still need to learn the skills to get a long with peers and positive reinforcement when they show these skills to control their own behavior or help others in the classroom. The more positive experiences children have using these skills the more they will want to use them. By reinforcing these behaviors in the classroom positively we can encourage all students to practice DLS 5 skills.

I loved the quote in the book that states, "If individuals are educated toward thinking intelligently and ethically from the beginning, conflicts over time become more civil, and people become better able to work together and figure things out" (Gartrell, 2023 pg. 133). At the same time we need to remember children have developmental limitations in regards to executive functioning and perspective taking. They are just beginning to learn how to control their behaviors and see something from another person's point of view in limited ways. They are still very much egocentric when it comes to perspective taking.

As a professional working with young children, I have learned to take all this into account when dealing with peer confrontation, upsets in the classroom, and refusal to follow directions. I know I have to be the one to take their perspective into account and try to make the repair a positive experience and a teachable moment for the child(ren).

Primary Science- Chapter 6

I appreciated the descriptions and examples of the different types of investigations in the reading and how they should be planned. My class is currently enjoying our investigable question. We came up with a question together to tie into our upcoming Life Science Unit and this question will help build some vocabulary and knowledge for our unit. We made a chart as a class and we are tracking the progress of our investigation everyday. I feel a challenge that might arise in early childhood classrooms like mine are how to interpret findings. I am hoping all or most of my students are able to understand or learn why something happened or didn't as a result of our investigation.

Chapter 6: In scientific investigations, I find myself finding success in providing opportunities for different investigations. I ask questions to promote curiosity without leading them to one answer, give them enough to seek more information. I struggle with enough time for everything and give students the time they need to investigate. I think that will forever be a struggle.

I appreciated a lot of what I read in these chapters. I think it's important to remind ourselves often that we work with the youngest population in a school environment and they are still navigating the world. I really liked how in Chapter 9 they had the different "anecdotes" and provided the examples of responses from both children and adults. We need to remember that children do so much learning through observation; how we respond makes a difference.

A quote also stood out to me in these readings, "Being sheltered in encouraging learning communities, children guided toward the democracy skill will be too soft and considerate to withstand the competitive hurly-burly of modern adult life. I disagree. Unlike many adults today, these kids would be learning to be assertive without being aggressive, to disagree agreeably, and to take positions based on principle." (Gartell, p. 139). This quote felt so relatable in all of those positive qualities we are trying to help instill in children to live and be a positive contribution to a democratic society.

Primary Science:

In this reading it is just a reminder of how CAPABLE students are! Even the youngest learners. This course and the readings have helped me see that things do not have to be cut and dry, they do not have to always be simple. We can challenge our students. They are capable of more than we might initially allow ourselves to believe. This course and readings have inspired me to want to be more hands-on in the classroom and to have more conversations with my students where they can feel more in control of their learning and the investigations that we are doing.

In chapter nine of Educating for a Civil Society I was drawn in particular to the idea of teaching the DLS in early childhood being linked to neuroplasticity. As a preschool teacher, I’ve been struggling a lot recently with the academic goals and curriculum that our district has been pushing us to do. This chapter was an excellent reminder that right now, what is most vital is to prepare my students for their future by teaching them concepts such as finding acceptance as a member of a group and individually, expressing strong emotions in nonhurting ways, solving problems independently and with others, accepting unique qualities in others, and thinking intelligently and ethically. These skills and others such as turn taking or sharing are key for our children’s success and need to be highlighted from a young age because as described on page 132 “children who [attend] high-quality ECE programs [are] less likely to be placed in special education, less likely to be retained in a. Grade, and more likely to graduate from high school”. In chapter 10 I was impacted in many ways. First, I found myself thankful that I work in a district that values early childhood education enough to include us within the master contracts. I also found myself being thankful for my school and home support systems. I have a strong crew that never fail to make me feel supported, safe, and encouraged. Reaching out for help is something that I’ve always had trouble with, as I never want to be perceived as incapable, but the people I’m surrounded by make asking seem a bit less daunting.

Primary Science Chapter 6:

I’ve done investigations in my classroom before, but never so science orientated. Simply by allowing myself to experience a primarily science based investigation was an excellent first step in becoming more confident regarding scientific investigation in early education. I also feel as though a new area of success for me was allowing my students to plan how we were going to investigate our question. By allowing them to decide how and where we would carry out our experiment, they took ownership of their learning and practiced planning skills. This isn’t necessarily a challenge but something that I’d like to try since we have not reached this point yet: I really want to have my students reflect back on their plan and decide what they could do in the future to improve it. What’s more, I think it would be really impactful to redo the experiment using their new ideas then compare the results of the two experiments.

• Something that really stood out to me in this reading was when the author said this: "young children may show instances of the use of DLS 5, but certainly they cannot show this skill consistently". Young children have so much growth and development to do and are reliant on others to continue that development. This impressed on me the importance for us as educators to remember that the best way to encourage children to think ethically and intelligently is to provide secure relationships/connection and developmentally appropriate education. The earlier on we can do this, the more practice they will have in exercising this skill.

• The discussion about neuroplasticity (the dynamic quality of the brain to physically change with experiences) reminded me of the book "The Whole Brain Child". This book had a major impact on how I viewed early childhood development and what my role as an early childhood educator is in supporting the intricate brain development in children. This idea of neuroplasticity and how greatly a child's neuroarchitecture can be impacted by early connection made me think deeper about how important what we do is in terms of being supporting presences for the children and providing them ample opportunities to build on their developing brain's structural framework and make connections.

  • This quote encompasses what I was trying to say: "Meaningful experience engenders healthy neurological development across the frontal lobes, prefrontal cortex, thalamus and hippocampus that sustains the likelihood of future prosocial acts" (Page 132).

  • Because of this idea, I now have a greater understanding of the upper and lower brain, the left vs right sides of the brain and how early childhood experiences support neurological growth in those areas.

  • Understanding what is happening to the children physiologically is crucial to understanding how best to support them in a developmentally appropriate way.

Primary Science (Chapter 6)

• Some areas of success/ confidence I have in regards to scientific investigation in ECE: One main area that I have gained a great deal of confidence in and have seen major growth is using proper productive questioning during investigations. I have found myself increasingly using the main question types (I wonder what happens when ___? I wonder what happens if ___? I wonder whether ____? I wonder how we can ___?). During my observations, I even noticed children using the questioning types modeled by myself and other teachers. I have found that I am able to spot and naturally communicate scientific ideas with the children more comfortably as well.

• Some continuing or new challenges I have found myself facing in terms of scientific investigations in early education: planning scientific investigations appropriate for my age group has been a challenge (preK). I feel that I could do more planning for the investigations ahead of time to better help lead the children, focus their attention and engage them in scientific thinking.

I have gained a lot from this text. It has really made me think about my role as an early educator and how I can best support children in gaining these valuable social-emotional life skills. It has made me reflect on my teaching and my responses to children. It has provided me with tools and some new understandings about supporting children in gaining the DLS. One thing that stood out to me in these chapters was this quote “Unlike many adults today, these kids would be learning to be assertive without being aggressive, to disagree agreeably, and to take positions based on principle...It is teaching children to be fair and considerate to one another as children and as adults.” (Gartrell, 2012, p. 265) I think this quote summarizes the importance of our work and the importance of the DLS. These skills encompass critical thinking, effective communication, collaboration, empathy, and ethical decision-making. These skills are essential for preparing children to actively participate in democratic societies, and early educators are key in supporting children to build these skills. 

In response to Primary Science:

Some new areas of success regarding scientific investigations in early education are using productive questions and productive talk moves. I have been trying to incorporate these more into my teaching, discussions with children, and investigations. I have also been trying to incorporate more opportunities for investigations, specifically hands-on explorations, in my classroom, although this is always something to improve on. I also feel like this course and the texts have helped me make better observations, of what I am noticing the children are exploring and investigating to better support and extend their learning and how I, myself,  am making observations, which in turn helps me support children in making more thoughtful observations. 

Many of the children in my classroom are still learning the skills needed to plan, carry out, and interpret investigations. Some of the students can come up with investigable questions, but following through with those investigations with figuring out what they want to know and how they are going to figure it out is where they still need a lot of support. I want to be able to support my students in gaining these skills and being able to plan and interpret investigations they are invested in.