For this week's reading, post a Padlet Response that shares:

· Key takeaways for you in relation to your role and learning

· Reflection on potential applications.

· Any questions or wonderings you have related to the reading.

^{From reading Ready, Set Science a key takeaway that I took from the reading was the the importance of productive talk in the classroom when it comes to science.  It is so important because it allows students’ prior knowledge to surface and assists the teacher in assessing for understanding.  I also took away the importance of productive talk helping students build their scientific knowledge and understanding.  I think often we do not put enough emphasis on productive talk and discussion and reading this chapter this week reinforced for me the importance of making sure that it is a part of my science education.}

^{From reading Education for A Civil Society, the key takeaway that I got was that every child's natural response is that they do whatever it takes to survive that all their experiences affect on they handle different situations, and that it all comes from a basic need to survive.  When thinking about my classroom of students this year, I see many of my students' actions reflect a need to survive and to get attention in any way that see fit.  There are a few of my students who have behaviors that come from the stress-conflict-punishment syndrome, where they sense a threat, or when they are feeling a high level of stress, and they react with survival behaviors.}

^{From reading Education for A Civil Society, I would like to incorporate the intervention guidance principles into my classroom.  Principle 6 which is responding to conflicts using a collection of guidance practices to affirm and teach such as different calming methods, guidance talks, and conflict mediation would be very beneficial for my students because often students get very dysregulated and by putting these practices into place I believe would help students become more regulated quicker by using these strategies.} 

^{After reading Primary Science: Taking the Plunge a question that I have is how to promote and sustain students having productive questions.  Often my kindergarten students will start with questions that are productive but very quickly turn the questions into spontaneous questions that have no merit to the topic.  I am wondering if any phrases that would help turn their questions back to the topic quickly that I could use.}

I enjoyed learning more about the difference between productive and unproductive questions children ask in the classroom and how our role as the teacher is to validate the questions by taking them seriously and promote active engagement for Scientific learning by giving children a space to explore with materials and ask more questions. 

I would love to learn more about how to successfully set up an area in my classroom to promote more exploration and questions or how to start a “Question of the Week”. I like the idea of using regular class time to encourage children to talk about something interesting to them, talk about their observations, and ask questions they still have about the topic. I would love to know how to facilitate these conversations so they are child-led experiences and I’d love to know how to better plan learning experiences that support the exploration and discoveries of these ideas. 

Ready, Set, SCIENCE! Chapter 5

“The language of science can be very particular”(Michaels et al., 2008 pg 88). One key takeaway I got from this chapter is the importance of teaching the definition of science vocabulary. The two terms that stood out to me in the chapter were theory and argument. This is the language that could easily be confusing for children to understand because prior knowledge may tell them a theory is a guess they have about something and an argument is a disagreement. 

I would love to learn more ways to encourage learning through talk and argument among students. I’d love to see some modeled teaching from experienced teachers working with early childhood students to see what this could look like in my Kindergarten classroom. 

Education for a Civil Society- Chapter 2

After reading the entire chapter and looking back at the syllabus I just now realized I have the wrong edition. I just placed an order for the correct text….Oops!

I did however enjoy reading the wrong chapter because I learned about how the first Kindergartens were developed and the ideas of John Dewey, a Vermonter himself, who made it his life’s work to better understand what early education should look like. He wrote about how it should teach life skills children would use in the future to work together and live in a democratic society. One key takeaway from his principles is “Education must nurture and support students’ natural curiosity and innate desire to learn. Education must foster internal motivation in students” (Gartrell, 2012 pg 21). Education should not be all about educators providing children all the right answers, but giving them the learning experiences that encourage natural explorations and communication along side peers and teachers as a guide. 

I love how Dewey describes the teachers role as a guide who uses their professional skills to guide learners in the grand problem-solving process of education. He describes the classroom as a laboratory for democracy, it is a place where children are free to try out their ideas and learn important life skills in order to live and work in a diverse society. 

References

1. Michaels, S., Shouse, A. W., & Schweingruber, H. A. (2008b). Ready, set, science!: Putting research to work in K-8 science classrooms. National Academies Press. 

   
   

2. Gartrell, D. (2012). Education for a civil society: How guidance teaches young children democratic life skills. NAEYC. 

In reflection to my own educational experience, most of the learning was looking for the right answer. I think to how there wasn't a deeper thought or conversation beyond that one answer and how that would have helped me to have a more thoughtful approach.

I do see myself being more thoughtful of the way I ask questions to my students and leaving it more open ended. I think it's easy to teach the way you were taught. I see how this isn't the most productive way to build more thoughtful conversations. It starts young!

I really connected with the chapter in Education for a Civil Society. I have a few students who come from trauma. I see the similarities with the story they tell about Audy. I relate with the need to make those positive connections with students and staff for those who have experienced trauma. I think the number of students who get expelled from preschools is sad with the mistaken behaviors. I came from a program that used the idea of not having enough support to help these kids but also that they didn't have the training or want to deal with the difficult behaviors. Now being in a public school, I see the hard work and perseverance that takes place and admire that I can be part of the solution rather than just pushing them off to someone else. I really liked the quote "Teaching children to solve their problems rather than punishing them for having problems they cannot solve; teaching children to learn from their mistakes rather than punishing them for the mistakes they make."

Questions and wonderings about how the limited knowledge that many students are coming in with, how was that affected by covid? The thought that some children have limited experiences in science,this must be much more common with the in the past 4 years and many families who did not interact with others. How has this changed the way we teach science and social studies? I know I see it within the social aspect in preschool.

Education for a Civil Society was sadly very relatable. It always breaks my heart when little kiddos are struggling and not because of their own choices but those that others make. Seeing children present behaviors because they are in survival mode is no new experience for me as an educator. Trying to respond to these behaviors and situations is something I am constantly trying to improve on and learn more about. This chapter was really helpful in reminding us as educators that we teach children to solve their problems and learn from their mistakes. This focus right here felt like it hit home. In kindergarten, this is such a big focus in the classroom. Social emotional learning is a key foundational aspect in our classroom. Children need to have so many tools in their tool belts to even begin to approach learning.

I do wonder why less children are being exposed to science? It seems like we live in such a scientific and technology focused world.

Another key takeaway I had from this week’s readings was the idea that we need to teach “children to solve their problems rather than punishing them for having problems they cannot solve” (Gartrell, p.28). Gartrell refers to this approach broadly as providing “guidance”. This is pertinent to working with youth of all ages and in all contexts. I needed this reminder this morning as I struggled with one of my own children’s behavior! 

One question I have is how to best facilitate exploration of concepts/subjects that you can’t see or feel directly. Harlen describes the importance of “answers derived from firsthand experience involving practical action with materials.” Leading up to the eclipse in April, my class is going to study space, however I’m trying to wrap my brain around how to make this feel real/concrete to such young students (a span of Grades K-2). I plan to start with student-driven questions, but I’m not sure how to best involve “practical action with materials” for this topic.

Ready Set Science  

Science is so important for students because they need to learn how to talk and argue respectfully based on evidence, theories, and formulas, in addition to sharing ideas that others may not agree with. Students need to know how to respectfully interact with others whether they agree or not. 

It is crucial that teachers help build students' language around science, and how to share their opportunities. Through talking students are able to develop their own thinking skills and many times can explain to students in a way that the actual teacher may not be able to.  

“In science, students need to be able to argue their point of view and realize that the goal is not to win” but, to share their information and persuade others to see things the way that they do.  “In science, the goal of the argumentation is to promote as much understanding of a situation as possible, and to persuade colleagues of the validity of a specific idea, rather than trying to win an argument as people often do in non-science contacts…” (pg. 89) 

This chapter discussed how many teachers ask questions they already know the answer in advance and want students just to spit out the correct answer. Instead, we want to promote thinking and ask open-ended questions that do not have a right or wrong answer.  Then we want to be able to ask more questions and have students respond to what another student said. It is important to use “wait time” and give student a chance to really think about their answers and not jump in and solve the problem.   Another great technique is asking students if you understood what they were trying to say, and repeating back what they just said.  

This tied into our Primary  Science Taking The Plunge and the idea of “productive questioning” which “they stimulate productive activity.” (pg. 36)”  This is the way to get to the true understanding of what a student actually knows.  Many times teachers will ask “unproductive questions” in which students already know the answer to this question or can find the answer in a textbook.  We want to encourage students to think beyond the book utilize the information they have learned then apply it.  

We also have to teach our students how in return to ask us questions to gain information.  Many times young children will tell you something that has nothing to do with the topic you’re working on or ask you a question that is not related in the least. Not because they don’t know, but it’s because what’s on their mind at the moment so it’s our job to help Them learn how to formulate how to ask an active question.  Sometimes kids ask questions to gain your attention, and not truly because they want an answer. It is important to teach our students to ask, “why” questions so they can learn more about the topic of interest.  “Productive questions are the type we need to encourage in the classroom if we wish to promote science...” “(pg. 37)  We want to engage kids or quickly hook them and asking a stimulating question can spark this interest. We have to learn how to best use our questions in the moment. We also want to catch their interest is by having a, “Question of the week”  or having books with questions to look for answers in  making displays for the children to be able to explore or read about so they can delve deeper into the topic and find more information.  However, sometimes when students ask questions that teachers don't know the answer to it tends to make them feel very uncomfortable. It is okay to research the answer together or say, “I don’t know,” but we can research this together.

Then in reading from Education for a Civil Society was about students being ready to learn and executive function which is needed for children to succeed in life. This is the ability to control ones emotions, behaviors and thoughts. These skills are problem-solving, self regulation, attention, and working memory. These skills do not mature until well into the 20s a child executive function develop overtime and by repeating skills Through experiences, it is important that we give children chances to use their executive functioning. “This is one of societies most important responsibilities “ (Page 24. )

Developmental guidance principles include managing learning communities that are inclusive and developmentally appropriate for all students in the classroom members and support all student learning. The ones that stood out the most to me were Principle 2:  social and emotional learning through a whole child, perspective and development to appropriate practices. This has to do with child’s interests, culture, experiences, and emergent curriculum. It is being able to follow a child’s lead and adjust based on the interest of the child. Creating opportunities for hands-on activities books puzzles and letting a child learn through movement.   Also Principle 3: is based on executive function, mastery motivation, and healthy development. As teachers, we need to think about this with all of our students and try to do all of the above to give them the best education possible. 

Educators don’t always know what stressors a child is currently working through outside of the classroom or what their previous experiences in or out of the classroom looked like. We need to try to learn as much as we can about our students, including through making connections with families and other educators. Even in the absence of this information, our biggest responsibility is to build strong, trusting relationships with our students so that they can feel safe, supported, and ready to grow.

Children want to learn and grow as best they can. When we can help children manage unhealthy stress and build resilience in a safe and supportive classroom environment, they can begin to work towards “mastery motivation” (Gartrell, 2023, p. 24).

The idea of mistaken behaviors was referenced in both chapters one and two of Education for a Civil Society, and it sounds like there will be more about it in chapter four. (Gartrell, 2023) I am eager to learn more about this concept, as well as to dive further into guidance.

There is one child in my classroom who I have been reflecting on recently. They have a history of showing waves of development, stagnation, and regression in the safety-needs skills, especially in DLS 2 and I really want to support them in this. One of my reflections was that the stress-conflict-punishment cycle can exist even without traditional “punishment” in the classroom if there is not adequate individual support in the repair after a child has hurt another child physically or emotionally. The individual expressing mistaken survival behaviors needs support not only in managing stress, but in repairing so that other children don’t cast them as the “bad guy”, which my colleagues observed in previous years with this child in another classroom. Preschoolers continually investigate roles between peers, and if someone continues to be the recipient of mistaken behaviors, they might choose to avoid or exclude another child, and might even influence others to do the same.

This is where guidance is also really important because it is incredibly difficult for a child to rebound if they have been cast by their peers into a negative role, especially as they are already in a chronically reactive state. Gartrell (2023, p. 28) defines the functions of guidance as teaching to solve problems and learn from mistakes “rather than punishing” for having problems or making mistakes, and as using resources including relationships with families “to teach for healthy personal development and social cooperations”.

One of the ways the teaching team and I have addressed this was to connect with their parents, which confirmed that this child is exhibiting the same level of stress at home. I brought up that this child fell asleep one day during rest time (which is unusual for this child) and brought up, in an effort to encourage more downtime at home as I know they have a very busy and active family schedule, that they really appreciate the quiet time on their rest mat in the middle of the day to look at books on their own without any of the pressures of connecting with other children. Next, the teaching team and I sent out a newsletter to all of the families that talked about the importance of downtime and one-on-one positive connections at home.

The reading in Ready, Set, SCIENCE! (Michaels et al., 2008) focused on the importance of positive communication and collaboration between peers that connected to the importance of acquiring DLS 2. Specifically, there was a focus on creating a supportive environment where children feel safe and are encouraged in communicating their ideas, processing and discussing new ideas, and productively and in positive ways, debating or arguing over ideas and observations (and teaching children to “recognize the distinction between disagreeing with an idea and disagreeing with a person”, keeping criticism focused on “ideas and observations, not the individuals who express them”). (Michaels et al., 2008, p. 89 and p. 93)

Primary Science (Harlen, 2001) dives further into this communication and collaboration and also encourages educators to create environments where children feel safe and supported in talking about their ideas as they develop them. One quote that stood out was “the discussion, the dialogue, the sharing of ideas helps in recognizing new relationships and it aids understanding.” (Harlen, 2001, p. 31) This textbook also provides a focus on misconceptions, some ways that they emerge in children’s lives, and strategies for supporting children in reconsidering their ideas. This is important because preconceived “nonscientific ideas tend to persist and keep out the accepted scientific ones”. (Harlen, 2001, p. 64)

After reading these chapters, I found myself asking more questions with “do you think” in them. The biggest ones this week were“what (do you think) happened to the mealworm larvae as they became adults?” and “how (do you think) we could see it happen?”. A colleague found beetles in our classroom gecko’s tank, and it turned out that they were the lizard’s meals that got away, pupated, and turned into adults!

My takeaway from the reading in Primary Science revolves around the difference between productive questions and unproductive questions. Productive questions “stimulate productive activity”. Unproductive questions “do not lead to scientific activity but the recall of factual knowledge”. (Harlen, 2001, p. 36). Young children learn through experiences. Therefore productive questions lead to activity and experiences rather than reasoning. From these experiences, children can then generate scientific information. “The right question asks children to show rather than to say the answer” (Harlen, 2001, p. 26). 

Reflections: I recently added colored ice balls and cubes to our playground. I have tried to have conversations with children about the ice but noticed they would rather collect the ice and play with it rather than discuss it. I would like to work on the questions that I use. I also think perhaps the students are just not used to having scientific conversations. Thus creating an atmosphere conducive to questions may be useful. 

Ready Set Science

Science teaching can mirror what real scientists do in terms of communication and representation. There are several ways to encourage productive talk in the classroom. There are also many challenges to it. I think the section on appreciating differences had the biggest impact on me. I like how Michael et al. suggest treating students from different cultures and languages as though they are highly intelligent foreign diplomats (Michael et al., 2007, p. 99). This makes it easier for teachers to build on student’s contributions, and students can “gradually take on the language and forms of competence that are valued in science” (Michael et al., 2007, p. 100). 

Reflection: We have several English Language Learners in our classroom. I would love to try this simple shift in thinking to see if it supports the students in explaining their ideas more thoroughly. The complex ideas may be there but the challenge is their ability to communicate it in a way that we are used to.  

Education for a civil society

I enjoyed learning about the brain and how it develops in both favorable and unfavorable conditions.  I also appreciated learning about the implementation of guidance as opposed to conventional discipline. Gartrell (2023) explains that “guidance has two functions”. Intervention and developmental functions. “Guidance teaches children to solve their problems rather than punish them for having problems”. It also teaches students how “to learn from their mistakes rather than punishing them for the mistakes they make” (p. 28). A more developmental definition states, “managing the resources of the encouraging early learning community - including partnerships with parents- to teach for healthy personal development and social cooperation (p. 28). I appreciate framing kids' challenging behaviors as mistaken behaviors and a stress response. Our job is to support executive functioning and decrease unhealthy stress by building strong connections with students and their families (Gartrell, 2023, p. 29). 

Reflection: I see several students every day who are struggling with mistaken behaviors as a result of toxic stress. I feel for these kids. I see that our school is moving towards guidance and am hopeful that we can help these kids satisfy their DLS 1 and 2 and start working on growing needs skills (DLS 3,4 and 5). 

From Primary Science, the point that being correct is not the focus of science in the early years struck me as a vital consideration when thinking about how to engage in productive questions and productive take in science.  The text stated, it is “more important that (children) should adopt the habits of mind of reflecting on the ideas in light of the evidence and of reconsidering their ideas as their broadening experience throws up new experiences.” (Harlen, pg. 60)  Allowing children to investigate and inquire without the fear of being wrong will evoke later discovery.  Teachers roles are to “scaffold new ideas”.  This support comes at a time when a child might be stuck or they have not “arrived towards a scientific view”(Harlen, pg 62)

Potential Applications

In both the Primary Science text and Education for a Civil Society there was mention of scaffolding goals for a child’s learning.  Harlen says on page 46, “Children learn question-asking habits from teachers.” On Page 28 Gartrell quotes John Dewey saying, “if the end in view is the development of a spirit of social cooperation and community life, discipline must grow out of and be relative to this.”  Both these quotes reflect the idea that teachers should be practicing what they hope for children whether that is a positive social dynamic or thoughtful inquiry.  The application is clearly understanding the overarching goals of your program or classroom so that practices can be aligned.  If the main goal is to have children score high on math tests then teachers practices reflect this.  If the goal is to have children be productive contributors to their communities then teacher’s practices and behaviors should reflect this.  Of course, there are always various goals, but clearly understanding those goals can help us understand how teaching habits impact the results of meeting those goals.

Talk can also provide an impetus for students to reflect on what

they do—and do not—understand. This is why many seasoned

teachers commonly ask students to describe terms, concepts, and

observations in their own words (National Academy of Sciences, p 88)."

I have identified this as a personal area of growth. As a new teacher,

there is so much to learn. Oftentimes when we do a lesson the focus

is on completing the task. And I don't often focus on a larger discussion

past completing the lesson. I have realized without opening things up

to talk about them I have accidentally shorted the learning experience

when just discussing and reflecting could open up an activity for much

more meaningful learning.

2) I realized through reading Chapter 2 in Education for a Civil Society

that I was not effectively disciplining students and oftentimes would be

(without knowing) increasing their unmanageable stress by removing or expulsion.

Another area of growth for me is productive discipline. I have been struggling

with large class sizes, tight staffing, and so many violent behaviors. I also did not know what

we call taking a body break in my classroom was a form of embarrassment

and expulsion for children. Another thing that stuck out to me during this reading is that some of

my students are currently in the stress-conflict-punishment loop. I will use some different

techniques moving forward and focus more on connection and conversation, rather

than taking a body break and entering back into play.

3) The last thing I will remember when it comes to Science instruction is that

children come to science subjects with thoughts based on their experience! Not with

empty minds. To start teaching them scientific ideas we need to find out

what ideas they already have and help them expand, challenge or clarify them. This is where

real scientific learning starts. "It is evident, though, that the starting point has to be their ideas,

not the scientific ones. The first step is to then find out what their ideas are ( (Harlen, p 57)."

I really liked a lot of the ideas and suggestions in these chapters about how to structure lessons and responses

to questions.

Questions:

1) In terms of DAP when it comes to discipline what do teachers do when talking through a situation

which is usually repeated over and over within a day doesn't work? I have one student who continually hits

and turns to physical violence when frustrated. I have tried talking through bringing parents in to find a solution

but despite the amount of talks, breaks, intervention, and redirection. The same behavior occurs. I feel like this chapter

focused so much on what not to do and while some of the solutions seemed great (one I will be mentioning later as

something I want to try).

They don't seem practical to the everyday reality of teaching preschool. Especially when you don't

have extra support in your classroom. Do any more experienced teachers have tips or tricks to share?

2) Learning about the IRE format made me realise how this was the dominant formate I learned in my experience with

education almost all of my life. It is a format I thought all teachers used. While I like some of the language suggestions the

book gave for moving away from the IRE pattern does anyone else have other ideas to stop using that format besides the suggested

ask more open ended questions?

Primary Science Chapter 5: It was impactful to see the connection between this and the previous chapter. I really appreciated the section titled “Finding Out children’s Ideas” as it connected beautifully to asking questions. On page 57 Harlen expresses that “person-centered questions are phrased to ask directly for the children’s ideas, not the ‘right’ answer”. This seemed like something that I could incorporate into my classroom, particularly at the beginning of an investigation. I do a version of this but think that this method would better encompass my students’ thinking.

Ready, Set, Science! Chapter 5: What stood out most to me in this chapter was the six different productive classroom talk moves found on page 91. It was interesting to look at those and think about them within the context of my preschool classroom. Initially I thought that since this book is geared towards K-8 classrooms that it wouldn’t relate very well to my younger students. However, certain elements such as revoicing, prompting students for further participation, asking students to explicate their reasoning, and using wait time are all things that I incorporate into my classroom.

Education for a Civil Society Chapter 2: Within this chapter the section on Preschool Push-Out stood out most to me because of my position. Discipline and equity are things that I think about often within my placement, even more so last year when I had the one black student in the school. He had high needs that often led him to be physical with other students. At the beginning of the year there were many upsetting conversations with the parents that we were bringing up these concerns because of the color of his skin, even though that was not what was occurring. This made me extremely observant of how I incorporate discipline in my classroom, as well as who it’s directed towards.

The “Ready, Set, Science!” chapter was about the importance of scientific talk and argumentation. This allows students to talk through their own ideas and those of their peers, promoting understanding through sharing, processing, and learning about ideas. The section of this chapter that discussed the strategies of inclusiveness is so important and I really appreciated that this was included. My classroom is diverse in different cultures, languages, and development. This section was important to be able to think about and reflect on how I can provide effective science instruction to my students and make it inclusive for all. 

Education for a Civil Society touched on many things that I could relate to when reflecting on the children in my classroom. Many of my students have experienced trauma and many show stress responses or survival behaviors in the classroom from stress and trauma they are experiencing or have experienced. One of the overarching ideas was how can educators effectively teach children the Democratic Life Skills well enough to empower their resilience and healthy personal development. I appreciated the Principles and Practices of Guidance; the Developmental Guidance Principles and the Intervention Guidance Principles. I had not heard of the Five Finger Formula before, although the steps are very similar to what I already do. I plan to use that strategy since it is a great way to remember the steps of problem-solving.

I am so grateful to have a director and a team who puts comprehensive guidance plans into action. |

Reading about the "Preschool Push-Out" (Gartrell, P.28), I was appalled and disturbed but not surprised by one statement in particular: "For years, children have been expelled from preschools at much higher rates than K-12 classrooms- boys more than girls and black boys more than anyone". In the past two years, we have had 3 students, all three of which were boys and two of them were boys of color, come to our program after being expelled from other programs. We met the behaviors they presented with a variety of guidance practices like the ones mentioned in Chapter 5 and found that over time, the aggressive and disruptive behaviors majorly subsided. All of this to say that I really loved this week's readings and I feel like it resonated deeply with me, my practice and my philosophy as a teacher.