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 29^th 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.

 

 

 

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!!

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. 

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. 

 

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. 

 

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. 

 

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:

 

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 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. 

 

 

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

 

 

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. 

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).

 

 

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. 

 

 

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. 

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). 

 

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. 

 

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.