What We Say & Do Matters High quality interactions between adults & young children will help to...
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Transcript of What We Say & Do Matters High quality interactions between adults & young children will help to...
What We Say & Do Matters
High quality interactions between adults & young children will help to narrow the gap for
our most vulnerable children
Presented by: Diana Vincent
(Early Years Advisory Teacher)
Learning Objectives for Workshop
To understand the crucial role adults play in supporting children to develop appropriate communication & language skills
To understand that adults should begin to support children’s communication from birth
To understand that adults can successfully use a wide range of spoken as well as non-verbal strategies to develop children’s skills
To understand that an adult’s interaction style can have an instant impact on a child’s communication & learning
What we say & do matters! Research has shown that caregiver
behaviour has a direct effect on the
development of the child
Children’s development is facilitated by warm
interaction with adults who know the child well
enough to be responsive and to scaffold
(support & extend) learning NDNA Quality assurance scheme ‘Quality Counts’
Recent studies show that there is a 16 month gap in school readiness between the most & least disadvantaged children
The language children hear matters
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
12 mos 24 mos 36 mos 48 mos
lowest talkfamilies
lower talkfamilies
high talkfamilies
Number of words spoken to childrenHart and Risley, Meaningful Differences, 1995
mill
ion
s o
f w
ord
s
Children’s vocabulary size Hart and Risley, Meaningful Differences, 1995
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
14 mos 22 mos 30 mos 36 ms
lowest talkfamilies
lower talkfamilies
high talkfamilies
The language children hear matters
Quantity AND Quality of Adult Language
Children react instantly to the manner of adult
interactionStill Life Experiment: Dr Edward TronickMother with very young baby: 2 different
interaction styles
YouTube clip from Nottinghamshire’s Language for Life website:
www.nottslanguageforlife.co.uk/ResourcesAndLinks 2.49 minutes (can be just as powerful with no sound)
What does OFSTED say?The new Early Years Inspection Handbook says:
“When observing interactions between staff and children, inspectors should consider how well staff:
Engage in dialogue with children
Watch, listen & respond to children
Model language well
Encourage children to express their thoughts & use new words
Support independence & confidence
Encourage children to speculate & test ideas through trial & error
Enable children to explore & solve problems
Behave as an excellent role model for children to copy”
Early Years Inspection Handbook p.16 BP 67
What will good quality adult/ child interactions look like?
Rules of Thumb
Do children appear relaxed, able to ask for help and willing to initiate conversations with adults and children?
Do children appear to be generally content, happy and enjoying themselves?
Child’s Perspective
Adult’s Perspective
Do adults encourage children to co-operate and share with one another?
Do adults appear to be generally happy in what they are doing and seem to enjoy being with the children?
Do adults use everyday interactions to promote children's learning?
Do adults respond sensitively to children’s verbal and non-verbal signals?
Do adults label objects for children by naming and at the same time pointing or holding the object?
Are children asked questions that require more than just yes/no answers?
Do adults respond to what children say by encouraging them to develop their comments into a conversation
Do adults interact with children using positive non-verbal communication?
Activity 1: Interaction Styles
Watch DVD clip 1 & complete tally chartWatch DVD clip 2 & complete tally chartDiscuss positive adult interaction styles
Observation Frameworks SOUL Process
Stop Observe Understand Listen
HANEN OWLing
Observe Wait Listen
Resources to support practitioners
ECERs/ITERs/FCCERsMapping to EYFSECaT Checklists for
ECERs/ITERS/FCCERsECaT Top TipsECaT Positive Relationships
Audit
Activity 2: Play dough
In groups of 3: 1 person playing (CHILD) 1 person interacting (ADULT) by asking
questions 1 person observing & evaluating interaction
5 minutes
Experiential Learning
Feedback from OBSERVERFeedback from CHILDFeedback from ADULT
Interaction Strategies for Practitioners
Join children at their physical level Use the SOUL or OWLing process to guide your interactions &
observations Follow the child’s lead; model turn-taking with them Participate in child’s play, showing interest in what they are
doing Use comments as conversational openers rather than
questions Label and describe children’s actions & the objects they are
playing with Acknowledge what children say or do, if they are non-verbal Encourage children to extend their responses by scaffolding to
the next level Ask questions sparingly especially closed questions Use open-ended questions to promote episodes of Shared
Sustained Thinking
Sustained Shared Thinking An episode in which two or more individuals
“work together” in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate activities, extend a narrative etc. Both parties must contribute to the thinking & it must develop & extend …”
(Siraj-Blatchford et al 2004)
Recent EPPE (2005) study found that SST is more prevalent in the most effective preschool learning environments
How can adults support SST?
Tuning In
Showing Genuine Interest
Respecting Children’s Own Decisions & Choices
Inviting Children to Elaborate
Recapping
Offering Your Own Experience
Clarifying Ideas
Suggesting
Reminding
Using Encouragement to Further Thinking
Offering an Alternative Viewpoint
Speculating
Reciprocating
Asking Open Questions
Modelling Thinking
What Could These Strategies Sound Like/Look Like?
How to open a dialogue & give verbal feedback successfully:
Flip Chart activity:
What phrases would you use to open a dialogue with a child?
What phrases would you use to give verbal feedback to a child?
Resources to take away with you:
ECaT Checklists for ECERS/ITERS/FCCERSECaT Audit toolECaT Top Tips for TalkingDialogue/Feedback phrasesSST Top Tips
Narrowing the Gap
By reflecting on your own & your colleagues interaction styles, you will hopefully be able to make (slight) changes/alterations that will positively benefit all the children you support …
Often the children who are most At Risk of Delay for the development of age appropriate communication & language skills as pre-schoolers have had impoverished early experiences of interaction with adults close to them
As adults who will develop warm consistent relationships with many of these vulnerable children, interacting positively & appropriately with them will contribute to narrowing the gap for these children to maximise the benefit they gain from attending nurseries & preschools.