The constructivist approach to education espouses the belief that
children are capable learners with many questions, ideas, feelings, and
theories about their world (Cadwell, 1997; Cadwell & Fyfe, 1996;
Chaille & Britain, 1997; Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 1999).
Consistent with the constructivist perspective is the view that teachers
and young children are "co-learners" in the classroom who
benefit from learning experiences that offer: 1) connections to their
prior knowledge, 2) opportunities for observation, 3) opportunities to
construct questions and hypotheses, and 4) time to revisit ideas and to
reflect on their actions. This environment encourages children to work
and learn together by asking questions, developing theories, planning
investigations, and reflecting on actions. As children collaborate they
share their ideas or theories, and exchange points of view. Thus,
constructivist classrooms encourage active, shared learning experiences
that lead to the co-construction of knowledge (Berk & Winsler,
1995).
For both children and teachers, observation plays a critical role
in the development of a meaningful curriculum. Careful study of
children's classroom behavior provides teachers with the
information to plan connected learning experiences that build on
children's interests and allow for continued inquiry, thus
sustaining children's active engagement. In the process, teachers
become "researchers" with children. Teachers may record their
observations using photographs, videotapes, audiotapes, or written
notes. Such documentation can be used when teachers collaborate to study
aspects of the children's actions. Using the information collected,
teachers can generate questions, formulate hypotheses, and propose next
steps for their curriculum.
As children learn to hone their observation skills, they will
construct a broader range of questions and theories. Observation
encourages both teachers and children to slow down and direct their
attention to, and reflect on, their actions. By adding depth to their
observations, young children can become critical thinkers and learn to
appreciate multiple perspectives.
The following article describes how practicum students, university
faculty, and preschool children at one school used their observations to
create connected learning experiences. Inspired by the Reggio Emilia
approach (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 1999; Hendrick, 1996), the
practicum instructor and university students used observation and
documentation to plan curriculum. The teachers recorded their
observations of children using videotapes, audiotapes, photographs, and
written notes, paying particular attention to the children's use of
drawing. The children studied their natural world and shared their ideas
through conversations with others.
Tools for Observation
The children in Ms. Carl's preschool class were observing
changes to the outdoor environment in their neighborhood. During the
Alaskan summer months, flowers, shrubs, and trees grow rapidly. Ms. Carl
introduced the children in her class to the signs of summer as they
walked to the park, noting the variety of flowers and plant life.
Practicum students from the local college, who were placed in Ms.
Carl's class to learn about planning meaningful learning
experiences, helped plan curriculum that evolved from the questions or
ideas expressed by the children as they observed the world outdoors.
The practicum students recorded the children's actions and
words, and introduced the children to several observation tools, such as
cameras, camcorders, a light table, and drawing tools. These observation
tools enabled the children to record their interests and obtain
documentation to use as referents. Recordings (audiotapes, videotapes)
of children's dialogue with each other and the adults served as
another observation tool for documentation. During conversations, the
children would pause to think about, or revisit, their ideas. The
practicum students used their dialogue with the children as a way to
reintroduce the children's ideas for further study. The
children's drawings became graphic representations of their
thinking.
Use of Cameras and Photographs. To encourage the children to
examine their environment, take notice of interesting scenes or images,
and create a visual record of their observations, the practicum students
offered the children cameras to use on their nature walks. By collecting
the children's photographs, the teachers could "revisit"
the children's interests or ideas. Because the children were
unfamiliar with the concept of using cameras as an observation tool, the
practicum students encouraged the children to "find something that
is interesting" to photograph as they walked along. Initially, the
teachers recorded what the children said while taking the pictures.
After studying their observations, the teachers talked to the children
about their photographs. Eventually, they displayed them, along with
brief descriptions of the children's actions and words.
The practicum students planned classroom activities using what they
had learned about the children's observations on the walks. The
practicum students also used cameras, but their purpose was different
from the children's. The practicum students recorded their
observations of the children's actions, while modeling how to use
the camera as a tool.
The Light Table. During the days that followed, the children's
interest in their surrounding environment increased. Once outdoors, the
children noticed insects, cloud formations, and flowers and other plant
life. In the classroom, they explored the life cycle of the giant moth,
tadpoles' transformation into frogs, and plant growth. The children
also gathered materials from their walks (leaves, branches, dandelions,
and bark), which they examined and made into classroom displays.
To advance the children's observation of the environment, the
practicum students showed the children how to use a light table to see
their materials in further detail. The light table was arranged next to
visual displays of the children's collected materials and with
baskets of other natural materials. The practicum students listened and
recorded the children's ideas as they viewed their collections on
the light table. Then, they planned experiences based on the
children's interests, questions, or ideas. The cycle of
observation, study, and planning continued for the duration of this
curriculum experience.
In addition, the practicum students arranged paper and pencils next
to the light table, inviting the children to draw or write about their
collections. The children used the light table to study detailed aspects
of their collected materials. They traced leaf patterns and commented on
details that they had not noticed before--the "lines" (veins)
in the leaves, for example. As a result, the children's drawings of
leaves showed shaded areas, lines for the veins, and different shapes.
The children's interest in the outdoors led them to collect
materials from home. One morning, Darrel, age 5, brought a spruce bark
beetle in a jar to share with his friends. He asked to use the light
table so he could further examine it. The light table served as another
tool for the children to use as they thought about their experiences
from the outdoor walks, shared their interests with other children, and
extended their interest in the outdoor environment.
Introducing Drawing as Observation. When Darrel noticed Jody, a
practicum student, using a camera, he asked her to take a picture of his
spruce bark beetle. The children had become familiar with taking
photographs of things that interested them, and they knew they could
discuss the photographs later in class. Jody noted Darrel's
interest in the beetle and recorded the children's ideas about and
knowledge of the beetle. Unfortunately, the camera would not operate and
Jody could not take a photograph. Jody suggested they use drawings to
create a record. Children can be shown how to use drawings as a written
record (Forman, 1989). Jody explained to Darrel that she wanted to make
a drawing of the beetle so that she would have a permanent recording she
could use to remember the beetle. She encouraged Darrel to tell her
about the beetle as she drew, describing the legs, the wings, and the
antennae, in order to ensure an accurate representation. Darrel told
Jody that the beetle lived "under the bark." This conversation
about Darrel's spruce beetle was the beginning of Jody and
Darrel's further inquiry.
As they talked, another practicum student found a working camera
and used it to photograph the beetle. The drawing and photograph, along
with Jody's written observations of the experiences, were used as
documentation with the other practicum students. The practicum students
studied and discussed the transcripts and drawings as they planned other
experiences with Darrel and his classmates. Darrel and Jody originally
intended to research more about the beetle by examining it on the light
table. Darrel misplaced his beetle, however, when he took it home for
the weekend. Jody again asked Darrel to use drawing as a way to share
his knowledge about the spruce beetle. The drawing and dialogue became a
tool for further observation and for building inquiry into the
curriculum.
Drawing and Dialogue
Children's drawings can be graphic representations of their
thoughts, questions, or ideas, helping them express what they understand
and remember (Forman, 1989) and what they wish to know. Jody wanted
Darrel to know that his ideas could be represented through drawings. In
addition, Darrel could verbalize and clarify his thinking as he drew.
Finally, Darrel's recorded ideas about the beetle might provide his
classmates with ways to extend their own observations of nature.
Reggio Emilia educators commonly study conversations among
children, and between children and adults (Cadwell & Fyfe, 1996;
Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 1999). They believe such conversations
allow children to reflect on their ideas and extend their thinking
(Cadwell & Fyfe, 1996). Thus, the practicum students working with
Ms. Carl's class used conversations with the children to learn
about the children's ideas, extend the children's thinking,
and reflect on their own teaching practices. Jody incorporated drawing
activities into her dialogue with the children.
Jody remembered that Darrel had explained that the spruce bark
beetle lived under the bark, and so she directed Darrel back to that
observation:
Jody: Remember when you brought the spruce beetle in for everyone
to see? You put that spruce bark in the jar for it to eat. I [had] never
seen a bark beetle, a spruce bark beetle. I was wondering if you knew
how they got inside the tree and what they did after they got inside of
it.
Darrel: They ate all the green. They ... ate all of the green taste
off, the green smell off of the, uh, those green parts.
Jody: I was wondering if you could help me understand what you were
thinking by drawing a picture of how the beetle got inside.
Darrel: They, like, get in.
Jody: I have some paper; maybe together we can figure out how they
did that.
Darrel: Watch. I will draw. 'Cause I'm good at drawing.
Let's say that is a tree.
Jody: Show me on the paper where that tree is. Okay.... So
there's the tree.
Darrel: And this is a leaf tree, and he, like, climbs up onto it.
Jody introduced the drawing activity by telling Darrel that she
wanted his help in understanding his ideas (see Figure 1). By showing
interest in Darrel's ideas, Jody supported her role as a
co-learner. This way of communicating to a preschool child supports the
concept of co-construction of knowledge, or of teachers and children
learning together. Instead of merely asking Darrel to draw a beetle as
part of a theme onbugs or the outdoors, Jody invited Darrel to use his
drawing as an expression of how he thought something works.
Specifically, she wanted Darrel to explain how, and why, a spruce beetle
penetrates tree bark. The result led both Jody and Darrel into
discussions and investigations.
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
A constructivist view of education emphasizes children's need
for opportunities to ask their own questions, study their answers, and
revise or modify their thinking. Curriculum subjects are selected and
studied deliberately, with time set aside for observation and
discussion. Both children and teacher connect their prior ideas or
thinking with the current activity. The practicum students described
here noted that the children gained confidence in their ability to use
drawings as a way to explain their ideas. They had learned a new purpose
for drawing.
Darrel: [The beetle] spreads out his wings on this tree. He spreads
his wings.
Jody: Show me how on the paper. Can you show me, on the paper, how
he does that?
While Darrel and his classmates were accustomed to drawing, the
idea of using drawings to explain ideas was new. As Jody directed
Darrel, he began to elaborate on his thinking as he drew.
Darrel: And there's his other wing. There's his other
wing, and he, like, flies over to this tree that has the big branches on
it. And sparks on it, the big spines on it.
Jody: The needles?
Darrel: And he gets in here. Then he goes into one of these to the
tip top. Then he eats down, eats down, eats down, and he comes to
another needle and goes up to the top and eats down.
Jody: Is he on the inside of it, or the outside of it?
Darrel: He's on the inside of the needle.
Jody: The inside.
Darrel: Then he goes through the branch and goes to another needle
and goes to the top, then goes down, and eats, eats, eats, eats, eats.
Then he moves on through the tree just eating, eating, eating, eating.
Jody: You're drawing your lines inside the tree. So he stays
inside the tree?
Jody commented on specific aspects of Darrel's drawing to
direct Darrel's attention to his thinking about how the beetle
lives in the tree. His initial ideas continued to evolve into his
"theory" of the spruce beetle's migration patterns.
Role of the Teacher in Dialogue
As Darrel and Jody continued their discussion, Jody commented on
parts of his drawing and wrote down Darrel's ideas. When she later
examined the transcripts of the conversations, Jody could see how her
comments and questions encouraged Darrel to clarify, and talk more
about, his ideas.
Darrel: Then he eats the tree smell off the needles. So that's
how he ... flies off of another tree, and he digs and he eats into the
bark.
Jody: Oh, he digs and eats right here where you drew those lines?
Darrel: Yeah. Then he goes and eats the green smell off the
needles.
Jody: Can I label this for us?
Darrel:Yeah.
Jody: I'm going to put it right down. I'm going to write,
"He digs.... "
By writing down Darrel's ideas connected with the drawing,
Jody demonstrated that she valued the drawing. the dialogue above
illustrates how Jody referred Darrel back to his drawing by asking for
clarification. She also acknowledged that she and Darrel were working on
the drawing together, thus communicating to Darrel that the
"teacher" is learning as well.
Jody: What happens to the trees when they eat them?
Darrel: You know how sometimes in the fall when the leaves get dry.
Well, that's what happens when the spruce bark beetle comes and
eats the green off the tree. They're brown.
The conversation continued, and Darrel used the "circle of
life" concept to name his theory about the life cycle of the spruce
beetle.
Darrel: They fly into a spruce tree, then, like, um, they eat in a
little circle. Then, [he] makes it out.
Jody: Can you draw that on one of these so I can understand what
you're thinking? That's where they eat the circle?
Jody made it clear that what Darrel had to say was important, and
that she wanted to understand his thinking. This way of keeping the
conversation moving encouraged Darrel to develop his "theory"
further.
Darrel: They eat into the circle. Then they ... close up the door.
Jody: That's the door?
Darrel: Like, close the door back. Then they sleep all winter. And
when they're done he goes through a little tunnel, then eats back
out.
Jody: He eats out the door that closed up?
Darrel: Yeah, that's how they live. Then [they] come back to
where they've been and eat.
Jody: And they eat, and then those trees all turn brown and dry
out?
Darrel: Yeah, and they die. The tree dies and they have to come
clip the tree off. The tree just grows up another one.
Jody: And when all the beetles die, all the beetles are gone. You
don't have them anymore, ever?
Darrel: No! They plant eggs inside of their burrow. Then they ...
stash bark inside. They hatch out--they have plenty to eat.
Jody: Can you show me, on the paper, where they stash those eggs?
Darrel: They go through their little home again, and ... put eggs,
then they go out and collect food like bark, and bring it back in and
then put it in there--where the eggs are. Then when the eggs hatch out,
they have plenty to eat until they're big enough to fly away.
Jody: Can you show me on your picture where the eggs are? Can you
draw them on there?
Jody continued to encourage Darrel to draw his ideas into the
picture, keeping Darrel interested in his emerging theory.
Darrel: That big blob has eggs inside that.
Jody: Inside that circle?
Darrel: Yeah. All the eggs are just in a big egg. Then, the mom
brings the bark in and ... the eggs hatch out of their big egg. Then
they have plenty to eat.
Jody: Because she put all the bark in there?
Darrel: The tree grows back the little door, so they're warm.
Then the mother dies out and then, when the beetles are big enough to
fly away, they fly away and they do the same thing.
Jody: Oh, so there's always beetles?
Darrel: That's how they migrate. They migrate. They move from
tree to tree and they go on. The mothers stay in one tree, and make it a
home, then the eggs that hatch fly into another tree, and they dig in
and do different things. When the other eggs are hatched out and
they're big enough to go away, they fly and make another tree a
home. That's how they migrate.
Jody: They spread everywhere.
Darrel: That's the circle of life. They spread everywhere. In
the circle of life.
Through the experience of drawing, Jody and Darrel worked together
to create a theory about how the spruce beetle eats away certain trees
native to Alaska. In the days that followed, Darrel brought in another
beetle and several friends joined him one morning to observe the beetle
moving around in the jar for almost an hour. The children debated what
would happen if the beetle were to become scared, which led into a
discussion of what would frighten a beetle.
Final Words
Written transcripts and drawings of the children's experiences
allow teachers to examine their teaching practices. In addition,
teachers can review their questions and comments, and study the ways
their responses influence the children's actions or thinking.
Studying transcripts to reflect on teaching practices is a means for
lifelong learning.
Although observation has been common practice in the field of early
childhood for some time, early childhood educators and caregivers have
much to learn about using it to understand how teachers and children
learn. Observations of children's and teachers' actions can
shed light on how we establish our curriculum, for example. In addition,
we can learn how to transform our teaching principles into daily
practices. Transcripts, children's work, tapes, or written notes
can offer a context for teachers as they communicate and find ways to
plan experiences that evolve from children's interests, questions,
or theories. The study of observations also can be a powerful context in
which teachers exchange views about child development and the
interpretation of children's actions and words. The experiences
shared in this article are only starting places for teachers in child
care or primary school settings who are interested in using observation
and documentation for planning curriculum.
References
Berk, L. E., & Winsler, A. (1995). Scaffolding children's
learning: Vygostky and early childhood education (Vol. 7). Washington,
DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Cadwell, L. B. (1997). Bringing Reggio Emilia home: An innovative
approach to early childhood education. New York: Teachers College Press.
Cadwell, L. B., & Fyfe, B. (1996). Conversations with children.
In J. Hendrick (Ed.), First steps toward teaching the Reggio way (pp.
84-99). NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Chaille, C., & Britain, L. (1997). The young child as
scientist: A constructivist approach to early childhood science
education (2nd ed.). New York: Longman.
Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. (1999). The hundred
languages of children: The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood
education. Greenwich, CT: Ablex.
Forman, G. (1989). Helping children ask good questions. In B.
Neugebauer (Ed.), The wonder of it: Exploring how the world works (pp.
21-24). Redmond, WA: Child Care Information Exchange/Exchange Press.
Hendrick, J. (1996). First steps toward teaching the Reggio way.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Eileen Hughes is Associate Professor, Early Childhood Development,
School of Education, University of Alaska Anchorage.