Allowing children to take the lead Case Study 4

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1 Allowing children to take the lead Case Study 4 Duke St Nursery - Marisa Pollett At the outset of this project Marisa and her team were curious about the fact that the PSRN results in the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile were lower than expected compared to other areas and why that was. Was it because that area of learning was particularly challenging for children or was there more to it than that? They began their research by deciding to collect observations on children s maths through their child-initiated play over a two week period. When the two weeks were up they gathered these together and reflected on what they d found: Carrying out this research made me wonder when people start to hate maths or start to think that they are not very good at it. Nursery children don t seem to do either of these things and I was surprised at the amount of maths related work they do spontaneously in their child-initiated play. They choose to do maths all the time. Lizzie, Early Years Practitioner Maths is in everything, using the paper to create a picture, being aware of the space they are working within, the shapes and lines used to create a face. When you look closely it s easy to see that in all the activities and experiences in a child s daily play maths figures in practically everything they do Linda, Early Years Practitioner It amazed me to develop and link maths with all areas of learning that I would not normally associate with maths. Janet, Early Years Practitioner Laila drew "5 little snowmen" as she sang the song outdoors Saad placed a mini kid on each shape in the block area and counted them Marcus looked at maps and drew some flats. We need a lift to get to the top. He drew an arrow, It s going down now. They were all amazed by the number of observations they d collected. They all felt reasonably confident that they did a lot of maths with the children and yet were always surprised when it came to inputting their assessments at how many gaps were evident for children s PSRN. They found because they d begun to specifically focus on PSRN, especially through children s self-initiated play, it made them view things with 'a mathematical lens'. Observations are always subjective; whereas before we might have observed the same incident and written an observation for the areas of CLLD or Creative we were now seeing the mathematical learning which hadn t been as visible before. This would then have an impact on how we step in to extend and scaffold children s learning. 18

2 The following is the nursery's description of an example of children s PSRN interests within a much broader project and of the staff following their mathematical lines of enquiry: A project started in our group when Billy came in very excited with a dinosaur bone that he d found up Rivington Hill. A dinosaur skeleton, lots of them, on the grass. You go in that big castle and you will see lots of dinosaur skeletons. They ve been there for hundreds of years. I thought it was a velociraptor. I saw the head and the arms. There was baby ones too! The next day Nathan brought his dinosaur skull in from a model he was making at home. Elizabeth counted his teeth to 18 and one fell out. You can t get a tooth off the dinosaurs, Emma said, they just fall out. I asked what happens when dinosaur's teeth fall out. They get a penny from the tooth fairy! Elizabeth said. No, they get 45 cos they re bigger! The next day I asked the group what they thought about Elizabeth s idea that a dinosaur would get more money for its tooth because of its size. Their responses were as follows: James: I think 70 because he s really big! Elizabeth: A thousand pounds! Billy: Fifty hundreds! Karsen: A hundred is many ago. A hundred years ago. Years and years ago before people they were dead, then people went up. Chanel: The dinosaur's skin came off cos they died and they were bones Kiean: Give them twenty quid! Karsen: I could be a boy tooth fairy. I asked them to show me on paper how much they thought the dinosaur would get, the children represented their amounts in different ways. "I got 17" Elizabeth counted the coins she had drawn Nathan showed his amount by drawing a 'big' number calling it "a hundred and ten" 19

3 I could be a boy tooth fairy! Karsen said. Yeah, I ll be the tooth man! Billy said. I got out a large pile of coins and we counted them together up to 49. It s a big number! said Billy. It s this big! and he demonstrated with a big jump and a stretch of his hands. Karsen and Billy wrapped up their coins in paper for the dinosaur and sellotaped it. Elizabeth and Emma wrote letters to go with their money saying Don t worry, we will come soon and it says the second love because I love the dinosaur. Dinosaur s don t lose their teeth very often! The children then hid their money packages and letters under pillows outside. Following up the interest in the sizes of dinosaurs from the dinosaur book Leo had brought in to show we went outside to show with chalk how big we thought different parts of the dinosaurs were before checking the information in the book and measuring it out. I also was curious to see if the children were more confident to make estimates of size compared to number. The children all confidently had a go at drawing the size of the foot and teeth of Tyrannosaurus Rex James remembered some of the vocabulary from the book as he drew my tooth is about as long as a banana! and when I asked them to show how long the diplodocus would be in real life he said taller than two houses on top of each other. The children to my surprise all drew small pictures to show the size of the diplodocus despite me hinting it was really big and they d need to find a lot of space to draw it. I ve got space here Hollie told me. Diplodocus' head T-rex's foot T-rex's teeth 20

4 Afterwards James was still interested in this theme. He brought the model T Rex up to me and said How long is this dinosaur? Marisa, lets follow how big this T-Rex is. he began to walk off in front of me counting each footstep as he went It s as big as one playground! James concluded. I think we need to chop all the toys down cos the first dinosaur we walked out was so big. I think we need to cut that wagon down (the shed) so he will fit. Do you think a dinosaur is likely to come and visit us? I asked James. I think it won t cos there s no dinosaurs round here. We can t see any heads can we not Marisa? If a dinosaur peeps up like this he craned his neck up, we would see his neck. I think he would eat us up in one gulp! Hollie had come along and caught the end of our conversation. I see a big big dinosaur and the prince will save us and I m Sleeping Beauty and the prince will come on his horse and the dinosaur won t eat us. she said. Happily ever after! James finished for her. Happily ever after. The End Hollie agreed. CONCLUSIONS Children s mathematical curiosity surrounds us every day once we begin to recognise and read it, from children solving problems such as shifting an easel to make room for their bike to pass, to their identification with the number that represents their age and their fascination with large numbers beyond which they are yet able to count. As adults, we can sometimes be concerned with our own agenda of what we 'need' children to achieve and miss out on celebrating the maths that is right in front of us in children s own questions and theories. It s our role to engage with the questions that are meaningful and excite children as these are probably the experiences that will provoke deeper learning from them. It s essential that the children see us excited about maths and that we make our own mathematical thinking and workings out visible to the children in the same way as we model our love of books and how to read and write. We...are convinced that it is not an imposition on children or an artificial exercise to work with numbers, quantity, classification, dimensions, form, measurement, conservation and space because these explorations belong spontaneously to the everyday experiences of living, playing, negotiating, thinking and speaking by children. Malaguzzi (1998) Though we ve all learnt a lot through this project, we are only at the beginning of truly understanding children s mathematical thinking and of how we can learn how to work alongside them as practitioners to support them. 21

5 Allowing. children to take the lead Case Study 5 Ashbridge Independent School and Nursery: Jane Crossthwaite Jane is the nursery teacher at Ashbridge Independent School and Nursery which is set in 10 acres of woodland and meadow. Jane decided that she and her team would focus on developing and further establishing child initiated learning with the younger children. AIMS To recognise the importance of child initiated learning (CIL) at the heart of good practice, particularly with the children under 3 years old. To establish CIL further with the youngest children and find effective ways of integrating it into practice. To encourage/inform staff to plan appropriately using CIL. To provide more meaningful learning experiences/ outcomes for all our children. INITIAL STEPS To discover staff understanding, Jane gave staff working with children under 2 years of age a questionnaire which asked what they understood CIL to mean and examples of how they used this in their planning and practice. They then looked at their current record keeping to see if CIL was supported by planning and assessment systems. HOW THIS WAS DEVELOPED The focus was on one class initially. They looked at the physical environment and improved the children s access to resources. Children under 2 years of age are less able to communicate verbally than older children, so staff were encouraged to observe children for longer periods of time. Detailed observations were shared with other members of staff. They discussed the learning that was taking place, how they could develop the interest/learning further and what the next steps were. Further activities were planned, focusing on the next steps that had been identified and detailed observations again taken of any children engaged in the experience. As this continued learning paths/journeys became apparent. Talking to parents was crucial. Discussing observations with parents enabled staff to make links between home and nursery and better understand the child. A display board in the classroom was used to show the development of CIL following an observation. This was used to inform parents and members of staff throughout nursery. 22

6 OUTCOMES There was a rise in staff motivation. At a staff meeting CIL was discussed and how it could be used effectively throughout nursery as a whole. Children much more engaged as enhanced areas of provision developed their interest. Planning was developed. Initially, planning was focused around the areas of provision but was changed to focus on the child and the next steps in their learning. This proved much easier for staff to use and reflected more CIL. An updated planning format was introduced throughout the whole of nursery. Most observations led to a variety of interests for different children. Deciding which to extend proved a challenge - knowledge of the children and a flexible approach was crucial. Activities which did not engage the children were adapted to meet their interests and needs. Flexibility with resources and time ensured that the needs and interests of the children were developed and the children s leads followed. NEXT STEPS To continue to monitor and evaluate. To share good practice within the setting develop a good practice file. To encourage parental involvement - display boards to be used in each room showing the effectiveness of CIL. IMPACT Children become involved and engaged much quicker and for longer through learning initiated by themselves. Young children s language skills developed more rapidly, as next steps are related to their previous experience and they were able to apply and extend new vocabulary. Children were increasingly willing to take risks, exploring and investigating as they built on previous experiences. Knowledge of the child and staff skills in observation were crucially important. Involving parents directly in children s learning encourages transfer of information and secures good relationships between home and nursery. Children with schemes are more easily identified and supported through a focus on CIL. 23

7 Allowing children to take the lead Case Study 6 Playdor Nursery School - Mrs Emma Barrow, BA (Hons), QTS EYPS (Proprietor) A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PLAYDOR Playdor is a private, 36 place setting located on the outskirts of Chorley. It has been established for twenty six years. It takes children from birth to four years old. Opening times are from 7:30am until 6:00pm, Monday to Friday. A total of ten staff work at Playdor and all are qualified to a minimum of NVQ level two. The setting is run by the proprietor who is also a qualified teacher with EYPS. The building is a converted residential bungalow with an extensive outdoor play area which is set in a residential area. THE PROJECT: WHAT WERE THEY TRYING TO ACHIEVE? To develop an overarching understanding of the meaning of Child Initiated Play. To identify the role which the adult plays in children s play and learning. To highlight any restrictions that the adult imposes to children s play. To reflect on the importance of effective observation and assessment of the children. WHAT DID THEY DO? Questionnaires were given to each member of staff to gauge the initial understanding of the concept of child initiated play. A meeting was held to discuss the findings from the questionnaire and to develop a unified definition of child initiated play. A united approach was planned for the project. Formats were devised for observations and assessments. Each key worker identified sample children and began to conduct the research. Analysed the findings of the observations and assessments and reflected on the objectives. Planned for the next steps and enhanced where necessary. Evaluated the impact that the interventions had on children s learning through the introduction of the enhancement. 24

8 In your own words describe what you believe to be child initiated play: Give one example or a child initiated activity or experience: Do you believe that children have the opportunities to self initiate at Playdor? Why? Can you please split the opportunities into a percentage of what you believe children access throughout a typical day at Playdor? Child Initiated Child Initiated but Adult Intervened Adult Initiated Staff Questionnaire WHAT HAPPENED? Staff reflected on their understanding of what child initiated play actually was, and reached a shared understanding. They discovered that adults in the nursery setting sometimes do not give the children enough opportunities to initiate their own play, occasionally intervening too much and directing their learning unconsciously. That children may at times need to be observed rather than played with. Staff used this opportunity to re-think current practices and have adapted to accommodate the children s lead in play. The project reaffirmed that the children at nursery are happy and enthusiastic. The observations were a good working tool to allow staff to identify the length of time that the children sustained their own play. Staff believed at first that it was a lot longer than it actually was. This observation, before and after the project highlighted an increase in the time child initiated play was sustained. 25

9 Through the key worker observations and understanding of each child, enhancements were added and played an important role in sustaining their interest. Children actually felt confident to suggest other resources from different areas to compliment their play. Giving the children more time to themselves has had a positive impact on them; it appears to have increased their confidence and has enhanced their ability to become independent learners. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NEXT? To continue observing and assessing the children s learning and to reflect on the impact our role has on it. To confirm that it is ok to stand back and observe a child s play. Maintain continuous assessment of the environment and involve the children when we are doing this. Continue to look at each child individually and pay particular attention to their well-being and involvement levels. Give more opportunities during our peer observations to feedback to each other on adult intervention. 26

10 Allowing children to take the lead Case Study 7 St Oswald s RC Primary School Victoria Jarvis Vicky is the reception teacher in a maintained primary school. Over the last few years there have been a greater number of boys in the reception class. Vicky noticed they were more likely to be hesitant, less confident writers than the girls and they sometimes seemed to have less motivation. She decided to explore ways to catch their interest and channel their energy and imagination to initiate the desire to write. She changed her environment to provide a greater opportunity for child initiated learning to take place. AIMS to initiate a desire to write, particularly in boys; to focus the study on two boys, one very young with a July birthday, the other a January birthday. INITIAL STEPS Vicky observed the boys in their self-initiated play. This helped her to note that boys needed their writing to have a purpose; a particular example was that one of the boys decided to make a poster informing parents not to send pop in packed lunches after a fizzy bottle covered the welfare assistant as she opened it! This spread and soon posters were written on any blank surface! ACTION Vicky began to look for opportunities to make the writing more meaningful. Just before Christmas a School Governor presented the Reception class with two toy Emperor penguins one was a metre tall and the other forty centimetres tall. The children loved them and it gave Vicky the stimulus she was looking for. Vicky began writing stories about the penguins and what they got up to. They were very mischievous penguins initially they stole Santa s hat and this gave them the power to fly. They then stole hats from other staff and adults working in the school. The two penguins Pip and Pat 27

11 The boys became so excited at the penguins antics that they began to write them notes and everybody in school became involved with the missing hats. The penguins eventually had to fly back to Antarctica from where they sent a letter to say how sorry they were for hiding the hats. On the last day of term in their own time the boys decided to write to the penguins. This was duly put into a large envelope complete with address and air mile stickers. The boys initiated writing when they saw the need. Instead of initiating ideas herself Vicky began to take them from the children. Combined with their increasing knowledge of letters and sounds she noted that; their writing became more detailed; they began to teach each other the high frequency words; they became more confident; their learning became more relevant; the boys thought carefully about whole class need. 28

12 Examples of the boys initiating their own writing Using the letter stones to write their own names Writing labels for the vet role play In the role play and making a list of things a dog owner would want 29

13 NEXT STEPS to continue to plan an exciting creative curriculum to channel the boy s energy and provide a range of materials to initiate their independent learning and writing; to listen carefully and observe what the boy s are interested in, so giving them the opportunity to write for a purpose; to monitor progress and use this information and knowledge to help further achievement; to involve children in the discussions about classroom management and how their aims can be achieved. WHAT VICKY HAS LEARNED FROM THE PROJECT opportunities for independent learning happen many times during the day and there is a need to observe and offer the environment and resources to encourage this to take place; boys need a specific reason to write; children want to see their writing displayed; boys want others to use their writing. 30