The interaction that I observed occurred at the school where I work. Another teacher, Anna, works with children who need special help with academic or social goals. She came to my class to collect one of my students who is 5 years old. She leaned over to talk to him and invited him to come with her for a little while. He looked to me for confirmation so I nodded. Anna then asked him if he would like to have a friend come with him. They are working on social interactions. He said he would so she asked which friend he would like to invite. When he didn't answer immediately she suggested another boy in the class. The child agreed and the 3 of them left my class.
I noticed several things while observing this interaction. Anna bent over so she would be at the same level as the child, she used short sentences and kept her body language open and positive. These are all strategies recommended by Rainer Dangei & Durden (2010) in their article "The nature of teacher talk during small group activities". One other thing that I observed was that Anna changed her voice when she talked with the children. She used a very high-pitched voice which sounded false to my ears. Many of her statements had an upward inflection that made them sound like questions.
Lisa Kolbeck (2011) in this week's video segment emphasises the fact that children need to be given respect and allowed to find their own words. The interaction that I observed had elements of this however the false voice shows me that Anna feels she needs to change her manner to talk to children, that she sees them as unable to communicate on the same level as other adults. While this may be true in terms of vocabulary and complexity of the language I don't think using a different voice is giving the children the respect they deserve.
While observing this interaction I have been comparing it to interactions that I have had with the same children. I do try to get on their level and use simple words and short sentences. This is especially important with the English language learners in my class. Rainer Dangei & Durden (2010) say "[b]ecause language has cultural and psychological functions - communicating and thinking (Mercer 1995) - teachers' words and the way they use them create meaning for the children as well as for themselves" (p 74-75). I think I need to be more deliberate with the words that I use. I need to make sure the children are able to create meaning from what they hear. I also need to try to keep my body language open and encouraging so that the children will know that I am listening to what they have to say.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Communicating with young children. Baltimore, MD: Author
Rainer Dangei, J., & Durden, T.R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81.
I noticed several things while observing this interaction. Anna bent over so she would be at the same level as the child, she used short sentences and kept her body language open and positive. These are all strategies recommended by Rainer Dangei & Durden (2010) in their article "The nature of teacher talk during small group activities". One other thing that I observed was that Anna changed her voice when she talked with the children. She used a very high-pitched voice which sounded false to my ears. Many of her statements had an upward inflection that made them sound like questions.
Lisa Kolbeck (2011) in this week's video segment emphasises the fact that children need to be given respect and allowed to find their own words. The interaction that I observed had elements of this however the false voice shows me that Anna feels she needs to change her manner to talk to children, that she sees them as unable to communicate on the same level as other adults. While this may be true in terms of vocabulary and complexity of the language I don't think using a different voice is giving the children the respect they deserve.
While observing this interaction I have been comparing it to interactions that I have had with the same children. I do try to get on their level and use simple words and short sentences. This is especially important with the English language learners in my class. Rainer Dangei & Durden (2010) say "[b]ecause language has cultural and psychological functions - communicating and thinking (Mercer 1995) - teachers' words and the way they use them create meaning for the children as well as for themselves" (p 74-75). I think I need to be more deliberate with the words that I use. I need to make sure the children are able to create meaning from what they hear. I also need to try to keep my body language open and encouraging so that the children will know that I am listening to what they have to say.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Communicating with young children. Baltimore, MD: Author
Rainer Dangei, J., & Durden, T.R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81.
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