See What Children Know
Click on the thumbnail to watch this video inside our video library. What makes a child persist in his attempts to make something work? Are repeated attempts at the same strategy a mark of high-level thinking or indicative of the absence of creative problem solving? If a strategy does not work, does the child become frustrated or change the goal? Let’s look at this clip with these questions in mind. Henry wants to make the string taut, from tabletop to floor, so his imaginary animals can safely slide down into the water. Initially he successfully anchors the string to the floor with a piece of tape, and the string is now taut. In an action meant to help Henry, Wesley accidentally separates the string from its mooring. Wesley explains, “I was going to press it down,” meaning that the separation was not at all his intent. Henry wants Wesley to understand his perspective, so he says, with some despair in his voice, “I did some really hard work.” One can see that these two boys are friends. Watch how the cross currents throughout the clip are tolerated with kindness, flexibility, and clear language.
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Notes from the Field
From June 12 to 15, 2011 NAEYC will host the National Institute for Professional Development in Providence, Rhode Island. During summer nights Providence comes to life with music piped throughout the Providence Riverwalk lit by water fire midstream. The conference features keynotes, workshops, and breakout sessions oriented toward teacher education and policy study. We hope to see you there. Please contact me at GEForman@aol.com if you would like to meet to discuss your interests and instructional needs.
We now have our fourth CD in The Learning Moments series ready to ship. This title, Art as Literacy, explains how children draw, paint, pretend, sing, sculpt, mime, and dance to express their understanding of the physical and social world. Different media allow the child to explore different attributes of their world. Clay: How would a change in shape affect my understanding of this object/event? Paint: How would a change in color affect my understanding of this object/event? Mime: How would a change in the speed of my movement affect my understanding of this object/event? We are proud of this set of video clips because it offers a new way of thinking about art. Go to the Videatives eStore CD section to see all four titles indicated by the keyword The Learning Moments series.
