StoriesofLearning.com JulieArcadiou November2010

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Telling Our Stories of Learning

Focussing Curiosity and Developing Depth: Thinking Routines with Young Children

Whatwouldhappenifabubblewasreallyhighandacloudhitit?(Oscar)

Ifabubblewentuphighandacloudwasabouttorainitwould

hitthebubble,thebubblewouldbepusheddowntothe

groundandbreak!(Julian)

TheabovecommentsfromPrepchildrendemonstratethepointthatwehavereachedasaclass.Withinatermthechildrenhaveshowngreatdevelopmentintheirabilitytofocustheircuriosityandaskquestionswithdepth.Wehavehadquiteajourneyinashortspaceoftime.Aspartofourunit‘IAmaScientist’,childrenareinvolvedinavarietyofexplorationsandexperiments,andareencouragedtohypothesiseaboutandquestiontheworldaroundthem.Myaimisforthechildrentobecomefamiliarwith,andtodevelop,initialunderstandingsoftopicsincludingFloatingandSinking,EarthandSpace,Livingthings,ThehumanbodyandThewatercycle.Thechildrenoftenaskalotofquestionsanddisplayagreatdealofcuriosity;however,attheageoffiveandsixtheyarenotfocussedintheircuriosityandarenotabletoarticulatecomplexquestionscorrectly.Iassumedthatthiswasduetolanguagedevelopment,andthatitwasageappropriateforchildreninPreptonotbeabletoarticulatecomplexquestions.Theystarttheunit,andindeedtheyear,eagerandenthusiastictodothe‘rightthing’.Thisalsomeanstheyaresofocussedonpleasingtheteacherthattheyoftenarewillingtodismisstheirthoughtsandjustagreewithwhatotherssayorwhattheythinktheteacherislookingfor.Iwanttodevelopindependentlearnerswiththeskillsandabilitiestoresearch,analyse,reflectandprocessinformationinarangeofsituations.Iwanttodevelopindependentthinkerswiththeskillsandabilitiestochallenge,questionandjustifytheirfindingsinavarietyofsettings.Iwantthechildreninmyclassroomtostandoutbecauseoftheircuriosityandopenmindedness.Itisthesedispositionsthataresoimportantnotonlytohavesuccessatschool,butinlife.Iwantthechildrentonaturallythinkandactinacuriousmanner.Wheretheyhaveatendencytobeopenminded,whereitistheirinstincttoexhibitthesedispositions.Iwantthechildrentobeabletoposequestions,seekanswersandlistentoothers.Theyneedtobeacceptingofwhatotherpeople

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think;however,theyalsoneedthestrategiestochallengewhatissaidinanappropriateway.Thisdispositionalapproachtothinkingandlearningisaboutmakingitaninnatecharacteristic.Iwantedthechildrentobeabletoaskquestionsrelevantandimportanttothemselvesandtheirlearning.Iwasunsurewhethercuriositycouldbefocussedatsuchayoungage,butIwashopingtoscaffoldthechildren’squestioningandlanguageskills,thusleadingthemtobemoreabletoaskquestionsofdepth.IchosetwoThinkingRoutines:ThinkPuzzleExploreandQuestionStartsi.IknewThinkPuzzleExplorewouldfitwellintothescienceunit;IusedQuestionStartsinafewdifferentformatsatthePuzzlestageaimingatgivingthemagreaterunderstandingofthelanguageusedinaskingquestions.

LessonOne:TheHumanBodyWhohasfeet?(Katelyn)Ourfirstlessonwasaboutthehumanbody.WesatonthecarpetinacircleandIaskedthechildrenwhattheythoughttheyknewaboutthehumanbody.ThisisaveryimportantpartoftheThinkPuzzleExploreroutineaschildrenofthisageoftenclaimtoknowmanythingsbutoftenhavemisconceptionsandgapsintheirunderstandings.Byprovidingthemwithanopportunitytoexpresswhattheythinktheyknow,itgivesmeabenchmark,andthemareferencepoint,toreturnto.Thisprocessalsohelpsthemtorealisethatnoneofusknoweverything.Wehavetoseekanswersandclarifyinformationtobesureaboutwhatweknow.Iwrotetheirthoughtsontolargepaperwiththeirnamealongside.Thisisaprocesswehaveusedquiteoften,andwerefertoitthroughouttheweektobuildonlearning.Itseemedimportanttogivestudentsownershipovertheirthoughts,questionsandinturntheirlearning.Wefollowedthesameprocessfortheirpuzzles.WhenIaskedforstudents’puzzlesIwasnotsurprisedwithmanyresponses.Amongstmanyblanklooksandshrugsoftheshoulders,someresponsesincluded:Idon’tknow.(Sam)Yourbodyisbig.(Michael)Whatareeyesfor?(Talia)Youhavetwoarms.(Poppy)Whereisyourbody?(Carl)Itwasquiteclearthatthechildrenneededalotofassistancetoformquestions,especiallyifweweregoingtofocusonquestionsthathaddepthandledintoexplorations.LessonTwo:WaterHowdoesraingetintothesea?(Chan)

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Oursecondlessonfocusedonwater.OnceagainweusedThinkPuzzleExplore,however,thistimeatthePuzzlestageIusedtheQuestionStartsroutine.Iprovidedthechildrenwithwordsthatwouldhelpthemformquestions:Is,Does,How,Why,WhereandWhen.Iwroteeachwordonacardandinsertedthemintopocketsonlargedice.Iknewthechildrenwouldbeeagertousemyquestiondice.Eachchildrolledthedieonceandusedthewordtoformulatetheirquestion.Iscaffoldeditforthemsotheyhadawaytoaskaquestionratherthanmakingastatement.Youcouldseethechildrenformulatingtheirquestions.TheywouldattempttousethewordfromthediceandIwouldhelpbyrepeatingbackwhattheyhadsaidandclarifyingwhattheymeant.Ialsomadesuretorepeatthewordonthedicesotheywereclearwhatitwasandhowtheycoulduseit.ThistimeIreceivednostatements,whichwascertainlyprogress.Therewasalsodevelopmentintheirquestions:Doesrainturnintohail?(Jasmin)Ishailice?(Oscar)Doesicecomedownfromtheclouds?(Max)Howdoestherainpourontheground?(Dominic)Howdoestheraingetintotheclouds?(Liana)Somechildrenfounditchallengingtoformulatetheirquestionaroundthestartingword,soforthemImodelledhowtheycouldformaquestion.Otherchildrenwouldsay‘Thisishowyouaskaquestion’or‘Rememberaquestionhasananswer’.ThechildrenwerealsomodellinghowtousetheQuestionStartsandindeedmostchildrenwereabletoaskaquestionrelevanttothetopicusingoneoftheQuestionStarts.LessonThree:PlantsWhatwouldhappenifweputit(thegrass)inthesunanddidn’twaterit?JasminThechildrenrespondedsowelltoQuestionStartsthatIknewtheywerereadytobechallengedfurther.Attheendofourweekonwaterweplantedgrassseedsinclearplasticcups.Westartedourweekonplants,aswehaveallothers,withThinkPuzzleExplore.AtthePuzzlestageIonceagainprovidedstudentswithQuestionStarts;however,thistimeIprovidedthemwithonesthatIconsideredmorechallenging.Ichose‘Whatwouldhappenif?’and‘Howwoulditchangeif?’Iknewthatthiswouldbequiteastretchforsome,soIexplainedthatweweretryingtousetheseQuestionStartsbutthatIwouldalsoacceptotherquestions,aslongastheywereonthetopicandwerequestionsnotstatements.Iwasamazedatthequestionschildrenaskedaboutplants.Whatwouldhappenifweputthewateringrasseveryday?(Sasha)Whatwouldhappenifthegrasskeptongettingbigandbig?(Alana)Whatwouldhappenifyouputtheplantsoutsideallthetime?(Marcus)Howwoulditchangeifweleftthegrassoutinalloftherainynights?(Chan)

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Howwoulditchangeifthegrassdoesn’tgetanywater?(Ricardo)Thesequestionsallowedforrealexploration!WhenweprogressedtotheExplorepartoftheroutine,thechildrensuggestedanumberofwaysthatwecouldexplore,experimentandtestoutourpuzzles.Wewereabletotakeoneofthesequestionsandconductexperimentstoexplorethem.ThroughtheseexplorationsIwasabletofocusondevelopingscientificunderstandings.Theyhadtrulymadeashiftfromaskingquestionsforthesakeofit;theywereaskingquestionstheyreallywantedtoexplore,andwerethenputtingforwardexplorationsthatwerehands‐onandinvestigative.ThroughthedevelopmentoftheircomplexquestionsIcouldseethattheircuriositytakingshape.LessonFive:BubblesWhatwouldhappenifwewereblowingbubblesandthewindcame?(Erin)Iwasconfidentthatthechildrenwereaskingquestionsthatshoweddepthofcuriosity.Theywerekeentoexploretheirpuzzlesandveryeagertodiscusstheirthoughts.Theyhadalsostartedansweringeachother’squestions,whichwasakeyshiftastheywerenowbelievingandtrustingeachother,whereasbeforetheyhadreliedonmetoanswertheirquestions.Thisshowedthechildrenbecomingindependentlearners.TheywerebeginningtousetheresourcesaroundthemandIwasbecomingmoreofafacilitator.Aschildrenansweredeachother’squestionsorcommentedonwhatwassaid,Iwouldsupportthembyprobingwithfurtherquestionsoraskingifanyoneelsewantedtoaddanything.Itwasalsomyroletointerveneifstudentswereacceptingother’sviewsastruthwhentheywereincorrect.Ihadtoscaffoldtheirthoughtsandhelpthemtoinvestigateideasfurther.ThelastlessonthatIdiscusshereisourlessononbubbles.ThechildrenandImadeourownbubblewandsandbubblemixture,andthenofcoursewentoutsideandblewbubbles!WhenwereturnedwefollowedourThinkPuzzleExploreroutine.FortheThinksectionIprovidedeachchildwithasmallpieceofpaperandaskedthemtowriteanddrawwhattheythoughttheyknewaboutbubbles.ThiswasquiteadevelopmentasupuntilthispointIhadbeenthescribeandtheyhadalwaysprovidedtheirthoughtsorally.Wegluedalltheirthoughtsupontolargepaperfortheclasstosee,makingsuretonamethemsotheyhadownershipovertheirwork.Ivaluethisprocess;itcontributestobuildingacohesivelearningenvironmentwhereallcontributionsarevalidated,allchildrenhaveavoiceandhavetheopportunitytoshareit.Thisalsogavemeachancetoscaffoldtheirthoughtsandideasandanopportunityforthechildrentolearnfromeachother’sthinking.WediscussedsomeoftheirthoughtsbeforemovingontothePuzzlestage.IprovidedthemwiththeQuestionStarts‘Whatwouldchangeif?’,‘Whatif?’and‘Why?’StudentswereabletonotonlyusetheseQuestionStarts,butformquestionsusingotherwordsindependently.WhenchildrenchosetostartaquestionwithadifferentQuestionStartIaskedotherstudentstoidentifythewordthechildusedtostarttheirquestion.Thishelpedustobuilda

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listofwordstousewhenformingquestions.Suchlanguagedevelopmentwasmyfocus.Iworkedonbuildingthechildren’svocabularysotheyhadanabilitytoformcomplexquestions.Thehighlightofthissessionwastheinteractionbetweenstudents.Theywerenolongerjustaskingquestionsandwaitingformetorespond;theywerelisteningandrespondingtoeachother.Itwasanexcitingshift.Thechildrenwerenotonlyfocusedonthemselves;theywerecuriousaboutwhatothersweresaying.Theywereshowinganabilitytobeopen‐mindedandalittlescepticalalso.Belowisapassagefromourconversations:Whydobubbleshaveairinsidethem?(Ava)Howdoestheairgetintothebubble?(Bettina)Howdoestheairgetoutofthebubble?(Marcus)

Julian:AirgoesupandthatiswhybubblesgoupSam:Weputourairintotheliquidandthenitgoesfuufff!Chan:Whenweblowwemakeair.Airisinvisible,itgoesintothebubbleJasmin:Aircarriesthebubbleup,asitgoesupairgoesintoitandthenoutofit.ItgoesbackdownandpopsTalia:Itislikeaheliumballoon.Whentheballoonlosesheliumifcomesdown,sodoesabubble!Teacher:Doesanyonedisagree?Sasha:Theairdoesn’tcomeintothebubble.Bubblesgetbiggerastheyareinthesky(agreeingwithJasmin)anditpopsErin:IdisagreewithSasha,theskydoesn’tputtheairinthebubblewedoSam:IthinkErinisrightTeacher:Why?Sam:Aircan’tgetinasthereisnoopenspace.Itisclosed.Ifithadspaceinwouldpop!Teacher:Hasanyonechangedtheirthinking?Jasmin:YesIagreewithSamnow.IthoughtaircouldgoinandoutandnowIthinkitcan’tlikeSam.

Thisdiscussionhighlightsthechildren’sabilitytonotonlyaskquestions,butrespondtoquestions,challengethoughtsandindeedmodifytheirownthinkingandlearning.Thefocuswasnotonfactualaccuracyatthisstage,butondevelopinginnatebehavioursandattitudes.Thethinkingroutineswerebecomingpartoftheirownbehaviours.Thethinkingdispositionswerebecomingpartoftheirattitudes,ofwhotheyare.Iwassopleasedtoseetheirwillingnesstothink,askquestionsandinteractwitheachother.Itwasclearthattheiropennessandenthusiasmtoexploretheirstatementswithexperimentswasbecomingmoreprevalent.Thisinturn,leadstotheabilitytoexpandtheirunderstandings.AlongthewaywehaveusedThinkPuzzleExploreandQuestionStartsinavarietyofareas,includinginMathematicsfortheintroductionofaddition!DuringourfirstlessononadditionI

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askedthechildrentothinkaboutwhattheyknew.Itwasquiteclearnooneknewtheword,soweplayedsomeadditiongames,includingrollingtwodiceandaddingthemtogether,turningovertwocardsandaddingthemtogether,thencamebacktotheThinkPuzzleExplore.Theynowthoughttheyknewquiteanumberofthingsandhadquestionstoaskandideasforfurtherexploration.Thechildrenhavenotonlyrespondedwelltotheuseoftheseroutines,buttheyhavedevelopedtheirownfocus.Theyareabletoaskquestionsthatarewellstructured,showdepthofcuriosityandarefarbeyondwhatIinitiallythoughtfiveandsixyearoldswerecapableofasking.Theynowhavethelanguagetobeabletoformcomplexquestionswhichaddsdepthofunderstandingtotheircuriosity.Thechildrenhavegivenmeagreatinsight.Theyhavehighlightedformethatcuriositycanbechannelledandfocusedevenatsuchayoungage.Wecanassistouryoungchildrentodevelopskillsandabilitiestoresearch,analyse,reflectandprocessinformationinarangeofsituations.Bydevelopingthelanguageofquestioning,weareprovidingthemwiththeabilitytoarticulatecomplexthoughtsandquestions.WecanscaffoldthelearningofPrepchildrentohelpthembecomemoreindependentthinkersandlearnerswhoaredevelopingtheskillsanddispositionstochallenge,questionandjustifytheirfindingsinavarietyofsettings.TheThinkPuzzleExploreroutineleadsthechildrenthroughaseriesofthinkingmovesthatinvolvethechildrenmakinghypothesesandtestingthembyexperiments.Thelinkinthecaseofthescienceunitwasveryclearandexplicit.Thiswasmorethanjustaroutinewhichthechildrenenjoyed;thisroutinewasprovidingthemwithastructurethatwillbeusefulandadaptableinmanysettings.TheuseofthisroutinealongwithQuestionStartshasledtothechildrenaskingmorequestions.Inparticulartheyaskmorequestionsofeachotherandmorecomplexquestionsofme.Itisvitalthatweprovidetheopportunitiesforchildrentoexploreandscaffoldtheirlearningalongtheway!“IsaiddobigthingsfloatandnowIknowthatyesbigthingsfloatbutnotallbigthingssocanwedomoreexperimentstocheck?”(Julian)Endnotes:iRitchhartRon,‘VisibleThinking’ProjectZero,2010,http://www.pz.harvard.edu/Research/VisThink.htm(accessed18April2010)