Daisies Early Childhood Education and Care Centre and Te Puna Reo o Ngā Kākano (TLIF 5-041) - Distinguishing and flourishing: two early learning services use the same inquiry design to co-construct new communication teaching practices Publications
Publication Details
Project Reference: Daisies Early Childhood Education and Care Centre and Te Puna Reo o Ngā Kākano (TLIF 5-041) - Kaiako at Daisies Early Childhood Education and Care Centre (“Daisies”) and Te Puna Reo o Ngā Kākano (“Te Puna Reo”) had similar strategic goals around Communication and Exploration. They wanted to explore how they could foster sustained shared thinking – in-depth conversations in which two or more people share their thoughts and ideas and learn from each other.
Author(s): (Inquiry Team) led by Meg Kwan (Daisies) and Erin Robertson (Te Puna Reo)
Date Published: May 2021
Overview
Both settings were also interested in how to introduce greater robustness to their assessment for learning practices, by introducing the use of scale tools kaiako could use to monitor shifts in their practice and tamariki development with greater precision than is possible when only using narrative assessment.
[Using and discussing TROLL scales] has helped me to have next steps for my key tamariki oral language. … They helped me look at SSTEW scales [indicators] and see which of these would support next steps for key children. It has also helped planning for small groups.
Teacher reflection
The combination of two tools – the Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Well-being (SSTEW) and the Scale Teacher Rating of Oral Language and Literacy (TROLL) – proved valuable in understanding language development for tamariki and the connections to kaiako practice. They helped facilitate learning conversations with tamariki that extend and deepen thinking, and they prompted critical thinking and discussion among kaiako about effective practice. There were improvements in all areas that were a focus.
To transfer theory to practice, kaiako must be selective about where to focus and not to take on too much at any one time. The use of the tools is more complex in a bilingual environment, and it is necessary, but possible, to make appropriate adaptations.
The inquiry story
This inquiry involved all the kaiako and tamariki at two early learning services: Daisies (Te Pihinga Whare) and Te Puna Reo. It spanned four terms, from Term 3 2019 to Term 3 2020.
What was the focus?
In 2019, kaiako at Daisies and Te Puna Reo set similar strategic goals aligned to the Communication and Exploration strands of Te Whāriki. At Daisies, the focus was on children’s oral language competency in English and at Te Puna Reo, a bilingual setting, the focus was on their use of te reo Māori.
Kaiako in the two settings have different strengths. Visitors to Daisies comment on the ability of kaiako to slow down and have sustained conversations with tamariki. Visitors to Te Puna Reo notice how kaiako support tamariki to build self-identity through using te reo Māori to foster connections with whenua, whakapapa, and ngā atua Māori. But despite these strengths, neither team had intentionally engaged in unpacking the practice of sustained shared thinking.
‘Sustained shared thinking’ is an episode where two or more individuals work together in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate an activity, or extend a narrative (Siraj, Kingston, & Melhuish, 2015). Kaiako at Daisies and Te Puna Reo were interested in exploring this practice further to achieve their strategic goals.
Early learning settings tend to rely upon narrative assessment to assess and plan for learning. Daisies and Te Puna Reo wanted to explore the impact of using two research-based tools that produce scaled data about tamariki and kaiako development:
- The Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Well-being (SSTEW) Scale is used to rate interactions between kaiako and tamariki based upon what is known about effective practice to support children’s oral language, cognitive, social, and emotional development. (For example, Item 2 is “Staff actively listen to children and encourage children to listen”).
- The Teacher Rating of Oral Language and Literacy (TROLL) is used to understand the complexities of children’s oral language and literacy development. For example, it can be used to rate the ability of tamariki to start a conversation, communicate personal experiences, and ask questions.
The two project teams addressed the same inquiry questions:
- How does kaiako use of the SSTEW and TROLL scale tools increase the quality of sustained shared thinking conversations between kaiako and tamariki and improve child oral language competency in English or te reo Māori?
- Can findings from the use of the chosen scale tools combined with narrative assessments enhance language use and communication amongst kaiako, parents/whānau, and tamariki?
What did the teachers try?
The project teams used the SSTEW and TROLL tools in three rounds of data collection over four terms. Between these rounds, the project teams analysed the data and used it to inform the design of professional learning workshops and experiences for kaiako. Kaiako learned to use TROLL to collect information about their ‘key tamariki’ (those for whom they had primary responsibility). They were supported to use what they learned to identify and plan for the next steps in learning for each tamariki, to consider their own professional learning needs, and to create an environment that fostered the exploratory conversations involved in sustained shared thinking.
The overall design of this project was the same in each service. However, each service tailored it to their context. SSTEW is organised around a set of fourteen items describing social and emotional development in five domains:
- building trust, confidence, and independence
- social and emotional wellbeing
- supporting and extending language and communication
- supporting learning and critical thinking
- assessing learning and language.
Each setting selected its own items for focus. Daisies selected more items than Te Puna Reo. However, Te Puna Reo thought about how to foster sustained shared thinking through conversations in te reo, as well as in English. In both settings, professional learning for kaiako included workshops on analysing and interpreting the findings, ‘plumbing’ the research underpinning the indicators, using SSTEW to observe teaching practice, critiquing practice, and envisioning how gaps revealed by the ratings would be addressed with tamaiti.
As the project progressed, both project teams dropped some items on the SSTEW scale. Te Puna Reo decided to focus on just two SSTEW items, ‘actively listening’ and ‘storytelling, reading books, and music’. This was the consequence of intentional listening to tamariki, through which the team discovered that storytelling, a practice that is integral to Kaupapa Māori, was frequently woven into play. On this basis, they decided to set up a daily formal storytelling circle to provide tamariki with the opportunity to share their stories and develop their confidence in public speaking.
The leaders also thought about how to sustain previous learning as the focus shifted from one SSTEW item to the next. For example, they set up visual prompts to remind kaiako of the practices they were learning and created sentence starters for encouraging conversation and prompting wonderings.
What happened as a result of this innovation?
There were significant shifts in kaiako knowledge and practice. These included the following:
- The professional discussions around SSTEW’s indicators for ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ practice grew kaiako knowledge and inspired critical thinking about pedagogical practices associated with the items they focused upon (for example, thinking out loud, modelling problem solving). Kaiako were sometimes challenged by what the data revealed, but they worked through this and developed a response.
- Kaiako were thoughtful about transferring their learning to their practice in culturally responsive ways. There were marked shifts in kaiako practice in relation to the SSTEW items upon which they had focused. For example, kaiako at Te Puna Reo created space for wānanga and modelled the manaaki of listening to each other.
- Kaiako used what they were learning in their team planning and for reflection on their own and others’ practice. They noticed and addressed strengths and gaps and used this information to develop shared goals. For example, kaiako at Daisies realised that some had strengths in science and could use this to model how to foster sustained shared thinking in investigation and exploration.
- Kaiako said they valued the opportunity to experience focused professional learning that was informed by data.
- The scale tools enabled kaiako to engage in assessment for learning, both for themselves and the tamariki.
Overall, the collated data from TROLL showed clear evidence of an upward shift in terms of the outcomes for tamariki in both settings. Just as importantly, it showed where there needed to be more attention. For example, kaiako at Daisies found that they needed to offer more opportunities for prompting tamariki to express curiosity and wonder why. Individual data led to micro-teaching for tamariki who needed additional support.
The final collated data for Te Puna Reo was more complex than that for Daisies, given its dual focus on both communication competence and language revitalisation. The team adjusted items on TROLL to find additional information on the centre’s strategic goal of enhancing competence in te reo Māori. This seemed to stall when tamariki reached four years of age, with tamariki choosing to speak mainly in English. This outcome may have been the result of several factors, including child development, the competence of kaiako in te reo, and the language environment of the home.
Daisies was also aware of the importance of maintaining and strengthening the heritage language of its tamariki. For some, this is Mandarin, and they had a kaiako who speaks Mandarin rate these children’s language use in both languages.
Te Puna Reo invited whānau to complete the TROLL rating for their children in both te reo and English. This led to valuable insights into the language environment of the home and at some of the competencies tamariki were displaying at home that were not as evident at Te Puna Reo.
Daisies had intended to hold parent workshops in use of the TROLL tool, but these were interrupted by the Covid-19 lockdown. However, kaiako were surprised to find that lockdown provided an opportunity for growing their competencies in storytelling, Item 10 on STEW.
What did they learn?
The practice of sustained shared thinking was supportive in both settings, fostering interactions that extended thinking and supported deep learning. While the concept comes from a western context, kaiako at Te Puna Reo found it facilitated Kaupapa Māori ways of transmitting knowledge through ako and wānanga.
Kaiako in the two settings responded differently to the two tools but agree on the value of using them in combination with the narrative assessment approaches that are typical in most early learning settings in Aotearoa. Together, SSTEW and TROLL seem to enable targeted learning design that connected valued learning outcomes for tamariki to the professional learning development of kaiako.
There are greater challenges for kaiako engaged in language revitalisation, but the tools proved to have sufficient flexibility for these to be overcome. In both settings, kaiako are keen to continue using them, but to adapt them to their unique ways of working.
A critical lesson is that for the learning to be sustained, it is important to be selective about the items for focus and to set up processes and systems (such as visual prompts) to maintain prior learning while moving to new foci.
Inquiry team
The project was led by Meg Kwan (Daisies) and Erin Robertson (Te Puna Reo). The team included Lucy Hayes of Daisies and Tania Gaffey of Te Puna Reo.
Sue Cherrington (Victoria University of Wellington) provided the team with training and Dr Anne Meade (Daisies) was their critical friend.
For further information
If you would like to learn more about this project, please contact the project leaders Meg Kwan at kwanmeg@gmail.com or Erin Robertson at tumuaki@punareo.co.nz
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