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This article is based on the research- and development project; Mindplay- conversation for learning. The project was a collaboration between the preschool Lundarsel in Akureyri, the Centre for School Development and the Faculty of Education at the University of Akureyri. The main objective of the project was that preschool staff learned about different means to use conversation with children to enhance their ability and skills in using conversational practice with children in daily life in school. Secondly, to study the effect of these methods for the daily practice and the children’s use of language in discussions. The focus is on how to use language as a tool for thinking collectively and to help the children to use language effectively in every day learning processes. The project fits well with education policy as it appears in the general section of the National Curriculum Guide, emphasizing that schools promote children’s and young people’s ability to draw conclusions, take positions on data and information, and apply critical thinking in the formulation and dissemination of ideas in a creative way. The national curriculum for preschools emphasizes that there should be a forum in the preschool where everyone actively engages in public discussion, people listen to one another and exchange views. The Lundarsel project covered a two-year period including eight dialogue lessons with the teachers. The lessons involved an introduction to different conversation methods, preparation for conversation practice with the children, and drawing out a lesson plan for their work, as well as the teachers reflecting on how things were going and the learning process among themselves and the children. The preschool teachers handed in several curriculums for the Circle Times during the two years’ practice. In the final sessions, the participants participated in a focus group interview to evaluate the project as a whole. Lundarsel is a four classroom preschool with about 89 children and 25 employees. The proportion of preschool teachers among the staff is about 75%. The preschool has for many years supported the application of philosophy with children and the head teachers and group leaders hoped the project would motivate the use of philosophy with children in more effective way. A number of studies have been conducted which illustrate that conversation can enrich children’s awareness of self-thinking. Philosophy for children (p4c) as a learning method has, for example, been shown to enhance children’s skills in independent thinking, reasoning, communication and collaboration, as well as developing intellectual dispositions, such as curiosity and clarity of expression. The claim is that conversations for learning can lead to a qualitative difference in learning. This means that the learners better understand what they have learnt, how they have learnt it and the reasons they can rely on in justifying their learning and knowledge. Young children begin their life fascinated by language and communication. Words and communication are important to the small child, just as comforting and soothing. Research has shown that to develop language and conversation skills, young children need many different opportunities to talk and to have conversations with peers and adults. Conversation helps children to express their thoughts, get what they need, ask for help, resolve conflicts, and learn from adults and from one another. Philosophy for children as a learning method has, for example, been recognised to enhance children’s skills in independent thinking, reasoning, communication and collaboration (Biggeri and Santi, 2012; Durham University, 2017; Jones, 2008; SAPERE, 2014). The results of the Lundarsel study show that there is a need for lesson planning where conversation for learning is the goal. In the beginning it was difficult to get started and keep going. However, if discussion lessons are scheduled and prepared they are more likely to be carried out. The participants agreed that when they used conversation in the learning process they noticed changes in the way the children interacted with others and how they used language. They observed that the children showed more respect to one another’s opinions and used the spoken word to solve problems in the way they had learned in the lessons. The staff argued that it was difficult to use conversation for learning with the youngest, due to their lack of formal language, but they claimed that most of the children were able to take part in such lessons at the age of three. For example, the youngest group had lessons about feelings, including songs, talk and stories which made them much more attentive to their own feelings and they developed an awareness that not everyone shares the same feelings as they do. The older children always looked forward to the lessons and became more fluent in reasoning, debating and listening to one another. The staff agreed that using selected children’s books was a highly effective way to enhance philosophical discussion, as was working subsequently together on some creative task. Overall the staff noted more interest in using conversation for learning/philosophy for children in their daily program and felt the teaching lessons they attended had helped them to become more professional and creative in using different methods with the children. |
