Sample course activity

What do most classrooms worldwide have in common? Teachers speak too much and do not allow children to speak enough. In early childhood settings this is especially problematic because this is a crucial period in children’s language development. Research shows that the proportion of questions directed by an adult to a child is 7 times greater at home than at school.

At home family, members ask children questions that are embedded in dialogue or conversations and are open-ended. In school, teachers often ask questions to find out if children know the right answers. These are questions that typically have only one right answer, such as: “What color is this object?” The language in school is also often centered more around controlling actions and behaviors of the children in the form of giving directions, instead genuine conversations.

The majority of us are not even aware of how much we talk and what our speech sounds like to children, yet this is how we are either supporting or not supporting children’s learning and development.

Tape record or videotape yourself for at least one hour during the day, including your opening circle activity with the entire group of children.

Analyze your tape by looking at the following questions:

• How many minutes did I speak versus how many the children spoke?
• How many close-ended questions did I ask?
• What open-ended questions did I ask?
• How much did the children respond to open-ended questions?
• What do you notice about yourself through these tapes? What did you notice about the children?