Extended dialogues in establishing children-teacher play: The pattern of initiation–challenge–extension (ICE)

The study explores patterns of educational dialogue between children and kindergarten teachers, with a special focus on how children’s linguistic participation can be enhanced through teacher responses and adaptations in various learning activities. The research question is: What characterises the communication at the start of a joint play activity (content and structure) between children and their teacher(s) in selected activities where children participate in extended dialogues?

The study highlights a communication pattern between the children and the kindergarten teacher during play. The pattern involves the children initiating a play activity, the teacher challenging the initiative, and the children further expanding the content. The results show that the interaction and the kindergarten teacher’s participation contribute to children participating in extended dialogues and using language more actively. The study shows the importance of the kindergarten teacher’s role in enabling dialogic interaction through play-responsive skills that promote children’s learning and language development.

The study is based on a research and development project that focused on play, learning and teaching. The study was conducted in a medium-sized city in Sweden, where kindergarten teachers, kindergarten coordinators and children aged one to five years participated. The current study re-analyses selected video recordings of play activities involving at least two children and a kindergarten teacher. The activities were analysed to identify linguistic patterns and interactions between children and teachers.

Kultti, A. (2023). Extended dialogues in establishing children-teacher play: The pattern of initiation–challenge–extension (ICE). Journal of Early Childhood Research, 21(4), 510–523.