Exploring the pedagogic relation – Supporting six-year-olds in making sense of physical motion.

This article discusses the opportunities to support children in expanding and deepening their reasoning based on an exploratory approach to physical phenomena. The purpose of this study is to examine how 6-year-olds use language to express their understanding of physical motion during reflective dialogues with a researcher. More specifically, the study wishes to answer the following questions: (1) What characterises the language strategies used by the 6-year-old children to reason the content of scientific phenomena? (2) What characterises the language strategies used by the researcher to support the children's reasoning during the reflective dialogues?

The study identified two qualities which characterised the six children's explorative approach to language. Firstly, they talk about physical motion as ‘something’ for using their bodies, and they use metaphors and examples from own experiences to explain how they understand the motion of different objects. The other quality is that in addition to being able to conceptualize a physical phenomenon, the children are able to speak about their reasoning and knowledge.

The author also finds that several of the language strategies used by the researcher during the reflective dialogues supported the children in making sense of physical motion. Even though the initial purpose of the reflective dialogues was not aimed towards learning, the author finds that the dialogues have an intrinsic didactic quality in that the children make sense of the phenomenon on which the dialogues focus.

However, the study also shows that some children find it difficult to talk about and be aware of language function, thinking and learning. The study also points out that in order for any development of reasoning to take place, the children must want to express themselves, feel safe, must find the content meaningful and they must feel encouraged to make advances with regard to making sense of physical phenomena. According to the author, this will happen if the children feel encouraged to act and speak as meaning-creating agents.

The data material consists of six individual dialogues between the researcher and six 6-year-old children. Data was collected in two different Swedish preschool classes. The dialogues consisted of the researcher asking the child two questions about physical motion: ‘Why doesn't the moon fall down?’ and ‘What happens when a ball is thrown slantingly into the air?’.[C1] Each dialogue lasted between 20 and 40 minutes and was recorded on tape and then transcribed.

[C1]Taken directly from the article https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/nbf/article/view/993/1342

Åkerblom, A. (2015). Exploring the pedagogic relation – Supporting six-year-olds in making sense of physical motion. Nordic Early Childhood Education Research 11(6), 1-18.