Transforming Early Childhood Curriculum Through Inquiry and Informational Literacy

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Transforming Early Childhood Curriculum Through
Inquiry and Informational Literacy

• Presentation at NCTEAR, Berkeley, CA, February
  2004
• Marilyn Chapman Margot Filipenko
• The University of British Columbia

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Preschool Curriculum Trends

• Inclusion of literacy within preschool curriculum
• Emphasis on literacy skills, especially
  decoding and PA
• Emergence of preschool literacy standards,
  narrowly defined
• De-emphasis on inquiry and whole child

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Our Purposes

• Using data from a case study of a preschool
  classroom with an inquiry-based literacy focus,
  to demonstrate
• Childrens emerging development of informational
  literacy
• How teachers scaffold it
• Build grounded theory of informational literacy
  development

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Constructing word/world knowledge together Young
childrens emerging understandings of/with
informational texts

• Margot Filipenko
• University of British Columbia
• 2003

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Theoretical Framework

• Sociocognitive constructivist theory
  (Piaget/Vygotsky)

• Sociocognitive constructivist approach to inquiry
  and literacy learning

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Focal Classroom

• Intense sampling
• Literature- and literacy- rich, inquiry-based
  environment
• Teachers knowledgeable about childrens
  literature
• 18 children and a focus teacher in a multi-age
  preschool classroom in BC, Canada
• Reggio Emilia influence

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Methodology

• Observational case study
• Data videotapes, field notes, teacher interview
• Discourse analysis
• Childrens and teachers utterances coded
  separately
• Constant-comparative method

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Contexts of Data Collection

• Teacher read-alouds of informational texts
• large group
• small group
• Activities incorporating informational texts
• large group
• small group
• Child-to-child sharing of informational texts

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Results

• 1a. Young children can develop broad
  understandings of the nature and purposes of
  informational texts

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1b Categories of Childrens Talk

• Informational text knowledge
• World knowledge
• Representing
• Reflecting (metacognitive)
• Connecting (text-to- self or self-to-text)
• Building relationships

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2. Teacher Scaffolding Roles

• Recruiter

• Director

• Model

• Elaborator

• Connector

• Provocateur

• Conductor

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Toward a grounded theory of childrens
informational literacy development

• How children learn about the world and the word
  through inquiry and engagement with informational
  texts

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Stance Childs position to the informational text
 
Interaction Childs interaction with the
informational text
Growth Childs potential for developing
understandings of
informational texts
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1. Informational Text Knowledge
Stance With informational texts
 
Interaction Children recognize text features
Growth Developing the ability to use text
features
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2. World knowledge
Stance Within informational texts
 
Interaction Children activate schema
Growth Developing knowledge about the world
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3. Representing
Stance From informational texts
 
Interaction Children represent understandings
Growth Developing knowledge of internal text
structures
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4. Reflecting Talk
Stance Across informational texts
 
Interaction Children self-appraise and
self-manage
Growth Developing as intentional learners
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5. Connecting
Stance Through informational texts
 
Interaction Children connect with personal
experiences
Growth Developing as active constructors of
learning
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6. Relational Talk
Stance Around informational texts
 
Interaction Children participate in a classroom
community
Growth Developing social relationships
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A Theoretical Definition of Young Childrens
Informational Literacy Development

• Informational literacy development is the
  dynamic process whereby this engagement results
  in a transformational moment.

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Curricular Implications for Preschool Years

• Need to take a broader view of literacy and
  learning
• Connect literacy to larger issues of inquiry and
  building world knowledge
• Recognize importance of world knowledge in
  reading comprehension
• Include informational literacy in preschool
  curriculum

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Domains of Early Childhood Curriculum

• Aesthetic and Artistic Development
• Emotional and Social Development
• Intellectual Development
• Physical Development and Well-Being
• Development of Social Responsibility
• BC Primary Program available at
• http//www.bced.gov.bc.ca/primary_program/welcome.
  htm

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Pedagogical Implications

• Include informational texts in preschool
  classroom libraries
• Include readalouds of informational texts in
  formal and informal settings
• Provide meaningful activities around
  informational texts

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Young Childrens Informational Literacy (YCIL)

• 2-Year quasi-experimental study of 3 different
  instructional approaches in grade 1 and 2
• Exploratory study of new informational literacies
• Achievement
• Engagement
• Attitudes and dispositions
• Gender ability differences

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