Prof. Iram Siraj
Institute of Education, University of London
Leaders of ECE Conference,
Sweden March 2014
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years
Teacher initiating activity:
“…effective pedagogues model appropriate
language, values and practices, encourage sociodramatic play, praise, encourage, ask questions,
and interact verbally with children. Excellent
settings tended to achieve an equal balance
between teacher-led and child-initiated
interactions, play and activities”
(Siraj-Blatchford et al 2002)
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years
Teacher’s extending activities:
“…a particular form of teacher initiation that may
also be applied in cases where initially the child
initiated. The most effective settings were found to
provide both teacher-initiated group work and
freely chosen yet potentially instructive play
activities. ‘Extension’ was included in the definition
of ‘sustained shared thinking”
(Siraj-Blatchford et al 2002)
percentage
REPEY Study Findings
60
40
child initiated
20
child but
adult
adult initiated
0
good
excellent
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years
Differentiation and Formative Assessment:
“…effective pedagogues assess children’s
performance to ensure the provision of challenging
yet achievable experiences (i.e. within the ZPD) and
provide formative feedback. The most effective
settings have shared educational aims with parents
supported by regular communication”.
(Siraj-Blatchford et al 2002)
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years
Attention to the relationships between children:
“Effective settings view cognitive and social
development as complementary and they
support children in rationalising and talking
through their conflicts” (i.e. another context
for SST).
(Siraj-Blatchford et al 2002)
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years
Sustained shared thinking:
An episode in which two or more individuals “work together”
in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept,
evaluate activities, extend a narrative etc. Both parties must
contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend.
Open-ended questions feature; and
Playful learning, building on the child’s
interests.
The above are difficult to assess as outcomes but are essential to achieving good
outcomes! Necessary but not sufficient, we still require good content.
(Siraj-Blatchford et al., REPEY, DfES 2002)
From: Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2009) ‘Early Childhood Education’ in;
Maynard, T. & Thomas, N. (Eds.) An Introduction to Early Childhood Studies,
(2nd Edition) London: Sage Publications (in press)
Table 1: OECD Curriculum Outlines
Teacher’s
initiating activities
Teacher’s
extending
activities
Differentiation
and Formative
Assessment
Relationships
and conflict
between children
Sustained
Shared
Thinking
“Introducing new
activities”
“Enriching
interventions”
“Observe
children”
“Work out
sustaining
relations”
“Engagement”
“Sharing Control”
“Participation as
partners”
“Plan Do Review”
“Adopt a problem
solving
approach”
“Authentic
dialogue”
Reggio
Emilia
“Development of
short and longterm projects”
“Sustaining the
cognitive and
social dynamics”
“Teachers first
listen don’t talk”
“Warm reciprocal
relationships”
“Reciprocity of
interactions”
EPPE/
REPEY
Correlations
found with
effective practice
Correlations
found with
effective practice
Correlations
found with
effective practice
Correlations
found with
effective practice
Correlations
found with
effective
practice
EEL[1]
High
Scope
REPEY Study Findings
Proportion of adult cognitive pedagogical
interactions in settings varying in effectiveness
% of 'pedagogical' interactions
60
40
20
0
Good
Excellent
Shared sustained thinking
Instruction
Reception classes
Monitoring
REPEY Study Findings
% of intervals
60
40
20
0
Good
Alone/1:1
Excellent
Child pair
Small group
Reception classes
Whole class
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Play-Learning: The major features of progression are:
• the child initially manipulates symbols/signs in their
emotional communications with adults and peers and
engages in significant gestures
• they begin using symbols and signs in pretend play
• pretend role play and object substitution become
internalised as imagination
• the child is first able to be another to herself, develops
the capability of ‘interacting with pretend others
(increasingly acknowledging ‘their’ perspective), and
then ‘switches’ freely between roles in play.
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
(Cont.) Play-Learning: The major features of progression are:
• socio-dramatic play becomes more collaborative as
partners at first share symbols and then reciprocally
negotiate roles
• conceptual knowledge and understanding of the
‘other’, and of the ‘self’, develop further and learning
‘dispositions’ become more significant
• most children become oriented more towards more
formal learning and school subjects and disciplines
(communities of practice)
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Understanding Sustained Shared Thinking:
Curriculum – Most broadly the term refers to the formal
and informal (overt and hidden) collection of
experiences that socialise the individual into
citizenship (however narrowly or broadly this is defined).
Pedagogy - maybe broadly defined as any behaviour
applied by an individual that supports the learning of
another. In professional terms it has been defined as
the; ‘science of the art of teaching’ (Gage,1985)
All learning has content as well as form, and whenever
learning takes place we can say that a curriculum and
some form of pedagogy is involved (however implicit
or hidden it might be).
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
The Social Nature of Human cognition:
All cognitive development emerges in
the process of an internalisation of
external social experiences in the
process of socialization.
There are two independent original sources for this:
Vygotsky (1896-1934) Developmental Psychology
G.H. Mead (1863-1931) Social Psychology
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Pedagogy
Curriculum
Play in the development of ‘self’ —
(..the “collection
ooooooooooo— improvised play with partners —
of experiences”)
ooooooooooooooooooooooo— improvised collaboration —
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo — disciplined collaboration
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Pedagogy
“Significant
gestures”
The creative process:
‘Smile’ from adult ‘objectified’
Child recontextualises adult
behaviour that leads to smile
= eye contact
smile
development of ‘self’ —
A cyclical creative process of:
Child creatively makes
eye contact to produce adult
Curriculum
‘progressive continuous re-contextualisation’ (van Oers, 1998)
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Pedagogy
Play is increasingly
reciprocal and
collaborative
Sharing symbolic representations:
The symbol must be ‘second hand’ for one partner – but they
creatively reconstruct it for this particular collaborative play context.
ooooooooooo— improvised play with partners —
Curriculum
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Pedagogy
Play becomes even
more collaborative
Constructing
an understanding
of
Play
partners provide
scaffolding:
the ‘other’:
“…the child’s
position
towards Development’
the external world
changes…and
the
…Within
the ‘Zone
of Proximal
(Vygotsky)
– that extends
ability towhat
co-ordinate
his can
point
with
possible
points of
beyond
the partner
doofonview
their
ownother
to include
those
view develops”
(Elkonin,
p282). .with the support of their peer.
activities
that they
can do1978,
successfully
ooooooooooo
ooooooooooooooooooooooo— improvised collaboration —
Curriculum
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Metacognition
Whenever play partners communicate they do so from their
own historically constructed perspective, which includes
their understanding of the perspective of themselves
constructed by the other participant in the communication:
“…the child’s position towards the external world
changes…and the ability to co-ordinate his point of view
with other possible points of view develops” (Elkonin, 1978, p282).
The development of these sophisticated levels of
abstraction (and metaconciousness) also facilitate the
development of a wider metacognition.
This metacognition required in learning to learn, also
develops as the child finds it necessary to describe, explain
and justify their thinking about different aspects of the
world to others.
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Pedagogy
The transition to
‘learning activity’
“…when children consciously reflect upon the relationship between
their ‘pretend’ signs and ‘real’ meanings in play they are engaged in a
form of semiotic activity that is a valuable precursor to new learning
activities” (van Oers, 1999, p278).
Curriculum
ooooooooooo
ooooooooooooooooooooooo— more structured collaborations —
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Pedagogy
Learning Activities:
“Learning Activity”
“Socio-dramatic play” (Lieontiev)
“Object-centred joint activity” (Elkonin)
“Emotional communication with caregivers” (Lisina)
(van Oers)
Curriculum
“emotional communication
with caregivers” (Lisina)
development
of ‘self’ —
“Object-centred
joint
(Elkonin)
ooooooooooo—
improvised play
withactivity”
partners
—
“Socio-dramatic
play (Lieontiev) —
ooooooooooooooooooooooo—
improvised collaboration
Activity
(van Oers)
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo— Learning
disciplined
collaboration
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Pedagogy
Curriculum
Weakly
Classified
Co-construction
Curriculum
Strongly
Classified
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Pedagogy
Weakly Framed
Curriculum
Weakly
Classified
Curriculum
Strongly
Classified
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Pedagogy
Weakly Framed
Curriculum
Strongly
Classified
Curriculum
Weakly
Classified
Pedagogy
Strongly Framed
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Pedagogy
Weakly Framed
Child-centred
Free Play approach
Curriculum
Weakly
Classified
Discovery
Learning
Thematic
Topic Work
Open Framework
Programmed
approach
Learning approach
Pedagogy
Strongly Framed
Curriculum
Strongly
Classified
School
Subject
teaching
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
Pedagogy
Weakly Framed
Baby
Child-centred
Free Play approach
Curriculum
Weakly
Classified
Curriculum
Strongly
Classified
Open Framework
Programmed
approach
Learning approach
Pedagogy
Strongly Framed
Transition
To School
Iram Siraj, Institute of Education, University of London
The implications for Early Childhood Education:
•Providing progressively more experience, knowledge,
and stimulus (through the provision of challenging play
environments and guided or direct intervention (Within
the Zone of Proximal Development [ZPD])
•They can also scaffold the creative ‘cycles’ by
progressively encouraging more sophisticated
Sustained Shared Thinking (Siraj-Blatchford et al 2002) (within the
ZPD).
Characteristics of Playful Learning
Playful learning for children is based on some of the following
ideas:






Building on and extending the child’s interests
The child is usually active physically, socially and intellectually
The learning is exploratory without necessarily fixed outcomes
in mind
Playful learning motivates children to try more challenging
learning
Children use, apply and extend their knowledge, skills and
understanding through active exploration
In social contexts children develop their capacities for
cooperation and collaboration and can often explore complex
ideas
Playful Learning
Supporting playful learning involves the use of a suite of strategies
including:






Creating well resourced environments with rich materials
Being involved and interacting with children as they play and
explore
Maintaining a purposeful focus on the child’s learning and
development
Modelling expressive language and consciously extending
children’s vocabulary
Constructively engaging with children to scaffold and extend
learning
Using sustained shared thinking strategies to build on childinitiated activity to extend knowledge, skills and understanding
Prof. Iram Siraj
i.siraj-blatchford@ioe.ac.uk