Guiding Conversations

JOHNSON CITY – Research on learning indicates that important skills for young children to have include the ability to ask questions, analyze and interpret data and to engage in debate regarding the evidence.

And to develop these skills, Dr. Jane Broderick from East Tennessee State University’s Clemmer College of Education says preschoolers need to be engaging in daily conversations as a context for learning.

She is leading a new research study at ETSU involving an educational model that provides teachers with skills on observing and interpreting what preschoolers are thinking.  Preschool instructors then use these observations to engage students in productive conversations.

“These conversations are important as they allow teachers to better understand what students are thinking and what children understand,” said Broderick, a professor of Early Childhood Education.  “This also helps with curriculum and activity planning.”

For the study, Broderick and the graduate students assisting her will work with preschool teachers in the region.  Her study is funded by the Research Development Committee at ETSU.

The educational model she will use is called Cycle of Inquiry which she developed with colleague Dr. Seong Bock Hong from the University of Michigan.

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