Symone Williams looked closely at the social interactions of PreK children in an attempt to study how language and literacy was being promoted in the Block Center through peer interactions between the children, and in the Art Center through interactions between children and their teachers. A visual representation and summary of her project is given below:
My primary research question is "What kinds of social interactions do children experience in the prekindergarten classroom?" In addition, my specific sub-questions were "How is language and literacy development promoted in the block center through peer interactions?" and "How is language and literacy development promoted in the art center through teacher-child interactions?" My interest in this topic came from observing the children in the block area. I was curious about how children learn literacy in the play area.
I interviewed three teachers and observed four prekindergarten students. The students' age range was four or five years old. My data collection contained observations, pictures, videos, and interviews. After analyzing the data, I discovered three main findings. The first finding was conflict and compromise. Due to the limited space and materials in the block center, the children had a few arguments with each other. The disagreements provided the students with the opportunity to practice their speaking and listening. The dialogue between the children gave them the chance to practice their language skills. The second finding was the influence of family on children's art. The students used art to talk about their family. They may talk about a family member or an event they went to with their family. Sometimes, their drawings led them to write words or letters to label the picture. Labels help the children practice their letters and letter sounds. The third finding was modeling language. The teacher modeled language by asking questions, broadening sentences, and replacing words with new vocabulary.
One take away for me after completing this project was that I need to be in the moment with students. I miss so many milestones and growth because I am too focused on maintaining classroom expectations, setting up activities and completing small group activities. I realized that I need to spend more time with my students as they complete their activity of choice.