Children's Voices in Their Learning

• In Event: Interrogating Research in Educational Leadership: Co-Constructing Methodologies for Equity

Abstract

The theoretical framework for this study involved rethinking Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and Communities of Practice (CoPs) while moving towards a Classroom Learning Community (CLC). This study was conducted in a Grade 5 Math classroom. This study was designed using Collaborative Action Inquiry (CAI). The focus was on collecting data which emphasised children’s voices unlike in more traditional adult led studies. The emphasis on listening to children’s voices was achieved through conversations, interviews, photos, observations, and learning artefacts. My plans were guided by the four sociocultural principles that guided Sewell’s (2011) study on dialogue in the classroom (p. 272): We are all learners, and we are all teachers; we share decisions about learning; we share responsibilities for learning; and we have learning conversations. As Cook-Sather (2002) noted: “There is something fundamentally amiss about building and rebuilding an entire system without consulting at any point those it is ostensibly designed to serve” (p. 3). In the quest to inform educational decisions, how often are children consulted? The methods utilized to listen to children's voices throughout the study included conversations around CLC questions modified from those of DuFour et al.’s (2008) PLC questions, plus one additional question: What do we need to learn? How will we know when we have learned it? How do we want, or what do we want to do, to learn it?
Children were interviewed to share their perspectives on how the classroom operated, what they found helpful about learning, and what words they would use to describe the classroom. Three findings highlighted this study. First, the children expressed the importance of fun in learning. Second, they indicated their preference for learning together rather than individually. Third, the children taught me to remember that children can express what works for them in their learning. Therefore, it is important to remember to continue to listen to children’s voices. Truth about - and equity in - education are limited when the predominantly listened to voices are the adults involved. This CAI research shares one story of how children were listened to and how the children’s voices significantly impacted their learning and their teacher in the classroom they shared.

Author

• Shari Smith-Ellis, University of New Brunswick
  Presenting Author