Today the children chose team mates and began working excitedly on their constructions.  The children began with a fervor as if they had been thinking about their next move since the last time we did the activity.  They really seem to enjoy using blocks and other props, sometimes for function and sometimes for decoration.  I asked a lot of questions today regarding those props.  “What are these doing?”  “Tell me about these.”  “What are you trying to do?”  “How could you use those?’  “What happened when you used these?”  The children never tire of explaining what they have done, what they are trying to do, and what they are planning to do.

This entire experience has helped me to practice the art of being quiet and observing.  At first I found this difficult as I squelched desires to praise their efforts and offer suggestions.  Instead I learned to either nod, smile, or I stuck to asking the questions inspired by the project guidelines.  This restraint on my part encouraged children to keep their thinking on what they were doing instead of focusing on my response or waiting for me to solve problems for them.  It was apparent that children were thinking scientifically in every step of their constructing process.  The limited questions encouraged thinking and verbal communication.  They would talk with their teammates, to others around them, and to me excited to show what they had done or complain that that something did not work or ask how another did something, just like a scientist might do during experimentation.   They may have begun by collecting the pieces they wanted to use that day haphazardly, but after beginning, I saw many children pause, do some sort of mental calculation or planning, and then go back and gather more wooden pieces and blocks.  During the next steps I watched them use the skill of observation.  They would often stand back and look at what they had created thus far, observe others’ creations, watch to see if what they had constructed would do what they had predicted, and look around the room for possible resources.

I attempted to stimulate children’s thinking in two ways, by asking limited open ended questions and by providing parameters in which the children needed to work. Here are some of the questions I posed to them to stimulate thinking:  “What are trying to get this piece to do?”  “Can you make your path turn?”  “Can you make two, three, four turns in your path?”  “How can you keep your marble from falling or flying off the track?”  “How can you make your marble move without pushing or blowing on it?”  When I asked the children open ended questions, they were encouraged to review and explain what they had already done.   These explanations would come with lots of descriptive vocabulary.  Evelyn once told me,”I put the wooden pieces going down so that the gravity would pull the marble down the slide instead of me pushing it across the path. And the ones that were slanted more down went faster the other ones!”  Some of the parameters I set included requesting them to use a limited space, requesting make their marbles move without pushing or blowing on their marbles, and requesting that they make more than one turn.  These requests presented challenges for the children.  They had to think about how to do what I was asking.  Many children resisted and objected.  I held fast to the parameter and continued to encourage them to meet the challenge.  Many of the children went after the challenge with excitement.  Some would stand back and look at what others were doing.  This would usually spark an “AH HA” moment for them and they would excitedly get after a new attempt.

I believe the learning goals for this project were definitely met.  Though I do not consider the project finished, as I continue to allow children to choose “wooden pieces” as a learning activity, I believe this segment of it was successful, for the children and me.  The children were excited every day during this activity.  They physically investigated the wooden pieces, marbles, and a variety of props.  They explored the feel and weight of each piece to decide how they would use it.  They explored through trial and error.  They planned, executed, refined their plans, and tried again.  They communicated about what they were doing.  They solved problems.  The objectives of a physical knowledge activity were met in these ways.

If I were to do this experiment again with a new group of children, I would attempt to think through the experience from child’s perspective. I believe I would then be able to set up a greater variety of parameters to challenge my students.  I have seen what the children in my current class can do and assume that their choices and behaviors were similar to other kindergarten students who have been introduced to this activity.  This will help me to reflect on my prior experience with my current class and plan appropriate questions and parameters for the next group.

The only issue I have with integrating this activity regularly in my classrooom is having enough time for it.  At the school where I teach, much of the schedule and curriculum is planned for us.  This is not to say that I am not allowed input, but we are given little time for free choice learning activities.  I have managed to integrate this activity into my current schedule so I know I will figure out a way to include it in the future.  If I could create my own ideal schedule, I would give this and other physical knowledge activities priority in my class.  I know that effective physical knowledge activities incorporate logic-mathematical thinking as well.  I plan to include more physical knowledge activities into my academic day from now on.  I have already introduced a couple of commercial games that encourage the construction of physical and logic-mathematical knowledge: Pick Up Sticks and Ants In The Pants.  These games require the user to use fine motor coordination, physics, decentering, turn taking, and strategizing.  I am in the process of altering some games I have read about which will also require the use of those skills:  Jenga, Don’t Break The Ice, Card Dominoes, and Sorry.  In additions to these, I plan to incorporate sensory tubs (water, sand, rice) with accompanying tools, wood working, cooking, and ring toss to start.

In conclusion, I have enjoyed and learned a great deal from this project.  As I am at the beginning of my education about constructivist teaching, this project allowed me to dive in and authentically experience an activity in which I could incorporate constructivist teaching principles.  It has inspired me and given my evolving new teaching philosophy some meaningful foundation.  I feel now I have a better grasp on what constructivism is and how to better explain and defend my use of constructivist principles.

Today I challenged the children be setting the parameter or staying on a table top.  I told them that they could not build to the floor or to another table.  Dr. Causey, the professor who gave us this assignment, explained that giving children parameters challenges them to think and problem solve.  And it certainly did.  On one of the tables the children worked together to make five turns!  This group chose all small pieces.  Each level was not elevated, but the marble did make it around the track without a break in fluency.  On the other tables, the children chose longer pieces.  They seemed stuck with making one incline and a short run after it, with one turn at the most.  It was clearly a challenge for most, as they continued to try and make their paths go to the floor or to another table.  I reminded them of the day’s challenge and they reluctantly retracted back to the single table top.  During reflection time the children’s vocabulary and ability to communicate what they did continues to become more detailed and advanced as they describe their discoveries and explain their understandings.

Today was so cool!  It is getting more and more exciting this week as more and more connections are being made!  Today a team of children asked me if they could work on the tables.  I said, “Sure!  You may use any area in this room and any of the materials you see.”  This answer was met with delight from my children.  Many of them began raising their creations onto the tables, building from table to table, creating ramps and “drops” from table to floor or table to some sort of container.  The children who originally asked if they could work on the tables called attention to what they were doing so others began doing the same.  Because of the height of the tables, many of the children built downward, either by making an incline or by creating a drop to the next level.  It seemed a natural progression for them.  It was definitely an AH HA moment for at least half of the class.  It was the first time I had seen three of the children even entertain using an incline, no matter how many questions I asked them to encourage thinking.  So now every student of mine is using at least one incline in their creations.  All of them are using blocks in a functional way at this point, as walls or lifts. I am so excited that THEY are so excited about the new things they are learning!  As they become super engaged with their new strategies and techniques, they seem to be working even more cooperatively.  They want to share what they know, give friends suggestions, observe each others’ creations, and give positive feedback to each other…all without any prompting from me!  That’s pretty cool!

In today’s session, I noticed several of the teams began building higher than before with up to three “drops,” as they call them. They are actually making it so that the marble drops to the level below. I believe they are doing this because they are observing each other. There are walls being created to keep the marble on the track on some and walls at the end of the pathway to stop the marble on many. My favorite part of this process is the reflection time at the end. I am impressed with their abilities to communicate what they have done and why they have done it. I get to practice more of my questioning skills during these times to dig for more information. I ask if anyone would like to tell about their experience today. Every hand goes up. Each child, so far, is able to describe, in detail, what they did with their “wooden pieces.” If they leave something out that I observed that I would like them to share, I might say…”I noticed you….Tell us more about that.” I often ask, “Why did you do that?” And “Did it do what you thought it would?” I also ask, “Why do you think that happened?” And their answers to this question amaze me. After these few days, they seem to have a real understanding of the cause and effect of their actions and many are able to explain why each thing happens. This is truly a worthy activity; one in which much learning is being constructed. I watch it happen every day! SO cool!!

Today the children began as if they already had a plan.  Many of the children are recalling times of success and attempting to recreate that experience.  Every team used inclines in their designs today. Some used only one incline and some used up to three levels.  Today I asked them to see if they could make their marbles move through their paths without touching them.  This challenge really sparked some new thought processes!  All teams used inclines.  Some more complex than others.  I observed a couple of designs where there were two inclines turned in toward each other so that the marble went down and up and down again.  One team discovered the use of the chalk board ledge as a holder of the wooden pieces.  The pieces were stuck between the ledge and the Prometheum board.  All were inclined at different angles.  The children put a box under the pieces of wood anticipating that the marbles would fall to the floor.  The children explored letting marbles roll down each piece of wood  and fall into the box.  They commented that marbles rolled down faster on some.  I asked them why that was.  One child said that the “hills go from up to down and that’s what makes them roll.  The ones that roll faster point down more.  The gravity pulls it down faster.”  I asked them again today to try and make their pathway turn.  One child got his to turn gradually by turning each new piece ever so slightly.  This strategy succeeded in getting the marble to move down and around the turn.  Another child made his wooden pieces overlap in a right angle flat on the floor.  I asked him if his marble turned the corner.  He said it did.  When I asked him to show me, he pushed it along and picked it up when it got to the turn and put it onto the second piece.  Obviously, some children are making more complex structures and are able to plan, try it out, revise it, and talk about it.  Others are still in an exploratory stage that is less strategy based and more play based.  During our reflection today some children wanted to talk about (complain) that they lost their marble and I would not let them get a new one.  I asked the group to recall why I would not give them another one.  One child explained that I was not trying to be mean, but that I was trying to help everyone think. (I was so proud!)  Another shared that he lost his marble one day and that he began putting a block at the end of his path to stop it from rolling far away.  JACKPOT!  Tomorrow I will have a discussion before we begin to refresh their memories about some of the new strategies we have learned.

Wow! The growth in the children’s thought processes between yesterday and today is huge!  The children’s constructions were much more advanced with nearly every team of children using inclines with the help of blocks, books, toys, and stools.  Some made two layers of inclining paths, allowing their marble to go a greater distance than ever before.  Some played with making two inclines going toward each other, causing the marble to go down and then up and back again.  A lot of interaction between teammates and teams occurred as they looked at each other’s constructions, shared ideas, and planned their future moves.  All of the interaction was positive and constructive today.  The only negative exchange has been when a child accidentally knocks into another’s construction or when marbles get temporarily lost and another’s is temporarily taken.  Squabbles are usually quickly resolved among themselves.  During reflection time the children used new vocabulary.  One described his by saying that he made a hill and explained that the hill made his marble go faster.  One explained that she and her partner were tired of chasing their marble so they created a bridge and a wall with the blocks to stop it at the end.  She and her partner had also used an incline and explained that the gravity caused their marble to slide down the hill faster.  One discovered the use of blocks on either side of his track to keep it from flying off the track.  Several discovered how to make their path make a gradual turn on the flat surface.  I love watching them figure things out and try new strategies.  Their thinking seems to be gaining momentum, just as their marbles are!  Can’t wait for tomorrow!!

At the onset of DAY 3 we talked about some of the things that had happened the day before. We were unable to have our regular reflection discussion at the end of DAY 2 due to and an unexpected fire drill.  During this reflection, the children described some of the ways in which they built their pathways.  They described how they made their marbles move and named some tools they found in the classroom that they used to assist them in some of their goals, such as a book, the wall, blocks, and some recycled materials I had on hand.  So far only two teams of  children have made an incline to assist the movement of their marbles.  Both of these teams called their incline a “slide.”  One of the teams of children used the blocks to lift up their path.  They did not add and incline, just lifted the entire horizontal path.  I asked several children today to describe what they had created.  They were very explicit in describing and showing me what they had done. The pathways were more elaborate today.  When one child lost his marble he asked me for another one.  I explained that it had to be in the room because the door was shut, so I expected him to continue looking for it.  He asked his partner to help him look for it and they found it.  Giving only one marble was suggested by Dr. Causey, my professor from UAB, so that they will be more aware of the marble, more responsible.  More importantly though, it was a strategy to encourage them to think about ways to keep the marbles from rolling far away and sometimes out of sight.  During their construction time I asked them if they could make their pathways make a turn.  Some of them tried for a very short time, but then returned to working on what interested them more.  Tomorrow I will ask them to try this again.  I will ask more questions to encourage more thinking, as well.

DAY 2

Today we began the Pathways Activity, as we are now calling it, by quickly reviewing what happened yesterday. This gave the children an opportunity to reflect and communicate about their experience. I provided some questions to encourage further reflection. Some of the questions include the following:

*How did you make your marble move?

*How did you use other materials?

*What materials did you use?

*What happened when you used those materials?

After this reflection time we reviewed the safety rules they had come up with the day before. I asked if they felt we needed to think of any new rules regarding safety. I asked them to find a partner, gave them each a marble, and said they could get 6 pieces per team to start.  The children found arbitrary areas in the room to work.  This choice of space allowed each team a different set of variables to work around and, perhaps, use in their creations (chairs, shelves, books, toys, etc.). More of the children discovered the use of an incline or “slide.” The inclines I observed today we’re extremely steep, usually leading to a flat pathway. Some teams gained ideas from other teams by observing their creations. Many children moved their marbles by pushing them. Many moved their marbles by blowing them.  Today one boy batted his marble with a block. We discussed safety when a marble was batted into the air.  All pathways today were straight. I plan to ask how they might make their marbles turn a corner during our next session. This session lasted 30 minutes.

Hello!  I am Cathy Green and I teach at a private school in the city of Birmingham.  We have around 300 students in our PreK-8th Grade School.  I have 13 children in my kindergarten class.  The school has a diverse student population, who attend from over 20 zip code areas around Birmingham, and my class (though small) are diverse as well.  I introduced ramps, which are pieces of wooden cove molding (they’re like wooden Hot Wheels track), and marbles to my class today.  I began by asking what they would call the cove molding and they said,  “piece of wood.”  So I lay the piece of wood on the floor and put one marble in the center of it.  I asked the children how they could make the marble move from the center of the piece of wood to one of the ends.  Each child took a turn sharing how she would make the marble move and demonstrating.  I then gave each child a short piece of cove molding and one molding.  We brainstormed how we could stay safe while working with the pieces of wood and marbles.  Each child worked with his own piece of wood and marble for about two minutes.  Most of the children remained in the same spot they began during this short time.  Two of the children leaned their piece of wood on a shelf, creating a ramp.  I then said, “Now, find a partner to work with.”  I was afraid this might create chaos or conflict, but they each quickly found a partner and began working together with her, combining materials, conflict free.  Here are some of the things I observed them doing:

*lining the pieces up end to end flat on the floor and pushing the marble

*lining the pieces up end to end flat on the floor and blowing the marble

*leaning the piece against a shelf and letting the marble roll down

*holding the piece of wood in the air and rolling the marble back and forth on it

*putting the ends of their pieces together in the middle and holding each of the other ends up in the air, creating a V shape and letting the marble roll down one of their pieces

I only did this activity with the children for 25 minutes today.  They were extremely engaged.  There was a lot of excited noise and interaction going on throughout the activity.  There was not one conflict among the children.  In fact, they all worked together surprisingly well.  I am excited for our next session tomorrow!