Play, drawing and writing: a case study of Korean–Canadian young children

Abstract

From a sociocultural approach to literacy, young children, including culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) children, can be viewed as active meaning-makers through participation in everyday literacy practices. This theoretical emphasis on the importance of the social context requires teachers and caregivers not only to improve and co-create learning environments but also to consider how to make sense of children's drawings and other non-verbal modes embedded in literacy practices. Drawing on a Vygotskian perspective, this study explores how young children use drawings and other semiotic tools as important mediators through which they represent their experience, feeling and knowledge in terms of the process of meaning-making. Within a qualitative research framework, this study uses data collected during the lesson theme of 'circle' to understand how young culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners' drawings serve as a psychological tool for understanding and representing important aspects of their own experiences in terms of social, cognitive, and affective aspects. Implications of this study are discussed.RÉSUMÉ: A partir d'une approche socioculturelle de la littéracie, les jeunes enfants, incluant les enfants divers, culturellement et linguistiquement (CLD), peuvent être considérés comme des constructeurs actifs de signification grâce à la participation aux pratiques de littéracie quotidiennes. Cette insistance théorique sur l'importance du contexte social demande des enseignants et des éducateurs non seulement d'améliorer et co-créer des environnements d'apprentissage, mais encore de chercher à donner du sens aux dessins et autres modalités non-verbales présentes dans les pratiques de littéracie. Prenant appui sur une perspective vygotskienne, cette étude explore la façon dont les jeune enfants utilisent des dessins et d'autres outils sémiotiques comme médiateurs importants par lesquels ils représentent leur expérience, sentiments et connaissances, en termes de processus de construction de signification. Cette étude qualitative utilise des données recueillies pendant une leçon sur le thème du « cercle » pour comprendre comment les dessins des jeunes enfants (CLD) constituent un outil psychologique pour comprendre et représenter d'importants aspects de leurs propres expériences, sociaux, cognitifs et affectifs. Des implications de cette étude sont discutées.ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Aus soziokultureller Sicht kann die Lese-und Schreibkompetenz von Kindern, einschließlich Kindern mit diversen kulturellen und sprachlichen Hintergründen (CLD), als Prozess der aktiven Sinn-Herstellung durch die Teilnahme an alltäglichen Lese-und Schreibübungen betrachtet werden. Dieser theoretische Schwerpunkt auf die Bedeutung des sozialen Kontextes fordert von Lehrern und Betreuern nicht nur die Verbesserung und gemeinsame Erschaffung von Lernumgebungen, sondern auch die Berücksichtigung, wie die Sinn-Herstellung kindlicher Zeichnungen und anderen Formen der nonverbalen Kommunikation in die Übungen der Lese-und Schreibkompe...

Teachers’ Thoughts on Teaching Reading: An Investigation of Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions of Literacy Acquisition

“…Morrow (2012) asserts that ''there is no single method or combination of methods that teach all children to read' ' (p. 38). Rather, quality instruction should occur in literacy-rich environments, with social interaction, peer collaboration, and whole-class, small-group, and individual learning experiences where children are taught explicitly during small group instruction with time for exploration and problem solving (Morrow and Dougherty 2011), which may be particularly beneficial for young culturally and linguistically diverse children (Kim 2011). Thus, the focus on achieving the goal of ''every child a reader'' may lie in considering the best of both a reading readiness skills and emergent literacy approach.…”

“…A growing body of research (Kim 2011;McMahon et al 1998;McLachlan-Smith and St. George 2000;Miller and Paige-Smith 2004) has identified teachers' knowledge and beliefs about children's early literacy learning as having a critical impact on pedagogical practices. The issue of differing approaches to early literacy instruction is by no means limited to the United States.…”

“…Some still conceptualize literacy acquisition as a set of pre-determined, discrete skills transferred from a teacher to a student. Others argue from the perspective of social constructivism and a belief that literacy is learned as a result of socioculturally constructed meaning through everyday literacy activities (Kim 2011). These two major, disparate perspectives of early literacy continue to influence policy and instructional practices.…”

Technology-Mediated Collaborative Learning Environments for Young Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Children: Vygotsky Revisited

“…The term 'dialogue journal' was coined in 1979 by educational psychologist Jana Staton and sixth-grade teacher Leslee Reed to describe Reed's use of individualised interactive writing with L1 and L2 English speakers in California (Peyton and Staton, 1993). According to Peyton (1993), dialogue journals mediate nonthreatening contexts of communication in which L1 and L2 learners can engage in collaborative reading and writing in authentic and purposeful ways, and provide a natural and comfortable bridge to other genres of writing (Kim, 2008(Kim, , 2011a. Teachers need to understand how students perceive, appropriate and represent holistic emotional experiences with peers, parents and teachers.…”