Nursery World - Learning & Development:: Practitioner Role, Part 2

Without careful observation and responsive listening, adult interaction could become interference in children's play, says Julie Fisher, independent early years adviser and visiting professor of Early Childhood Education at Oxford Brookes University

If we want to have meaningful and fruitful conversations with young children, then it is our job as early childhood educators to tune in to their current thinking before we can extend or enrich their understanding. But this is easier said than done.

It is impossible for any human being to know precisely what another is thinking. Indeed, it is very often extremely difficult to understand what we are thinking ourselves, let alone what is going on in another person's mind. However, our challenge as educators is to use all available cues and clues to try to identify what is interesting or intriguing young children so that we can offer them appropriate support. It is when adults do not tune in successfully to children that there is a danger of interaction becoming interference.

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