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CORE Education Ltd. – eFellow’s Research Paper December 2016 Page 1 of 8 WHERE DO STORIES LIVE? BUILDING ORAL LANGUAGE THROUGH STORYTELLING IN AN EARLY YEARS CONTEXT eFellow’s Research Paper December, 2016 Christine Alford Dr. Vince Ham eFellow, 2016

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COREEducationLtd.–eFellow’sResearchPaper December2016 Page1of8

WHEREDOSTORIESLIVE?BUILDINGORALLANGUAGETHROUGHSTORYTELLINGINANEARLYYEARSCONTEXT

eFellow’sResearchPaper

December,2016

ChristineAlfordDr.VinceHameFellow,2016

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ThebackgroundstoryThisyearIhavebeenfortunateenoughtoundertakearesearchprojectatMairtownKindergartenaspartofmyDr.VinceHameFellowshipthroughCOREEducation.

The researchbegan in January2016,but the real storybegan furtherback in June2015,when Ihad theopportunity to visit the Opal School in Portland, Oregon.What an amazing school this is. The school issituatedinachildren’smuseum,andtheyteachchildrenfrom3-11years.However,whatstoodoutformewasthattheyteachallagesusingaplaybasedcurriculum.Theydrawheavilyontheartsandtheyutilisethepowerofstorytelling.

Oneofthethings I learntfromtheteachersattheOpalSchoolwasthattheyfeltthecraftofwriting isademandingchallengeforchildrenofallages,yettheyobservedthatwhentheyofferedartsandmaterialsto children in a playfulmanner as part of theirwriting environments, something special happened. Thechildren becamemore engaged, time onwriting tasks increased, and interest in writingwas alsomuchhigher.

OnleavingtheOpalSchoolandreturningtoMairtownKindergarten,IknewIhadtolookatutilisingsomeof the learning I had experienced within my own community. Winning the Dr. Vince Ham eFellowshipbecametheperfectopportunityforme.Ihadthesupporttoresearchintohowtheartsandcreativitycouldplayaroleinencouragingengagementinstorytellinginearlychildhood,andtoexploreifstorytellinginthismannercouldenhanceorallanguageskills.

Figure 1 - Classroom at the Opal School, Portland, Oregon for senior children (11 years)

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WhywasIsointerestedinorallanguagedevelopment?Firstly,preschool andearly school yearsare crucial for thedevelopmentof children’soral language, andthatstrongorallanguagedevelopmentatanearlyagemeansthelikelihoodofachildbecomingstronginliteracy is very high1. Basically, oral language is what gives children the foundation for their literacydevelopment.

Thesecondreasonstemmedfromspeakingtolocalnew-entrantteachers,andtheirsuggestionthatmorestudentsthanpreviouslyareenteringschool(atfive+years)withinadequatelanguageskills,meaningtheirorallanguageknowledgeisnotestablishedenoughtosupportthecurriculumandaimsoftheteachersatschool. When I think about how children entering school are expected to become fluent readers andwriterswithinarelativelyshorttimeframe,Irealisethisisextremelydifficultanddemotivatingforstudentswithoutwell-developedorallanguageskills.Furthermore,childrencannotbeexpectedtobefluentthinkers–arealnecessityintoday’sworld–iftheydonothavetheorallanguageskillstosupporttheirthinking.

TheChildren’sCommissionerstatesthathandingthepowerovertochildrentotelltheirstoriesfreelyanddemocratically, whilst also knowing that someone is listening and cares, helps them become capable,confident,included,andresponsiblemembersofourbroadersociety,increasingtheirsenseofbelonginginthecommunity,andpromotinggoodcitizenship,agencyandself-advocacyskills2.

Figure 2 - Two children work together on a story that they titled ‘A story about scary dinosaurs’

Herearemy reasons forencouragingoral language,butwhydid Iplan touse storytelling inorder todothis?Ihavealwayslovedstories;wesharestorieswithfriendsandcolleaguesandIbelievestorytellingandstorymakingisafundamentalaspectofcommunicationintoday’sworld.JeromeBrunergoesfurtherwhen

1G.Shiel,Á.Cregan,A.McGoughandP.Archer,“OralLanguageinEarlyChildhoodandPrimaryEducation(3-8years)”,NationalCouncilforCurriculumandAssessment(NCCA),ResearchReportNo.14,2012.2 ‘Stateofcare–2015:WhatwelearntfrommonitoringChild,YouthandFamily’,OfficeChildren’sCommissioner,August2015.

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he tells us that we learn spoken language so we can share our stories3. Perhaps a little naively I alsobelieved thiswouldbe simple; didnot all childrenenjoy telling stories?Wouldn’t this comenaturally tothem?HerewaswhenmyresearchtookanunexpectedturnandIencounteredmyownassumptionsheadon.Letmeexplainthisinalittlemoredetail.

Thefirstcycleandmethodologyofmyresearchwasgoingtoberelativelysimple. Iwasgoingtoprovokethe children’s ideaswith creative resources, encourage storytelling,watch theoral language skills of thechildrenincreaseandjobdone!Myresearchwouldbecomplete.Ofcourse,thisisnothowithappenedatall. What I did not factor into my methodology was ‘misunderstanding’. As the teacher, I had theassumption,alongwithmycolleagues, that thechildrenhadaclearunderstandingofwhatstorieswere.Theyhadanunderstanding,butthiswasverydifferenttomine,andIdidnotrealisethisuntilIwonderedwhyIcouldn’tencouragethechildrentoshareanyoftheirstorieswithme.Wasmyresearchprojectgoingto fail at the first hurdle?Desperate tobring thingsbackon track I began to talk about storieswith thechildren;Whatarestories?Wheredoyoufindstories?This iswhenour jointmisunderstandingsbecameapparent.TheanswersIwasgettingfromthesequestionswerealwaysthesame.NomatterwhoIaskedorhow many times I asked, I was told stories are in books, the bookshelf and the library. After lots ofreflectivethinking(andafairbitofpanicking)IdecidedthatwhatIneededtowassomethingactuallyquitesimple;Ineededtoasktherightquestion.Therightquestionturnedouttobe‘Wheredostorieslive?’.

Figure 3 - A story being created through loose parts

At the time, I had no idea just how important and relevant tomy research this questionwould be.Weworkedonthisquestionfordays,weeksandmonths.EvennowIstillreverttothisquestionwhenIengageinstorytellingwithchildren.Thechildrencertainlygrabbedthisquestionwithbothhands.WhatInoticedwasbyslowingthingsdownandlettingthechildrenfocusonthisquestioninacollaborativemannerthey

3J.Bruner,“Lifeasnarrative”,SocialResearch,Vol.54.No.1,1987.

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were able to unpack and explore their ideas together of what stories were, and to clarify theirunderstandings. The childrenneeded tounderstandwhat storieswere,before they could recognise thatwhat theywere saying,drawing, creating,or thinkingwasa story.Asa kindergarten teacher, I knewweweregettingcollaborativeunderstandingwhenonemorningagirlexcitedlyranuptome,‘Christine,IhadadreamlastnightandwhenIwokeupIthought,Ithinkmydreamcouldbeastory!’

Figure 4 - Explaining and retelling a story, created through a drawing to a close friend

I’dliketoshareanexampleofthisdeepenedunderstandingwithaconversationIheardagroupofchildrendiscussing independently,without any input fromme. Thequestion theywerediscussingwasof course,wherestorieslive?

MaxH:Storiescomefrommymouth,somecomefromwords,somefrompictures.

Wolfgang:Storiesaren’tjustinbooks,theycomefromLegoastheLegoismagic.

Amaya:Storiescomefrominsideofme.

Sadie:Yes,youcangetstoriesinyourdreams,becauseI’vehadthem.

Sienna:Hmm,youseestoriesinyourdreamsandthenyouthinkaboutthem.Icantellstorieswithapictureorevenclay.Yourbraingivesyoutheideas,thepictureandsculpturegivesyoualittlebitmoreofanideaforastory.

MaxC:Storiesarealsoinyourimaginations.

Sadie:That’s in your brainMax!Or they canbe real, like real life stories, notmadeup. My story aboutJameslivesinmyheartcauseit’saspecialstory.

This thoughtful conversation highlights the deepened and rich understanding the childrenhave come toaboutstories,throughjustonesimplequestion.Perhapsnotsosurprisingly, itwasatthistimethatstory

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tellingreallytookoffatMairtownandthechildrenbegantosharetheirownstories,withtheknowledgethat theywerestories.Theyalsobegantoutilisemanyof thecreativeresourcesonoffer to them in theenvironment from Lego, collage, clay, music, drama, songs, maps and blocks, the possibilities for storymakingwereendless.

Whatchanged?OnehurdleIhaveencounteredisinterpretingthedatafrommyresearch.Duetothefactthatthisisactionresearch, is basedonnarratives and is qualitative, andbecausewedonot test in ECE, it is veryhard todefinitively state that storytelling has improved the oral language skills for our children. Nevertheless, Iwouldliketosharemyobservationsthatarosefrommydataanalysis.

Firstly, Inoticedhowchildrenwereexploringandexperimentingwith languagemore.Theybegantousemanydescriptivewordsandwordstheymayhaveheardfromfriendsorpeers,thesebeingnewwordsforthem.Isawhowthelanguageusedinstorieswasverydifferentfromthelanguageofconversation.

Asecondobservationwasthataschildrentoldstories,andbegantodosoonaregularbasis,theybecamemore expressive. Expressive both verballywithwords and language, andnon-verballywith gestures andfacial expressions for instance. Alongside this, themore stories children told, themore their confidenceincreased and the clarity of their voice improved. As they gainedmore confidence, interestingly I notedhow this supported children in taking some riskswith their stories.Childrenbegan to tryoutwordsandideasthattheymaynothavebeenquitebraveenoughtodoattheverybeginningofthisresearch.

StorytellinghasbecomeapartofwhowearenowatMairtown.Itisfirmlyembeddedintoourcurriculumbecausewehaveseenthebenefitsitaddstoourprogrammeandtothechildren’slearning.Anexampleofthisisaboywhosatdownatatablewhichhadbeensetupwithamathematicalprovocation.Duetothefact our children are now very used to creating stories, this child didn’t see it as a mathematicalprovocation,hesawitasanopportunityforstorytelling.Hewentontotellmeawonderfulstoryaboutanant meeting a cricket and a rhinoceros beetle, who became friends. ‘But oh no! They came across atornado,gotrippedapartanddied!’Oneinterestingthingtonoteaboutthisparticularchildwasthatatthebeginningofmyresearchhewouldonlytellastoryaboutone-twosentenceslong.However,thisdetailedstorywasoveraminuteandahalf.

SurprisesI believe all researchers encounter surprises, and I was certainly no exception. I encountered findings Ididn'tthinkIwould,andIlearntalotaboutmyselfasateacher.

Firstly, through their stories I discovered more about the children, their passions, their interests, theirworries;thethingsthatdelightedthemaswellasthethingsthatscaredthem.Knowledgeofourchildrenissuchan important aspectof any teacher’s role, and thisdiscovery really excitedme.When I knewwhatmotivatedachild’s interestandsupportedthem in this interest, theywouldsharestorieswithmeaboutthatinterest.Thisinturnenabledmetofindoutmoreoftheirotherinterests,andacyclebegan.IrealisedthatthroughtheirstorytellingIwasabletoseetheuniquenessofeachchildatMairtownmorethanIhadeverdonebefore.Iwasdevelopingamuchdeeperconnectionwiththechildrenthroughtheirstories.

Astimeprogressed,Ialsoobservedthatchildrenstartedtousestoriesindifferentways.Theirstorieswentfromtheimaginativetothereal,andsometimesacombinationofboth.Manychildrenbegantoshareverypersonalaspectsoftheir livesthroughtheirstories,whichagaindeepenedmyrelationshipwiththechildandtheirwhānau.Someofthethemes inthestorieswererepeated, for instancecharactersgetting lost,friendshipworries,andmanystoriesaboutdeath.Thisleadmetowonderifthechildrenwereusingstoriestomakesenseoftheir fears, friendships, fantasies,anythingthatwasontopforthem. Isoonrecognisedthatnotall storiesweregood!Storieswere ‘truthand life’, childrenpouredthemselves, theirhopesandtheirworriesoutthroughtheirstories.

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Hereisanexampleofsuchastory.Thisparticulargirlarrivedatkindergartenoneday,gatheredsomepensandpaperandbegantodrawaseriesofpictures.Afterashortwhileshestapledthepicturesup,cametomeandsaid‘Ihaveastory,willyouwritemywords’.Hereisherbeautifulstory,‘Onceuponatime,mylittleboycalledbabyJamesgotsickanddied.BabyJameswasmybrother.Mylittlebrotherwasinalittlebed,hehadalovelylittledream,hewassadbecausehemissedhisbigsister.Hehasablanketandapillow…Jameslivesinheaven,that’swherebabiesgowhentheydie.’

Figure 5 - One of the drawings of James

Thisstory,Ifeel,enabledthischildthroughherdrawings,whichcamefirstforher,toputintowordssomeofwhatsheremembersaboutherbrotherwhilstallowinghertofreelyexpressherfeelingsforhim.WhenIsharedthisstorywiththemother,aftersometears,shetoldmeitwouldhavebeenJames’sbirthdaythatweek.

This leadsmeontooneofmysecondsurprises. I learnta lotaboutmyselfasteacher.As inthewordsofStephenCovey,Ilearnttolisten‘withtheintenttounderstandnotwiththeintenttoreply’4.Thisreallywassignificantlearningforme.WhenIreflectontheverybeginningofthisresearchIwasateacherwhoaskedquestions, therightquestions Ibelieved,butthechildren’sstorytellinghastaughtmethatperhaps Iwasnotsuchagoodlistener.Asthechildren'sstoriesstartedtoflow,IfoundthatIdidn'tknowwhattodowithalltheirideasandstories.AttimeswhenchildrensharedpersonalthoughtswithmeIwasunsureofhowtoact. Did I reply or comment, did I try to solve the children's problems, what should I do? In the end, Iobservedtheotherchildren,andtooktheir lead;myrolethenbecameclearer. Isawhowotherchildrenasked questions when they wanted clarification of a story, how they were non-judgmental, how theyempathised (often with a small gesture), but they alsomoved on from the story quickly. The childrensharingtheirstoriesweredoingsoinasocialway,theywantedotherstobepartoftheirstory,tolisten,butthat'sall.Theydidnotwantsomeonetohaveanopinion,tosolveorfixthingsforthem.Thismayhaveeven changed the content of the story totally. As Peck states, true listening requires a setting aside ofoneself5andIlearntthatifmymouthwasopen,Iwasn’tlistening.

4StephenR.Covey,Thesevenhabitsofhighlyeffectivepeople:restoringthecharacterethic,NewYork:SimonandSchuster,1989.5ScottPeck,Theroadlesstraveled:anewpsychologyoflove,traditionalvalues,andspiritualgrowth,NewYork:SimonandSchuster,1978.

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Figure 6 - Puppets are a natural storytelling resource

ConclusionInthisarticle,Ihavesharedthebeginning,andthemiddleofmystory.Nowitistimetosharewithyoutheendof the story and sumup,or rather leave youwith some things to think about, someof the things Ilearntaboutstorytellingthroughmyresearch.

Firstly, honour stories for what they are, as they are wonderful learning opportunities, a way in whichchildrencanexpandtheirorallanguageandliteracyskills,buttheyalsoallowchildrentosharealittlebitofthemselveswithyou.Storiesenableusalltomakeconnections,tobringustogether,tolearnabouteachother’sculturesandvalues.Throughstorieswebecomemoreknowledgeableindividuals.

Beagoodlistener,listenwiththeintenttounderstand,notwiththeintenttoreply.

Enter each story with a child assuming you have something to learn, be open and be prepared to beamazed,becauseIcanguaranteeyouwillbe.

Usethearts,theyareawonderfulmediumforchildren intermsofremembering,givingthemideas,andsometimes just taking the focus of other eyes directly off from them. As I heard a teacher at the OpalSchoolstate,‘Theartsnurtureimages,imagesnurturewordsandwordsnurturestories.’

Asalastpoint,rememberwhenachildfinishesastory,thinkofthemliketheauthorsthattheyare,withmanymorestoriestotell.

Finally,I’dliketofinishmystorywithabeautifulquotethatIdiscoveredinthemiddleofmyresearch.Thishighlightedformethatthereismoretostoriesthanmeetstheeye.‘Ifstoriescometoyou,careforthem.Andlearntogivethemawaywheretheyareneeded.Sometimesapersonneedsastorymorethanfoodtostayalive’6.

6B.H.Lopez,CrowandWeasel,SanFrancisco:NorthPointPress,1990.

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ReferencesB.H.Lopez,CrowandWeasel,SanFrancisco:NorthPointPress,1990.

G. Shiel, Á. Cregan, A. McGough and P. Archer, “Oral Language in Early Childhoodand Primary Education (3-8 years)”, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), Researchreportnumber14,2012.

J.Bruner,“Lifeasnarrative”,SocialResearch,VOL.54.NO.1,1987.

ScottPeck,Theroadlesstraveled:anewpsychologyoflove,traditionalvalues,andspiritualgrowth,NewYork:SimonandSchuster,1978.

“State of care - 2015: What we learnt from monitoring Child, Youth and Family”, Office Children’sCommissioner,August2015.

Stephen R. Covey, The seven habits of highly effective people: restoring the character ethic, New York:SimonandSchuster,1989.