Multiple Voices and Multiple Layers of Learning

A paper presented at the CHILD forum New Zealand early childhood research 8th annual symposium, Wellington, 23 November 2004 by Debbie Ryder, Carolyn Adams and Katrina Jones (New Beginnings Preschool – Round one Centre of Innovation) and written by Debbie Ryder, Jocelyn Wright, Carolyn Adams, Katrina Jones.

Introduction
The intention of this paper is to demonstrate how the teachers at New Beginnings Preschool have built on their understandings of project work and to illustrate the ways in which project work continues to strengthen our Community of Learners. In our previous writing (Ryder, 2003) the context for project-based learning within our particular centre was described. At that time we defined our understanding of a Community of Learners model of learning as that occurring where participants (teachers and learners) are actively involved in meaningful social activity. Project work in the centre is acknowledged as an activity of social participation involving children, parents/whānau and teachers and reflects learning that is valued by the community itself.

Transformation of participation
By providing examples of child, parent/whānau and teacher 'voices', this paper will attempt to illustrate Barbara Rogoff's (1994) concept of learning and development as transformation-of-participation through the three-way participation that occurs within our Community of Learners. Rogoff (1990, 1994) defines her overall sociocultural perspective of learning as a process of people's changing participation in sociocultural activities of their community. When talking about 'learning through participation', Rogoff (2003) proposes that there are three foci of analysis of sociocultural activity, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Cultural-institutional, that can contribute to understanding this concept. Using these three lenses we will explore how a Community of Learners is fostered through the project work occurring in one of our three learning groups within the centre- the older learning group.

Barbara Rogoff's analytical framework originated from the work of Lev Vygotsky and colleagues. They laid down the groundwork for the introduction of individual development into a social, cultural and historical context, creating a perspective that no longer viewed the individual and the social context, or the individual and the cultural context. That is, not viewing contexts as separate entities but rather recognising that each is influential of the other.

"The cultural-historical approach assumes the individual development must be understood in, and cannot be separated from, its social and cultural-historical context. In the emerging sociocultural perspective, culture is not an entity that influences individuals. Instead, people contribute to the creation of cultural processes and cultural processes contribute to the creation of people" (Rogoff, 2003, p. 51).

Together, the three lenses (or foci of analysis) constitute the experience. No aspect can be studied in isolation from the other. Analysis of interpersonal relationships would not be able to occur without information about the context in which they are working within. At the same time there will be some attention to personal processes that are occurring within the experience. The observer is also important because the focus of analysis stems from what we as observers choose to examine. "The distinction between what we choose to foreground or background lies in our analysis, and is not assumed to be a separate entity in reality." (Rogoff, 2003. pp. 53-61).

The use of this form of analysis has contributed to the growing awareness of the teaching/research team in identifying practices and processes of our teaching and learning context to further strengthen our Community of Learners. Using the three analytical lenses we will now share examples of how project-based learning encourages multiple voices to form layers of learning and knowledge that enrich the community as a whole. The cultural-institutional lens is initially fore grounded to describe the teaching and learning context of our centre.

Cultural-institutional lens
Our story begins as we firstly view through the cultural-institutional lens. Using this lens we can bring into focus some of the practices, or cultural tools, that have developed over time to engage members of the community in joint participation. We need to be cautious when viewing through this lens, as Rogoff explains "It does not make sense to try to study cultural processes without considering the contributions of the people involved." (p. 61)

An overarching cultural practice of this centre is active participation within project work. A daily experience that is a regular part of the culture of this learning environment is having a group time session. This is viewed as one way of facilitating the project. The regular scheduling of the group time allows parents to organise their participation as they want to. The older learning group consists of children aged between three-and-a-half to five-years-old, although membership of the group is fluid in that others may choose to join. Often some younger children will join us for a couple of sessions while others continue throughout the course of a project. During these times we explore ideas about the current project. For the older learning group this can mean expanding their learning as they contribute and communicate with each other and as they understand what it means to be part of a group. We believe children gain a sense of responsibility for their own and others' learning within this social context.

The cultural-institutional lens remains foregrounded as we describe the teacher's daily practice of observing and recording children's conversations and contextual information within the group time. One of the three teachers responsible for the group time documents the dialogue and participation of all group members in our programme journal, a cultural tool. Another aspect to the culture of our centre is that the three teachers have their weekly non-contact time together. This allows the teachers to revisit and reflect on the records to make tentative emergent plans for the following week.

Another practice that has become a part of the culture of group time is that of bringing in items from home for sharing and discussion. Originally this was initiated as a group practice to encourage children's questioning and conversations amongst each other and the items children bought to group time were totally unrelated to any project. In hindsight we were to find out that the introduction of bringing anything from home, although purposeful to start with, became quite habitual, creating an opposite effect than was desired by the teachers. Instead of encouraging opportunities for open discussion amongst the children, it tended to limit the children in their responses as they ended up confining their communication to two very limited questions - all of them asking the same question. However, there were long-lasting benefits from this initial practice as it developed further to eventually involve bringing in items that are relevant to the current project topic. It has become a tool to extend the children's thinking and directly provides opportunities to make connections between home and centre as well as between members of the group. This practice was reflected on and refined over a period of time. The following journal entry describes our thinking during this time:

"As teachers we recognise the importance of linking 'people, places and things' that children are familiar with. By having this familiar area of interest children are able to express their point of view and become involved in group-time conversations. We recognise that as teachers we are finding a balance between group talk and individual talk. The children seem to understand the concept of the project, we recognised this by the way that the children are linking ideas they have become familiar with, with talk of a project." Journal entry: 28.03.04.

Communication with our parents is identified as a cultural practice and has a significant place in ensuring they have a central role in our learning community. The centre now has a whānau room for our parents to relax in and read current documentation. A notice board in this room is another cultural tool that encourages further forms of communication, providing parents with alternative ways to dialogue with the teachers. Parents freely write up their thoughts and ideas in response to queries that teachers have posted.

Another very important cultural tool is the use of the children's profile books. These are acting as a vehicle for ongoing dialogue with parents about the groups' project work experiences and their own child's participation. Regular learning stories and newsletters keep parents informed. We discovered that with the addition of personally relevant comments and questions we create a direct means for two-way communications.

The new initiative of asking our parents questions at the end of learning and teaching stories acts as invitations for parents to contribute and become involved, and to participate as and when they choose to. For some this involves responding by writing back to us, some choose to contribute resources and further ideas while others engage in dialogue with us or spend time in the centre. We frequently have parents come into our group time as 'experts' - discussing and sharing with the group their area of expertise. These may be 'one-off' occasions when a parent will talk about their job, to other occasions when parents bring in relevant resources such as their pets for the whole group to see and to answer any questions we might have. Parental participation is an established expectation in the centre and is a regular feature of project work. We value the expertise our parents contribute to the learning environment.

Interpersonal lens
The interpersonal lens is a critical aspect of analysis for understanding the Community of Learners in action. Relationships between people engaged in joint activity influence the construction of knowledge for individuals as well as for the group as a whole. Using the interpersonal lens allows us to focus on what the people are doing together and how their relationships interact and support their ventures. This understanding becomes critical for us as we review and refine our teaching practices. Looking through the interpersonal lens allows us to explore the relationships that occur within project-based learning.

Rogoff (2003) explains that in using the interpersonal lens we are still interested in the child, but for the moment we background the child as an individual, and rather include the child and the relationships together. In the same way, we are also interested in the influences of the context, but have also chosen to background that as well. If we wish to study interpersonal relationships we bring all the different players into focus rather than studying the development of a particular child. In the case of the older learning group the players include the children, their parents/whānau and the three teachers, Katrina, Carolyn, and Debbie. By viewing our group time through the interpersonal lens we can see that levels of participation for all members does not have to be the same. Some children or parents may participate more in one project than in another. In some cases, we notice that after a parent has played a major role in a project their increased participation level seems to remain throughout the regular programme.

Project work provides the vehicle for members of our community to share in learning together while adopting differing roles during the process. We recognise the value of shared participation in project work for all participants. During project work explorations there is a much less defined division of roles between participants. Parents, children and teachers move fluidly from being an active learner to teacher and back again. Conventional hierarchical roles are not evident. As a result projects become richer experiences for all: parents, teachers and children. In the following comment Tania, a parent who has participated as a key player in a recent project, describes how she valued the opportunity to take on an active role.

A parent's voice
"I think by having parents 'teaching', children can identify that we can all teach and learn new things and they may then realise we learn things from and with them also. Thank you for making it possible for me to share some time with [my child] and the other children, and giving me the opportunity to share some of my knowledge."

This parent confirms to us that she views her role as a 'teacher' as well as a 'learner'. Her 'voice' also demonstrates the understanding that group-time learning contributes to developing and building relationships. Teachers in our centre would posit the idea that without close relationships with parents you cannot truly know the child. Katrina, one of the teachers, offers her reflections about bringing parent participation into the group time:

Katrina's voice
"I think we're all learning together, through the projects...we're drawing on different people in different places outside in our community, and bringing the parent into the group time...bringing in their influence and their knowledge of different things that relate to the group or the project so that's getting them involved in the whole centre, and what their children are doing". (Interview 30.04.04)

As Katrina mentions above, the main philosophy of the work we do at the centre is that of drawing on the knowledge and influence of our parents to build on and strengthen our community learning. The following accounts illustrate this in action during a project called "Above and Below the Sea" which had been going for a short time. The teachers had modeled the usual cultural-institutional practice of bringing resources from home to support the project. Kylie-Marie was the first child to bring something into group time. Teachers recorded their reflections about this event in their journal at that time.

During a group-time session Kylie-Marie talked about when she went to the beach and collected shells etc. She talked about wanting to make a sea mobile. Kylie and Tania (her mum) were the first family to visit the beach. They collected shells and seaweed to bring into group time, and we talked about Kylie-Marie making a mobile with them. The teachers put the project work the children were doing on a display board in the center and Kylie-Marie's mobile was included.

Tania (mother) and Kylie have continued to enjoy bringing in resources about the sea for the project. This project has involved Kylie's whole family, some of who work on shrimp boats and go out to sea for months to fish. Kylie and Tania brought in some photos which her grandmother had of the shrimp boat her uncle worked on, they also brought in the Nemo video one day, and a live star fish for another group time, which Kylie and Tania returned to the sea after a day at the preschool. Tania said she had also talked to Kylie-Marie's aunty, who works on a fishing boat, about visiting the centre to talk with the children at group time about her life on a fishing boat at sea. (Journal entry: 2004)

Meanwhile, Tania's journey of participation within this project as a parent has been noticed by Carolyn, the second of the three teachers. Carolyn was a new teacher to the centre at the time when the "Above and Below the Sea" project first began. In her comments to Tania following a learning story, Carolyn notes Tania's contribution as a way of "strengthening and supporting co-constructivist learning". In this case the intrapersonal lens applies to Tania as Carolyn acknowledges her participation within the project.

Carolyn's voice
Tania, the teachers have noticed your interest and involvement in the project work which Kylie-Marie and some of the other children are involved in - "Above and Below the Sea". You have often taken time to stop and talk with the teachers about different resources that Kylie-Marie has brought in on a regular basis to share with both the other children and teachers at our group time. We would like to thank you for that input.

We notice the importance of the relationship between you the parent, your child and the teaching staff within the preschool environment through the sharing of information, ideas, resources and experiences. The teachers recognise the importance of the relationship between you and your daughter Kylie-Marie, and the centre as a way of strengthening and supporting co-constructive learning, which takes place in early childhood education.

As a Community of Learners, each person has something of value to contribute to support this. You, Tania, have demonstrated this through continuing support for Kylie-Marie and the project.

Teachers will continue to support and encourage you, Tania, in your involvement within the preschool setting. We will keep you informed as to what is happening with the project and the things that Kylie-Marie has been doing throughout the day. Please feel free to talk with any of the staff at anytime if you have any questions or you just want to have a chat. Thank you again for your support.

As mentioned earlier, it is common practice for our centre to end learning and teaching stories with a question for the parent to respond to. These questions vary in nature, but the following question that Carolyn asks of Tania is in response to the fact that after four months, the project is coming to a close and we are asking parents for possible ideas for our next project. The question Carolyn asks is:

Has Kylie-Marie been discussing with you anything else she is interested in that you think we could perhaps look at as a possible area to explore for coming projects?

Tania's acknowledgement of the importance of responding to the question was evident when she was heard saying to her daughter just as they were about to leave at the end of a session:

"Where did you put your profile book, I need to take it home again tonight because I have homework to do!"

Tania's written reply to Carolyn's question is as follows:

She shows big interest in all animals and often says we should go back to Orana Park - we took her there with her cousins and Nana and Granddad. When she was two years old we also took her to Willow Bank one Easter instead of buying Easter eggs - showing her all the animals and their babies. I'd also like to take her to the Antarctic Centre with the penguins. (Written response, August 04)

The interpersonal lens has allowed us to recognise the significance of developing a connectedness between home and centre experiences for children. Through sharing information, knowledge and ideas, teachers and parents/whānau are assuming shared responsibility for children's learning. What occurs within project work for all children is enriched through the participation and support provided by parents/whānau.

Intrapersonal lens - Michael's story
Michael's story will provide us a first-hand example of how the participation and support that is provided by his mother directly enriches Michael's participation and learning. We will foreground Michael as a way of demonstrating the use of the intrapersonal lens. His story will give information about him while at the same time, information regarding other people he is working with (interpersonal) and the context he is learning within (contextual/institutional) is information that is available in the background. We begin by viewing this story through the interpersonal lens as we bring all the players into focus to set the context. We reflect on the initial influence that Kylie-Marie and Tania (Kylie-Marie's mum) had on Michael's participation and learning as Corrina (Michael's mother) now joins the picture.

That afternoon Tania and Kylie were looking at the display with Michael and his mum Corrina. Tania was talking to Corrina about taking Michael to the beach, encouraging them to go and collect shells for Michael to make his own mobile.

Tania's voice
"Go on, it only takes a few minutes to collect shells and some seaweed!" Both the parents continued to talk about the beach as they and their children left the centre for the day.

Tania drew on her own experiences to encourage the participation of another parent and in so doing demonstrated that she recognised the value of contributing to the children's project.

Michael's story is now told by Debbie, one of the teachers who works with the older learning group. In telling Michael's story it can be seen that all three lenses remain in view to provide the full picture. Rogoff (2003) argues that 'the distinctions between what is foregrounded and what is in the background lie in our analysis and are not assumed to be separate entities in reality' (p. 60).

Michael's story starts when Debbie saw him and his grandmother in the car park of the centre...

Debbie's voice
I heard him talking with his grandmother about going to the beach. Of course my ears perked up - great, more connections being made to our project focus. I talked with Michael and his grandmother about how great it would be for them to find 'unusual' things on the beach. They both went off chatting amongst themselves about their trip to the beach. The next time I saw Michael was with his Mum, they both came and found Katrina and myself to show us the things that Michael and his grandmother had collected on their trip to the beach.

In came Michael with a box that was almost too big for him to carry - he very proudly put the box down, and Katrina and I started to look through the things that he had picked up. There were large pieces of seaweed, pods, shells, driftwood, crab shells, normal 'beach treasures'. Then there were some unusual things that no one else had brought in so far - sea sponge, shells with hair growing out of them, and beach flowers! We asked Michael if he wanted to bring them in to group time and he said yes. We talked about a safe place to store them until then, and decided on the top of the lockers.

As teachers, our prior knowledge of Michael was that he had not as yet contributed any resources towards the development of a project. He seemed to sit on the periphery of the group-time activities and was very quiet when encouraged to contribute to group conversations. His mother also seemed to 'sit on the periphery' in her knowledge about the regular cultural practices of the group time. So it was with some surprise and delight when Michael and his mum proudly produced the 'treasures' that Michael and his grandmother had collected from their beach trip.

Michael's story continues
Group time came and we were all excited by seeing a big box that Michael had behind him when he was sitting down. I asked if anyone had brought anything to do with our project and Michael said that he did.

We put the box in the middle and bit by bit I started taking things out of the box, and as I did I asked the children if they knew the names of the different natural beach resources. Out come the seaweed, shells, crab shells - all the children quickly named these items. The seaweed with the pods came out, and with a little encouragement was also able to name the pod. It started to get a bit tricky though when I pulled out the sea sponge - but it didn't take one child long to call it a sponge - the children all had to take their turn in holding the sponge, unfortunately it got broken up slightly. Michael seemed to take this very well, considering how proud he was of his treasures! The children were amazed by the beach flowers! The discussion amongst the group flowed throughout the group time - all because of Michael's trip to the beach with his grandmother and the 'treasure' they both found together.

What happened to all those 'treasures' Michael collected from the beach? The story continues...

During the group time the resources were all displayed on the floor in the middle of the group. After group time finished we wanted to leave them on display. It was the end of the day and Michael wanted to take all his treasures home again. Mum wanted him to keep some at the centre and so we both encouraged him to just choose a few special things to take home. I got a plastic bag and then Michael chose a few special things that Mum was saying could either go around some pot plants, in the garden, or better still - make a display in the house. Michael was very satisfied with the items he chose and went away very happily. (Learning story, 2004)

The parent/child/teacher story (as above) was added to Michael's profile book with the addition of a question for Corrina, "What happened to the 'beach treasures' once Michael and you got home?"

Corrina responded
"When we finally got around to it we put the goodies from the beach into a big blue pot that we have outside by the garage. In the pot we have pansies and daffodils growing. It is decorated with shells and driftwood. I must say Michael didn't want to know much about this probably because it took a week to do, and Dad decided to fix the car at the same time I did this. So the beach lost, and fixing cars won! However I would definitely say Michael really enjoyed his beach project." (Corrina Written response, 2004)

Because I knew that it was the grandmother who took Michael to the beach, I asked the grandmother if she would tell us the story of going to the beach with Michael.

Her story is as follows
After picking up Michael from the centre we came home and sat out on the deck where Michael had fish and chips and a doughnut, with a drink for lunch, then we went across to the beach to find some 'goodies' for Michael's project. Michael really talked my ears off with, "We'll go to the beach, eh Nan... Look Nan a crab!... There's a stick Nan!" On arriving at the beach though, Michael's first sentence was, "We won't go down there though will we Nan?" Michael was pointing to where the surf was breaking, for some reason Michael does not like the sea, although he does enjoy playing in the sand. It was a great day, weather wise, and both Michael and I had a lot of fun that day on the beach. (Written response, 2004)

In Michael's story we can see that there have been many opportunities for the project to be discussed between Michael and his mother, grandmother, teachers, and other children in his group. Every time each person discusses it with Michael his understanding of the project grows. Michael's family trip to the beach was an example of how joint participation with people he trusted has supported him to develop confidence to participate in other social settings, as well as developing his understandings even further. Michael's confidence to participate and contribute to discussions during group sessions significantly developed during this project. His development cannot be attributed to his participation in the centre alone. He has benefited from continuity in his experiences between home and centre.

As each project develops we see different interests emerging for different children. Although Michael was not the child who initiated the interest for this project we can see that he and his mother have found ways to play an active role within the project. Every project is different, but there is one thing they all have in common, they create opportunities for meaningful connections to occur between the home and the centre.

We finish with a learning-and-teaching story about Michael's emerging participation within the new project - "Things with wheels". This project was chosen because of Michael (and his family's) high interest in trucks, racing cars, etc. We had recognised Michael's increased level of participation and self-confidence during the previous project and wanted to provide experiences that would consolidate this development. The story exemplifies Rogoff's (2003) transformation of participation perspective through the three focus of analysis.

Michael's contribution (intrapersonal)
Over the last few weeks Michael has brought in something new to do with wheels almost every day! One particular day he brought in his very special cars from home. Dad wasn't too sure about whether Michael should bring them in, but Michael's mum, Corrina, reassured him that they would be safe on the top of the lockers until group time. Michael was so proud that day! Since then Michael has brought in a variety of items that relate to the 'wheels' project, they have come in different forms. We've had photos of Michael's Uncle Mike's and Shane's many cars, cars that race and cars that make a lot of noise! We've had amazing photos of Michael's dad's truck with Michael driving the truck (well, sitting in the driver's seat anyway). We've had skateboards, dump-trucks, and more racing cars! Every time Michael brings something new in, he contributes more to the discussion and reveals more knowledge about trucks and things with wheels!

What relationships supported Michael's learning? (interpersonal)
It is without a doubt that the key person supporting Michael's learning is his mum Corrina. Ever since I first discussed with her the possibility of this as a project focus due to the interest that I know Michael already had, she has been supportive of Michael's interest 100%. Every time that Michael brings something new Corrina gives the background information behind the item. Like the fact that he uses the dump truck to pick up and dump the garden weeds! Every time Corrina gives the teachers this background information, it then allows us to remind Michael of this information, and tell the rest of the group. Michael's dad also plays a big part in his learning experiences as he takes Michael for rides in his big work truck, and puts Michael on his knee to 'drive' the truck through Eastgate car park! Michael's extended family, i.e. uncle Mike and Shane, also play a part in Michael's learning experiences as Michael brings in photos of their cars, and times that they have raced at Woodford Glen Raceway. The children and teachers of the older learning group time support Michael's learning, and are also supported by Michael's learning. More and more children are contributing items from home that relate to the 'wheels' interest, and I am sure that this is due to Michael's huge interest and passion he shows for 'anything with wheels'.

What centre practices supported Michael's learning? (institutional/cultural)
Project work is a strong centre practice that becomes the foundation for Michael's learning. Within project work we can see the practices of:

• Having a regular daily group-time session is allowing Michael to have a time in the day when he knows his voice is heard, his contribution is acknowledged
• 'Bringing items from home' is encouraged by the teachers and allows Michael's interest in the project to be 'visible', and makes connecting links with home and centre
• Teachers recording the group time means that Michael's conversation is recorded, and allows the teachers to reflect on his learning at a later date
• Having the same three teachers work with Michael in the group time means that we are able to record and follow his learning with detail and keep Corrina informed
• Encouraging Corrina's participation in Michael's experiences is having obvious effects on his learning
• Documenting Michael's learning using the process of learning and teaching stories (such as this story) allows for Michael's family to have an understanding of what Michael's learning looks like when he's at the centre

(Learning and teaching story 2004)

Conclusion
When Rogoff (1994) talks about the idea of a Community of Learners she says that it "is based on the premise that learning and development occurs as people participate in shared endeavors with others" (p.1). As illustrated in this paper, project work acts as a vehicle for those 'shared endeavours'. In a Community of Learners the child, parent/whānau, and teacher are viewed as being equal and active participants in each others' learning. This paper has provided examples of parents who view themselves as equal participants in their child's learning. Parents value our teaching and learning context and the meaningful relationships that occur within it. Although we have mainly concentrated on the learning of one particular child and the relationships and context that surrounds him, there are similar stories to be told of so many of the children and families at our centre. We believe that the way we as teachers view the child and their family is crucial for meaningful learning to occur. Children are valued as givers and receivers of knowledge by parents and teachers.

Barbara Rogoff's (2003) transformation of participation perspective has allowed us to 'put words' to a strengthening understanding of the sociocultural experiences that occur both in and out of our centre environment. It can be seen therefore, that the learning community within which we operate exists far further than the four walls of this centre; it includes the homes and lives of the families who make up our Community of Learners.

References
Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social context. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rogoff, B. (1994). Developing understanding of the idea of communities of learners. Mind, Culture, and Activity. Vol. 1. No. 4, Fall 1994.

Rogoff, B. (2003). The cultural nature of human development. New York: Oxford University Press.

Ryder, D. & Wright, J. (2003). Building a Community of Learners - New Beginnings Preschool. Unpublished.