Interactions

“Did the child gain something positive from this interaction that he/she would not have otherwise have had?”

Fisher, 2016:3

Discussion Question for Self-Evaluation and Development

Q. What makes a quality interaction?

This question was the outcome of analysis of the The Oxfordshire Adult-Child Interaction Project Fisher, 2016, on effective interactions and was fused by these three criteria,

learning has to be enhanced without overwhelming the child
it has to be enhanced by the practitioner but may not always be necessary
the child’s experience must be positive without hijacking

This key question was fused from research based on adult child interaction which concluded that for an interaction to be effective it should take place through a positive experience where the learning has been enhanced without overwhelming the child.

Quality interactions are a basic but vital part of a practitioner’s role as,

they are crucial to children’s learning and development
they help children stay engaged
good interactions are the foundations on which children can build up their knowledge
they help us to close the Attainment Gap (Ed Scot)
they influence how children learn, grow and feel about themselves
they help build relationships
they help children feel secure and are relaxed
they encourage and support interactions with their peers which is highly beneficial for children's communication skills

Language and communication are vital to a child’s development.

Attunement

Attunement is about noticing how another person communicates and responding in a sensitive and accurate way. One of the key figures in Attachment Theory, Mary Ainsworth, gave this definition “the ability to perceive and to interpret accurately the signals and communications implicit in her [the mother’s] infant’s behaviour, and given this understanding, to respond to them appropriately.” [1]

Infants need caregivers who can observe attentively, understand the world through their eyes, ‘read’ the infant’s behaviour, respond appropriately and check out that they have got it right. More recently, Professor Liz Meins has identified the importance of voicing out loud what is going on in the child’s mind and responding in an attuned manner – she calls this Mind-Mindedness. [2]

However, it is not just infant who need attunement. Professor Colwyn Trevarthen, who studied the importance of truly interactive relationships from birth, and Harrie Biemans, a Dutch Psychologist, together identified the Principles of Attuned Interaction. These form the basis of Video Interaction Guidance (VIG), a relationship based approach to improve attunement, empathy and well-being [3]. This approach is used with people of all ages, not just with children, because we have a lifelong need to feel connected with and understood by each other. If you would like to find out more about VIG, click this link Association for Video Interaction Guidance UK

Training

There is a professional development approach using the Principles of Attuned Interaction, called Video Enhanced Reflective Practice. This involves receiving an initial 3 – 4 hours training, to look at attunement in a detailed manner, and any other focus of interest – for example, Mind-Mindedness, or using attunement to support the development of communication, or co-regulation. Then practitioners take a brief film of themselves (2 – 3 minutes) interacting with a key child, and take a clip of this film to a group supervision (no more than 3 people), where the group looks at what is working well and how the practitioner is supporting the child’s development and wellbeing through being attuned. This is called a ‘cycle’ and is repeated 3 time

Practitioners all choose their own targets to work on and at the end, evaluate the progress they and the child has made.

Several Early Learning and Childcare settings in East Lothian have taken part in a VERP, and have seen the child they have focused on making significant progress. The experience has also developed their confidence: because the focus is on what is working well, it has helped practitioners both see and understand better the impact of what they do, in a very encouraging way. It may be that as a setting, you have identified a theme to work on, such as developing children’s language, or supporting emotional regulation. Whatever it is, attuned practice really does make a difference. If you think you might be interested in taking part in a VERP, please contact prackett@eastlothian.gov.uk.

1] M. D. S. Ainsworth, S. M. Bell, and D. J. Stayton, “Infant–mother attachment and social development: Socialization as a product of reciprocal responsiveness to signals,” in The Introduction of the Child Into a Social World, ed. M. P. M. Richards. (London: Cambridge University Press, 1974), 99-135.

[2] E. Meins, “Sensitive Attunement to Infants’ Internal States: Operationalizing the Construct of Mind-Mindedness,” Attachment & Human Development, 15:5-6, (2013): 524-544.

[3] Kennedy, H, Landor, M & Todd, L (eds) (2011): Video Interaction Guidance, London: Jessica Kingsley

You can generate a setting that is conducive to quality interactions by,

· creating a warm friendly environment

· providing a good variety of resources

· introducing provocations

· deepening the learning for example using Blooms Taxonomy /HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills)

· observing

· active Listening

· extending children’s thinking with open ended questions

· interacting on a 1-1 basis to find out the children's interests

Features of Quality Interactions

• Playfulness - practitioners who clearly enjoy the process of being engaged and are lively and enthusiastic

• Commentary - of an activity / experiences, who comment, interpret, clarify. The important thing is that children are hearing language use to mediate the experiences

• Listening – alert and sensitive to interests, abilities and needs to engage in sustained interactions

Children who are learning to develop their language to the full potential need adults who discuss, explore, imagine, express ideas and thoughts, who play with language through rhymes, jokes through play and say MORE THAN IS NECESSARY!

Sustained Shared Thinking

Sustained shared thinking occurs when two or more individuals (adult and child or more able child and a younger child) are working together in an intellectual way to solve a problem or clarify a concept or evaluate a discovery, to be curious together. All participants must contribute to the thinking and helping to ensure the thinking is extended which is important for our interactions with children. It is based on the philosophy that adults need to know the children in their care well and develop positive relationships for sustained shared thinking to take place. Julie Fisher (2016) states that,

“in order for learning to take place interactions need to take place with someone, not everyone.”

And that,

“…the deepest and most meaningful interactions – the ones where children’s thinking is most frequently challenged and extended –take place between a practitioner and child, to the exclusion of others”

Sometimes, however we need to stand back and allow the children to explore, familiarise, solve problems and think by themselves.

All East Lothian Early Learning and Childcare settings were given a copy of this book, Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Well-being, and is great to tool for self-evaluation and development.

The focus is on how the adults – practitioners and teachers - support children’s language for thinking and social and emotional well-being. It brings together the crucial message that children’s early learning is secured through their personal, social and emotional development. Using a self-evaluation scale it covers the following;

Building trust, confidence and independence
Social and emotional well-being
Supporting and extending language and communication
Supporting learning and critical thinking
Assessing learning and language

Principles Overview.docx

Click on the document to your left to view an overview of each of the principles and how they should be reflected in our practice

Discussion Questions for Self-Evaluation and Development

Q. Am I clear about the purpose of the different activities in our setting?

Q. Do all of those who monitor the quality of learning in our setting know about and understand the differences between adult-led and child-led learning?

Q. Do I interact differently (and appropriately) with children when joining in their self-initiated activity as opposed to when I am leading the learning?

Q. How can I develop my interactions to have a positive impact on the learners in my setting?

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