Provocation

& 

Invitation

Slide show with notes from the October 2021 Inservice day training

Provocations1021.pdf

Children have infinite curiosity and a desire to construct their own understanding of the world around them, exploring materials, relationships and concepts to enhance their knowledge and skills. 

As practitioners, we have a crucial role in engaging with children’s thinking and interests to provide high quality learning environments that provoke and challenge children to progress their ideas. When we respond to children’s interests through observing and conversation, we can help set alight their enthusiasm and motivation:

 ‘When we pay attention to the interests of children, children get serious about learning.’                                                               

 Haughey and Hill (2017)

Provocations

The term ‘Provocation’ originates from the Reggio Emilia philosophy, which recognises the child as:

‘competent, a fully participating citizen who possesses rights. The child has rights rather than needs and the role of the practitioners is to  ensure that these rights flourish. Children from birth are viewed as strong, powerful and rich in potential and resources’ ... The emphasis is on responding to children’s interests through conversations which help to shape the projects which children and adults engage in together  often over extended periods of time.                                          

Realising the Ambition (2020: 106-7)                                                                                                                                                                          

What is a Provocation?

A provocation is an open-ended resource, either materials or a particular object, that can create a context for children to explore their ideas, either independently or with friends. It is an extension or a challenge to stimulate thinking.

·      It deepens or extends children’s current interests, ideas and theories.

·      Helps children to make new connections based on their previous knowledge

·      Children are allowed to develop their innate curiosity, creativity and problem-solving, as they deepen their ways of thinking. 

As children engage with the materials, practitioners observe how the materials are being used, providing additional materials or supporting with commentary and careful, open-ended questions, to enable children to expand thinking, test ideas and theories, or reflect on their learning.

Invitations 

 What is an Invitation? 

An Invitation is the stage before a Provocation. As the more knowledgeable partner, practitioners may want to engage children with ideas, materials or concepts that will enrich their world and open them up to new experiences. In a world full of fascinating things, practitioners can use an invitation to spark an interest or a way of thinking. It is an opportunity for practitioners to reflect on questions such as:

·      What knowledge do we value in our setting? 

·      What do we think is important to children to explore and experience?  

As we know, invitations can be accepted or ignored and it is important for practitioners to observe carefully on reflect on the ‘why?’  in order to tweak the experience or reconsider and replace.

Ideas and Inspirations

Invitations can be: 

·       An interesting photo, picture or book,

·       Nature – specimens such as tadpoles or butterflies, nests, the weather

·       Conceptual – such as the changing seasons or light

·       Old materials displayed in a new way

·       An initial interest that a child or children have

·       An object such as magnets or maps or electronic toys

·        New creative mediums 

·       Questions from any source – i.e. what is gravity? 

·       An event such as a presentation, a holiday

How do we create a Provocation? 

A crucial part of engagement between children and practitioners is understanding what the children’s interests are through reflective observation and careful questioning. 

·       Take a step back and observe: what do you see? What insight have you developed from your conversations with the children?

·       What is the key learning that can be developed from their interest? How can their knowledge and skills be extended? 

·       Consider how the children have reacted to the provocation. ‘Tune in’ to their thinking so that your interactions will continue to build on and extend their learning.

Winter: The children have been showing a growing interest in how we can look after birds and some of the children are discussing how they keep warm in winter. If we put out suitable resources, will they extend their thinking and deepen our discussions about birds... nesting... construction?  

Resources: 

Provocations and Invitations: Role of the Practitioner

Realising the Ambition reminds us that:

We have a key role to play in providing motivating learning provocations and appropriate challenge. Our richer knowledge of the world helps young children to make progress in their learning. This is what Bruner meant by “scaffolding”. Children and practitioners working together can take learning further than the child could by themselves (Siraj-Blatchford, 2009).

Realising the Ambition (2020: 63)

Curriculum for Excellence Principles for Curriculum Design

Consider how creating Provocations and Invitations relates to the Principles as outlined below: 

Reflective questions