Dr. Axel Felser
Overview
Every day we often find ourselves in situations in which we are talking to someone and yet we have the feeling that we are talking past each other. Concepts and terminology are key components of our language – and if they are not clarified, misunderstandings are inevitable.
Children are not blank slates. They communicate in a variety of ways – quite independently of school and the adult world. On the other hand, they also learn new forms of communication every day in class. And they are constantly encountering a wide range of new terminology.
Topic: Concept formation and communication training
Over the course of a double lesson with a fourth grade class at an elementary school in Bavaria, we examined the topic of “talking to each other” The focus was on the “how” as well as the topic itself, i.e. specific concept formation. Using CommuniCards, we examined the often theoretical things said about communication in real life in order to draw conclusions on how to achieve successful collaboration. Concept formation and precise description also enable connections to be made to the school subjects, such as mathematics (shapes and objects) or German (e.g., describing people).
Staging
a. Preparation
We collected ideas from the students on how to talk properly to each other so that conflicts and misunderstandings did not arise. In a group discussion, statements such as “You need to listen carefully” or “We should be nice to each other” were written on cards and placed in the center of the room.
Next, I presented CommuniCards: “Today I’ve brought you a very special brainteaser with which we can test both the best way to solve a puzzle and talk to each other. So let’s see if we can actually put the ideas we’ve collected into practice.”
I divided the students into small groups. Each small group received one of the six shapes in the five different colors. In the first round, the children talked about the shapes (still without blindfolds) and expressed their ideas on how to name the shapes. After all groups had agreed on names, e.g. “our part looks like a rocket,” a group spokesperson briefly presented it to the large group.
This step was necessary because of the age of the target group, as otherwise the children would have been overwhelmed by the challenge the tool presented.
b. Performance
The pieces were then gathered in and the students took their seats in a circle. Each child received a blindfold to put on themselves. I then distributed the shapes so that each child had one (different) shape while at the same time two shapes were left over. “First, feel your shape. What shape does it feel like? The first step is to find out which two shapes are missing.”
Transfer to the real World
| Elements in the learning project | Elements in the real world |
|---|---|
| Blindfolds | Language that is only visible in their heads |
| Parts | Terms that can be cognitively represented in different ways |
| Groups that have previously named the form | Shared terms that elicit similar associations for all participants |
c. Progression
The students tried to guess their shapes and remember the agreed terminology. Since it was very difficult for some children, I supported and continually repeated the names the groups had agreed on for the shapes.
In addition to the challenge of determining their own form, there was also the need for agreement to be reached within the group. After a short period of commotion, I interjected: “What has worked well so far? What do you need to do differently to understand each other better?”
The children agreed to go through the groups of shapes one by one and count the existing parts. With this strategy they achieved the goal and finally figured out which two parts were missing.
In a second step, they used the same method to determine the colors of the parts. Even though it required a lot of concentration from the children and they needed constant support and reminders of the agreed rules of conversation, they were able to complete the task.
d. Finish
The children took off the blindfolds and placed the shapes on the floor in front of them. They gave themselves a round of applause for their success.
Reflection
The subsequent reflection round focused on two areas:
A) Concept formation
“Did the terms help you? What did you find easy about it, what did you find hard about it?” The students noted that even with the agreed-upon terms it was hard because, firstly, they didn’t really work for everyone and, secondly, the shapes were still new and unfamiliar to them.
“Can you think of situations where you feel the same way at school (or outside school)?”
Some of the children noted that they had often experienced this in class as well, both in directly comparable situations (shapes and solids in geometry class) and in other areas.
“What can we do so that you find the terms easier to deal with?”
The class noted that repetition and visualization were the most important things when it came to learning new terms and concepts. This was written down on word cards displayed in the classroom.
B) Conversational behavior
“What worked well in the way you talked to each other? What can you improve upon? Did you follow the rules?” Some students suggested that directly addressing individual children by their names was most helpful to them. They wanted to use this insight in other classroom situations, even though they could see each other.
Conclusion
In terms of communication and cognition, CommuniCards is very challenging even for small groups of adults. This makes it all the more crucial to remove or alleviate individual elements for children of elementary school age. The advantage is that the activity can be repeated and the difficulty increased. In this way, the balance between challenge and overload can be maintained and supported through targeted intervention on the part of the teacher. At the same time, children often find it difficult to transfer knowledge to other areas. Here it is important to recognize, appreciate, and record even small advances and experiences.