Teachers and students as co-learners: possibilities and problems

Abstract

Learning is about building relationships with people – children and adults – and creating connections between ideas and the environment; not separating or isolating subjects, skills or people. The Reggio Emilia approach claims to be influenced by Vygotsky in asserting that ‘children’s participation in communicative processes is the foundation, on which they build their understanding’ (Cadwell 1997, p 62). I began recording children’s dialogue in my class after a visit to Reggio Emilia in Italy, observing the students’ problem-solving skills as they interacted with their project work. Dialogue between children is a key variable in co-constructivism. From my interviews and observations, I noticed that there was a greater potential for children to gain personal and cognitive meaning from their dialogue if a secure environment was established to enable them to take risks – effected through the encouragement of collaborative groups, small discussion sessions and tribes. Children were more likely to express an authentic voice when their individual responses and interpretations were valued by the teacher and their fellow students, and scaffolded through questioning at various levels.