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Gemma Mangino

Professor Gray

ECE 251 – 3001

November 8, 2017

Powerful Interaction Observation

Powerful Interaction Observation

1. Date: November 6th, 2017

2. School: John W. Bonner Elementary School

3. Teacher: Rebecca Griffith

4. Age of child: 4 -years-old

5. Time: beginning: 10:30 am / ending: 10:40am

6. Setting: This observation is taking place in a Pre-K setting outside of the classroom in

their outside playground. The interaction is taking place with a 4-year-old boy. There is a

total of 18 students and 2 adults.

7. Interaction: There is a 4-year-old boy, Jonathan, playing outside with different sized

rocks. The teacher, Ms. Griffith, observed him picking up different rocks and placing

them all into a pile. She approached him saying, “Wow, Jonathan you have quite a lot of

rocks there!” He added another rock to his plie and looked at Ms. Griffith saying,

“There’s not enough.” He then preceded to find more rocks and adding them to his pile.

He came back and added two more rocks. Ms. Griffith then crouched down with him and

said, “Look at all these rocks! How many do you think you need?” He said, “Enough to

make my castle.” Ms. Griffith then said, “Can I help you make your castle?” He nodded
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his head and together they picked up a few more rocks. He then looked at her and said,

“This is good.” They returned to the pile of rocks and she asked, “Have you made a castle

before, Jonathan?” He said, “Yes, but it was too small.” She replied, “What do you want

it to look like this time?” He grinned and spread out his arms and said, “I want my castle

to be big!” She then replied, “That’s a great idea Jonathan. How do you want to build

your castle?” He looked at his pile of rocks and grew silent for a while and then he began

to find the bigger rocks and formed them in a circle. Ms. Griffith then said, “I see you

picked up all the big rocks and made a circle with them. What are you going to do with

the smaller ones?” He then looked at her and said, “They go inside.” She replied, “That’s

an interesting idea, you sure do have a lot more smaller rocks than the bigger rocks. They

must be not as heavy as the bigger rocks you put in a circle.” He looked at her and

nodded his head while grabbing one big rock and one smaller rock in his hands. He then

approached Ms. Griffith and said, “Look, this rock feels heavy and this one does not.” He

placed both rocks into her outstretched hands. She took both rocks and said, “Your right

Jonathan! This rock weighs more because it’s bigger, this one weighs less because it’s

smaller.” He took them back and continued to make his castle.

8. PI Characteristics:

• Behaviors Observed: The behaviors she used was: being present (Pg.22), she

stayed in the moment (Pg.33-38), listened to the child (Pg.45-48), showed respect

(Pg.55), gave the child time to process their thoughts (Pg.82), had personalized

conversation (Pg.51), use mirror talk (Pg.76), asked questions (Pg.77), and

inspired imaginative play (Pg.76).

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• Each behavior example: An example of her being present was using her real

voice when talking to Jonathan and made herself eye level with him by crouching

down to the same level as him. An example of staying in the moment was when

she continued to talk about the castle he wanted to build and also quietly observed

him as he played. An example of her showing respect she used a calm and warm

tone of voice, she was polite, and talked with him. An example of her giving him

time to process his thoughts is when she waited patiently for him to respond either

verbally or physically. An example of having a personalized conversation with

him was when she acknowledged his name and his plan to make a castle and

asked questions of what he planned to do with his rocks. She extended his

learning by asking questions and using mirror talk about the size and weight of

the rocks while he was arranging them in a circle. An example of her inspiring his

use of imagination is when she encouraged him when he announced he was

making a castle and she offered to help him make it.

9. Improvement: She could have expanded on inspiring his imagination by physically

interacting with him more and including more props. (Pg.105) She also could have asked

more questions about the rocks and his castle by offering a manageable challenge.

(Pg.125) She also could have acknowledged his feeling, for example, when he was

smiling when he said he wanted to make a big castle she could have acknowledged his

excitement. (Pg.47) Another improvement would have been using rich vocabulary to

expand on his knowledge of words. (Pg. 77).