An Engineer Changes His Mind

This clip shows part of a study group meeting of four preschoolers (Sylvie, Kaya, Simon, and Noah) and their teacher, Becca, at University Primary School in Champaign, Illinois. Along with another mixed-age classroom, this class has been investigating ways to turn the school playground into an outdoor learning area.

Prior to the meeting, the study group experimented with a commercially made marble run to find out about how objects move on ramps and slides (inclines). The children focused on ways to slow a marble’s movement from the top to the bottom of the marble run. Then they drew individual plans (which they call “designs”) for ramps and slides to go with a water feature that was being planned for the outdoor learning area. Finally, they built models based on their designs using items from the school’s supply of recycled materials.

The children have come to this meeting expecting to take turns describing their models and how they think the models will work while Becca holds their drawings. The drawings serve several functions. They make it possible for the children to express complex ideas, much as a book illustration does. The drawings also represent the children’s planning, their predictions about what will happen in real life. These plans also help the children (and the teacher) remember their ideas.

This clip begins immediately after Becca has held Noah’s (4 years, 7 months) drawing up for the group to refer to, asking him to explain how his model of a water slide will work. He had initially called his design “The Spinner.” Noah begins by telling where the water will “start” in his structure, pointing to or touching the parts of his model as he talks about them. As Noah talks, Becca sometimes interjects, restating what Noah has said to make sure that she has heard him correctly. She also asks some clarifying questions, such as “Where do you dump it out?” and “Does that help it slow down a little bit…?”

At one point, Simon (4 years, 5 months) moves without speaking from where he has been sitting and looks at Noah’s model, seeming to listen intently to what Noah and Becca are saying.

Becca draws Noah’s attention to the part of his model that inspired him to name it “The Spinner”—a wheel taped to the top. She wants him to clarify its purpose, so she asks, “If this was really working, would this be spinning?”

Noah has changed his mind about the role of the wheel, however. He now says that it will stay still. Becca refers to his earlier plan and asks if he changed his idea after he built the model. He confirms that he has, and she asks him to explain why he changed his idea. Noah seems to be looking for the right words, and finally says, “I don’t want to do that.”

Becca restates what Noah says and then offers another possible explanation that expands on his statements: that the model turned out to be “a little bit different than you thought.” Noah seems to accept her interpretation of his reasoning.

Note: This video clip was made possible by STARnet Regions I & III with funding from the Illinois State Board of Education.