The aim of this action research is to improve my teaching skills and adapt to students’ learning needs in order to help slow learners reach their full potential and enhance their competences, skills and abilities in the Communication & Literacy area.
I wanted to help students to nurture their intellectual habits and skills starting with their spontaneous knowledge and intellectual habits acquired through their upbringing and the entire socialization process, to challenge students to link their knowledge with all aspects of life.
I. Introduction
Being part of the group of 50 teachers that were selected at European level to attend the eTwinning pilot online course on “Teachers as Researchers: Improving Classroom Practice through Action Research” has provided me with the opportunity to conduct a research study in my classroom. The course was organized by School Education Gateway, Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission on the new professional development platform, EU Academy.
The context of this research study
In preschool, teacher teaches all subjects, from personal autonomy to Natural Science, Mathematics, Language and Communication, Art & Craft, Social Studies etc. My classroom is a small one, as the physical space does not allow more than 20 students here. The students are 4-5 years old, they are in the 2nd year of kindergarten (middle group). The attending frequency is almost 14-15 students each day.
“Little Bears” group of students consists of 18 preschool students. Their 1st year of kindergarten (2020-2021) was under the pandemic restrictions, with large periods of staying at home and attending frequency was not very good (7-8 students). Moreover, new school year started in a hybrid teaching system. Therefore, their learning process was affected and needed recovery periods when school started again in September 2021. This is their 2nd year of preschool, they are now in the middle group.
They are curious students, eager to learn, they participate in all activities with interest and I am trying to do my best to overcome all their learning gaps, to enhance and improve their competences, skills and abilities and equip them with the knowledge they need for school. The parents are very involved and supportive.
Slow learners are not students who have some kind of disorders, but a different mode of learning at intellectual level, so my aim is to help them all grow intellectually.
The research question of this study is „If I use more creative teaching methods/techniques, will the slow learning students improve their competences, skills, abilities in communication?”. This question is important when considering the adaptation of teaching strategies to students’ diverse learning needs in preschool by adding creative methods into the teaching/learning process.
II. Literature Review
Learning is a necessary, even if occasionally challenging, activity that happens throughout a person’s lifetime. Like any other industry, education undergoes many changes. All teachers have welcomed technological advancements, yet a lot of schools still practice and advocate conventional teaching. Due to the fact that not all students can adjust to a rigid or fast-paced learning environment, a gap between a student’s genuine ability and performance level develops.
Before beginning formal education, young children follow pre-school education, which offers a multitude of learning opportunities. Preschool’s main goal is to nurture children’s potential in all areas of development, help them learn fundamental skills, and cultivate positive attitudes in order to get them ready for primary school. Since preschoolers are exposed to academic settings, the teaching strategy should include activities for individuals, groups, and whole-class. Through these, they are supposed to bravely explore new things and enjoy learning. (Rosmin et al., 2013)
An inclusive learning environment provides opportunities and resources for all students, especially for those who tend to have different learning issues. Learning settings should engage students, make children feel welcomed and provide all of them with an equal chance to participate (Toward Inclusive Learning Spaces: Physiological, Cognitive, and Cultural Inclusion and the Learning Space Rating System | EDUCAUSE, n.d.). The goal of inclusive settings is to adapt our practices and surroundings to meet the needs of all children.
Recent studies show that students are likely to have an educational success when the learning environment is set in a collaborative way and this way students’ personal experiences are recognized (Inclusive Classroom Climate | Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, n.d.).
Slow learners are students who learn at their own pace and which need special attention from the teacher to enhance their learning skills. K. Dasardhi states that “making them understand the topic, dealing with them patiently, understanding their psychology are the areas concerned with the slow learners” (K. Dasaradhi et al., 2016). These students require specialized instructional timing, regular feedback, remedial teaching, or changed materials, all delivered in settings that are sufficiently adaptable to promote learning (K. Dasaradhi et al., 2016).
The possibility that every student will comprehend the lesson improves when teaching to a variety of students with different learning types. To aid visual learners, teachers should present information in written and visual form. Auditory learners should hear the information spoken aloud. Tactile learners should be given a hands-on exercise. To determine whether revisions are necessary, teachers may assess students’ knowledge and progress using observation, open-ended questions single-question tests. (Sweet, 2018).
Low confidence and self-esteem are common among slow learners. Teachers may handle this by both adapting teaching methods and rewarding little accomplishments made. When put in a stimulating setting, the ordinary learner readily picks up knowledge and concepts. A mediator who can translate the surroundings and each learning stage for the student is necessary for a slow learner. Through mediated learning, critical skills, such as drawing connections between lessons taught in other subjects, may be explicitly taught (Sweet, 2018). Also, teaching resources can facilitate learning and improve students’ achievements.
Repetition is a good teaching method for slow learners: practice until they understand. Ensure that activities and knowledge are often reviewed. When giving directions for an activity, repeat them and have students do the same. Teachers may change the pattern by repeating it aloud and in writing alternately. Slow learners are more likely to concentrate on the details of an activity and overlook the important ideas (Datta, 2019).
Children’s capacity to initiate and participate in constructive social relationships grows together with their linguistic development (Equalizing Opportunities to Learn: A Collaborative Approach to Language and Literacy Development in Preschool | NAEYC, n.d.); they “can reflect better on their own thinking and behavior and reach greater levels of control and mastery over their own behavior” (Winsler, 2009).
Each time a new child joins preschool, the teacher must get to know the student and keep track of their progress in order to adjust teaching to meet the needs of that particular student. As part of their duties, teachers must take into consideration the variances among their students and modify their lesson plans to meet students’ educational needs (PO-raad, 2018). Roy, Guay and Valios (2013) define differentiation as “an approach by which teaching is varied and adapted to match students’ abilities using systematic procedures for academic progress monitoring and data-based decision-making” (Roy, 2013).
This suggests that in order to identify ’the students’ educational needs, teachers must keep track of their learning progress. This kind of differentiation, also known as cognitive or readiness-based differentiation (Prast, Differentiated instruction in primary mathematics: effects of teacher professional development on student achievement., 2018), is based on the theory that learning takes place in situations that are adjacent to a student’s area of proximal development (Prast, Readiness-based differentiation in primary school mathematics: expert recommendation and teacher self-assessment., 2015). Each child has a different zone of proximal development therefore a teacher must add variation into his style. Teachers should “use a flexible approach in space, time, materials, grouping, and instruction” (Tomlinson, 2008). Differentiation occurs when it is required because it is responsive. Without any doubt, students will do better when differentiation is used successfully (Tomlinson, 2008).
The positive traits of a teacher, such as commitment, being passionate, taking their responsibilities seriously, being genuinely sincere, willing to work on their weaknesses, and being patient while carrying out their duties as a teacher, may also make a significant difference for the children (K. Akyeampong, 2012). Through these traits, creativity may be effectively developed and achieved by stimulating and increasing the quality of teaching and learning, especially for the teacher who teaches preschoolers who are slow learners.
III. Methodology
When we want to study a certain phenomenon or the relationships between several phenomena, the main problem we have to address regarding the research methodology is the degree of adequacy of the methods, techniques, procedures and tools. In other words, it is necessary to choose the most suitable methods, techniques, procedures and tools to research the identified problem.
Also, equally important is the fact that in research, increasing the validity of scientific knowledge is achieved not by using research methods independently of each other, but by combining them.
To collect the data needed in the research study, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Therefore, conversations, students’ observation, students’ comments, interviews with parents, oral pre-tests & post-tests were conducted and also videos and photos were taken during the activities.
Ethical considerations have been taken into account. I have informed the students’ parents about me participating in this action research pilot course and about the fact that, for a period of time, specific activities will be conducted and specific information of the students will be included into a research report. The parents were given parental agreement forms to be completed that protect students’ identity, rights, dignity and will not prejudice children’s integrity and image, agreeing with legal EU regulations. I have informed my students about me taking part in this course and that some activities will be recorded.
Description of the target group
The target group of this research study are 4 students with difficulties of expressing themselves verbally. The group has been selected by observing each student’s behavior, communication skills and abilities during everyday activities, after having continued discussions with their parents. The nature of the students’ difficulties concerns the Communication and Literacy Area, in particular the students are shy, don’t consider their point of view important enough to be expressed, they are afraid of being disregarded by their colleagues when speaking in front of them. Understanding the root of the issue was the most important aspect for me as a teacher, when started to design and implement the activities carried out during this research study.
After classroom observations, conversations with each student, discussions with their parents, I concluded the following:
- The family environment is somehow strict, children’s opinion is not taken into consideration too often
- Fear of communicating own ideas with their colleagues comes from not being appreciated enough by the group
- Being shy doesn’t mean the students don’t have an opinion or don’t know the answers, but they are afraid of saying the wrong things and be rejected by the group
- Social skills are also inhibited by their slow communication
- They do not have the tendency to approach others in playing diverse games
- Each time a student tries to express an idea during an activity, because of their delayed response, another student doesn’t have the patience to wait so long for their answer and responds in their place
- Every time the students get frustrated, communication is limited
Given the students’ age (4-5 years old) and the fact that they do not know how to write and read yet, the implementation has been mostly carried out through activities that were done verbally, by using flashcards, pictures, images, worksheets, playing interactive games that solicitated students at intellectual, cognitive and social level. Using creative teaching methods – Think, pair, share; Star Burst Method; Brainstorming; Ask, Throw, Answer – allowed students to collaborate, communicate and cooperate better.
Expressive communication refers to students’ ability to express themselves through words, gestures and expressions, this way communicating about actions, emotions, needs and ideas. These skills will affect students’ abilities as follows:
- Improve the ability to ask questions and provide answers
- Develop the ability to speak in smaller groups
- Develop the ability to express themselves through body language
- Improve the ability to verbalize/describe images, pictures, flashcards
A. Preliminary activities
1) Students’ Pre-Observation and Post-Observation
During the pre-observation sessions, 18 students were observed and assessed throughout their educational performance in class. The assessment sessions were done in accordance with the National Curriculum for Preschool. The measurements consisted of three tests: effective communication in diverse environments, effective listening to decipher meaning, use of verbal and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts. For these tests flash cards, different pictures, worksheets, coloring sheets were used. At the end of the pre-observation period, four students who were having the weakest performance were selected to be part of this research study.
2) Short interviews with students’ parents (Pre- and Post- research study)
Before starting the study, short interviews with students’ parents have been carried out. The questions consisted of students’ communication difficulties, the level of attention shown at home, learning interest, voluntary expression of thoughts and ideas on different topics.
B. Activities implemented using creative teaching methods
Activity 1: “Ms. Sunshine & Mr. Shadow” – “Think, pair, share” method – teacher uses a short video to develop a set of questions and targets the key content concepts (light, shadows). Teacher provides guidelines for discussions.
Students are set in a semicircle and are asked to think about the teacher’s questions (What is light?, What sources of light do you know?, What are shadows?, How do shadows form?). They are then paired in small groups (3-4 students) where they have to share their thinking with their partners. Teacher expands the “share” into a whole-class discussion.
The method provides teacher with the opportunity to see whether there are problems in comprehension and oral expression of thoughts, ideas and opinions and also to set rules for the discussion. The students from the target group are assigned to groups, taking into account their difficulties.
“Think, pair, share” is a creative method of teaching where students cooperate to solve a problem or respond to a question. Students must (1) think independently about a subject or response to a question; and (2) exchange ideas with classmates as part of this method. Partner discussions increase engagement, concentrate attention, and get students interested in understanding the topic. The method helps building students’ oral communication and collaboration skills.
Activity 2: “The day I met my shadow” – Star Burst method. Teacher plays the short story video. It is continued with a whole class discussion about the story, explaining new words and asking students to retell the story, using their own words.
After giving the instructions and explaining the method, students are divided into 5 small groups, one group/question. The groups need to discuss, cooperate and collaborate to develop questions starting with WHO, HOW, WHY, WHEN, WHERE for 5 minutes. – “Who is afraid of the shadow?”, “How did the boy find out what a shadow is?”, “Why is the boy afraid of the shadow?”, “When did he stop being afraid of his own shadow?”, “Where did the shadow go when dark came?”.
The groups reunite and present the questions to each other. The other groups either respond or formulate new questions. Teacher encourages the students of the target group to either formulate or answer the questions.
“Star Burst” is a creative teaching method, very similar to Brainstorming, with the aim of developing students’ creativity, imagination and communication skills. It is an active-participatory method that emphasizes cooperative learning and forms students’ capacity to express opinions, encouraging students’ participation and initiative during the activity.
Activity 3: “What is Light?” – Brainstorming method – with the help of visual support (pictures, images, books, posters, educational videos), teacher explains the students the phenomena and asks the students to brainstorm about the topic.
Teacher guides the students with some questions, for an effective brainstorming – “If you look around the classroom, can you see the things in our class?”, “If I turn off lights, can you still see them?”, “Do you know any sources of light?”, “What is deflected light?”, “What is reflected light?”.
Students think about light and its importance and state as many ideas as possible to solve the problem given by the teacher, in a non-critical atmosphere. The purpose is to unleash imagination, unusual and original ideas, unconventional opinions, but most importantly to help students express themselves orally.
Brainstorming is a creative method used to engage students in solving different kind of problems or generating ideas on a given question/topic. After the brainstorming session ends, each idea is discussed and considered and a final list of solutions is given. During the activity, an important aspect is the point that all students must be heard and everyone must contribute. Criticism is not allowed, as well as idea evaluation, that might inhibit the contributors.
Activity 4: “What am I?” – “Ask, Throw, Answer” method– using flashcards, teacher asks the students to verbalize about the images they see on the flashcards. Teacher provides helping points for students’ oral contributions and supports them by asking additional questions.
Flashcards are about careers and jobs and students must describe the person and the action taking place in the flashcards. For example: “This is a fireman. He wears a fire suit, a helmet and holds a water hose in his hands. The fireman works in the fire department and goes to help people when they need. The fireman is courageous and is not afraid of anything, he rescues people, animals, buildings and goods. People can call 112 if they are in danger.” The teacher shows the students how to use the body language when presenting and verbalizing about a flashcard.
To assess students’ knowledge, the teacher uses “Ask, Throw, Answer” method which consists of developing students’ capacity to communicate (using questions and answers) the new knowledge. A small ball is used by students. The first student asks a question related to the topic and throws the ball to another student, which is required to answer the question and then throws the ball to the next student, and so on. The method also provides feedback from the students, in a pleasant, energizing, less stressful environment. This way, students practice interpersonal and oral communication skills, the ability to formulate questions and provide the most suitable answer. During this fun assessment time, even the shiest students feel encouraged, easily communicate and actively engage into the activity.
IV. Results and Discussion
A. Results of the Preliminary Activities
1. Pre-Observation and Post-Observation of the Students
From the pre-observation results, four students were selected as research respondents and named A, B, C, D. Students A, B and D are boys and student C is a girl. All students are 5 years old. The students were having difficulties in expressing themselves verbally, focusing on the topics, slow responses during activities. Table 1 presents respondents’ performance during pre- and post- observation sessions (before using the creative teaching methods). It can be seen that all 4 respondents were not confident in expressing ideas verbally on the topic of marine animals. Also, two students show a low level of interest in describing an event or a story and draw a picture afterwards, which is very unsatisfactory. They frequently have the tendency to either avoid answers or to provide incorrect answers or ideas.
On the opposite side, two students show a high level of interest in describing an event or a story, but they give incorrect answers, as well.
Overall, all four respondents were showing significant communication difficulties, required more time to response to tasks and used body language as a means of communication.
In post-observation sessions (after using creative methods in teaching/learning), it can be seen there is a significant change in students’ attitude and communication. Incorrect answers have been absent, students’ interest in expressing themselves verbally has increased and the level of interest has considerably changed.
2. Pre-Interview and Post-Interview of the respondents’ parents
Students’ parents responded that students were having difficulties in expressing themselves verbally, both in class and at home. Students were having a low level of interest in oral communication and a high frequency of incorrect answers given to parents’ questions on different topics. Post-interview answers provide a complete image of significant improvements that took place, in all aspects assessed. Students’ interest level has doubled, they became much more self-confident in providing answers/ideas, mistakes have completely been missing. After students’ observation sessions and parents’ interviews, a correlation between both is revealed, since students’ behavior changed both at home and in class. All respondents were clearly having difficulties in expressing themselves verbally, through words, gestures and expressions.
B. Results on the implemented activities
Activity 1 “Ms. Sunshine and Mr. Shadow” – Think, pair, share method – when the method was first presented and explained to the students, they had no idea learning would become so fun and interactive. They were initially surprised, but embraced the idea of doing something new and challenging. During the activity, they were exposed to rich and varied vocabulary, syntax and discourse patterns.
By forming small groups of 3-4 students, students with difficulties found it easier to communicate with others, discuss own ideas and became confident even to share with everyone their findings as a group. After playing and learning, students’ level of interest in learning and also the focus level have shown a gradual increase. Having experienced different feelings (confidence, courage, respect, trust, cooperation, friendship), they were enhancing their ability to express ideas and opinions in front of their colleagues.
Activity 2 “The day I met my Shadow” – Star Burst Method – although all students were excited to take part in this activity, respondent A did not enjoy it very much. From preliminary observations, results have shown that student A had a problem in communicating with his colleagues, because he doesn’t pronounce letters R and P correctly and is misunderstood by others. He gets frustrated and draws a communication barrier between him and his colleagues. Adjusting measures have been taken, as he has attended sessions with the institution’s speech therapist and his pronunciation improved. By using this method within another activity, as an assessment tool, the behavior of student A has changed from passive to active, from shy to more daring and from less confident to more confident. All other 3 respondents were active and involved, asking the teacher “When will we do this again?” (particularly respondent D). This comes as a proof that learning to ask and answer questions and responding as a group leader enhances the slow learners’ ability to speak in small groups more effectively.
Activity 3 “What is Light?” – Brainstorming Method – It has been observed that this was a very engaging activity, which stimulated all students to actively participate. It encouraged development of new ideas among students, which would never have happened under normal circumstances.
Students were encouraged to put social inhabitations and rules aside with the objective of generating new ideas on the question “What is Light?”. Every contribution was accepted, without criticism or judgement, fast-paced students managed to wait for slow students to present ideas. Students also learned how to accept, embrace and respect individual differences. Slow learners were also encouraged to take a risk in sharing their ideas and opinions. A feeling of wellbeing concluded this activity.
Activity 4 “What am I?” – Ask, Throw, Answer Method – this activity offered respondents the opportunity to speak to their classroom colleagues as front-standing leaders. The creative method was used as an assessment tool, as a learning by playing evaluation technique. It stimulated students to combine collaboration with competition by paying attention to answers/questions already provided by the previous colleague. It energized all four respondents to be their best version of themselves, by improving their ability to verbalize, to describe, to use new or interesting words, to express ideas using body language, intonation, facial mimics and hand gestures.
Respondents were encouraged to express themselves more, connect with everyone, talk and discuss, share their views, ideas, and opinions as they became more acquainted to these kinds of activities. The communication skills of all students have significantly improved, and they have all exhibited a progressive increase in their level of attention and increased intention to finish any given task.
V. Conclusions
Using creative teaching methods to improve communication skills in slow learning students in preschool have managed to help students enhance their ability to ask questions and provide answers, develop the ability to speak in small groups, express themselves through body language and improve the capacity to verbalize images, pictures, flashcards.
The four respondents who had low academic performance throughout the observation sessions have shown a considerable increase in their verbal, gesture, and body language communication skills. The respondents’ interest and degree of attention in learning through play were significantly boosted by using creative teaching methods.
The lack of interest in learning and the passive action in class were effectively undermined. After engaging in new learning activities, respondents can control their negative emotions, such as fear, passivity, lack of confidence, lack of interest, and become much more courageous, active, confident, and ambitious.
Teacher provided opportunities for students to participate in activities that help them learn new skills or practice the existing ones in a fun, stimulating and supportive environment. Activities were based on children’s needs and taking into account learning difficulties some of the students were facing.
The capacity of „slow learners at preschool level” to communicate more effectively can be improved via the use of innovative and creative teaching techniques, which can also help them develop their social and cognitive abilities.
The research impact I have observed on my teaching methods is that I have learned how to improve and adapt my teaching strategies to adapt to students’ learning needs, enhanced my potential in selecting activities, games, in order to provide a better learning process for the students.
The effectiveness of creative methods to improve communication skills in slow learning preschool students has been successfully tested and proven; the research report was acknowledged by positive and encouraging peer reviews received during the eTwinning pilot online course on “Teachers as Researchers: Improving Classroom Practice through Action Research”, in May 2022.
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