From: valerie boes
Submit: Post Field Note
VisitDate: 12.05.96
Adult-Run:
Children-Run:
Collaborative:
Unclear-Philosophy: Selected
Bottom-up:
Top-down:
Unclear-Approach: Selected
Informal: Selected
Formal:
Unclear-Type:
LearningArea: Self-Assistance
Date: 06 Dec 1996
Time: 14:20:32
Remote Name: crown-lab-mac18.ucsc.edu
sara-9ish, young girl 3,
I got to b.u and went into the computer room to and set up the doll house program for sara and her friend nicky. the girls couldnt seem to share so they kept coming up to me and telling on each other. i wasnt about to get involved because bascially they were both being selfish, so i didnt really respond. there was a little girl with them who was working on a computer by herself. she was only three and spoke very softly. i think she knew english but i couldnt understand her when she talked. She wanted me to put in the reading rabbit program for her so i did. i knew she wasnt going to get it and i didnt really know of a way that i could help her to let her understand it but i put it on for her. the game asked her to chose from word endings to make a complete word. the words were pretty complicated for a three year old and im not real sure if 3 year olds even know how to read. anyways she wanted me to tell her what to do, so i just clicked on the word endings and threw them in a place where either they made a word or got tossed. she did this for a while then she wanted her sister (who works at b.u) and her sister played with her for a while.
I dont really know if the event with thte young girl was even a learning experience. i had no idea what to do, and i think she didnt' either.
Does anyone have a suggestion on what to do when working with such a young child in the b.u. setting?