Has anybody done any staff training on COEL?

[RedDragon]

I find it is the one grey area with staff, has anybody delivered any training?

[Cait]

Yes I did, but it was a few years back. What are you struggling with, particularly?

[RedDragon]

getting them to add to planning and implement them especially the critical thinking!

[thumperrabbit]

We struggled with add CoEL to obs as well - I think it was because it was 'yet something else' to think about

But we've just introduced Tapestry and now because they are there in front of them, and it's just a click, they are using and therefore understanding them much better

[RedDragon]

Yes we use tapestry and that helps but I want them to write them and use them in planning too so they fully understand it.

[Cait]

Perhaps it would help for each key person to do a general observation, using the CoEL as an exercise to determine how their key children are learning. This will give them an overview for planning. Could you do a display with the three areas as flower heads, with pictures of the children in that category around them? This could focus their minds a bit.

[Helen]

Have you read Ruksana's great articles on CoEL? They include some really useful open questions that you can discuss as a staff group. :1b

[chez29]

I was having dumb moment then and couldn't think that CoEL stands for. Thanks for highlighting the article Helen :-)

[caffinefreak]

Whereabouts are you? we have written a training course on this and will happily come and deliver it to your setting for free if you are close enough? xx

[lashes2508]

I delivered our own training and Tapestry helps too

[finleysmaid]

Now this is where i have a problem....how can you possibly plan for COEL ??? you cannot make a child think in a critical way for a particular thing...it has to be woven in to everything you do. An an active child will be that ....an explorer will explore. I always feel this is about observing and offering opportunities .....but i just don't see how you can PLAN for it! Am i being dim here?????

[RedDragon]

Thanks for great ideas and we are in Herefordshire caffinefreak miles from anywhere lol!

I try and get them to see after where the child has made links as it is hard to plan for such observations. They are fine with first two it's the critical thinking they struggle with!

[MarshaD]

There was a thread about this a while back and someone kindly uploaded materials for staff training on COEL. I'll try and locate it tomorrow (well actually - later).

[Cait]

Now this is where i have a problem....how can you possibly plan for COEL ??? you cannot make a child think in a critical way for a particular thing...it has to be woven in to everything you do. An an active child will be that ....an explorer will explore. I always feel this is about observing and offering opportunities .....but i just don't see how you can PLAN for it! Am i being dim here?????

In the same way as you use schema in your planning. So you have an idea for planning that has come up, and you think, 'wow! Tommy would love that, it will tap in to his love of exploration, I'll get such and such out to add to it and see where he goes with it'

[Mouseketeer]

We don't add CoEL to planning, if you have blocks for instance one might eat it and one might say "if I put the big ones on the bottom it won't fall over" ...I thought it was more about observing how they choose to use things, but tapestry has made that side of things easier though the pie chart shows a massive dip in 'creative/critical thinking' , though it is gaining a bit now and I put that down mainly to the age of the children now showing more of those characteristics.

Edited February 8, 2015 by Mouseketeer

[Cait]

I'm sure it is more about observing how they do things, and often I found they were doing all three in an extended observation. But you can tap into that knowledge of how they learn best to help with planning to see next steps, surely?

[Froglet]

I too use CoEL to observe how they do things. What I'm not good at yet is the next step of collating all that observation to gain a personalised picture of how they learn. I also find that I have far fewer incidences of creative/critical thinking - makes me think that I don't provide enough opportunities for them to do this (or for me to see them doing this) rather than that they can't. I'm also suspicious that I'm over estimating what critical thinking might actually look like for a 4/5 year old, need to do a bit of exploring myself to try and get a clearer idea of what I'm looking for.

[Foreveryoung]

We too did sane froglet by over complicating critical thinking aspect staff found it easier to just put play/explore. I find critical one comes through when staff use sustained shared thinking effectively when this is not used well the aspect of what the child can do can be overlooked or not achieved. We use coel to tell us how to plan for that child so for instance if a key worker planned something in water tray for two of her key children one was displaying play/explore the other critical thinking the same activity can be used for both children but to ensure it challenges and targets both effectively so little Johnny play/explore staff member would allow time for child to investigate the activity on there own then move in offering language to help extend the play. Where as little Sam comes along the staff member would heighten sustained shared thinking to support child in adding their own ideas/thinking could have possible already gathered a variety of additional resources to add to the play seeing if the child adds things and in what context.

Why do all imaginary children have names such as little Johnny lol x