As brain architects (aka loving adults who are building children’s brains), we often find ourselves wanting to better understand what children are thinking, to know “what children know,” and to document what children can do.
And, whether a parent, teacher, therapist, and/or diagnostician, you may find yourself constantly directing children to show what they know or can do, or you may find yourself asking them questions, often in rapid succession without a planned sequence or sufficient opportunity for the child to process and respond.
Sound familiar? If so, you may want to watch/listen to the the following video where I offer three alternatives. The strategies of listening, parallel-talk, and self-talk, can be used instead, or in addition to, directing and questioning, as you aim to learn about what children know and can do.