Photos clockwise from left Infants and toddlers express their interests and inquiries in Introduction The eat chilshoodeuriulum Te Whar ‘emphasises the mportance of undestand- early childhood education and care settings noticed infants’ and ing 2néencouacing chitren’s ronal commurication styles in meaningful toddlers’ non-verbal communication, and what was recognised —%2"5 (Ministy of ‘Eduction, 1996) This imperative suggests that teachers ‘as meaningful interests and inquiries. It draws on data from attuned to infor ané toddlers non-verbal cues, gestures and actions tis ear Teaching and Learning Research Initiative project ®9ve tat being attuned to infants and toddler’ non-verbal expressions enriches currently exploring the nature of children’s interests, inquiries teacher understendings of eariy learning {Dalli, Rockel, Duhn, Craw, & Doyle, 2011) and working theories. Particular attention is given in the and. enhances the quality of infant and toddler provision (Dali, White, Rocke wider project to interests and inquiries that link with children’s Ouhn, 201) Tsartl draws on findnas ftom a two-year, New Zealand Council of Findings revealed that Educational Research-funded Teaching and Learning Research Iiiative project infants and toddlers made real efforts to communicate their curemiy exploring theratue of ciren's ; : : interests, inquires and working theories. interests and inquiries to significant others, using a myriad \t addresses one of the projec’ research . auestions: “How might teachers notice, of non-verbal forms of expression. This article argues that recognise espand to, record and revisit ; : infants, todoles’ and young children’s noticing and recognising infants’ and toddlers’ interests and teres inquires ond working theories?” . Emphasis is given to how teachers noticed inquiries requires teachers to be attentive to and knowledgeable and recognised infants’ and toddlers interest and nai various ways. This article explores how teachers in two diverse a t00- families, cultures and communit about non-verbal forms of expression, and to actively seck out 1s rie: As no ral the valued perspectives of each child's family. Implications are ‘onmuncaon and is potenti sn conc to ASE! Ieee presented for teaching practice in infant-toddler education and ‘angi le then invaduesreart real eet care contexts, including the importance of drawing on multi- j'acarbes ecaron a four infers ond (eld ange “vel Se i argues ‘hating sez fifa and tod ine eee aches os alta Pied ‘sath AMIE ile reocel oa RRETEAD cc tate Seg ed impor is pra layered understandings of each child to respond meaningfully to interests and inquiries. ‘The Fist Years: Nga Tau Tua, New Zeal Joural of infant and Tole Education Volume 14 lssue 2.2012 oz"Children purposefully observe events and experiences in their social and cultural contexts, such as homes and centres, with the expectation to participate, either immediately or at a later time, to further their understandings.” Defining non-verbal communication It is vital that teachers understand ‘and recognise non-verbal communica tion if they utilise observational data to enhance their understandings of infants! and toddlers’ interests and inquiries. This study defined non-verbal commu- nication a5 the ways in which infants ‘and toddlers, with incomprehensible speech, engage communicatively with ‘others, signal an interest in something fr someone, or use peers and adults to achieve personal goals, in social contexts, (Lock & Zukow-Goldring, 2010). During such engagement, it is acknowledged that infants and toddlers use and express non-verbal cues, gestures and actions in different ways, in response to the nature of interactions with significant others. Literature focused on early communica- tion reveals a wide range of non-verbal ‘and expressive forms of communica tion. Examples drawn on for this study include body wisdom, eye movements, pointing, social referencing, emotions, vocal utterances and baby frtation, First, "body wisdom” (Gonzalez-Mena & Widmeyer-Eyer, 2012, p. 181) refers to children’s ability to coordinate and control their body movements a5 they explore their world. Second, where infants’ and toddlers’ eyes move to and what their eyes. focus on the most can be an indicator of personal preferences (Gopnit, Meltzoff, & Kuhl, 1999). Third, pointing, which typically emerges in the frst year of lif, is the directing of attention to something of interest, to request something a to inform (Fomaselo, Carpenter, Lszkowski, 2007), Fourth, social referencing, or checking-in with others, signals a child's ability to read another person's emotions to evaluate a situation, It also refers to the ‘way an infant turns to a trusted other for reassurance or to gauge histher feelings, about an uncertain situation (Berk, 1996) Fifth, a childs emotions, such as smiling, roving or giggling, can bea good metric for children’s understandings and inquiry, as they often indicate what is going on in the mind (Gopnik, Meltzoff, & Kuhl, 1999), Sixth, vocal utterances are sounds that comprise cooing and babbling in the first months, which later form more istinetive sounds unique to the cultural ‘community in which the child isa member (Gopnik, Meltzoft & Kuhl, 1998). Finally, baby flirtation” (Gopnik, Melzoff, & Kuhl, 1999, p. 31) is an infant's ability to coordinate and time hisfher gestures, vocalisations and expressions to be in ‘synchrony withthe gestures, voalisations and expressions of others, For exam, 8 baby will coo and smile in response to the cooing and smiling of a significant ‘other as they interact. Overall, knowledge ‘about these and other forms of non-verbal ‘communication can assist teachers ta gain insight into infants and toddlers’ potential interests and inquires, Observing and identifying non-verbal forms of communication isan inital step to noticing and recognising infants’ and toddlers interests and inquiries. Yet, the notion of observation can be problematic Purposeful observation, defined as “a deliberate, active process, carried aut with care and forethought” (Smith, 1998, p. 40), requires an awareness of and thoughtful consideration forthe learner, which takes, time to develop, particularly in regard to the child who is not yet able to verbalise hislher own thoughts. Further, what the observer sees is affected by his/her knowledge about the child and theories of learning, cultural filters, images of the child and_ personal experience (Alcock, 2012; Peters f Kell, 2011). Therefor, it is vital that teachers acknowledge the subjective nature of observation in order to understand the personal nature of the lenses utlised. Teachers can also benefit from professional knowledge concerning meaningful observation. This might include cifferent types of observations that include attention to nan-veroal cues, whieh may encourage teachers to see beyond their own lenses Meaningful observation involves paying attention to the subtle characteristics and intricate detais of each child's non-verbal ues and actions. This close attention Fequires that teachers keep their "eyes wide open... 0 the breadth and detail of children's learning” (Dall & Doyle, 2011, . 16) and give attention to the meaning of children’s actions (Sands & Lichtwark, 2007), Teachers might also aim to get as, close as possible to the child by looking and listening, oF looking mare closely at the child's ability to makes sense of What they see, hear and fee (Goodfellow, 2012). Together, these stvategies suggest that observing infants and toddlers closely involves thinking deeply and analytically about the non-verbal communication that, Teachers can draw on relevant theoretical Perspectives to support their analyses of non-verbal communication, Czikszent- mibayi’s (1990) psychological theory of fiow suggests that an optimal experience, cor “flow activity (p. 72) is one in which a child pays intense attention to something oF Someone, has litle self-consciousness and no sense of time. Infants and toddlers play, which can be a highly enjayable and self-fulfilling experience, is potentially 3 fiow activity and therefore, an important ‘Te ist Years: Ng Ta Tut New Zend url inant adler dustin. Vue 14 bs 2.2012context in whieh such observations might Scenario 1: Mia washes her doll in In addition, Mia's portfolio contained 2 take place. Rogof, Paradise, Arauz, Correa the centre bathroom. story written by one of her parents about Chavez and Angelilio’s (2003) theory of Mia at nine months old, highlighting learning through observation and intent Mia's interest in cooking at home: “Mia participation, later referred to as intent [A is very interested in looking at people and community participation (Paradise & things, and loves to be part of everyday Rogoff, 2008), emphasised learning as 3 activites - cooking at home means she sociallyand culturally constructed process. Sits up on the countertop ... while | am Children purposefully observe events and busy preparing food. Watching intently at experiences in their social and cultural everything I do, no matter how mundane contexts, such as homes and centres with the expectation to participate, either immediately or ata later time, to further theirunderstandings Overal, teachers who draw on the above-mentioned theoretical perspectives can potentially deepen their Understandings about what infants’ and toddlers’ non-verbal expressions and actions might mean or represent. it may seem* Then, when Mia was 13 ‘months old, one of her parents wrote a story endorsing Mia's involvement in family-related events: ‘Whenever we are busy in the kitchen .. we sit you on the countertop (ina safe place] and you help mummy bake” Both excerpts. suagest Mia has opportunities to observe and be actively involved in particular events at home: Description of scenario - Mia was observed washing her dol in the basin wit the liquid soap, moving tothe shub Noticing and recognising interests :orinse ner doll with the hand-held shower and inquiries in practice head, and then walling back tothe basin to rinse her dol again. Mia was sent The findings deserived inthis paper come throughout the scenario, When teacher from a wider Teaching and Learning asied her if she needed a towel, Mig Research initiative project. This qualitative gisregarded the question continuing with study is utilising participant observation her play, Mia did not appear perturbed or by teacher-tesearchers to generate field ‘Analysis and discussion ~ In the scenario, Mia's non-verbal forms of communica- tion appeared to reflect her interest in and inquiry into washing a baby, She Used her whole body to participate in the process of washing her doll by walking around the large bathroom, leaning ‘over and into the basin and shub and repeatedly handling and turning the doll when showering it. Mia's eyes remained fixed on her doll, the basin and the shub, interrupted when @ young child walked notes, photos and. videos of children int the bathroom and observed he. in their everyday centre context. This paper draus on scenarios of four infants Lindy’s perspective on the scenario = and toddlers and teachers’ perscectives Mia has just turned two. Her father is 0 Of these scenarios and conversations New Zeolond European and her mother ‘electing her concentrated efforts on with families, including some portfolio is South Aficon, She has a 7-menth-old he sel-ntated task Mia's quiet and documentation related to interests and/ sister and has been interested in dolis for focused approach reflected flow activity or inquires hilgren's scenarios are then some time. We thought Mia was acting _(Czkszentminayi, 1990) as she appeared analysed and discussed with reference outthe bathing ofher baby sister checking _enarossed in what she was doing and to non-verbal forms of communication the woter femperature on her wrist and aid close attention to the steps involved and relevant theoretical perspectives to going through the process of sooping i the doll-washing routine, Ma did not highligh perceived interests and inquires, and rinsing er doy The teacher in the 28K or the teacher's hel, even when the The voices of teacher-researchers: Lindy scenario also noticed the strong element teacher checked to see if she needed a ‘and Bianca from Myers Park KINZ Early af sensory exploration as Mia enjoyed the towel. On the ather hand, the teacher's Learning Centre, and Daniel and Trish tactile sensation of the water from the uit presence appeared to have afforded from Small Kauri Early Education Centre, hand showerand the tapsat the basin. The Mia _the opportunity to sustain her are reflected in italicised text that provide teacher's response was not to interfere and inquiry in her own way. The family’s some background as to the diverse families to give Mia the time and space to continue comments about Mia's interest in cooking these children are part of. Both families exploring on her awn. Mia was focused on _&t home, and the scenerio of Mia acting ‘and teachers who know these children what she was doing, and her responses to. 9" prior knowledge of washing a baby well have provided input into the inter- theteachershewedthatshedldnot needa ith soap, water and the shower head, pretation, Nevertheless, the projet team teacher tobe involved reflected Paradise and Rogofts (2009) acknowledges that some uncertainty stil notion of intent community participa- inevitable when interpreting infants’ and indy shares the family’s perspective tion as Mia was invited and supported to toddlers’ non-verbal forms of expression ~ Mia parents watched the video cp at be involved in experiences at home that (Elwick, Bradley, & Sumsion, 2012]. home and Mia's mother explained that are then represented in her play choices Without verbal cisfictins from children Sing the soap and the hond shower was at the centre In particular, Mas interest ‘themselves, there is always potential to how Mia washed herselfin the bath. Shedid in washing the doll appeared to have misread children's intentions or for other NO think tht Mia was re-enacting bathing stemmed from observing and partcpat- interpretations to exist. her sister os Mia hod not been involved ining in bath-tme at home with Mum and the process However the Mumand the two her aby sister, despite her mother not girsal bathed together so Mia would hove realising the lnk at first seen her mother washing her sister. ‘The Fist Years: No Tau Tuatah. New Zealand Joural of Infant and Toddler Eveaton Volume 14 Issue 2, 2012, DSScenario egain putting on a yellow hord hat. Scenario 3: Brooklyn with the This clip i important to uses it stows indoor and outdoor ramps © continuation of his investigation of hats. Again, I did not interfere with Neil's exploration of the hat. Recently, feachers have observed Neil putting ‘objects on his head thot look like hats, for exomple, baskets. Bianca shares the family’s perspective = Discussing tis clip with his mother we ‘discovered thot Neil engages in similar ‘activities at home. She describes that play 4s similar to what we are seeing with the yellow hord hat. Mum ccknowledged that fram an early age, they have been playing peek-0-boo type games as well as a ame which involves placing something on i heod ond clopping when it ols off. Description of seenaria = Brooklyn was Othe teaches tel us that he continues fist observed indoors rolinga car down g Peseription of scenario = There are tohaveaninterestin placing obec that oe’ car-park ramp and then using his two scenes of Neil, both in the centre's resemble hats on his head whole body to cmb on and over the rama outdoor playground. Fist, Neil was During the exploration, Brooklyn made 3 huered leaning agaist the garden Anahsis and discussion - i's je 10 briefly looked ave at the and repeatedly handling a blue woolly non-verbal forms of expression appeared hat. He babbied and moved his leg up tO indicate an interest in and inquiry and down, and looked directly at the aout hats. His eyes moved between the teacher Second, he was observed sitting hat andthe teacher, revealing an interest on the concrete exploring yellow hard in both the object and the trusted adult, hat and attempting to play peek-a-boo Also, his interaction with the teacher with the hat. In both cases, a teacher had a playful and rhythmical-like quality stood nearby and verbally interacted to it 25 he expressed vocal utterances with Nei ashe explored each hat. when the teacher was quiet and he was uiet and attentive when the teacher Bianca's perspective on the scenario - talked. Tis reciprocity, coupled with hig Neil is 18 months old and lives with his smiling and happy disposition, reflected Parents ina household together with evidence of baby flirtation’ (Gopnik bis cousin who is 15 months and his Meltzoff & Kuh, 1999) Further links to Parents. Both his parents are of Indian home were represented in his explore. descent. Nes exploration of the blue tions after Mum provided insight sbout woolly hat was important to us, as it a game involving hats that she ard Nei @npeared Neil was making attempts to often playat home, which may have links independenty get his hat on his heod. to a cultural game. Mum's insight geve {eft Neil to problem-solve on his own teachers an opportunity to move beyond 4ntit Weil initiated engagement from their ital interpretation of the hot ox ‘me. linterpreted this as acollforhelp so only an object, to recognising the hat 8 {put his hat on for him. tis important representing something more signifiean, {0 us to give children time to problem- thats his participation and involvemen; Solve and make their own discoveries. in game-playing with Mum Three months on ond observe Neil once teacher. Brookiyn mas then seen outdoors, here he observed an older boy go down ‘wooden ramp on his bike. Brookiyn then Playfully persisted in walking across 2 Wootten plank, behind an older boy who cycled across it. Brooklyn made it across the plank by shuffling along with one foot on the plank and the other on the concrete Daniel's perspective on the scenario = Brooklyn is 16 months old and tives fot home in Mongere Bridge with his extended family. Brooklyn is of Méori escent. Indoors, Brooklyn was very corel hhowhe tookacartatheedgeofthe wooden or-pork ramp ond then nudged it over and down theramp. He made noises just before he pushed the car, which sounded to me ‘ike 1,2,3,90.Itlooked ike there wos lat of exploring and learning going on in the footage. wonder if Brooklyn was trying to ‘work out ideas about space, ond how his ody fits into spaces. t ooked lke he was trying 0 it onto the ramp, and maybe use It 0 slide down It also loaked like he was ‘investigating spatial concepts as well os the effects of gravity on both a small cor, ‘nd his body. When playing outdoors, 1 ‘had set up some ramps for anather boy to ride one of our bikes over. I had seen how Yer Tv Tati New ela Jounal of ft and Ter Edveation Volume 14 ue 2,212interested Brooklyn was, ond how he wos intently watching our other children on the ramps. Again, lke the car-park ramp, hhe watched the effects of the ramps on something with wheels - in this case the bike -ond then he decided to tyitout with his body too. | wonder if through these things Brooklyn wos forming working theories about ramps, grvity, movement = heels versus legs, ond the way he its into the space around him. Daniel shares the family’s perspective ~ We showed the clips to Brookiyn's great ‘grandfather who wes very proud of Brootlyn and mentioned thot they spend © lot of time ot the neorby pork where Brooklyn is on active explorer, and very ‘brave as he climbs up the ladders, uses the slides ond climbs over swinging bridges. ‘Analysis and discussion ~ Brooklyn expressed multiple non-verbal cues, gestures and actions as he explored the ramps. Together, these expressions appeared to highlight an interest in ramps and how they work. For example, he smiled, appearing happy during his exploration. He ‘expressed vocal utterances as he pushed the car down the ramp, perhaps revealing his thinking about how the car might go down. Brooklyn's body wisdom (Gonzal- ez-Mena & Widmeyer Eyer, 2012) was ‘apparent indoors, when he manoeuvred his whole body over and across the top of the toy ramp successfull, and outdoors when he crossed the plank by balancing himself using his feet In both situations, Brookiyn did not indicate he needed the teacher's help. However, during his indoor play, he briefly checked-in with an adult by looking over to the teacher who was, standing nearby. Brooklyn's indoor play reflected a flow activity (Czikszentmi- hayli, 1990) because he concentrated, ‘ook his time, and was fully involved 2s he explored, Rogoff et al’s (2003) notion of ‘observation and intent participation was also evident in is outdoor play, when he keenly observed an older boy on the ramp with the expectation of participating at 2 later time, We saw this participation as, Brooklyn negotiated his own way across the wooden plank. Brookiyn's interest Jn ramps was clarified and supported by his oreat-orandfathe’s explanation of Brooklyn's interest in sides, climbing and ‘winging bridges in his local community. ‘The ist Yeas: No Ta tai New Zest our fn nt a ede eueton. lune 14, ue 2.2012 ‘Scenario 4: Xavier sees the birds and 2 dog in the outdoor playground Description of scenario ~ Xavier wes seen at the top ofthe sie repeatedly pointing at the birds in the cutdoor area. He got up and moved away from the slide to get closer to the birds. AS he neared the birds, he watched them intently 25 they flew away. Ashe continued to watch them ‘through the centre fence, he heard a dog bark from a parked van outside the centre. He pointed tothe dog whilst looking atthe teacher, then moved towards the teacher and uttered sounds that signalled an interest in the dog. The teacher verbally responded to Xavier's non-verbal commu nication. When he reached the teacher, he again pointed at the og and expressed ‘more vocal utterances Trish’s perspective on the scenario ~ Xavier is 18 months old and has attended Small Kauri full time since he wos 6 ‘months old. Xovier has an older sister who is 4 % years ond she also otterds the entre fulltime. Both Xavier's porents work full time ovier has Samoan, Mori ‘nd Fakeho heritage. Xovier uses a fot of sounds and other non-verbal language, such as pointing, to express his ideas ond his thinking. | wondered at the beginning ofthe scenario when he was at the top of ‘the slide, Sow the birds ond then began to walkdown the hill whether he had become ‘ost in the moment’ and forgotten that he wanted to side os he paused and then walked bock up and slid down the slide. It wos olmost os if he was saying, ‘Now where wos "| felt os the teacher present, that | would verbalise what | felt Xavier was trying to say to me so that | could encourage his verbal language. | 50 ad ‘not stop the flow of what wos hoppening for Xavier by suggesting that he be coreful ‘bout where he watked on the garden, Trish shares the Family's perspective - ove the clip to his Mum to wotch at home, Her comments were that Xovier loves animals, especially dogs. He also enjoys trips tothe park where they often feed the birds. She also spoke about his attempts to communicate his ideas and how easy she {s now finding it to understand what he is telling her ‘Analysis and discussion - Xavier's ‘non-verbal forms of expression signalled his interestin birds and dogsanda desire to Inquire more about them He moved freely in the outdoor area and used pointing to raw his and the teacher's attention to the birds and the dog. He also made several attempts to make eye contact with the teacher. Xavier smiled and frowned as he watched the birds and dog, suggesting he felt content but perhaps frustrated he couldn't get to the animals as he wished, His emphatic vocal utterances directed at the teacher, coupled with his repeated use of pointing, revealed his desire for something to happen, which we interpreted as him wanting to get as close to the animals a5 possible. Xavier ‘appearing to forget to go down the side suggested a moment of flow (Czikszent- mihayli, 1930) as he focused intently fon the birds. Xavier's interest in these animals was clarified and supported by Mum's explanation that Xavier loves seeing dogs and birds when they go on family excursionsImplications for teaching practice to attentively observe the subtleties of vital that teachers engage in reciprocal {and potential meaning behind infants’ dialogue with families about their childs In the present study, gathering multiple ang toddlers’ non-verbal communica- non-verbal communication to construct Perspectivesabouteachchild'snon-verbal tion, The table below summarises the shared understandings of meaningful expressions enabled teachers orecogrise non-verbal forms of expression the interests and inquires. Third, drawing on infants’ and toddlers’ efforts of inquiry, project team identified in the above these shared understandings alongside that i the real and repeated efforts to scenarios, examples of repeated actions relevant theoretical perspectives, such as communicate meaningful interests and bserved, and some analytical questions Cikszentminayli's (1890) notion of flow inguiries to significant others, using @ asked during such observations. and Rogoff et al's (2008) intent partici- ‘myriad ofnon-verbal forms of expression. Teachers in other settings might adapt pation, might hhelp teachers to respond {talso endorsed theimportance of collab- something similar by identifying their more appropriately to infants’ and ovative relationships between teachers infants’ and toddlers’ non-verbal forms toddlers’ efforts of inquiry. Finally itis and families in order to focus on infants’ of expression, noting down associated vital that teachers emain flexible to the and ‘toddlers’ everyday learning in the opservable actions, and considering some unique and varied ways in which infants centre. Notably, several implications for analytical questions to make some sense and toddlers’ engage in their interests ‘aching practice were highlighted. Fst, of what is being observed. Second, it is and inquires itis important for teachers to know haw The non-verbal | Examples of what we observed. | Examples of analytical questions communication we asked ourselves, we identified, “Body wisdom” | « Wno-bovy invovement * How isthe wl body being used and how are we supporting this? (Gonzaez-Mena & | #Cootdnatng and contealing body | © Whatlwho isting explores and manipulates so thoroughly and Widmeye-Eyer,2008, | movements explore why might his be? 181) * Using gross motor silsfarge muscle | * What des this whole-body engagementvawarenes mean regarding r0ups to manipulate, interests ad inquires? Eye movements * Eyes/gaze repeatedly lingers on '* Where/who do the eyes repeatedly move to [and away from)? (Gopnik Metaotte | something a semeone += Whatinno is at the endo he ingering gaze and how do we Kt 1999) * Eyes tun swiftly to ane fate on ‘respond? something or someone + What does his ingering gaze mean in tems of interests and +The child is wide-eyed with focused — | inguities? attention Pointing * Oustretched arm and straight finger |» Vina intended by this pointing to dveet attention towards Comal, Carpenter | * Persistent use of pointed finger at Ssomeinasameone, to request information ort info? How do ELisckowski 2007] | something or someone we support this intention? + What might his pointing mean in terms of interests and inquies? Social referencing | © Turing briety toa tsted adult | » Wry might his child be eheckng-n withthe adult = for lor'checking-in’) | curing expiortion reassurance, guidance or feedback? (Berk, 1906) + Stopping to lookup at an adut ‘Wat messages does the adult ena back with ise facil with asmiteor own or ater facial | expressions? expression, “What might riser checkinin inacatein terms of confidence to explorefnauite? Emotions ‘Display of emotions during interaction | « What thinking, understanding or inquiry might be behind these (Goprit, Metz, | or independent exploration lea, emotions ard how do these inform our teaching decisions? Ki, 1999) smiling sigaling, or ronning) Vocal utterances | #Uiteing erge of sounds (en + When are ther suns uttered and how do we respond? (Gopnik, Metzor# | cooing, babbingh What pattern of sounds evident? Kh, 199) + Wat might these sound be communicating in terms of he cies interests and inquires? “Baby flirtation” | Cll gestures, ues and vocaisations | « How is thischid being playul or reciprocating inthis interaction? (Gopnik, Metzott | _aretimed and coordinated in response | « What range of expesions and action does tis chi shae with us unl, 1989». 31) to the gestures cus and voralsations. | and how are we responding? of the interactive pare (eg. coving | * What words and tone of oc are we using in our sponse? when partner cos) ‘What interest or inquiry might be elected inthis ittion? ‘he Fest Years: Na Ta Tata New Zealand ura of Infant nd oder Eucaton Value ve 2,2012Conclusion In summary, the scenarios and associated views fom teachers and families highlighted that a collaborative approach to analysing video data of infants’ and toddlers’ interests and inquiries was valuable, Theoretical knowledge about ron-vertal forms af communication and learning in community contexts, such as hhomes and centres, enhanced the inter- pretations. Such interpretations afforded by reviewing video data several times ‘alongside professional knowledge about non-verbal communication and relevant theoretical perspectives enhanced teachers’ practices with infants and toddlers. In particular, teachers were better able to notice, recognise and respond to the ways in which infants and toddlers made sense of the people, places, and things in their world. Tis finding provides evidence forthe argument that, in order for teachers to support infants and toddlers efforts of inquiry, teachers need to be attentive to and knowledgeable about recognising non-verbal forms of ‘expression and collaborating with families, and tobe flexible in their responses. ‘Acknowledgement ‘Sincere thanks to Mia, Neil, Brooklyn ‘and Xavier and their families for sharing their experiences with Us The principle of credit was applied to use pattcipants’ real_names ‘and. acknowledge their generous participation in this project. Sincere thanks to New Zealand Council for Educational Research for funding thisTeaching Learning and Research Initiative. We acknowledge the University. of Auckland Human Participants Ethies Committee, for reviewing and approving this study reference 2012/7896. References ‘eo, S (2012) Reconeptualsrg cit keratin: Porting subectviy Te Fst Years Noi TeuTutoh New ZelondSoura! fnfont and Toler Edueetn, 14), 1013. ‘er, 1996. fonts ciorenandoolescents (ane. esto: Alyn ane Bacon Ccazentminyi M1990) Row he syhobeay feptinaeperence New Yo NY: Harpe and on Dali. &Doy, (01). yes wie per How teacher of infants nd toddlers ecogse erring The Fst eT Tuco New Zelo Sarl of fort an Toder ascoten, 192, 15-8. Dili C, Roel J, Draw, Dove. 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