Group alerts: Multiple children without an Interactive Day

What does this alert mean?

On the room's most recent LENA Day, two or more children in the room did not experience an Interactive Day (5+ turns per hour for 5+ hours).

Why does it matter?

Turns are key! If some children are not experiencing at least 5 turns per hour, this is a clear focus for the next coaching session.

How can I fix it?

Unlike the other alerts, this one cannot be resolved with any specific action in LENA Online or LENA Hub. It will resolve when all children experience an Interactive Day on a future LENA Day.

This alert is truly a coaching alert so that you can plan your coaching session accordingly. For example:

  • Despite the alert, what strengths can you find on the reports for this LENA Day?
  • Does the report for this LENA Day reflect what you see and hear during observations? (If you haven't observed yet, maybe now is a good time to schedule an observation.)
    • If the data don't seem to reflect what you observe, are other factors in the environment getting in the way of language? Remember:  If LENA can't detect the words and turns due to factors like excessive noise, the children may not be benefiting from the teachers' efforts either!
  • What questions can you ask the teacher in your coaching session? For example, was this an unusual day with unusual activities, emotions, attendance, events, staffing, or some other factor?
  • Some children are easier to converse with than others. Does the teacher need extra support around how to increase turns with a few specific children whose days were not interactive, or with this age group in general (for example, infants...who do not talk back in words)?
  • Is this a half-day room? For children who are present 5 hours or fewer, every hour must be interactive for their day to be interactive. This can be challenging! Does the teacher need strategies - or inspiration - for making every hour interactive for every child?