“Listen to my story!” a little boy once told me, eyes shining as he held up a toy dinosaur. What followed was a winding tale about exploration, roaring volcanoes, and a surprisingly friendly T-Rex. I’ll admit, halfway through, I caught myself preparing my response: Should I ask him about the ending? Or connect it to our book about animals? Then I realised I wasn’t really listening. I was planning what to say next.

That moment was a gentle reminder: dialogue is more than communication. It’s more than speaking. The real magic happens when we listen.

Listening as Pedagogy

As Robert Fisher (2013), an expert in stories for thinking, points out, hearing is not the same as truly listening. This is especially true in early years settings, where listening needs to be much more is more than a passive action, rather, it is a pedagogy in itself. When adults slow down and listen deeply, we create space for children to share their ideas, explore their creativity, and take risks in their thinking.

Storytelling is a perfect example. When children tell us stories, they’re not just entertaining us; they’re shaping thoughts, testing logic, and experimenting with language. But those moments only flourish if children feel their stories matter. Our attentive listening is the signal that says: Your voice is valued here.

A Tool for Critical Thinking

Listening also builds the foundations of critical thinking. Imagine a circle-time story session: one child suggests an ending for the tale, another disagrees and offers an alternative. Instead of jumping in with our own answer, we can model deep listening. We summarise what each child has said, ask clarifying questions, and encourage children to respond to each other’s ideas.

Paul, Niewoehner, and Elder (2019) highlight this technique of summarising what others have said as a way to avoid misunderstandings. But in the early years classroom, it does even more, it demonstrates respect. It shows children their words have weight. And slowly, they begin to understand that dialogue isn’t about winning; it’s about exploring possibilities together.

Listening as Growth

Steven Pinker (2014) reminds us that dialogue is a dance of thoughts and words, with each step depending on how carefully we attend to one another. This applies not just with children, but with colleagues and families too. Whether in research, staff meetings, or parent conversations, genuine listening builds trust and collaboration.

And here’s the beautiful part: when we listen, we grow. We learn new perspectives, strengthen relationships, and enrich our teaching practice. In Design-Based Research (DBR), for instance, attentive listening ensures that every participant’s voice shapes the process, making the outcomes more meaningful and sustainable.

So next time a child says, “Listen to my story,” take a breath. Lean in. Give them the gift of your full attention. Because in those moments, listening becomes more than a skill, it becomes the heartbeat of learning, belonging, and imagination.