麻豆传媒入口

The mere presence of the word play in the teaching method known as play-based learning can alarm some parents of early childhood learners. Students, even our youngest students, should be 鈥減laying鈥� at home. They come to school to learn, they might say.

That distinction鈥攂etween 鈥渓earning鈥� and 鈥減lay鈥濃�攊s a false one, according to early childhood educator and author Erika Christakis. Although kindergarten and elementary classrooms often devalue it in favor of direct instruction or seat time, play is the 鈥渄efining feature鈥� of all mammalian development, and its 鈥渟ignature鈥� is apparent in the bodies and lives of little kids who experience it: 鈥淭heir life expectancies are longer and their social-emotional capabilities are more robust when they have a chance to learn through play and deep relationships, and when their developing brains are given the chance to grow in a nurturing, language-rich, and relatively unhurried environment,鈥� Christakis told 麻豆传媒入口 in a 2019 interview.

Children aren鈥檛 miniature adults. Nonetheless, a bias toward adult perspectives of childhood, with its attendant schedules and routines, has gradually exerted a stranglehold on our educational system, Christakis continues, trapping young kids in educational spaces that too often feel dreary, joyless, and alienating. 鈥淭he notion that there is something of value in being a little kid鈥攚ith little kid desires and, above all, needs鈥攕eems to have fallen out of favor.鈥�

Breaking the Cycle

Despite the clear benefits of play, setting aside the time for even the youngest students can seem out of step with the academic demands of the school day. Early childhood teachers are pressured to meet strict seat-time guidelines in their classrooms, and they often feel that direct instruction is the best method to achieve the many curricular objectives that parents, principals, and other leaders expect.

According to a , there鈥檚 a middle path. A group of researchers from the University of Cambridge analyzed decades of research on 鈥済uided play鈥濃�攎ore commonly called play-based learning鈥攁nd concluded that it can have a 鈥済reater positive effect鈥� on the acquisition of skills like math, shape knowledge, and task switching than more traditional approaches that prioritize seat time and explicit instruction.

鈥淚n redefining play as a spectrum with varying degrees of child autonomy and adult guidance, guided play has been situated as a 鈥榤iddle-ground鈥� between free play and direct instruction,鈥� the researchers concluded. The learning is inherently rich and meaningful because 鈥減lay naturally cultivates their enjoyment, motivation, and agency; while the inclusion of guidance by a supportive adult extends the scope for learning beyond what the child might achieve on their own.鈥�

Incorporating key elements of play鈥攍ike wonder, exploration, and student agency鈥攊nto loosely structured lessons that are gently supported by teachers provides an 鈥渙ptimal鈥� approach for students, according to the researchers. For Christakis, this means that play-based learning experiences should provide students with a 鈥渟teady diet of free, unstructured time and access to open-ended materials鈥� that allow them to engage in 鈥渞ambling鈥� storytelling and provide plenty of time to just 鈥渕ess around and make their own rules.鈥�

Play, With an Objective in Mind

In a successful play-based learning class, teachers often have a clear 鈥渓earning goal鈥� behind the play they let students engage in ahead of time, according to the Cambridge study. A teacher should keep this goal in mind during the play and subtly guide the child toward the goal.

Don鈥檛 pull the strings too tight: According to primary teacher Maggie Sabin, teachers shouldn鈥檛 necessarily expect students to produce specific outputs. For example, to teach students how colors can be mixed to form new colors, you might avoid giving students instructions to mix specific colors and instead model one example and then allow them to make their own combinations. 鈥淏e well prepared and intentional in planning, but allow for flexibility and inspiration,鈥� writes Sabin.

One way to make sure that students are playing with purpose is to structure your classroom with deliberate spaces or centers containing materials, games, or objects intentionally chosen for students to engage with and make sense of.

An area in Sabin鈥檚 classroom, for example, contains a 鈥渢inker tray鈥� of items that might seem random but are related to lessons or units she is using direct instruction to guide students through. During a unit on nature and natural materials, for example, the tray is stocked with items like pebbles, leaves, or sticks that students can both practice naming and manipulating. The materials can also be used to practice early math skills through the course of play by simply asking students how many pebbles they have or how many pebbles they have left after giving some to a friend.

Providing Choice and Agency

Effective play-based learning should be child-led when possible and give students 鈥渇reedom and choice over their actions and play behavior,鈥� the researchers assert. However, their findings suggest that the level of autonomy being given to students in play-based learning scenarios is often less than the amount needed to 鈥渃ultivate children鈥檚 agency, motivation, and curiosity.鈥�

To foster that agency, New Hampshire聽kindergarten teacher Jessica Arrow often starts the day by allowing students 30 to 45 minutes of 鈥渃hoice time鈥� to explore various spaces in the classroom鈥攁 block center, math center, science center, art center, book nook, or dramatic play corner.

The items they encounter are related to previous lessons and the interests her students have expressed. For example, after reading the children鈥檚 book Miss Maple鈥檚 Seeds, Arrow said, her students became fascinated by the author鈥檚 process of creating the book from her imagination. As a result, Arrow鈥檚 art center included materials for students to create stories of their own and to practice speaking, listening, and writing standards in the process.

Arrow writes that their bookmaking interests eventually carried over into other areas of learning. For example, one student created a number book. After Arrow shared it with the class, number books became popular, and her students were referencing number grids and creating their own number books that helped them count and identify large numbers in the process.

鈥淥nce my students had experienced play-based learning, they were more focused, motivated, and purposeful,鈥� writes Arrow. 鈥淢ost important, they were happier. Bringing play-based learning to my classroom created balance, deepened our learning, and defined our classroom community as a place where we could learn and grow together.鈥�

When to Step In

As children play, teachers should be observing closely to gather insights about the way students are learning and use open-ended questions, hints, and prompts to gently nudge students and encourage deeper thinking. You might step in 鈥渨hen a child appears to find an activity too difficult or too easy鈥� so that you 鈥渃an help them learn beyond what might be possible in independent play,鈥� the researchers say.

For example, when children are playing with blocks, open-ended questions can be posed to encourage problem-solving, prediction, and hypothesizing, according to veteran teacher and curriculum manager for Edmentum . A teacher can bring awareness to math standards by asking students low-stakes questions such as 鈥淚 wonder how tall this tower can get?鈥� or 鈥淚 wonder how many blocks you need to make that tower as tall as your friend鈥檚?鈥�

Simple questions can also encourage practice recalling information and identifying shapes, objects, or colors, according to O鈥橪eary. During a game of Go Fish, for example, you can ask, 鈥淗ey, who had the number 4 in the last round?鈥� Or during a game of Uno you might ask, 鈥淗mm, what color card do you need to add to the center deck?鈥� Games involving strategy鈥攍ike checkers or tic-tac-toe鈥攁re great to get students thinking critically about their objectives and how to adjust them based on what is happening during the game. Try questions like 鈥淚 wonder what move you could have made to win?鈥�

Use these strategies wisely, though, the researchers caution. In the end, hints and questions should not feel like directives.

Christakis agrees, telling 麻豆传媒入口 that she often coaches teachers to stay away from 鈥渃hecking questions鈥� such as 鈥淲hat color is the apple?鈥� or 鈥淲hat are you drawing?鈥� Instead, she says, teachers should ask questions like 鈥淭ell me about your drawing.鈥�

鈥淭he open-ended response really opens up a huge space for spontaneous and deep learning,鈥� Christakis says.聽