Jenny Jay presentation Bunbury and Shenton College 2014

Play based education:
What does it look like?
Jenny Jay
August 2014
What do these have in common?
 United
Nations
 National Quality Standard: EYLF
 WA Curriculum K-10: Kindergarten
Curriculum Guidelines
 National Curriculum
 Department of Education: Office of
Early Childhood and Development
 Scotland
Play as a powerful tool
for learning.
Pleasurable
Symbolic
Meaningful
Active
Process-oriented –child driven
Intrinsically motivated
Absorbing
Voluntary
Sometimes risky and rough
Skills built through regular
engagement with play
Language
Social capacity: empathy
Dispositions for learning
Physical Skills
Creative Skills
Self regulation
Personality building
Develops sense of self
Concentration
Challenge 1
Creating playful classrooms can be
based on how teachers harness their
own playful experiences and
disposition.
Reflection point:
How strong was your experience of
child-initiated play.?
How often do you experience playful
events now?
To understand and capture play’s
powerful nature and its role in effective
education parents and educators need
to recapture their own spirit of play.
The teacher’s role is critical
Play centred curricula
are not opportunities for
teachers to stand aside,
but require highly
competent, involved
and purposeful
teachers .
(Van Hoorn, Nourot, Scales and
Alward 2015)
Challenge 2
The line between childinitiated
play and engagement with
playful teacher-led activity
is sometimes distinct and
sometimes thin and porous.
The two can reinforce each
other.
(Miller and Almon 2009)
The Classroom Climate
Miller and Almon 2009
Challenge 3
Understanding and
using the play
continuum:
• Spontaneous Play
• Guided Play
• Teacher-directed
play
(Van Hoorn, Nourot, Scales and Alward 2015)
Spontaneous play:
intrinsically motivated, selfdirected and expresses the
child’s own interests and
desires.
Guided play: influenced in
an intentional manner by adults.
Children choose to participate;
the adult initiates and guides the
activity.
Teacher directed play:
organised, directed or controlled by
an adult with clear and specific
goals.
The Play Continuum
The categories rarely
operate in isolation. In
balance it is observed
that play will generate
teacher planned
activities and teacher
planned activities will
frequently lead to play.
(Van Hoorn, Nourot, Scales and Alward 2015)
The Play
Play Continuum
Continuum
The
Factors affecting the balance
of play types include:
Developmental level and
interests of the children;
Family culture;
School culture;
Teachers’ attitude to play.
(Van Hoorn, Nourot, Scales and Alward 2015)
Planning to include
play
Plan to have a balanced of play
based activities;
Have clear and specific learning
outcomes for play activities linked
to the curriculum;
Know what curriculum outcomes
you working towards and use play
to achieve them;
Plan to teach and monitor skills
developed through play.
An intentional play based
environment
Create an environment that
supports play;
Plan for and provide playful
resources;
Set up for play every day;
Be interested in play and playing;
Invite other adults to be playful.
A play based timetable
Plan time for play to develop;
Plan for children to re-visit play
they have become interested in;
Let children plan for play;
Let children choose the groups
they learn with and how long;
they will engage with a playful
activity
Being Reflective about Play
Monitor children’s participation in
play episodes
Celebrate play learning
Review and revise routines and
practices that waste time and
opportunities for play
Advocate for Play
Increase your knowledge of the
strengths of using play;
Stand up for your right to use play as
a teaching tool;
Talk with and e