The Art of the Matter: Playful Learning in an Arts-Enriched Preschool

• In Event: Defending Childhood: Toward a Broader View of Early Education

Abstract

1. Objective
Playful learning represents a new pedagogical approach with the potential to mediate between the warring factions of experiential and direct instruction proponents.

2. Perspective(s)
Arguing from Chi’s (2009) perspective and following Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff, Berk, and Singer (2009), playful learning is an active process in which a supportive adult scaffolds learning through dialogical inquiry, thus creating opportunities in which one can have rich content while nonetheless structure the learning in a way that optimizes evidence-based practice in how children learn. Current expectations in today’s schools revolve around concrete skill sets such as reading and math fluency and direct instruction has emerged as the chief pedagogical tool. Other skill sets, such as executive function, are less emphasized. Yet research indicates that such skills contribute not only to school success (Diamond, Barnett, Thomas, & Munro, 2007; Rhoades, Warren, Domitrovich, & Greenberg, 2010) but also to the process of becoming a lifelong learner (Edersheim, 2007). These skills are born in the context of a playful pedagogy where children contribute actively.

3. Methods and 4. Data sources
Arts-enriched education becomes one platform for studying this playful learning pedagogy. In our research (Reed, Fisher, Hirsh-Pasek, & Golinkoff, 2011), two Head Start preschools participated. While both are NAEYC accredited and have earned the highest rating from the Keystone Stars initiative, one utilized an arts-enriched philosophy (AE) whereas its counterpart followed a traditional approach (TRAD). Sixteen AE children (mean age = 3.82 years) and 15 TRAD children (mean age = 4.35 years) were assessed in the fall and spring.

5. Results
Both groups demonstrated similar gains in content knowledge, suggesting that a playful learning approach is effective. The AE children, however, excelled at our measure of sustained attention in the spring when controlling for fall performance. Through what mechanisms does an AE approach foster such gains? We will present preliminary data on observations collected in the music classroom across a four-month span. Teacher talk was transcribed to capture the way in which children are scaffolded to develop the cognitive processes that will be useful to them outside the arts classroom. As described by Hetland, Winner, Veenema, and Sheridan (2007), art classrooms develop not only technique but also “studio habits of mind,” such as reflection, persistence, observation, expression, and extension. How are such “habits of mind” fostered within a preschool arts context? This study is the first to investigate the mechanisms at play within an arts classroom with Head Start preschoolers. Four observations of the homeroom period will serve as a comparison.

6. Significance
Playful learning answers the call for a developmentally appropriate pedagogical approach that ensures strong curricular content delivered in a manner consistent with the findings in the science of learning. The arts may be one context in which the principles of playful learning may be engaged to nurture children’s development. This research begins to delineate processes that may underpin children’s wider academic achievement through the arts. Understanding these processes is crucial for capturing how the arts may contribute to children’s success across the curriculum.

Authors

• Jessa Reed, Temple University

• Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University

• Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, University of Delaware