Leveraging Assessment in Play-Based Classrooms: Three Different Approaches

• In Event: K–12 Classroom Assessment Practices

Abstract

Current trends emphasizing accountability in public education are now felt as early as kindergarten. Contemporary kindergarten policy mandates the use of classroom assessment to monitor student learning alongside the growing popularity of play-based learning pedagogies. However, limited research has examined how teachers integrate assessment in play and how this integration may relate to teachers’ approaches to play. The current study analyzed observational and interview data in 18 kindergarten classrooms and found that teachers fell into three distinct groups reflecting differences related to their approach to play implementation, perspectives towards student assessment, and their integration of assessment in play. These results illustrate key differences among current practices and raise important questions regarding the optimal integration of assessment to promote children’s learning.

Authors

• Angela Pyle, University of Toronto - OISE

• Erica Paige Danniels, University of Toronto

• Hanna Wickstrom, University of Toronto

• Christopher DeLuca, Queen's University - Kingston