Pedagogy Is Personal: How Our Past Informs Our Practice

• In Event: Looking Back to Move Forward: Professional Dialogues for Change

Abstract

This paper proposes that a play history is a large component to an early childhood educators tool kit, and a crucial piece in the development of a teacher’s play pedagogy. The term play history is not limited to only childhood memories, rather, it can be further clarified as memories of, and experiences with, play as children, young adults and as grown practitioners. When pedagogy and the lived experiences of teachers are linked, we begin to look at the “whole teacher”, an active participant in the early childhood classroom. The play lives of four early childhood practitioners are explored as a pathway to understanding that pedagogy is personal.

Author

• Katelyn Clark, Independent Scholar
  Presenting Author