STEM and Literacy-Infused Playful Learning Landscapes in Early Child Care Centers

• In Event: Playful Learning Landscapes: Increasing Access to Informal Learning Opportunities for Children and Families

Abstract

Playful Learning Landscapes (PLL) merge the science of playful learning with public and private spaces to create learning opportunities for children and communities. Based on the latest evidence on science of learning (Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2016), PLL sites are innovative play spaces co-constructed by community members, designers, and researchers through an equity-based, culturally relevant process. PLL sites have been found to increase social interactions that support STEM and literacy skills for young children. Given prior success in a wide array of public spaces, we examine how this work might bear out in school settings.

Using participatory research methods (Collins et al, 2018), we apply a human-centered design approach to reimagine physical spaces within early childhood centers. We describe a partnership with Bright Horizons childcare centers to install PLLs. Through five co-design workshops, 92 teachers, community members, designers, and researchers collaborated to create and install novel PLLs: two STEM-based PLLs, installed at three randomly assigned STEM centers, and two literacy-based PLLs, installed at three literacy-assigned centers. The two literacy PLLS include a set of Story Wheels to enhance narrative skills (including a character, setting, conflict, and solution wheel) and literacy-infused mural. The two STEM PLLs include an interactive pattern dancing game (to enhance shape identification and pattern recognition) and a STEM-infused mural. Combined with teacher training, these installations promote learning and development for 3-to-5 year old children at the centers during play time.

We examined pre- and post-assessments on three outcomes measures: (1) individual child assessments of skills (i.e., vocabulary, shape knowledge, executive function) (N=54), (2) caregiver-child interactions during playground observations (N=100), and (3) teacher beliefs about playful learning (N=30). At pre-test, we found no significant differences between children’s scores between STEM and literacy conditions. Similarly, playground observations in both conditions showed similar rates of language and social interaction. At pre-test, teachers rated the importance of play as moderate to high. Post-assessments data collection is ongoing. Implications for play-based interventions in early childhood education settings are discussed.

Authors

• Annelise Pesch, Temple University

• Katelyn Fletcher, Overdeck Family Foundation

• Olivia P Williams, Temple University

• Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University