Supporting Holistic Development by Training Early Childhood Educators to Observe, Assess, and Enhance Play Skills

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 3:05 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Culture, Belonging, and Teaching Through Holistic Education (Table 10)

Abstract

This intervention study investigated how to promote holistic development by training 39 early childhood teachers from across the U.S. state of Pennsylvania to observe, assess, and enhance discrete sensorimotor, functional and symbolic play skills. Findings: Using a retrospective pre-test design, DiscoveryScape play training significantly and meaningfully increased teacher’s self-reported beliefs, knowledge and skills related to observing, assessing, and enhancing children’s play skill development (0.77 average effect size). Post-training gains also increased following four months of observation and assessment practice in the classroom. Recommendations are made to promote holistic development by expanding teacher training to better support children’s play development, particularly by providing early childhood teachers with an observational assessment to measure and enhance children’s discrete play skills.

Authors

• Sarah Kuser, Drexel University

• Michael J. Haslip, Drexel University