Learning to Play: Novice Teachers’ Experiences in Implementing a Play-Based Math Intervention

• In Event: Math for All: Math Games and Activities to Improve Learning and Attitudes Across Diverse Contexts

Abstract

Objectives
A growing body of literature from developmental psychology and education sciences indicates the importance of play in childhood learning and development (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2020). In early childhood classrooms, using a guided play framework can help balance the goals of child autonomy and instruction (Weisberg et al., 2016). In guided play, child-directed play is combined with adult scaffolding. The current study explores how to teach novice teachers to use a guided play framework to implement a math intervention in preschools. Using qualitative methods, two research questions are explored - (1) what strategies they use to implement the intervention and (2) how their perceptions of themselves as novice teachers influence their choices.
Methods
This study was conducted in the context of a larger study evaluating the efficacy of an early math intervention using a guided play framework. High Guidance and Low Guidance treatment groups implemented the intervention in preschool classrooms. The treatment groups differed in the amount of adult scaffolding provided during implementation. This study focuses on novice teachers who were trained to implement the intervention. 35 novice teachers visited preschools and completed weekly self-assessments to document the details of their time spent inside classrooms.
Analysis & Findings
Using Clarke and Braun’s (2017) methodology for thematic analysis, the 233 responses were analyzed. Using the responses, excerpts were pulled as quotes and were coded under themes. Using an iterative process, themes were reviewed, defined, and named. Codes and themes were developed separately for each research question. Authors also wrote detailed memos explaining their insights during the coding and analysis process (Miles et al., 2018).
(1) Novice teachers employed four different types of strategies to increase student engagement, which served as teachers’ main benchmark of success: encouraging autonomy, peer learning, adaptation to individual skill levels, and imaginative play. These strategies were motivated by three factors - a goal to teach self-efficacy, their confidence in managing children’s behaviors, and environmental factors like class size.
(2) Despite their novice status, teachers demonstrated adaptability and responsiveness – they were able to change their instructional strategies through the intervention period. These changes were related to their evolving perceptions of themselves as educators and/or their perceptions of improvements of their students’ skills. The changes in instructional strategies over the intervention period indicate that novice teachers are adaptable in their strategies, and that novice teachers can effectively scaffold guided play-based learning, which requires flexibility on part of the adult.
Conclusion
This research focuses on the experiences of novice teachers who learn and implement instructional strategies based on guided play frameworks. We find that novice teachers use a variety of different strategies to promote learning. They are able to be adaptable and flexible in their use of these strategies, and look for feedback while adjusting their practices. Future research can explore how novice teachers can adapt their pedagogical practices when provided with consistent feedback about their students’ skills and performance. This work can provide guidance for teacher preparation programs to help early childhood educators incorporate play-based learning strategies into their practices.

Authors

• Pritha Sengupta:, University of California - Irvine

• Leigh Allen, Wesleyan University

• Ruby Seamon, Wesleyan University

• Saige Rovero, Wesleyan University

• Anna Shusterman, Wesleyan University