The Learning through Play Experience Framework

• In Event: Tools for Playful Pedagogy: Formative Tools for Improving Teacher Practice in Learning through Play

Proposal

Recent work has brought into focus the ways in which learning through play naturally leverages the characteristics that lead to learning. The science of learning literature has coalesced around five characteristics that lead to learning, regardless of context (e.g., in formal schooling, in informal learning contexts, in neighborhoods and homes, and even on digital screens). These characteristics are: 1) joyful (child experiences pleasure, surprise, and positive emotions during play); 2) actively engaging (child is minds-on, consumed by play and resists distractions); 3) iterative (child builds on and adapts the play); 4) meaningful (child connects what is being learned to personal experience, existing understanding, and a greater understanding of the world); and 5) socially interactive (child’s interactions with others are part of the play experience).
Critically, research in the science of learning has suggested that not all types of instruction (free play, guided play/games, teacher directed play, or direct instruction) are created equal in supporting children’s learning, with most research suggesting that guided play is particularly effective in achieving learning outcomes across. But, research also suggests that there are some contexts in which direct instruction is better suited to support learning, especially for some academic content. Classrooms are dynamic and a single type of play will not support the learning and development of all students within a given classroom.
Thus, the science of learning literature has recently begun to make strides in determining how children learn and the contexts in which children learn best.How do we help support teachers in implementing these lessons learning from the scientific literature into real-world, dynamic, and even challenging classroom settings? This presentation centers one such attempt to align the literature with implementation, through the use of a framework that supports teachers’ formative assessment using evidence-based suggestions centered on real-world implementation.
The Learning through Play Experience Framework (LEF) provides the structure for the development of formative tools on Learning through Play, informing the instruments for observation and analysis for both the teacher-led and the child-level tool, seeking to frame the teachers’ understanding of the children’s experiences and improve their practice accordingly. This conceptual framework is based on the idea that different types of play will be appropriate at different times, depending on factors such as the child’s age, the learning goal, and the constraints/opportunities of a given classroom setting. We suggest that each type of play has a role in classroom setting and our goal is to help teachers reflect upon their ability to facilitate that type of play within their classroom context. Within each play type, there are certain foundational characteristics that are essential but there are also ways that teachers can improve upon their practice by engaging with behaviors that are more likely to extend the quality of the practice by harnessing the characteristics of learning. It is important to note that the conceptual framework takes into account the type of play when considering engagement with each of the characteristics since the way the children interact within each type of play varies.

Authors

• Jennifer Zosh, Penn State University, Brandywine

• Angela Pyle, OISE, University of Toronto