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Early Childhood Professor David Fernie on the Importance of Play in Learning | Wheelock College 

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Early Childhood Professor David Fernie on the Importance of Play in Learning | Wheelock College 

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Dr. David Fernie, Wheelock Professor of Early Childhood Education, speaks to the importance of play in children's learning in this video.

Fernie states, "They need to do that work themselves. They are naturally inclined to interact with materials, to pose questions for themselves, to try and solve problems, to do that with their friends."

Children are naturally inclined to interact with themselves and post questions and for them to do that as Fernie recommends that we need to provide the time and the space and the materials and sometimes the intervention which allow them to flourish in their play. Today schools give up to early on play thinking that students need spend more time on core academics. Educators should be become facilitators and coaches as children engage in play.

This video can be directly linked to Vygotsky’s theory, the zone of proximal development, commonly referred to as ZPD, it is an important principle of Vygotsky's work. ZPD is defined as the range of tasks that a child can perform with the help and guidance of others but cannot yet perform independently. As children engage in play a child’s cognitive abilities are developed.

I agree with Fernie with the importance of play. In order for us to have more entrepreneurial and innovative thinker we need to continue to play as adult. And give play its place in childhood and perhaps adult hood.

Karthiga Sandrasri

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Early Childhood Professor David Fernie on the Importance of Play in Learning | Wheelock College

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Engaging Children in Oral Storytelling to Support Oral Language Development - Nyree Mahadeo

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Engaging Children in Oral Storytelling to Support Oral Language Development - Nyree Mahadeo

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Video: https://youtu.be/GZmIUNYXLe8
Description:

This video was produced by the Centre for Early Childhood Education at Eastern Connecticut State University and involves the use of oral storytelling to support oral language development in pre-school aged children. The video features Vivian Gussin Paley, whose research showed the significance of storytelling and fantasy play in the social growth and language development in young children.  The video shows children that are comfortable with sharing their stories and they are experienced in acting them out.  It does not appear like they require much direction or help from their teachers in telling their stories.

Key ideas:

·         During play time, teachers can listen for stories that children may be telling and ask if they can write them down so that they can be acted out during group time.

·         In writing down their story, children will use their language and literacy knowledge to define key  story elements.

·         At the end of the video Vivian Paley says, “We know that it is a very, very good, useful, early language activity. The connection to their own play is immediately obvious, and those are the best stories of all. It’s just like play.”

Theoretical links:

The type of play that used by storytelling is using Vygotsky’s theories of children interacting with one another and therefore enhancing the learning of language.

My observations:

I do not have any experience working with young children, but I have observed my young cousins at play many years ago when my babysitting services were required.  The older cousins were very much into playing Pokeman cards and this encouraged the younger cousins to watch at first and when they learned the symbols on the cards and the rules of the game, they were able to play as well, even though they were not able to read.  I’m sure that these interactions playing the Pokemon game benefitted the young cousins by enhancing their social growth, language development, and problem solving skills.

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CECE Early Childhood Videos at Eastern CT State U.

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Engaging Children in Oral Storytelling to Support Oral Language Development

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Play-based approaches to literacy and numeracy – Irene Zonta 

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Play-based approaches to literacy and numeracy – Irene Zonta 

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This user-friendly, and practical professional learning resource gives educators some sound tips on how to effectively incorporate play-based pedagogy while honouring the need to be accountable to literacy and numeracy mandates.  This useful resource may help to mitigate some of the apprehensions felt by Ontario kindergarten teachers today, in addressing the delicate balance of meeting kindergarten curriculum standards through play-based learning, as I discovered through research by Pyle, Poliszczuk and Danniels (2018). The additional reference article is posted below.

Key Ideas:

1. Value of play (e.g. contextualised, practical, engaging, meaningful)

2. Incidental learning (e.g. guided play questions)

3. Intentional teaching (e.g. environmental supports)

4. Understanding of both literacy and numeracy

Links:

These play centres allow children as Cox states to “actively define reality rather than passively reflecting a given reality” (p. 115, 2005), and through immersion and experience help children to make meaning of their environment as Vygotsky recognized is the case through such “powerful pretence play” (p. 8, Gillen).

Connections:

Play centres appeal to the differentiated learning styles of children especially those whose preferred style is kinesthetic, involving the need for direct manipulation of objects, which was the case with my two sons who flourished in early Montessori programs where tactile play centres are commonplace. Similarly, I remember my own kindergarten experience with play centres, such as a kitchen centre, where I could explore such numeracy concepts as volume and measurement, or the store (in the resource described as the “home corner”), where I could foster my counting, addition and subtraction mathematical concepts in tandem with my peers as fellow customers, and develop both social and conversational literacy-related skills. I have drawn on my early experiences to effectively plan for my own primary students. Through meaning-making and active play, children take greater ownership for their learning and internalize concepts much more effectively, because of the “fun” and engagement aspect, as I have observed first-hand in my own classroom. Diagnostic math play centres afford my students rich learning experiences to expand upon prior knowledge at the beginning of a new math unit (e.g. geometry and spatial sense). For example, through the process of handling math manipulatives, they are learning about such numeracy concepts as sorting, classifying, and using positional language while building with geometric figures, all while engaged in meaningful play. In this example, the children rotate in groups of four through five different centres. My role is that of observer and facilitator, as I visit each centre and just observe or ask a few short guiding or probing questions related to that centre that are meant to inspire further investigation and exploration, and in this particular case, comparison of attributes, such as, “how are they the same/different?”. Indeed, there is much incidental learning that takes place in such play centres, and I agree with the resource when it states, it is up to the teacher to make the most of such experiences by knowing when to ask guided play questions to awaken further exploration and investigation. Furthermore, the resource suggests that a balanced approach is achieved through “intentional teaching”, through exposure to a variety of literacy experiences that could be cross-curricular in nature (e.g. music – singing, nursery rhymes). Ultimately, the onus is on the teacher to be well-versed in both concepts of literacy and numeracy, as the lead learner and facilitator in child-based pedagogy, so as to ensure effective planning and implementation of play-based learning.

Play-based approaches to literacy and numeracy
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/NQS_PLP_E-Newsletter_No66.pdf

Pyle, A., Poliszczuk, D., & Danniels, E. (2018). The challenges of promoting literacy integration within a play-based learning kindergarten program: Teacher perspectives and implementation. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 32(2), 219-233. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/docview/2034276118?accountid=15182

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Word Play: Scaffolding Language Development Through Child-Directed Play

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Word Play: Scaffolding Language Development Through Child-Directed Play

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Description:

This article discusses how adults can effectively scaffold children’s language and vocabulary while they are at play.

Key Ideas:

- The article distinguishes between free play (children playing alone or in a group, using concepts and language they already know) and scaffold play (led by children but the educator guides them through opportunities to extend their knowledge)

- It is the way that educators interact and communicate with children that is key to their learning.

- The authors suggest strategies such as “asking questions that "invite extended responses and new inquiry" (p.4), “providing meaningful feedback” (p.5), “introducing new vocabulary words” (p.6) and “using wait time” (p.6)

Links to Theory:

The strategy of scaffolding is a defining characteristic of Vygotsky’s theories. A child’s cognitive abilities are developed while engaged in social activity with a more capable person, usually an adult or educator.

Connections:

I feel that scaffolding, especially as part of any inquiry process, is a successful strategy for encouraging student’s ability to think flexibly, to develop skills in questioning and for expanding their understanding of a concept or topic.  As applied to language specifically in the early years, I have seen the benefit of this strategy with my own students.  It has promoted connections between actions and words, the importance of explaining our thinking and ideas effectively and the importance of communicating with others.  The learning conversations that I have had with them is when some of the most powerful learning occurs.

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This is a video from Eastern Connecticut State University about the importance of play and how it plays an essential role in children’s learning. Dr. Jeffrey Trawick-Smith is the Chair of the ECE department at the university and he discusses the different elements of play that educators should look for such as the engagement in playing make-believe, social interaction during play and the complexity of play. He also states that play can hep to promote a child’s development in language development, social skills, reading and helps them with creative thinking and problem solving.

I thought it was interesting that Dr. Trawick-Smith stated that because play is symbolic it can aid in children’s literacy development. He gives the example of a child playing with a toy telephone and how it symbolizes a real telephone which is like looking at a word and understanding that it represents something that is not present.

The ideas about play that is raised in this video is how educators can look at the elements of play while their students are engaged in it and use it to enhance their play aiding in the development of their literacy. The video states that pretend play, social interaction and play complexity are the three elements that teachers should look at to enhance student learning. Teachers should enhance pretend play by joining in on it and take a role of a character. The video goes on to talk about social interaction and the language students are using and encourages teachers to ask questions to facilitate more language. The third element that teachers should enhance is play complexity by facilitating through questions or suggestions of scenarios that are more complex.

This links to the Nicolopoulou article that also stated there was a link between children’s participation in story telling and story acting and their engagement with journal writing activities. He states that the storytelling and story-acting practice provides a model for the children in “creating stories and improved their narrative skills, and that as they mastered this storytelling mode they were able to apply it flexibly to the journal writing activity” (Pg. 138). Thus, we can see that just as Dr. Trawick-Smith said by enhancing the elements of play, educators are aiding in the development of that student’s learning. Both the video and the article demonstrate how play is linked to a child’s literacy development.

I use to work in the FDK room at a daycare and I was able to see the connection of a students development and the way they would play during free time, especially in the element of complexity. The younger students would always play the same games with the same toys, same characters but the older students were always looking for ways to make their games more complex, how to improve their structures or they would put on performances for the teachers/students, adding complexity to their play.

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CECE Early Childhood Videos at Eastern CT State U.

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Supporting cultural and linguistic diversity in early childhood - Natasha Nguyen

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Supporting cultural and linguistic diversity in early childhood - Natasha Nguyen

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Description about the resource:

This video demonstrates how putting a value on children’s cultural and linguistic backgrounds helps support linguistic diversity amongst children.

Interesting observation:

What stood out for me was the way in which linguistic diversity did not just mean incorporating words in different languages when singing but it also meant making the toys the children play with culturally diverse such having chopsticks instead of just spoon and forks.

Key Ideas Raised

The key ideas raised about play is the role of incorporating children’s diverse languages during play and the impact of this on literacy development. Also, the role of the teacher/adult in helping to construct a play environment for children. In order for a teacher to effectively help children make these cultural and linguistic connections, those working with young children must plan and discuss each child (i.e. language(s) they speak, foods they eat, etc)  in order to be knowledgeable of their background and further, carefully plan activities.

Links to theories about emergent literacy

Based on Rosko's and Christie’s article  (2011) on play-literacy connections which asserts that early literacy learning is a social, constructive process. In theorizing, the authors reference Vygotsky in discussing the role of the educator. This video highlights Vygotskian theory which, “foregrounded the role of adults and peers in helping young children acquire social literacy practices” (82). The educators helped the children make language connections by singing a song they normal sing in English and substituting the words “good morning” to “buenos dias” in Spanish.

Wolfgang (1974) states “In play, children imbue toys with meaning, just as they must do with print when reading written words. He found that children who were more skilled at symbolic play were also the more advanced first-grade readers – a connection corroborated about a decade later by Pellegrini (1985) who identified language use in symbolic play as a key variable in play–literacy connections” (p. 74). This quote is interesting to consider when the educators talk about children playing with culturally diverse clothing and cooking utensils. It got me to question how children who ONLY have cultural clothes and utensils as reference might engage in symbolic play with items/symbols that they do not recognize. How do they go about making meaning of how to use the toys? I think in the scenario where the children were using chopsticks, it was great to have an educator to give the students vocabulary to describe what they were using. There were children who did not know how to use the chopsticks and might have not known what they were but in observing the other student using them and then hearing the educator ask “Are you using your chopsticks to pick up your food?” It might have helped broaden the vocabulary of the other children because now they know what they are and how they are used.

Connections to own observations of or experiences with children at play.

I think it is important to have culturally and linguistically diverse play in early childhood because I think it helps children feel more at ease and comfortable to do so. I have seen in situations where children are new to Canada and do not know the language, feel reluctant and hesitant to engage in play because they recognize there is a dominant language the other children are speaking in. Ascribing by the connectionism and dynamic systems theory where emergent literacy is seen like a web, I think students will lack the ability to effectively make connections of they are only trying to use the dominant language and not connect back to their cultural and current linguistic knowledge.

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Supporting cultural and linguistic diversity in early childhood

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Play’s Potential in Early Literacy Development - Diana Vecchiarelli

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Play’s Potential in Early Literacy Development - Diana Vecchiarelli

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James F. Christie and Katheleen A. Roskos’ article displays the research results on the relationships between play processes and the play environment with early literacy skills. Through their research on the play process, they are able to support Pellegrini’s view that “children’s level of pretend skill [predict] their emergent writing status” (2). The research conducted on the play environment demonstrates that literacy-enriched play settings are able to increase the range of literacy behaviours in play, specifically through a child’s “knowledge about the function of writing, ability to recognize play-related print, and use of comprehension strategies such as self-checking and self-correction” (2).

The authors conclude that both Piagetian and Vygotskian theories provide strong frameworks for these play-literacy relationships. Piaget emphases the values of social play for practicing/consolidating cognitive skills like symbolic representation and print awareness. Vygotsky, on the other hand, focuses on how literacy acquisition is a social, constructive process that children develop through social experiences with others.

The article connects to my own observations and experiences as I have seen the impact a play environment specifically has on a child’s literacy acquisition. I have noticed that the more literacy-enriched a play center is, the more a child is exposed to making play-literacy connections. For example: A child playing the role as waiter is able to recognize play-related print when there are menus, nametags, and a notepad and pencil for note taking. I have witnessed how theme-related reading and writing materials have directly increase the literacy behaviours during play as opposed to having a bunch of toys in a box with no correlation to one another.

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Re-Thinking , Play-Based Learning - Tara Windrem

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Re-Thinking , Play-Based Learning - Tara Windrem

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Description:
Play is children's work.  Play is an important tool in children's learning, however there is great debate on what play looks like in the classroom.  Use literacy and numeracy tools to guide play.  Play is more than social interaction, it is about discovery, asking questions and valuable discussions.  When children are engaged in intentional play based learning, the educator becomes the observer and is able to guide further inquiry.
Key Ideas:
- play is not only about social interaction
- play is purposeful with language and math tools
- Educators become managers and observers of the play happening in their classroom
- Play in the 21st century is about inquiry, discovery, questioning and reflecting.
Links
- In Christie, Roskos (2011), "To gain momentum for a new thrust in basic play-literacy research, we urge a wider use of connectionism and dynamic systems theories, which build on the shoulders of Piagetian and Vygotskian theoretical frameworks for a better view of literacy at work in play and vice versa."  In the 21st century we are expanding on Piaget and Vygotskian theories.  Piaget and Vygotsky were the initial theorists in play based inquiry learning.
Own Experience:
- Children develop at different rates, with different interests.  Some students are not ready for paper pencil tasks at kindergarten age.  Play allows students to advance their language and math skills without doing "work".  Students are also more engaged in the task if it relates to their interests.  Different teachers have different perspectives of play and it is important in the development of language and math skills that teachers still guide and prompt play learning.

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Home > Kindergarten Matters: Intentional Play-based Learning > Rethinking Play-Based Learning

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Children speaking about the importance of play - Dharti P

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Children speaking about the importance of play - Dharti P

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This video was created by Early Childhood Ireland and it explores the importance of play by asking children for their perspective on play. What I found interesting about this video was the diverse responses from the children: some children said they enjoyed playing alone while others didn’t but all the children said they enjoyed play and they wanted adults to know this. Knowing that children enjoy play and find value in it (whether it’s alone or not) is in itself important. It’s easier to teach children through things they love and play is the perfect channel to use.

In the beginning of the video, the CEO, Irene, raises concerns about adults hijacking and controlling play and how it is one of the biggest problems with play. She states that play is very natural to children and to me that suggests that children should discover and explore on their own with minimal adult intervention. This reminds me of Piaget’s theory in which discovery learning is promoted.

When I sit and reflect on my childhood experiences of play I remember the playground, sandbox, and other settings where adults were not intervening and play was not controlled. I think I remember these experiences because we had the freedom to be our natural and imaginative selves without any constraints. The fact that I remember these specific experience means that I also must have learnt something from them or it had some meaning. So I do think natural play with minimal adult interruption is important.

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Children speaking about the importance of play

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Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood - Navpreet Singh 

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Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood - Navpreet Singh 

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Description:

This resource is a website which discusses play-based learning programs in early years of primary school. They begin with a definition of play and discuss its importance, they go on to talking about the link between play and cognitive development, they compare play indoors and out, and discuss the teacher’s role in such programs.

What I found interesting/key ideas about play:

-        Their beliefs that play is closely tied to the development of cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical behaviors; play enhances language development, social competence, creativity, imagination, and thinking skills.

-        Different definitions of play discussed and how it can have a number of meanings, especially play being the “ultimate integrator of human experience” (Fromberg, 1990).

-        Depending on the circumstances, children may engage in the five different types of play described.

-        According to Rogers and Sawyer (1988), "until at least the age of nine, children's cognitive structures function best in this unified mode" (p. 58) à does this mean, children should continue to play until the age of nine?

Links to Emergent Literacy:

-        Piaget (1962) defined play as assimilation, or the child's efforts to make environmental stimuli match his or her own concepts.

-        In this view, play is seen as a "process reflective of emerging symbolic development but contributing little to it" (Johnsen & Christie, 1986, p. 51).

-        In contrast, Vygotskian theory states that play actually facilitates cognitive development. Children not only practice what they already know-they also learn new things.

-        Children at play support both theories

Personal Connections:

-        I haven’t worked with students in their early childhood years but based on my experiences, I believe “high school student play” can take on different forms to essentially enhance learning and understanding (i.e. via labs, games, constructing models, hands-on activities, etc.)

-        These experiences, which students find extremely helpful, could be supplementary to teaching material, used as a diagnostic to see where the student stands in their knowledge or used to build on their pre-existing knowledge.

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The Language Benefits of Dramatic Play - Trina Mulhall 

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The Language Benefits of Dramatic Play - Trina Mulhall 

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Website: http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=751

This website explains how to implement a dramatic play space and the various benefits of the play-based activity. It also provides teacher resources and classroom ideas. This resource relates to Thursday's discussion of Piaget and Vygotsky, for within dramatic play one can observe how children move between assimilation and accommodation. This resource demonstrates the value of play and how it leads to better language development and symbolic-play. This activity is great because it allows for a combination of a student and teacher centred approach to learning. While working in a preschool classroom I saw students oral language skills further develop while they communicated with their peers, used their imagination to create different situations and relate to the material world around them.

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The Importance of Play in the Development of Language Skills- Marisa Suriano

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The Importance of Play in the Development of Language Skills- Marisa Suriano

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This short article outlines the importance of play for infants to toddlers and how it greatly impacts their growth of language and cognitive skills.
Discussion:
- Oddo explains that play changes as a child gets older. At infancy, play is used as an 'accidental' method of sensory development. During the toddler stage, play becomes more about the development of academic and language skills, as a child is exploring the use of different objects while pairing words and sounds. At the preschool stage, play becomes more imaginative when joined with developed language and cognitive skills.
- Oddo very much follows Piaget's theory of development.  Although she does not reference Piaget directly, she focuses on the use of modeling and repetitive actions as a form of learning.
- Since I am in secondary, I have had little to no experience with early childhood development but have witnessed the change in play, as seen through family members.

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Kindergarten Self-Regulation: Making Thinking and Learning Visible - James Steele

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Kindergarten Self-Regulation: Making Thinking and Learning Visible - James Steele

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This series of videos from the Ministry of Education was an enlightening look at how developing student self-regulation (along with autonomy and engagement) are an integral part of our work as educators and community members. Dr. Stuart Shanker speaks about the approach when he says that young people need to have "the space to find what fascinates them". He further engages with the theme by saying "Children learn by becoming fascinated, and the more fascinated they are, the more they will want to acquire those skills that we want to teach them. The more they will be driven to learn how to read, to use reading, and their reading will be functional. Their reading will be driven by their desire to learn about what they are captivated by" (http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesKIN/Video/SelfRegulation/mp4/SelfRegulation(12).mp4). I can see the links to Vygotsky as the focus is less on the product but the process, and how student engagement and classroom environments are inextricably linked with self-regulation. As secondary second language teacher, I see playing and exploring language use (exploring situations with limited, vocabulary, explaining new or familiar concepts with limited vocabulary, negotiating, interacting, acquiring knowledge) as parallel; these concepts have given me pause to allow me to make stronger connections with how to let my older students play and explore in French, Spanish, and German in different, collaborative ways.

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What do you notice about children's self regulation? What do you notice in the environment that supported the children's self-regulation? What do you notice about the interactions that support the children's self-regulation?

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Statement from CMEC on Play-Based Learning - James Steele

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Statement from CMEC on Play-Based Learning - James Steele

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I found this overview on play-based learning from the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada to be a helpful nugget.

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Introduction

The video presented discusses inquiry-based learning using loose parts. Loose parts play makes use of a variety of different materials that are both natural and can be created while playing. These materials can also take form of whatever the child has imagined them to be. The loose parts can essentially be used in whichever way the child decides, individually or in combinations. At Evergreen Canada, the Ottawa teachers used wood cookies, wood planks, burlap and kitchen items engaging them in cooperative play. This approach promotes ‘more critical thinking, more creatively, more imagination’.

What I found particularly interesting about the ‘Loose Parts’ program was how engaged children became on simple natural materials such as wood planks. They may have seen these wood planks as they were taking a walk in a forest, trail, or garden with their parents. However, they may not have decided to play or create a story with it. However, this video illustrates how this simple wood planks created a moment of learning and turned the space the child was in into a learning space while at school. They were absolutely fascinated with the materials.

Discussion

The key ideas about play that are raised in this resource is the value of taking children outside the classroom to learn. Children are able to make connections to nature that will be a part of their lives forever. It allows educators to understand students’ needs in a different context outside the classroom in a different realm. Taking children outside the physical classroom of the school, allows the educators to get to know the whole child and teach the whole child. When there is a large open space for them to utilize they are able to engage with their imaginative side and reach as far as they want with their imagination. For example, a child was proud of the house she built on the side of a tree and made her television and dining table with two boxes. The video picks up on a key point that sometimes students are reluctant to speak inside the classroom. It is amazing to see when you take the child outside and they are engaged in ‘Loose Parts’ play, there engagement in conversations with both peers and teachers.

I made a link to Vygotskyan theory of emergent literacy and the emphasis there is on scaffolding within learning for children. The ‘Loose Parts’ program is to foster the sense of creativity within children and work with them. Instead of encouraging students to hit certain benchmarks based on their grade level or age as Piagetian theories promote. Students are allowed to learn in their own capacity and pace through ‘Loose Parts’ play highlighting Vygotskyan theories (Pellegrini & Galda, 1993).

I really connected with the understanding that ‘children are living a really hurried life and very rarely do they have time to engage in free play that is not directed by adults’. As an educator within a classroom environment, we are continuously focused on ensuring our students are creating work that can be documented for their learning strengths. We are hoping that they grasp what is being taught so we can continue through the curriculum and move on and learn the next section. Instead we should be allowing them to engage in the focus at the moment or allow their inquiry to go as deep as they wish and continue on as long as they wish. This allows for authentic learning and learning that is created by children and co-created by their peers.

References

Pellegrini, A. D., & Galda, L. (1993). Ten years after: A reexamination of symbolic play and literacy research. Reading Research Quarterly, 28(2), 162-175.