Learning Through Play

Mar 12

Meaningful Toys believes in the power of learning through play. This UNICEF article is right up our alley.

Scientific research over the past 30 years has taught us that the most important period of human development is from birth to eight years old. During these years, the development of cognitive skills, emotional well-being, social competence and sound physical and mental health builds a strong foundation for success well into the adult years. Although learning takes place throughout life, in early childhood, learning is taking place at a speed that will never be equalled. The preschool (or pre-primary) education years fall in the middle of the early childhood period and lay the groundwork for success in school and beyond. Although this brief is focused on the pre-primary years, we note that learning through play is relevant throughout the whole early childhood period and beyond.

CONCEPTION TO AGE 2 OR THE FIRST 1000 DAYS

With adequate stimulation, a child’s brain forms neural connections at a pace of at least 1,000 per second. However, recent indications are that the speed could be up to 1 million per second.These connections are triggered by rich, loving and protected environments, in the context of responsive and playful caregiving that foster bonding and secure attachment, contributing to positive socio-emotional development.

3 TO 5 YEARS

Often referred to as the “preschool period”. Children’s language, social- emotional and cognitive skills are rapidly expanding. During this period, the stimulation and learning that come from play, reading, singing and interacting with peers and caring adults at home and in quality early education settings are essential.

Play in the preschool years enables children to explore and make sense of the world around them, as well as to use and develop their imagination and creativity.

6 TO 8 YEARS

Often considered the early grades of primary school. Play-based learning continues to be critical, yet it is often neglected in favour of academic-focused education approaches.Yet, in this period, active, play-based learning approaches can transform the educational experiences of children in the early primary grades and strengthen learning motivation and outcomes.

PLAY, AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT FOR LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE EARLY YEARS

Educators are re-thinking how to teach young children to tap their enormous learning potential.

“Play is one of the most important ways in which young children gain essential knowledge and skills”

For this reason, play opportunities and environments that promote play, exploration and hands-on learning are at the core of effective pre-primary programs. The next section of this brief explains what is meant by play and play-based learning and gives examples of the many ways in which children learn through play.

PLAY TAKES MANY FORMS

Everyone knows ‘play’ when they see it – on streets, in villages, on playgrounds, in classrooms. People from every culture, economic background and community engage in play from their earliest years. Yet play can be hard to define. Researchers and theorists, however, agree on the key characteristics of playful experiences, as seen in the figure on this page.

“An important aspect of play is children’s agency and control over the experience”

Agency refers to children’s initiative, decision-making and self-choice in play. Ultimately, play should involve some degree of agency, enabling children to take on an active role and ownership in their experiences, as well as recognizing and trusting children to be capable, autonomous,

and agents of their own playful learning journeys.

PLAY IS MEANINGFUL

Children play to make sense of the world around them, and to find meaning in an experience by connecting it to something already known. Through play, children express and expand their understanding of

their experiences.

PLAY IS JOYFUL

Look at children – or adults – playing, often smiling and laughing. Of course, play may have its frustrations and challenges (Who gets the first turn? Why can’t I make this block building stay up?), but the overall feeling is one of enjoyment, motivation, thrill and pleasure.

PLAY IS ACTIVELY ENGAGING

Watch children playing, and you will usually see that they become deeply involved, often combining physical, mental and verbal engagement.

PLAY IS ITERATIVE

Play and learning are not static. Children play to practice skills, try out possibilities, revise hypotheses and discover new challenges, leading to deeper learning.

PLAY IS SOCIALLY INTERACTIVE

Play allows children to communicate ideas, to understand others through social interaction, paving the way to build deeper understanding and more powerful relationships.

CHILDREN LEARN CRITICAL SKILLS AND DEVELOP AS THEY PLAY

When children choose to play, they are not thinking “Now I am going to learn something from this activity.” Yet their play creates powerful learning opportunities across all areas of development. Development and learning are complex and holistic, and yet skills across all developmental domains can be encouraged through play, including motor, cognitive and social and emotional skills. Indeed, in playful experiences, children tap a breadth of skills at any one time. Often this occurs during ‘corner play’ or ‘centre time’ in the context of early learning or pre-primary programs. Corner play, when well planned, promotes child development and learning competencies more effectively than any other pre-primary activity. By choosing to play with the things they like to do, children actually develop skills in all areas of development: intellectual, social, emotional and physical.

For example, while children are playing, they can try out new social skills (e.g., sharing toys, agreeing on how to work together with materials), and they often take on some challenging cognitive tasks (such as figuring out how to make a building with smaller blocks when the larger ones are not available). Children are ‘hands-on’ learners. They acquire knowledge through playful interaction with objects and people. They need a lot of practice with solid objects to understand abstract concepts. For example, by playing with geometric blocks they understand the concept that two squares can form a rectangle and two triangles can form a square. From dancing a pattern such as step forward, step back twirl, clap and repeat, they begin to understand the features of patterns that are the foundation for mathematics. Pretend or ‘symbolic’ play (such as playing house or market) is especially beneficial: in such play, children express their ideas, thoughts and feelings, learn how to control their emotions, interact with others, resolve conflicts and gain a sense of competence.

Play sets the foundation for the development of critical social and emotional knowledge and skills. Through play, children learn to forge connections with others, and to share, negotiate and resolve conflicts, as well as learn self-advocacy skills. Play also teaches children leadership as well as group skills. Furthermore, play is a natural tool that children can use to build their resilience and coping skills, as they learn to navigate relationships and deal with social challenges as well as conquer their fears, for example through re-enacting fantasy heroes.

More generally, play satisfies a basic human need to express imagination, curiosity and creativity, which are key resources in a knowledge-driven world. They help us to cope, to find pleasure, and to use our imaginative and innovative powers. Indeed, the critical skills that children acquire through play in the preschool years form part of the fundamental building blocks of future complex “21st-century skills”.

PLAY IS AN ESSENTIAL STRATEGY FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING

LEARNING THROUGH PLAY IN ORGANIZED PRE-PRIMARY SETTING

In organized pre-primary settings, play experiences are enhanced when children are provided with ample time and space to engage freely with the pre-primary setting/environment. Play can occur in many forms: play with objects; imaginary play; play with peers and adults; solitary play; cooperative play; associative play; physical play. Play is considered children’s “work” and is the vehicle through which children acquire knowledge and skills, allowing children to engage independently and with others. The role of teachers and other adults in the room/environment is to enable and scaffold playful experiences and learning – this requires thoughtful planning (for example, setting out materials to pique children’s curiosity) and spontaneous interactions building on natural curiosities and ideas (for example, following the children’s lead in pretend play). Providing children with active and playful hands-on experiences help foster and enrich learning.

LEARNING THROUGH PLAY AT HOME AND IN THE COMMUNITY

While this brief focuses on the systems approach to integrate play in all aspects of pre-primary programs and to ensure developmentally appropriate practice, we must not forget that young children do not only learn in formal or organized settings. The home environment and the community are where young children spend the larger, if not the largest, part of their early lives, interacting with parents, siblings, extended family members, and neighbours. These interactions and relationships have a significant influence over how children understand and experience the world around them. Indeed, home environments and the community provide excellent opportunities to promote learning through play from the early years through pre-primary and primary years. Primary caregivers, as children’s “first teachers”, are the biggest supporters of children’s learning, and therefore have an important role in creating the space for learning through play. It is therefore essential to support caregivers and empower them to take an active role in shaping children’s learning and development, as well as to facilitate playful learning for their children at home and in the community in day-to-day experiences.

LEARNING THROUGH PLAY IN THE EARLY GRADES OF PRIMARY SCHOOL

Learning through play is not only for pre-schoolers. In the primary grades, play opportunities enhance children’s mastery of academic concepts and build motivation to learn. In fact, two of the most important things that play can develop are interest and motivation. Encouraging these in the early grades brings children on board in contributing to their own learning. For example, playing board games can strengthen math concepts while building social competence. Book clubs, dramatizing stories, and other reading games, make it much more likely for struggling readers to move ahead and not give up. Exploration of a wide variety of printed materials and writing tools at a ‘writing corner’ can engage reluctant writers and help children learn from one another. Further, play fosters creativity and imagination, critical components in enabling us to cope, to find pleasure, and to innovate. Play and opportunities to engage actively in learning strengthens student’s creative powers. Letting primary grade students engage actively with materials, issues, topics, opens up the space for inquiry and problem solving.

For the complete article, please visit https://www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/UNICEF-Lego-Foundation-Learning-through-Play.pdf

Strengthening learning through play in early childhood education programs

Robby Bucarey