Play-Based Learning Model
The Study of Play as a Learning Model
Play has always played a vital role in societies around the world and is still an essential aspect of childhood for the majority of animals, including humans. Play fosters our imaginations, helps us solve problems, builds resilience, creativity, and pro-social qualities, and all around makes us happy and healthy. It also helps our brains and neurological systems grow healthily.
Play has always been an important part of a child's life, even before science provided the evidence supporting its connection to emotional and cognitive growth. Because of its significance, it is less of a privilege and more of a rite of passage that every child should have.
Play Through Human History
Play has a lengthy past. It first appeared in prehistoric times as dice, gaming boards, and maybe even football, as some footprints found in Namibia indicate. Great thinkers like Plato and Aristotle talked about the importance of play and its important role in a child's development in ancient Greece. A few of the most popular games of the period were knucklebones, which were constructed from real sheep legs, marbles, and yo-yos.
The same was true in Rome, where kids played in different ways, with girls playing with rag dolls and guys playing war games and wrestling. Despite the expectation that children work during the Middle Ages, children were still able to play with homemade toys and act out stories. Prominent intellectuals of the Renaissance era introduced concepts like play-based pedagogy and learning by firsthand experience.
In the centuries that followed, these concepts were refined. The first Kindergarten was established in 1837 by the German educator Froebel, and it featured songs and self-guided play. The industrial revolution also brought factory-made games like Monopoly, a variation of "Life," and jigsaw puzzles to children during the beginning of the 20th century. Playgrounds gained popularity as concerns about children's safety playing on the streets arose due to urbanization.
Children's play is valuable, as scientific research has demonstrated, but it is being threatened by the way we live today. Due to demanding jobs and long commutes, parents in many developed countries have little time to play with their children. Even more worrisome is the fact that youngsters themselves have little time for play because of their hectic schedules, which are the outcome of a culture that promotes "setting kids up for success" from an early age.
Benefits of Play for Child development
Play comes in many forms ranging from physical play (e.g. climbing, dancing, wrestling) to socio-dramatic play or games with rules. It can be a solitary activity or performed in groups, indoors or outdoors. Whatever the case, its contribution to child development is priceless. Here are just some ways play helps to build healthy, well integrated brains:
- Enhances cognitive, emotional and social skills: Most playing activities promote several skills at once, often in ways you wouldn’t expect. Construction play, for example, enhances creativity and concentration. But did you know it also helps develop perseverance and a positive attitude towards challenges? Likewise, a simple “pretend” play where two doll friends are drinking imaginary tea boosts not only imagination but also social and language skills
- Boosts self-esteem: Successfully completing a puzzle or climbing a tree makes your child feel more confident about themselves and their abilities.
- Relieves stress and aggression: From mild stress to severe trauma, play is a great way for kids to forget what’s troubling them and let some steam off. This is why play therapy is the most developmentally appropriate support for children.
- Builds strength and endurance: Physical activities like riding a bike or playing in the playground help children build a strong body, maintain a healthy weight and, most importantly, adopt an active lifestyle that they will most likely follow as adults too
- Promotes independence: Children discover the world and themselves through play. They learn to communicate effectively, control their emotions, make decisions, and solve problems
The Science of Play
Research has identified at least 17 different types of play:
* Unstructured Play or Child-Led, Child-Initiated Play
* Structured or Adult-Led Play
* Guided Play
* Unoccupied Play
* Solitary Play
* Onlooker Play
* Parallel Play
* Associative Play
* Cooperative Play
* Symbolic Play or Pretend Play
* Imaginative Play or Drama Play
* Domestic Role Play
* Digital Play
* Risky Play (Climbing Trees, Balancing on Objects)
* Outdoor Play
* Sensory Play
* Oral Language Play
These types of play can be grouped into 6 stages in a child's development:
* Unoccupied Play (Birth - 3 Months of Age)
* Solitary Play (3 Months - 2 Years of Age)
* Onlooker Play (2 Years of Age)
* Parallel Play (2 Years and Older)
* Associate Play (3 Years - 4 Years of Age)
* Cooperative Play (4+ Years of Age)
Unstructured Play vs Structured Play
Structured play is a term used to refer to a goal-oriented activity. Structured play generally happens when adult teacher provides an idea, starts the play, or joins in with the child in play to offer directions or guidelines.
Free play, also know as unstructured play or child-led play, is play that is creative and improvised with no set goal in mind and uses the child's imagination to produce unlimited possibilities.
Examples of Play
Structured Play:
* Board games
* Games that involve follow directions or rules
* Organized sports teams
* Crafts that have an example to recreate
* Sorting games or activities
* Puzzles
Unstructured Play:
* Playing with blocks
* Coloring, drawing, or painting on blank paper
* Inventing games to play
* Symbolic play (using found objects to symbolize other real-life things)
* Becoming pirates, firemen, princesses
* Chasing one another or running around the playground
Philosophy Overview
We use a blend of unstructured and structured play that we describe as guided play. Guided play takes the best practices of both styles: child autonomy and adult expertise; A middle-ground between free-play and direct instruction. Our guiding principle is that learning should be fun and fun can still be learning. Children in our care are provided toys, objects, and time that allows them to use their imaginations, create their own stories, play cooperatively, and to learn through their play and from their peers. Our staff are always present and take advantage of teachable moments during play or watch as the kids learn through trial and error and from each other. While we value and appreciate free-play, there is still fun planned activities such as group reading, crafts, and organized games.