Play and experience
The issue of play: Learning to make sense of the world ... or just learning to pass assessments?
'The Curriculum Framework for Children 3 to 5' (1999:3) highlights the importance of the provision of opportunities for children to learn through play.
Seventeen reasons for play and active, investigative learning to be included in an early years curriculum are listed. Included is that play can provide opportunities for children to:
- make sense of learning
- develop thinking, problem-setting and problem-solving skills
- express their ideas and feelings in many different ways
- collaborate with others
- take the initiative.
These are just a few of the powerful reasons for the inclusion of play as a medium for learning in infant classrooms as well as in pre-school settings. There is, however, some concern that a focus on developing learning through play in the early years of primary school has been sidetracked or abandoned in the thrust of raising attainment. There are many possible reasons for this including:
- the range of curriculum demands
- timetabling constraints, including 'setting' in the early years
- time allocated to programmes, e.g. for phonics, reading, mental maths, maths, writing, etc.
- concerns that targets may not be met if prescriptive programmes are not followed
- teachers' confidence in planning for learning through play in an infant classroom
- teachers' confidence in how to monitor and track attainment if play is a significant medium for learning
- staff-pupil ratio.
Whilst recognising the possible constraints, these are mostly resourcing issues. They are not theoretically based arguments against the value of play in learning. Learning through play, activity and exploration form central roles in the pre-school years. There is no evidence, from what is already known about young learners and learning, to suggest that when children reach the age of 5 or make the transition to Primary 1 that play as a medium for learning is not relevant. On the contrary, all learners learn best through making sense of what is to be learned by building on their own prior experiences, knowledge and understanding and through actively learning in meaningful contexts.
In 'The National Evaluation of the Early Intervention Programme', many concerns were reported about the reduction in play being used as a learning medium in infant classrooms. The need to debate curriculum balance in the early stages of the primary school, and consider whether play and self-directed learning opportunities are underrepresented was one of the recommendations made by the report on key issues (Interchange 71: 12).
Fraser, H, MacDougall, A, Pirrie, A and Croxford, L, Early Intervention in Literacy and Numeracy: Key Issues from the National Evaluation of the Programme, Interchange 71, 2001
Play and experience
Play - what's in a name?
This PowerPoint presentation was prepared by Helen Fraser of Edinburgh University. It considers the place of experience within the child's learning environment.
Further information regarding play, experience and learning in context can be found in the Learning and Teaching Scotland publication Contextualised Learning for 5-8-Year-Olds, Fabian, Dr H, Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2002