What are some ways to avoid weaknesses of play-based learning and how to combat misconceptions?
What are future benefits of play-based learning instruction?
What are the long term effects of play-based learning?
How can you increase the positive effects of play-based learning in your classroom instruction?
How will play-based learning fit into your instruction?
Social Development
Play is typically viewed as a very social concept. Typically when the word play is mentioned people visualize young kids running around, holding hands, playing on playgrounds, and such. Play gives students the ability to interact with each other outside of the classroom setting. Play allows for students to choose what it is that they want to engage in and whom they want to interact with. Play is a way to teach students how to interact with other students. As a child engaging in play alongside other children, you tend to learn vital skills necessary to be socially appropriate in group social settings. Students typically learn to share materials, share ideas, adapt their own ideas and views to incorporate other thoughts and views presented by their classmates/friends. "Play and play-based learning are integral to healthy social development in children. Children who play more are more self-regulated, cooperative, considerate, friendly, and socially competent. They display more appropriate social behaviors, coping skills, and experience greater peer acceptance." (Daubert, 2018). Throughout play-based learning students can build friendships, learn to collaborate, learn to communicate, learn to resolve conflicts, establish a sense of self, become more confident, regulate their emotions, etc. (Vogel, 2023). "They also learn how to cooperate and work together toward a common goal. In a play-based setting, children have the opportunity to role-play different scenarios." (Powell & Powell, 2023). Play whether in a school setting or not, provides a great opportunity for students to interact with other students, strengthening their social skills.
Play has been shown to support healthy brain development (Shonkoff & Phillips 2000, Frost 1998). Evidence reviewed by Parker and Thomsen (2019) suggested that playful pedagogies can be more effective in fostering social, emotional, physical, cognitive and creative skills than “traditional” or more “highly guided” pedagogical approaches used in the primary school classroom. Studies measured the achievement and/or growth demonstrated by students learning under a more playful condition, with the results of students learning under a less-playful condition. Some examples of this according to Vogel (2023) include:
Doing art like making collages or adding names to drawings helps children learn to represent ideas through images, use letters to convey meaning, and understand the purpose of writing.
When children play, they use their imagination. Imagination is all about symbols: a laundry basket symbolizes a car, a stick symbolizes a fishing rod, and so on. Understanding symbols is key to reading and writing, as letters are symbols. The same goes for mathematical concepts and numbers.
During dramatic play, children use language to talk to each other. They represent and act out stories, practicing their language and storytelling skills.
Children develop an elementary understanding of scientific concepts as they learn how the world around them works. For example, what happens when you stack one block on top of another or what the feathers of a bird feel like.
Students can enhance their language and communication skills through play. When they engage in role play with other students they can pick up new words and try out this new vocabulary through role playing with other classmates. The more they engage in communication using new words and vocabulary in a setting that has little not no pressure, the more they are able to build their confidence in their new found vocabulary. These skills will become imperative when it comes time for them to learn to read and write. Play also gives students the opportunity to further develop their listening skills, when playing with other students it is important for them to listen to each other in order to engage in communication and role play. Students also further develop their creative thinking skills and have the opportunity to really dive into their imagination. "This is not only important in problem solving, but even later in life a good imagination helps you enjoy a good book, plan for pleasant things in life or simply understand other people’s point of view on various aspects of life." (PBC, 2019). There are countless examples and opportunities for students to engage in further cognitive development by interacting with play and play-based learning, not only is it effective in reaching higher levels of understanding, but it also is more engaging for students which increases the likelihood that they retain the information.
Self Regulation
Self regulation is essentially the ability to control your emotions and your behaviors. Self regulation is extremely important in a school setting and is something that teacher work hard to develop among students in elementary school. Play-bases learning is one way in which teachers can help students to develop self regulation skills. When students engage in play, they are presented with multiple opportunities to grow within their abilities to self regulate. Play allows students to exert high amounts of energy and this is extremely beneficial in a classroom setting because when students are in school and expected to stay seated and give their attention to learning for hours on end, it is extremely important for them to be able to move their bodies around and to have some unstructured time. One of the most crucial features of guided play is that children’s actions within the play session must be freely chosen so that they are able to still make choices in their learning to both relieve the pressure that learning can have on students and to allow for students to make beneficial decisions that will fuel their self regulation. "Playful collaborative activities support young children's abilities to express their ideas, explain their reasoning and talk about their own learning. This significantly improves their self-regulatory abilities." (Whitebread, 2022). According to the Department of Education play-based learning "proposes several pathways through which play facilitates self-regulation processes. First, in play, children learn to inhibit their impulsive behavior and follow rules which transform their behavior from impulsive and spontaneous to mediated and voluntary." and on top of that it can "enhance working memory, attention, and inhibitory control, which would all result in advanced self-regulation." (Savina, 2013).
Physical Development
Physical development refers to gross and fine motor skills development and how a child uses their body. Through play, children build muscle mass and coordination, explore different tactile experiences, and get a healthy amount of exercise (Vogle, 2023). When students engage in play they are using so many different parts of their bodies in a beneficial ways, they are using hand, eye coordination, they are working on developing their fine motor skills, building muscles, and developing physical skills that will them continue to strengthen as they get older. By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, teachers are able to support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being and engaging in play can help students continue to develop healthy bodies. Repeated and varied opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the implementation of small tools for students to use, with feedback and support from teachers, allow for children to develop proficiency, control and confidence. Some examples of play-based learning supporting physical development according to Vogle (2023) include:
Art and play expose children to different tactile experiences. They learn about the feeling of wooden blocks, soft plushy toys, wet paint, and more.
Play increases physical activity when compared to passive forms of entertainment like watching TV or playing games on an iPad (Burdette & Whitacker 2005).
Children build muscle mass and coordination as they jump, climb, swing, run, and move during play.
