Pedagogy of Play

Towards a Pedagogy of Play

PoP USA Indicators

With the goal of supporting educators in bringing more playful learning into their classrooms and schools, the Pedagogy of Play USA project conducted research in six schools in the Boston area in the Northeastern United States (U.S.). Considering the specific challenges and affordances of the local educational context, we examined what playful learning looks and feels like. Based on our research, we found that playful learning in the classrooms we studied is empowering, meaningful, and joyful. We begin this working paper with an example from a 2nd grade math lesson, one of three examples we share throughout the paper that illustrate what playful learning can look and feel like. Then, we explain the importance of understanding what playful learning involves in U.S. schools, describe the qualitative research methods employed in this work, and introduce the Indicators of Playful Learning: Six United States Schools, a model of what learning through play looks and feels like in the six schools in this study. We conclude with a discussion of the relevance of the indicators model to other U.S. schools. In Appendix A, we share examples of online playful learning in 1st and 5th math instruction.

Toward a South African Pedagogy of Play

What does playful learning look and feel like in South African schools? In this paper we put forward two hypotheses that address this question: a) learning through play in South African schools involves the interrelated experiences of ownership, curiosity, and enjoyment and b) for South African learners and educators, Ubuntu is a central part of playful learning. To explain these hypotheses, we introduce the South African “Indicators of Playful Learning”, a model of what playful learning looks and feels like in the nation’s classrooms. We explain the research methods—including analysis of classroom observations and interviews with learners, teachers, and principals--used in formulating these hypotheses, explore the connections between Ubuntu and playful learning, and share examples of playful learning from South African classrooms to illustrate our hypotheses. We discuss implications of our work, note the preliminary nature of our findings, and suggest next steps for research. Overall, the paper makes the case for a South African pedagogy of play and, by defining the phenomenon of learning through play, begins to explore what such an approach to teaching and learning might involve.   

PoP USA More than one way

The evidence is clear: play supports learning (e.g., Bateson & Martin, 2013; Frost et al., 2012; Hale & Bocknek, 2015; Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2009; Honeyford & Boyd, 2015; Plenty, 2015; Sullivan, 2011). Play can be joyful, iterative, socially interactive, meaningful and actively engaging (Zosh et al., 2017). These emotional, social, and cognitive features of play are why it can powerfully support learning. Play increases children’s motivation. It helps connect children’s knowledge, experiences, and interests. In play, children’s attention is focused. They persist through challenges and engage in deep learning, which supports them in consolidating skills and retaining what they have learned (Liu et al., 2017). Because play supports learning, it should have an important role in school.

While play is often seen as an activity—soccer, chess, or a math game—it also involves a mindset, an outlook and approach towards activities. When participants experience activities at school as empowering, meaningful and joyful, these activities become playful learning. Mindsets can differ among participants; what is playful for one is not playful for all. Thus, playful mindsets are central to play’s role in learning at school. There are three important educational implications here. First, playful learning can be part of any subject because almost any activity—exploring prime numbers or writing a composition—can be playful. Second, promoting playful learning involves teachers activating and cultivating students’ playful mindsets. Third, to activate and cultivate playful mindsets for all students, educators need to be flexible, spontaneous and open to surprise. They need to be playful, taking a more than one way approach to their teaching.

In this working paper, we explore this third implication: the teaching approach of more than one way and its importance in promoting playful learning. We begin with a brief explanation of the Pedagogy of Play (PoP) USA research on which this paper is based, and then turn to an example from a 4th grade classroom that illustrates what is play for one isn’t play for all. We then explain the teaching approach of more than one way. Two additional classroom examples—from early childhood and middle school—are shared to illustrate how more than way supports playful learning. Our analysis concludes with a discussion about how the idea of more than one way may fit into a pedagogy of play framework. A description of the research methods used in the PoP USA study is provided in an appendix.

Playful Participatory Research: An emerging methodology for developing a pedagogy of play

• What is the relationship between play, playfulness, and learning through play?
• How can a pedagogy of play be adapted to address different disciplines, age levels, and cultural contexts?
• What are the aspects of a school culture that promote learning through play and the experiences, rituals, tools, and spaces (e.g. celebrations, documentation, maker spaces) that support a culture of learning through play?
• How can school leaders empower teachers to increase playfulness and learning though play?