Play in Early Childhood Education
* This essay question has parts.
You are a Kindergarten One (5 yr old) teacher. During the mid–year parent–teacher conference, the parents give their feedback that whenever they asked the children about what they did in school, the children would reply “eat, sleep, play”. Parents raised theirconcern over the suitability of the Project Approach used in the school curriculum. They remind you that the children will be in Kindergarten two the following year. They are not confident that their children will be school ready for Primary one if they are only playing in your class. To reassure and help the parents understand that the children are learning through play, you have decided to organize a 2-hour workshop on your school’s Project Approach. The following will be covered in the workshop.
(a) Describe how preschoolers learn and develop through play. Please use 3 references to support. (4marks) (roughly 140-200 words)
>> Eleborate on: physical (gross and fine motor skills) development, intellectual (cognitive) development, social-emotional development and how it can be developed through play.
(b) Apply the characteristics of play, and Parten’s play theory to raise awareness in parents of the way children behave and learn during play. Support with FOUR (4) examples. Please use 3 references to support. (16 marks) (roughly 600 words)
>> I suppose my lecturer wants 1 example each of Parten’s play theory (Solitary play, Parallel play, Associative play and Cooperative play)
>> Characteristics of play that I’ve found is 1. intrinsically motivated, 2. freely chosen by the participants, 3. must be pleasurable and children must enjoy the experience, 4. play is non-literal as it involves a certain amount of make-believe, 5. it is actively engaged in by the player as the child must be involved.
>> I have attached one of my readings that you might find useful. HOWEVER, that resource cannot be used as a reference.
(c) Analyse the roles of the teacher, during the various phases of the Project Approach Framework based on a topic of the child’s interest, in supporting children’s play, learning and development. Please use 3 references to support. (12marks) (roughly 420 words)
>> What is the various of Project Approach?
>> What are the roles of the teacher during the various phases? (This is mentioned briefly in the guide I’ve attached)
(d) Show how teachers can make children’s learning more visible to parents in order to help them see how the Project approach can help children to develop school readiness skills; give examples based on a selected topic (eg, learning about money, animals, or plants, etc etc). Examine ONE (1) contemporary constructivist theory and its implication on incorporating play into the curriculum and apply this to your communication with parents to help raise their awareness and understanding of how children learn. Please use 3 references to support. (20 marks) (roughly 700 words)
Answer preview
- Describe how preschoolers learn and develop through play
Children in their early life before primary one school learn through playing in many ways. During these years they cannot be able to read and write more hence playing is what offers them knowledge…
(2300 words)