Learning through play

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— TCHE2659:
STAGES OF PLAY
SESSION 3
Written by Anne Houghton

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What this session covers:
 The stages of play
 You will be prompted to reflect on your own play
experiences in relation to stages and
characteristics of play
 You will think about the learning and development
that occurred through the different types of play
experiences
 You will also be asked to explore the International
Play Association (IPA) website and Play Australia
Association website

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More on Defining Play
‘Play makes sense to the players in that it relates to real and
meaningful experiences. Johnson (1990) describes play as
both a window on development and the opportunity from
learning. In other words, children’s play reflects what they
already know and can do, as well as providing the context
for building on this and extending knowledge, skills and
understandings.’
Dockett, S., & Fleer, M., 2002, p15
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Parten’s Stages of play children
go through
• Unoccupied
• Solitary
• Onlooker
• Parallel
• Associative
• Cooperative
Mildred Parton’s Stages of Play (1930’s)

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Characteristics of Play
• Meaningful – makes sense to the players
• Symbolic – involves elements of make believe
• Active – Involves activity
• Pleasurable – fun, children do not set out to engage in
play with aim of learning
• Voluntary – intrinsic motivation
• Rule-governed – governed by some rules related to time
or equipment
• Episodic – phases of beginning, middle and end

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 What play can you think of that
involves ‘rules’? (is rule governed)
 What play did you participate in as
a young child that was ‘rule
governed’? What did it involve?
 Make a list ready to share with
your peers

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Let’s look at the value of types
of play in relation to
supporting children’s learning
and development

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Play supports all areas of
development
• Physical
• Social
• Emotional
• Cognitive
• Language

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Brain development
• Research tells us that
repeating positive
experiences supports
brain development
• To thrive, children
need a range of
experiences

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Physical and motor
development
• Coordination
• Fine and large muscle development
• Managing body in space
• Balancing
• Climbing
• Running
• What do you recall about your
most active play experiences?
What did it involve? What do you
understand now that it was
helping you to develop?

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Social development & peer
relationships
• Cooperation
• Turn taking
• Sharing
• Collaboration
• Negotiation
• What play
experiences can you
recall that enabled
these skills to
develop?
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Emotional Development &
Understanding the Self
• Self worth
• Well being & enjoyment
• Mental energy
• Self motivation
• Spontaneous
• Freedom
• Acceptable outlet for emotional release
• Spirituality
• What type of play might best promote
and support this learning and
development?

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Cognitive Development
• Exploration & investigation
• How things work
• An understanding of cause and effect
• Trial and error
• Investigation of the properties of things
• Use of materials to represent & create
their own ideas
• Can you recall significant learning through
play experiences that involved cognitive
learning? What did it involve?

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Language Development
• Expressive & receptive
language
• Listening
• Eye contact
• Extending vocabulary
• English as a second
language
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Making sense of the world
• Imaginative play
• Imitation
• Children use materials to
represent & create own
ideas
• When acting out, thoughts
are processed
• Oral language develops
Acknowledgement to Glenrowan Kindergarten

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How do children learn?
Learning Dispositions
• ‘The concept of a ‘disposition’ comes from developmental
psychology. In everyday speech we often use it like
‘temperament’; we comment that someone has ‘a cheerful
disposition’. It is seen as a quality of an individual, something he or
she was born with, or an outcome of facilitating circumstances.
When motivation is situated, however, as David Hickey points out,
‘context has a fundamental, rather than merely a facilitative role’
(1997, p177). Lilian Katz made this point when she commented
that: Dispositions are a very different type of learning from
skills and knowledge. They can be thought of as habits of
mind, tendencies to respond to situations in certain ways
(1998, p30, my emphasis).’
p21, Carr, M. (2001)
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The Early Years Learning Framework
for Australia (DEEWR, 2009)
• Promotes dispositions for learning
• What dispositions do you think children need for life
long learning ?
• What would be the top 5 dispositions you think
children should have?

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Imaginative Play
• Children use materials to
represent & create own
ideas
• Develop understandings
of their world
• When acting out,
thoughts are processed
• Oral language develops

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Exploratory Play
• Enables children to
investigate the properties
of things
• Explore their environments
• Understand cause and
effect
• May include sand, water,
magnets etc

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Sensory Play
• May include water, clay,
mud, finger-paint to touch
• Outlet for emotions
• Promotes calmness
• Develops small and large
muscles
• Language skills
• Attitudes to environment

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Constructive Play
• Hands on with
concrete materials
such as Lego, blocks,
collage etc
• Problem solving
• Fine motor skills
• Experimentation
• Hand – eye
coordination

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Directed or scaffolded play
• Adult encourages or prompts
learning
• Questioning – “What do you
think will happen if…?”
• Adult helps extend learning or
offers support materials &
resources
• Plans the environment

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Problem solving involves elements
of risk
• If we want children to learn to solve
problems we must create safe
environments in which they feel
confident
• Taking risks, making mistakes, learning
from them, and trying again
(Fordham & Anderson, 1992).

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Links between play and learning
Children:
• Construct
knowledge
• Practise skills
• Develop reasoning
& problem solving
• Develop oral
language
• Mathematical
understandings
• Literacy awareness
• Self initiation
• Decision making
• Develop responsibility
• Resilience
• Social skills

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References
• Bodrova, E. & Leong, D.J. (1996). Tools of the mind: The Vygotskian
approach to early childhood education. Columbus, OH: Prentice
Hall/Merrill.
• Garvis, S., Phillipson, S,. Clarke, S. Harrison, L., McCormack, J and
Pedergast, D, (2019) Child Development and Learning,Victorr: Oxford