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Learning Through Play
The document discusses the implementation of play-based learning in South Africa as a means to enhance early childhood education, citing the LEGO Foundation's efforts and partnerships in the region. It highlights the numerous challenges in achieving quality early childhood development, including funding, workforce training, and the negative effects of premature formal learning. The presentation emphasizes the transformative benefits of play for children's intellectual, emotional, and social skills, advocating for a shift towards child-centered educational approaches.
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Learning Through Play
- 1. How Learning throughPlay is Creating Systemic Change in South Africa CIES Annual Conference – March 7, 2016 Andrew Bollington Brent Hutcheson Kimberly Josephson Vidya Putcha
- 2. Overview ● Introduction andbackground on the LEGO Foundation ● Global challenges in ECD & play-based learning ● Context: South Africa ● Implementing play-based learning ● Discussion 2
- 3. The LEGO Foundation PlayBased Learning
- 4. From www.google.com –“play definition” We’re re-defining play
- 5. Executive function and self- regulation skillsare the mental processes that enable us to plan,focus attention,remember instructions,and juggle multiple tasks successfully. http://developingchild.harvard.edu/key_concepts/executive_function 5
- 6. We’re re-imagining learning Skills employersmost want in 20-something employees 1. Ability to work in a team 2. Ability to make decisions and solve problems 3. Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work 4. Ability to communicate verbally 5. Ability to obtain and process information ! National Association of Colleges and Employers, USA 6
- 7. Our aim is to: Re-defineplay and re-imagine learning Build a future in which learning through play empowers children to become creative, engaged, life-long learners We will focus on: Children aged 0-12, especially in early childhood So that: impact tested by our research agenda Children benefit from the transformative power of learning through play to develop the intellectual, emotional, social, physical and creative skills to serve them their communities, and society a lifetime
- 8. Play comes in manyshapes and sizes 8 1. Physical play 2. Play with objects 3. Symbolic play 4. Pretence and socio-dramatic play 5. Games with rules
- 9. Play 9 Play is a“way” to learn not “what” you learn” Playful Learning A playful state of mind – open, motivated, engaged Learning to learn; (not behaving as if Google doesn’t exist)
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- 11. 11 Growing evidence on the importanceof ECD programs Brain Science: ● Brains are built over time, from the bottom up. ● Importance of a “serve and return” ● Persistent stress affects brain architecture (Center on the Developing Child, 2015) Evaluations of ECD programs: ● A study of an early childhood stimulation program in Jamaica found an impact 25 years later (Gertler, et.al. 2014)
- 12. 12 Progress in global policydialogue Source: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300
- 13. 13 Numerous challenges to making SDG4.2 a reality Financing ! ●Estimates suggest that spending on one year of high-quality pre-primary education alone in low and lower middle income countries MUST increase annually from: ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! UNESCO, 2015. 2012 $4.8 billion 2015-30 $31.2 billion
- 14. 14 Numerous challenges to making SDG4.2 a reality Supporting the workforce ! ●Critical determinant of quality in early childhood settings ! ●Undervalued, inadequately prepared, and underpaid. ●Poorer qualifications & training ●Shortage of qualified teachers Bernal, 2013; Neuman, Josephson & Chua, 2015 UNESCO, 2015; SABER-ECD;
- 15. “Schoolification” ! ! “…While increasing theamount of direct teaching instruction for young children appears to provide short-term outcomes in learning, research indicates that these benefits are not sustained in the long run. In fact, introducing formal learning too early for young children can be counterproductive.” ! Kellock, 2015 ! 15 Challenges in early childhood settings
- 16. The evidence on child-centered approaches ! 16 Kellock,2015; Montie et al., 2006; Mwaura et al., 2008; Neuman, Josephson, & Chua, 2015; Free-choice and self-directed Small group activities Questioning Warm, responsive & supportive interactions Play Self-regulation and control Language and literacy Numeracy Creativity and independence Better academic performance Increased schooling and graduation rates Higher wages Lower crime rates
- 17. Innovative programs incorporating play-based learning 17 PUPA Early Childhood Development (Brazil) www.educationinnovations.org High ScopeTraining of Trainers Program (South Africa) Lively Minds Play Schemes (Ghana, Uganda) Kidogo (Kenya)
- 18. 18 LEGO Foundation partnerships in South Africa ●UNICEFSouth Africa ●DG MurrayTrust “SmartStart” ●The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship (University of CapeTown) ●Care for Education ●Training & Resources in Early Education (TREE) ●Takalani Sesame
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- 35. Training & Resources inEarly Education (TREE) 35 Learning through play
- 36. A short videoon TREE’s work 36
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- 54. Questions or comments? andrew@bollington.net legofoundation@lego.com brent@carefored.co.za kjosephson@r4d.org vputcha@r4d.org 54