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- 1. The Right to Play Audra Olukoya Walden University
- 2. Introduction How students spend most of their day The reality • Although many students throughout Georgia have recess for thirty minutes a day (Tagami, 2017), play is limited to a once day activity that must be earned. Further complicating the issue, many teachers do not understand the importance of play as a vehicle for learning (Lynch, 2015).This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
- 4. Research • Why play? • Cognitive, social, emotional, and language development (Rice, 2014) • Development of imagination and memory functioning (Rice, 2014; Ahmad, Ch, Batool,Sittar, & Malik, 2016) • Increased creativity, time, spatial recognition, problem-solving, and decision making (Ahmad, Ch, Batool,Sittar, & Malik, 2016)
- 5. Current State • Currently, the state of Georgia requires that children in grades K-5 have 30 minutes of unstructured, preferably outdoor, play (Tagami, 2017).
- 6. Brief Description Famed theorist, Vygotsky posited play as an opportunity for socially assisted learning (Aras, 2016). While many educators will agree that play is important, the issue lies in teacher professional development in designing play objectives, assessments, and a shared understanding the role of play in the learning environment, which is not only a local issue, but a global one as well (Lord & McFarland, 2010; Izumi-Taylor, S., Ito, Y., Lin, C.H., & Lee, Y., 2014). Therefore, the focus of this advocacy plan is to develop a universal definition of play in the learning environment, professional development and assessment plan, and to deepen parents and community members of the value of play.
- 7. Regulations & Policy • State Policy • HB273 • Local School District • Authority to make operational decisions for the district • Local School • Authority to make operational decisions for the school
- 8. Policies that Inform Play • Current Policies • Georgia HB 273 • Quality Basic Education Act
- 9. Ethics • Caregivers are bound to provide students with every possible opportunity to ensure healthy development. Therefore, there is a ethical duty to ensure that students are afforded play-based opportunities.
- 10. Stakeholders • Teachers • Students • Community • Georgia House/Senate • Local School Board • Parents
- 11. Organizations • Who are they? • NAEYC • ACEI • TASP
- 12. Organizations • Funding • NAEYC - Sponsorship • ACEI – Donors/Membership fees • TASP - Membership
- 13. Organizations • Data • NAEYC – Advocacy Toolkit • ACEI – Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA), 3rd edition • TASP -
- 14. Organizations • Target audiences • Parents • Educators • Policymakers • Community
- 15. Organizations • Message • Play-based learning is essential to the healthy development of children
- 16. Organizations • Resources • NAEYC – standards; Advocacy toolkit; conferences • ACEI – Play-based learning curriculum; conferences • TASP – White papers; conferences
- 17. Goals Year 1 • Fact finding & Research: • July 2017 – Meet with leadership team to outline needs for play- based learning. • August 2017 – Leadership team will conduct play-based learning sites & debrief • September 2017 – Begin book study, identify members for PLC, and create weekly meeting schedule. • October 2017 – First PLC meeting and book study session
- 18. Goals • Year 1 continued • November 2017 – Continue book study – Revisit outline for play- based learning and develop budget • December 2017 – Continue book study – Develop play-based learning to present to local board, teachers, and outside stakeholders. • January 2018 – Present finding to local board for approval • February 2018 – Conduct input sessions for teachers and outside stakeholders; revise and resubmit as needed.
- 19. Goals • Year 1 continued: • March – Create professional development schedule for 2018-19 school year; conduct safety checks of playground equipment; conduct classroom walk-though observations to assess needs for play-based learning. Order resources for play-based learning. • April – Review and curriculum adoption of play-based learning; Develop play-based learning assessment tools. • May – Finalize curriculum, orders, professional development, and assessments
- 20. Goals Year 2 Implementation: • July – Professional development sessions (pre-planning); curriculum crosswalks; review assessment tools • August – Implement play-based learning (first student assessment – pre-test) • September – Breakout session – vertical and horizontal planning to discuss and revise implementation, analyze data, and share student support resources and planning • October – April - Continue play-based learning implementation and data analysis on a monthly basis
- 21. Goals • Year 2 Implementation continued: • May – Revise implementation plan as needed based on data and stakeholder feedback; present data and findings to local board
- 22. Goals • Year 5 Maintenance • July – Professional development sessions (pre-planning); curriculum crosswalks; review assessment data • August – facilitate play-based learning (first student assessment – pre-test) • September – Breakout session – vertical and horizontal planning to discuss and revise implementation, analyze data, and share student support resources and planning
- 23. Goals • Year 5 Maintenance continued • October – April - Continue play-based learning implementation and data analysis on a monthly basis • May – Revise implementation plan as needed based on data and stakeholder feedback; present data and findings to local board
- 24. Conclusion • In conclusion, play-based learning is a critical for healthy development of students. Therefore, early learning settings have a duty to ensure that children not only have unstructured play but a curriculum that embraces the natural curiosity of students that is fostered through play-based learning opportunities.
- 25. References Ahmad, S., Ch, A. H., Batool, A., Sittar, K., & Malik, M. (2016). Play and cognitive development: Formal operational perspective of Piaget's theory. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(28), 72-79. Aras, S. (2016). Free play in early childhood education: A phenomenological study. Early Child Development and Care, 186 (7), 1173 - 1184 Fesseha, E., & Pyle, A. (2016). Conceptualising play-based learning from kindergarten teachers’ perspectives. International Journal Of Early Years Education, 24(3), 361-377. International Play Association. (2017). UN convention on the rights of the child. Retrieved from http://ipaworld.org/childs-right-to-play/uncrc-article-31/un-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child-1/ Izumi-Taylor, S., ITO, Y., Lin, C.H., & Lee. (2014). Pre-service teachers’ views of children’s and adults’ play in Japan, Taiwan, and the USA. Research in Comparative and International Education, 9 (2), 213-226 Lord, A. & McFarland, L. (2010). Pre-service primary teachers’ perceptions of early childhood philosophy and pedagogy: A case study examination. Australian Journal of Teacher Education.
- 26. References • Lynch, M. (2015). More play, please: The perspective of kindergarten teachers on play in the classroom. American Journal Of Play, 7(3), 347-370. • Maynard, T., Waters, J., & Clement, J. (2013). Child-initiated learning, the outdoor environment and the ”underachieving” child. Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development, 33(3), 212- 225 • National Association for the Education of Young Children (n.d.). Defining and advocating for • play. Retrieved from • http://www.naeyc.org/yc/files/yc/file/201407/Play_Memos_YC0514.pdf • Rice, M. (2014). What is the teacher’s role in supporting play in early childhood classrooms? Virginia Commonwealth University. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ttacnews.vcu.edu/2014/02/what-is-the-teachers- role-in-supporting-play-in-early-childhood-classrooms/
- 27. References • Tagami, T. (2017). Georgia House approves mandatory school recess. Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved from http://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-education/georgia- house-approves-mandatory-school- recess/rEUJp5AYaJqXhri2qoxdVN/ • The Association for the Study of Play. (n.d.). History of TASP. Retrieved from http://www.tasplay.org/about-us/history-of-tasp/
Editor's Notes
- Play is critical to the healthy development of children. There are numerous cognitive, social, emotional and language development linked to play. As children manipulate concrete items during play, such as a car, the children’s cognitive skills are fostered by learning that the car can move backwards and forwards on a track. Some students may even imitate sounds such as zoom zoom. In the same scenario, children who play, often do so in small groups and learn to negotiate such as taking turns and their emotional development is also fostered by reading the cues of the other children or adults – especially if something goes wrong during play. As the children play, they rarely do so silently, so their language development is also fostered by the interaction. Children who play develop their creativity. I can remember my own daughter taking pots out of the kitchen cabinet and banging and clanking them. To her, these were not cooking tools but musical instruments that made a lot of noise, much to her delight. In addition, play also develops memory functioning. Take for example a game of hide and seek, many children will often visit the “known” hiding places before venturing out. There are also card games devoted to this premise, where the object is to find the like card using their memory. There are numerous benefits of play, which highlight the importance of ensuring play is a critical component of early learning.
- The implementation of No Child Left Behind ushered in the age of accountability. One of the unintended consequences of this legislation was reduced play for students in exchange for increased focus on reading and early math skills. Currently, Georgia HB 273 seeks to ensure that early learners play daily, the legislation falls short of the recommended 60 minutes of daily, unstructured play. In addition, although play is required, many teacher lack the professional development to provide quality play opportunities for their students. Lynch (2015) found that many teachers perceived that play is nonacademic, disappoints parents, and competes with valuable instruction time that should be spent on intervening for at-risk students. Fesseha and Pyle (2016) further found that teachers’ definitions and implementations of play-based learning in kindergarten differed greatly. Therefore, although numerous benefits of play-based learning are well-documented, the beliefs concerning play as learning is not widely understood.
- Advocacy of play is important to the development of the whole child and has numerous educational benefits. One study in Wales (Maynard, Waters, & Clement, 2013) found that students became more confident in learning when provided child-initiated outdoor space activities.
- Play-based learning can become a reality in Georgia’s schools with the support of state and local government. House Bill 273 is a preliminary step toward reaching this reality. HB 273, amended Part 15 of the Article Chapter 2 or Title 20 under the Quality Basic Education Act to provide students with daily recess (or unstructured play) in kindergarten through fifth grade. However, the rule allows for many exceptions such as inclement weather, during field trips or assemblies, or on days when the students have physical education. While Georgia is encourages 30 minutes of daily, outdoor recess, the provision falls short of implementing play-based learning for young children. Local districts, however, have the authority to develop policies to ensure sound operational procedures, which includes approving curriculum frameworks, assessment practices, and educational objectives. Local schools also have the authority to make decisions regarding the operations of their schools (however, many large-scale decisions must be cleared by the local school district). Therefore, these organizations will be critical in the advocacy efforts.
- Leaders around the world understand our ethical obligation to ensure children’s right to play. Therefore, an international treaty, The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted Article 31 which states (International Play Association, 2017) that every child has the right to engage in age-appropriate play and recreational activities. This article set forth a precedent on the importance of age-appropriate play that should not be relegated to just an after school activity but in the forefront of the learning process for young children.
- Advocacy requires the support of many agency and stakeholders. Therefore, the following stakeholders will be instrumental in implementing play-based learning in K-5 educational settings. Teachers will be instrumental in implementing play-based learning and also communicating with parents and community members on the importance of play as learning. Students are important stakeholders. The students will be greatly impacted by the implementation of play-based learning and will need support during the process. Advocacy efforts must be directed at state and local leaders to ensure policy change. Therefore, teachers, students, and community members will be central to the advocacy efforts.
- NAEYC was founded in 1926 with the principle of ensuring children thrive in their environment. One way NAEYC advances the lives of children is through advocacy. As an advocate of play-based learning, NAEYC (n.d.) found that play-based learning promotes self-regulation, language, cognitive development, and social competence. Some of NAEYC advocacy includes work with the Institute for Self Active Education to develop the Play, Policy, and Practice Interest forum. The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) advocates globally for play-based learning (Rice, 2014). ACEI partners with agencies, such as the Early Childhood Development Action Network (ECDAN), which represents over eighty stakeholders committed to ensuring play-based opportunities for students. The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) advocates for play-based learning through whitepapers and conferences. TASP takes an interdisciplinary approach to play-based learning and publishes their findings to diverse audiences.
- NAEYC – Federal government (https://www.naeyc.org/policy/statetrends/data) / State and National Organizations ACEI – GGA – is an evidence based instrument used by early childhood professionals to assess and improve the quality of their program services TASP – Has several funding opportunities via grants
- The common thread between the organization is play is central to the healthy development of children and therefore must be instituted in early learning settings.