Learning Through Play: The Role of the Teacher 26/04/18

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Longworth article: What if they can't play because they're too busy killing each other?

What if they Can’t Play Because They’re Too Busy Killing Each Other?

One of the biggest challenges many teachers face is managing children’s behaviour in the classroom.  In order for children to be learning, teachers are required to ensure children behave in ways that are safe and non-disruptive.   If children are ‘behaving’ then learning can occur.

Many teachers find it challenging to establish a play-based learning environment, in which children are self-directing their own learning and enquiry, when they have specific children with challenging behaviour needs.  Too often the idea of everyone happily playing is quickly extinguised when teachers feel they spend most of the time responding to arguments, resource mismanagement, and in the extreme destructive or unsafe behaviour.  The quickest default teachers return to is to remove the opportunity for play and to ‘batton down the hatches’ by returning to a high level of teacher control in the environment.    The well-intentioned reason for this is to ensure that disruption is minimised and learning is maximised.

But what kind of learning? Teachers on the play journey will be well aware that learning is more than the 3 R’s, observing the many opportunities play offers in terms of rich social learning, often seen by those less experienced as inferior to the academics.  But for those starting out on the path, too often there continues to be the delineation between ‘learning’ and ‘play’.  Play is used in the context of what children do when they aren’t involved in literacy or numeracy instruction.  Play becomes a convenient way to cover the rest of the curriculum, where children can self-direct and explore with the teacher justifying their role as one of stepping back and allowing children to discover things for themselves.

This approach may work for those students who are well on their way to building sound intrinsic motivation, have excellent self-management, are creative and innovative and have social problem-solving skills.  But for many students arriving at school, whether as new entrants, or those transitioning between schools, these skills are often still ‘in-development’.   When provided with the opportunity to mix with their peers and engage in self-directed play, these skill deficits are highlighted.  While the teacher is trying to get through their reading groups, these students are struggling to engage with their peers in pro-social ways through play.  This social conflict often causes pedagogical conflict for teachers.  Desperate to be able to get through the planned teaching activities in the day, teachers cannot afford to be interrupted to deal with disruptive and inappropriate behaviour between students.  When these interruptions occur, the play becomes teacher-controlled and opportunities for the kinds of learning these disruptive students need become limited.

So what sort of learning should be valued in play-based classrooms? The learning that is planned for or that teachers ensure is covered every day in moments of direct teaching?  Or the learning that is needed by the students in the class teachers currently have?  When planning to run a reading lesson, teachers don’t have the expectation that their students will be able to read Harry Potter independently at age 5, 6, or 7 and get frustrated when they can’t, stopping all reading from occurring in the room.  This same approach to learning needs to be undertaken when managing children’s social behaviours in play.  Rather than lamenting that children cannot play nicely – these opportunities of conflict and disruption need to be seen as what they are.  Highly valuable and relevant learning opportunities for children who would otherwise struggle to develop pro-social skills such as problem-solving and self-regulation.   This learning, at the point in time in which the behaviour occurs, is the most valuable opportunity for skill development and should take precedent over a reading, writing or maths group session.  This learning is the type of learning that will set the foundation skills for success in adulthood, far more so than whether or not those children get to complete their reading task for the day. 

Therefore, when faced with one, five or more children who exhibit anxiety and skill deficit in social interactions in play, teachers should intentionally plan to address these learning needs and prioritise this in terms of the opportunities for learning in the play-based classroom.  Opportunities for play should not be shut down, in favour of more teacher-controlled activities.  Instead, teachers should prioritise specific skill development within the play, to an extent where literacy and numeracy learning activities are put ‘on hold’ until these skills are developed to a point whereby students can engage pro-socially and self-manage.  This can take the form of modelling, practicing and reinforcing the rules and expectations of the learning environment, appropriate social interactions, emotional regulation, social problem-solving and conflict resolution.  This may mean that play opportunities are carefuly scaffolded to ensure students have sufficient support to use new skills and self-manage with successful outcomes.  If time is not spent on the intentional teaching of these skills teachers will have little joy in the play environment, let alone getting through their direct teaching and group work.

Play offers the kind of ‘real time’ learning students with social and emotional skill deficits so desperately need if they are to grow up to function pro-socially in the adult world.  Many of these students may not get the same kinds of learning opportunities and adult guidance within their home environments.  Teachers need to feel encouraged and supported to address these needs in a responsive way within a play-based classroom.  The learning that these students will undertake as a result of a well thought-out play-based approach will provide rich opportunities for valuable skill development – arguably far more important than whether or not they make expected progress in their reading levels. 

Reflections:

What a fabulous article - resonates loud and clear when we think about the dynamics and relationships in, not just our NE learning spaces, but across probably most hubs.

This article gives us a huge clue as to what we might be focusing on in the Role of the Teacher workshop, I suspect! 

I look forward to the development of a new post-National Standards reporting to parents format - I think the value we put on learning through play can be taken to a much higher level, and should be acknowledged when we report to parents on their children's progress and learning.