play-based learning in preschool & the significance of parents' involvement
DESCRIPTION
Presentation given by John C. Yiannoudis on IPA2014 World Play Conference in Istanbul, May 2014, regarding Dorothy Snot play-based preschool in Athens, GreeceTRANSCRIPT
Play-based learning in preschool
& the significance ofparents’ involvement
by John C. Yiannoudis
Dorothy Snot PreschoolAthens, Greece
www.dorothy-snot.gr
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
• What is play?
“Engagement in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose” (Oxford Dictionary)
“Play is what I do when everyone quits telling me what to do”! (“Teacher Tom” Hobson)
• Play is about freedom • Play means that I engage with only what I want to engage in free will, and grasp most possible pleasure and happiness out of life
• Because play, is what life itself should be: an exciting journey! “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”
(John Dewey)
X
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
• So, if play is life and life is education, then
play should be education!
• And that is how play-based learning was born:
an approach transforming play into education
(all photos you see in this presentation come from our school)
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
• Play-based learning
(or project-based learning) just describes an educational approach that sets play at its core But, what kind of play? • That kind of play that allows children, while playing, to engage into real-world derived activities in full enthusiasm and joy
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
• Such activities should reflect behaviors and actions of everyday life and force children to take their own initiatives
• This way, very young children build strong personality and character on experience & emotion (i.e. managing conflict, disappointment, rejection, team-playing respecting rights, etc)
• In other words: very young children, through playing, learn to manage their own life
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
• In a play-based preschool, every child is a king! • In most traditional education systems, teachers set the plan and
ask students to follow - no matter if they want or not to do so. Discipline and obedience are highly valued
• In a play-based school, what happens is exactly the opposite: the
needs of the children are the tools that move class ahead
But, how it really works?• In our school, we split time over small or larger projects. At the
beginning of each project, teachers just set the sparkle and children come up with their own ideas on what to work on
• Then, teachers assist them to make a list and start voting. And the
most voted item by children is set as period’s project
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
• What happens next is just playing, initiated by children’s questions and ideas • Teachers just listen and respect what children say. And, if needed, change their plans
• “Play is the message children send to the world about what they want to learn“ Prof. Dr. Artin Goncu • In PBL, teachers never impose top-to-bottom orders. Instead, they enforce children to express open-ended questions and then, all together, design life derived activities that help whole class
find the answers
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
So, how & why family comes in the picture?
• As said, PBL connects play with life. School activities should refer to things happening in the real world
• But still, and under any condition family life is the strongest bond children have with the real world • Therefore, things happening daily in a play-based class cannot be separated from what family is doing at home. Actually, school & family should share common values
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
What does that mean?
• Family has to treat children’s attendance in school as respectfully as the rest of its life (i.e. adults’ going to work)
• This is fundamental for children to feel important, get the most out of school life and start developing a strong and confident personality • Under this logic, each parent is engaged in school life several times per year Do they like it? • Yes, if we train them to do so!
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
• Children love these moments. At first, they feel so proud when their dad or mom comes in and plays or does something great, with the whole class. Their self-esteem gets boosted
• Second, understand their everyday playing in school as a very important thing. So important, that mom and dad are willing to take one day off for that and i.e. look for ants, together!
• It is exactly this kind of thinking that helps children grow strong and responsible, since feel their life and needs are much respected by adults
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
• Also: parent’s involvement in school life can be part of larger, extra-curricular family play projects used to tighten the bonds of its members
• This also makes children feel important and respected within family
and their personality to get stronger • Also: parents’ frequent presence in school turns them more confident and trustful towards it
• Eventually, they pay more attention on school’s remarks and become more cooperative. This is an excellent way to develop strong bonds between school and family
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life Some of them can be on a group basis:
Attend scheduled meetings
withschool
teachers
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life Some of them can be on a group basis:
Parents’ active
involvement in Christmas
& Summer schoolparties
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life Some of them can be on a group basis:
Run a Parents’
School on a
permanent or ad-hoc
basis
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some of them can be on a group basis:
Participation in scheduled Open Classes (where moms and dads play with children and together share aspects of school life)
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some of them can be on a group basis:
A group of parents (or grand-parents!)
comes in school and performs a collective
activity withthe whole class
(i.e. talk to kids about old-time games
and then play with them!)
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some of them can be on a on individual basis:
A mom comes in class and just plays with children
(i.e. cook together!)
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some of them can be on a on individual basis:
A mom or dadof a certain expertise
comes in class and performs
an activity connected witha school project
(i.e. a mom-doctorbrings x-rays &
explains things regarding our body)
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some of them can be on a on individual basis:
A mom or dad comes in
and performs an activity
connected withclass’ daily life (i.e. a
dad-carpenter come and assists
kids to repaira broken table )
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some of them can be outdoors:
Class visits a dad’s business enterprise
(i.e. Dario’s Italian restaurant)
and performs an activity connected
to a project class is working
(i.e. bake a pizza!)
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some of them can be outdoors:
School organizes an
excursion with families where
some kind of special, ad-hoc
activity may take place
(i.e. take photos of the city) or just go
for a picnic!)
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some of them can be disconnected from teaching procedure:
School organizesa Parents’ Book Club
(parents readbooks together
with their childrenand then meet all together to
discuss over them)
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some of them can be disconnected from teaching procedure:
School forms a Parents’
Theatre Club(parents rehearse
on a theatrical playand then
perform itin front of
their children!)
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some of them can be disconnected from teaching procedure:
School organizes an once-off
cultural activity where parents
participate together with their children
(i.e. a children’s book writer presents
one of his books in a local bookstore
exclusively for school parents)
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some can have a social welfare impact and be open to larger parts of the local society:
Parents organize themselves
to offer assistance in parts of the
society who need it (i.e. collect clothes
and food for homeless people
or collect medicine and funds for elders’
houses)
todema.wordpress.com
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some can have a social welfare impact and be open to larger parts of the local society:
School works with other social
groups to co-organize public
events that promote issues of
broader interest (i.e. need for
changes in education
or speaking against bullying)einai2030.gr
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
The aftermath of parents’ participation in our play-based preschool • We see our children grow happy, self-confident and loving experimental living
• “That’s not fair!”• They tend to express themselves freely in any situation and argue for their rights
• They also tend to regard playing as an ultimate value within their education life
play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement
The aftermath of parents’ participation in our play-based preschool • Parents learn to treat children equally, acknowledging their rights and respecting their needs
• They trust and love school at most and tend to become active part of its life
• This way, a tight bond between families and school is born and this bond enables children to deeply love the learning process