Learning through free play, guided play, games and instruction

Adults have a unique role in spending time and engaging with children’s play; and it’s a role that makes a significant difference for development and learning.

But often adults struggle with the balancing act of making available playful environments and understanding benefits for learning, feeling unsure about their role and how to support children’s development and learning.

The LEGO Foundation has published a new report on the science of facilitating young children’s learning across free play, guided play, games and instruction, and based on the evidence on how children learn through play. Below is a summary of the approaches, and the state of these across seven countries.

In our rapidly changing world, we acknowledge that knowledge is still relevant, but not sufficient to succeed in the future society. In order to be a valuable part of the workforce, and even more importantly, a valued citizen and a physically and mentally balanced individual, one needs to think about knowledge alongside a broader set of holistic skills and values.

In order to achieve this, adults need a spectrum of different approaches to engage with children’s play and support both skills and knowledge. These approaches range from a high degree of child choice to a high degree of adult structure, in the following four main areas:

Learning through free play

• Free, unstructured, play is unique because children can follow their own interests and build an environment that suits their experiences.
• Adults ensure that children have the time, space and materials for safe, immersive and inclusive play experiences, and support by listening, acknowledging and follow their interests.
• This approach has been linked to higher emotional regulation, self-esteem, health and well-being, and even executive functioning, spatial skills and mathematics.

Learning through guided play

• Guided play enables children to achieve one or more learning goals within a play context, where the adult initiates the experience, but children and adults share control of what to do an how.
• Adults establish a context for children’s play and goals attuned to the children’s learning needs and interests. Children choose what to do and how, and adults present and interact with children, but cannot direct their actions.
• This approach has lead to higher gains on literacy, numeracy, social skills, and some elements of emotional regulation, and it deepens children’s learning through questions and suggestions.

Learning through games

• Games appear across outdoor games, board games and digital games. They provide specific structure, rules and learning goals, where the game sets the context and directs the activity.
• Adults are helping to set up the game, how to play together, understanding and practicing the rules, and join the game as peers.
• Well-designed games can lead to literacy and numeracy, and some social and emotional skills, if the game context is targeted appropriate aims, but this approach still have a range of unresolved questions.

Learning through direct instruction

• When concepts are new or very complex to young children, high-quality instruction is important for learning.
• Adults prepare the environment and materials in line with the specific subject and learning aims, and gradually scaffold children’s attempts and efforts by observation, provide support depending on level of competence and explain concepts.
• This approach has been particularly suited for traditional academic outcomes and social skills, where a high degree of collaboration is required.

Great facilitators combine these approaches to meet children where they are. Instruction can direct attention to specific learning outcomes; free play helps greater self-esteem and well-being, while guidance can practice new strategies and concepts, fostering a deeper understanding of how children can apply what they learn.

How early educators apply these approaches across countries

The new report also illustrates that while play is generally accepted for early education, educators apply these approaches in very different ways across countries, and there are tremendous challenges in implementing this across cultural contexts.

For simplicity, some of the differences include:

• For educators in Canada, play is an important concept and they have considerable independence in their daily planning and implementation across the approaches.
• In US, the learning goals are quite broad and have very different expectations for social skills and academic outcomes, which means some is pay-based on some very instructional.
• In Mexico, early educators are transitioning to a new curriculum with learning opportunities enabled by play, but still provide less time on children’s personal and social development.
• In South Africa, play is accepted as a practice, but implementation is problematic with a lack of training and guidelines, and a narrow perception of school readiness.
• In Denmark, free unstructured play is a cornerstone, where educators usually take a role as observers, prepare the environment and help resolve conflicts.
• In Finland, play is an integrated part of learning with most attention to children’s free play, and with opportunities for teacher support and enabling learning environments.
• In China, play-based approaches are mandated in curricula documents, but the facilitation is usually lecture-based instruction with group exercises and structured physical activities.

A recent paper, by one of my research colleagues illustrate the practical examples across South Africa and Canada, when specifically applying the promising approach of guided play. Guided play lies midway between free play and instruction, integrating the benefits of both practices and allowing children to learn essential skills in a developmentally appropriate manner.

Research suggest that these approaches come with some challenges, including:

• It’s often a struggle to integrate academic skills along with more holistic skills like social, emotional, creative and physical development.
• It’s very important to expand the notions of play, as traditional perceptions of play only build on the perspectives of free unstructured play.
• There is usually a concern among educators for keeping order and discipline, and the perception to rely on curricula standards.
• In order to fully realize the more effective approaches, educators need to become designers of guided playful activities.

The science seems to indicate that there are tremendous benefits for children and adults to spend time playing and learning together, if adults accept children as they are, make an effort to read the situation, encourage their attempts, and assist children to reach their own goals. This way, children feel competent, creative and more in control of their own learning, and they know they are always cared for despite their challenges.

The new research report on 'Play Facilitation: the science behind the art of engaging young children’ was released in February 2019. It was a collaborative effort between seven researchers from across disciplines and geographies. More than 15 reviewers were gratefully providing thoughtful comments and contributions.