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Play
Developmentally, play is appropriate for young children and “enhances children’s holistic development” (Rodriguez-Meehan, 2021, p.1303). In the EYLF V2.0 it states that play:
provides both a context (a place or space where children play) and a process (a way of learning and teaching) where children can ask questions, solve problems and engage in critical thinking. Play-based learning provides opportunities for children to learn as they discover, create, improvise and imagine. (AGDE, 2022, p.1)
In her study of pre-service teachers (PSTs), Rodriguez-Meehan (2021) found that education providers need to “ensure that PSTs develop a comprehensive understanding of play,” (p.1303) so that children don’t miss out on valuable learning experiences. She also highlighted the connection between play and learning, even though some PSTs said it was not play if children were learning.
What do you think? Are children playing if they are learning? When children play are they always learning?
Play-based learning
Play-based learning is where play is “the driver for the learning of the whole curriculum” (Fleer, 2021, p.87). Children are naturally curious and want to learn about their world, and they like to do it through play (NSW Department of Education, 2023). The EYLF V2.0 states that “play-based learning with intentionality can expand children’s thinking and enhance their desire to know and to learn, promoting positive dispositions towards learning” (AGDE, 2022, p.21).
The following link has great resources for educators and families about play and learning.
https://education.nsw.gov.au/early-childhood-education/information-for-parents-and-carers/learning-from-home.html
In this link, there are short videos that you may want to share with families about play, the EYLF and ways to play in everyday ways.
https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/early-learning/resources-for-families/animation-clips-for-families
Learning about play
While we are studying online, lecturers cannot facilitate all the following teaching practices to enhance your knowledge of play, as Moe (2019) suggests. Instead, we can encourage you to engage with this topic, attempt to follow the three strate
Intentional teaching
For many educators, the first version of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF; Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR], 2009) introduced them to the term intentional teaching. It was defined as “educators being deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful in their decisions and action. Intentional teaching is the opposite of teaching by rote or continuing with traditions simply because they have ‘always’ been done that way” (DEEWR, 2009, p. 15).
In the second version of the EYLF (AGDE, 2022), intentional teaching is one strategy that teachers can use when “planning and implementing play-based learning with intentionality” (p. 20). Therefore, the focus is now on play-based learning with intentionality.
Children’s intentionality
Children act intentionally in their play. They demonstrate agency and make choices about many aspects of their play. How this is demonstrated is described in the EYLF V2.0 (2022),
when children make decisions, and with what and with whom to engage and invite into their play. Neural pathways and connections in the brain are stimulated when children are fully engaged in their play as they make plans, create characters, solve problems, develop self-awareness and learn how to socialise, negotiate and think with others. (p. 21)
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