What?
Playing with Mathematics: Play in Early
Childhood as a context for Mathematical Learning.
This
reading covers the work of nine teacher’s papers examining the role of play and
the data presented whilst exploring the teacher’s perception of children’s learning
experiences. My blog will briefly outline one of the papers highlighting the
main points.
Sue
Docket and Bob Perry discuss 4 different aspects during play including the
maths connections whilst the children participate and engage in the tasks required.
The particularly main point of this paper reflects the way teachers have the
ability to ‘seize the moment’ allowing:
1. Extension
of opportunities,
2. encourage
children
3. promote
understanding
4. exploration
5. Numeracy
through play.
So
What?
When
the moment is seized during play there are multiple outcomes and a lasting deep
understanding and learning experience for the child. (Wood, 2007) identifies
the automatic connections between play and learning and the role of adults in
supporting play. This can be explained when a child finds fascination and focus
on a particular passion, the child has just become aware off. Example: Jumping
on the trampoline and counting jumps: one, two, three, five, seven, eight……The
educator can encourage confidence in counting without acknowledging the missed
numbers.
Now
What?
This
is a key moment for the Early Childhood Educators perception of the play to encourage
the outcome of the play to: extend and immerse the child’s learning and interest
without interference. The ‘What if’ approach
to thinking by the educator is for there to be multiple outcomes: not achieving counting in a correct context is
not important (the correct order to counting will be achieved eventually).
The mathematical process and understanding has begun, building the child’s confidence
for scaffolded learning in Numeracy.
Cathy
Stanbury:
References:
Playing with Mathematics: Play in Early
Childhood as a context for Mathematical Learning, Bobis, Janette 2010.
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