Our Topic
Learning through
What is it about?
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Our group has chosen Learning through Play as during our course of study, our lecturers have always emphasized the importance of implementing play in the classroom.
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Furthermore, in the recent years, learning through play has gained attention as an “appropriate and effective way to teach children”. After hearing so much about play, we were interested to find out more about the possibilities of play in preschools.
Background Information
evolution of play
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Under the influence of globalization, education systems around the world undergo huge pressure to reform 1. With that, Early Childhood Care and Education in Singapore is gradually implementing new pedagogies to meet these education trends.
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Importance of play
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Play is a natural way for children to explore and learn 10. Some children do not have the ability to learn through a structured curriculum, while all children have the ability to play. Children are also more attentive during play activities as it provides a stress-free environment for them 4.
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Play also has a significant role in children's development 8. It allows children to develop holistically 10 and benefits their social skills as it teaches them to share and cooperate 5. Additionally, children's academic skills are benefitted regardless of the form of play 5 6.
play in Singapore
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Ministry of Education identified six principles to guide teaching and learning in the preschool setting. One of which is to engage children in purposeful play 6.
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However, in a meritocratic society like Singapore, education is highly valued and is believed to be the ladder to the achievement of higher social status 3 9. Therefore, learning is usually seen as “practices of teaching”, while play is associated with “leisure time” for children 7. As a result, play activities are more likely to be seen “as an obstacle to children’s academic success and future career prosperity” 2.
In Conclusion
With the benefits and challenges of implementing play in classrooms in mind, we are interested to find out how our chosen centre deals with such issues.