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Observing and responding to play schemas for preschool children
This paper discusses the constructs involved in observing patterns of play behaviour, referred to as schemas, and the level of responses that are deemed good-fit to correspond with the identification of the schemas.
Identification of schemas promotes understanding of child behaviour and learning in the classroom, placing them in predictable patterns. These patterns are based on the work of Chris Athey in the Froebel Early Education project (Athey, 2007). Athey cited nine specific schemas, which are Connecting, Orientation, Transporting, Trajectory, Positioning, Enveloping, Enclosing, Transforming, and Rotation. The awareness of these predictable patterns or schemas would enable educators to anticipate and prepare for learning in a play-based classroom, making learning visible.
The natural step that follows is to examine the level of guidance a teacher employs when responding to play behaviour or schemas. Trawick-Smith and Dziurgot (2011), identified four kinds of facilitation, namely, (a) direct, (b) indirect, (c) observation, and (d) no interaction. In determining the level of guidance to respond to schemas, educators engaged in active reflection, to understand the connection between behaviour, response, and learning that followed.
Three teacher participants and 15 children participants (4-5 years old) were recruited from a local preschool, to engage in a qualitative study that adopted the Participatory Action Research method. The data collection began with information gathered on teacher’s perception and awareness of schemas through Focus Group Discussion which was then used as a basis to develop a set of reference materials to guide thinking on schemas and levels of guidance. After completion of Focus Group Discussion, naturalistic observation of schema’s by the researcher followed for 5 weeks. At the end of these 5 weeks, Teacher Participants began to engage in Teacher Observations of children in play for three weeks and completed a Teaching Journal at the end of each week.
The findings of this research suggest the visibility of schemas in the classroom. Children’s play behaviour fell into a predictable pattern, which was corroborated in both Naturalistic Observations by the researcher and Teachers Observations by the three teacher participants. In addition, the Teaching Journals provided insight into the teacher participants’ thinking about schemas and their perspectives on a good-fit response to the schemas. The responses fell into the categories of Direct and Indirect Guidance, following the levels suggested in Trawick-Smith and Dziurgot (2011).
This research suggests the development of a toolkit that teachers could use in a play-based classroom, to guide the identification patterns of play behaviour and the response that are considered as good-fit. Developing these sets of practices for teachers to employ as facilitators is timely in the local preschool landscape as the role of educators as facilitators of learning is yet to be unpacked. The potential of a toolkit for teachers in a play-based classroom could transform practice, enabling teachers to anticipate play behaviour and plan responses ahead, to maximize learning opportunities in the classroom.