I have been thinking about the Role of the Adult During Play. It is not sitting back and watching. Rather, the adult should have a flexible role during play. Harvard Education’s Project Zero Pedagogy of Play offers the following six roles for adults to consider.
Be a Player
Take on a role in the play and follow the children’s lead.
Be a Connector
Support children by connecting them with other children interested in same activity or theme.
Be a Rubber Band
Stretch and extend the play through open-ended questions, extending vocabulary and offering other resources.
Be a Documenter
Record the learning processes in order to extend and deepen the play and learning.
Be a Mirror
Reflect back to the children what you see them doing. Use rich vocabulary in your descriptions.
Be a Steering Wheel
Steer play back in a positive direction if it becomes unsafe or unproductive.
Questions to extend play and deepen thinking
- How did you create this?
- Tell me how you created this colour?
- What part did you do first?
- What could you add?
- What do you think would happen if?
- Tell me about your game.
- Can you teach me how to play?
- What will you do next?
Not a day goes by that I don’t use one of these roles that adult play during the day with my students. Which roles do you use?
Happy Learning,
Lynda
