The nature of adult–child interaction in the early years classroom: Implications for children's perceptions of play and subsequent learning behaviour

Embedding Play-Based Learning into Junior Primary (Year 1 and 2) Curriculum in WA

“…Likewise it is suggested that 'real' learning takes place in specific formal activities, often teacher planned and directed (Pramling Samuelsson, & Johansson, 2006). McInnes, Howard, Crowley and Miles (2013) note that children often see the more formal, teacher directed activities as 'work' and not connected to learning. Their research found that, in the two sites they closely observed, children who were engaged in playful practices (where the adult was nearby) performed and behaved in ways that were more effective for learning than when engaged in situations where the adult was present and formal teaching practice conditions were engaged.…”

“…Adopting a more integrated view of the relationship between play and learning opens possibilities for the inclusion of play-based learning and activities which include a playful element in which the children can become active agents of their own learning in the junior primary program (Pramling Samuelsson, & Johansson, 2006;McInnes et al, 2013, Hännikäinen, & Rasku-Puttonen, 2010. The Queensland Government recognises the importance of play and that children learn best in active environments stating that "…it would appear that the introduction of the Australian Curriculum has been misinterpreted by some as the introduction of a set of formal instructional approaches" (Department of Education and Training n.d., p. 5).…”

A Review of Reminiscing in Early Childhood Settings and Links to Sustained Shared Thinking

“…Siraj-Blatchford and Manni (2008) analyzed 400 h of naturally occurring dialog between staff and children in preschool settings and found that open-ended questionsquestions with no single right answer-encouraged children to think and respond in an individual way and were more likely to lead to developmentally significant episodes of sustained dialog in reference to specific concepts. Other studies looking at early childhood teacher dialog have focused on questions and also found open questions to be particularly important for children's learning (Gjems 2010;McInnes et al 2013). Interestingly, as we present in "Introduction" section, the asking of open-ended questions has also been identified as an important aspect of elaborative style .…”

Editorial

“…In relation to practitioner perspectives, many of these articles reflect on the varying nature of the adult role and how it manifests in promoting young children's early learning. For example, notions of 'letting go' to facilitate enquiry-based learning or more formal didactic styles of interventions are explored, which illustrate how the debate regarding the adult role remains a contentious issue for early years practitioners (Rose and Rogers 2012;McInnes et al 2013).…”