The Power of Play-Based Learning

Written by Vince Lehane, PYP Coordinator, and Meghan Hinds, Preschool Teacher at SCIS Hongqiao

Do you remember your favorite activity as a child? As you explore something that sparked your interest, consider the excitement and joy you must have felt. Play is an open-ended opportunity for children to pursue their interests, discover new possibilities, and express themselves. Creativity is unique to each child, and we can hear it through their language, see it in their gestures, and understand it in the process of their work.   

During the Early Years of the Primary Years Programme (PYP), children are given the opportunity to make inquiries about the world around them by engaging in play and reflecting on the process of learning. Children are encouraged to explore their environment, both indoor and outdoor, and ask questions about what they see around them. Play can take on many characteristics:  

Play is meaningful

Children are curious by nature, and play gives them the chance to make sense of and find meaning in the world around them. By making connections to something with which they are already familiar, children learn and build an understanding of these new experiences.  

Play is engaging

Through play, children are immersed in a world of wonder, which helps them to develop physically, socially, and emotionally.  

Play is joyful

Listen to and watch any environment in which children engage in play-based learning, and you will see and feel their enjoyment and motivation to learn and explore. Play brings out the joy of learning, and students are encouraged and guided to overcome challenges they encounter along the way.  

Play is interactive

Children naturally develop their social and communication skills through play. Play provides children with choices and opportunities to explore, experiment, question & problem-solve with other children. This helps them to understand others through social interactions and build positive relationships and friendships.  

Play is challenging

Through play children test and adapt their theories, try out possibilities, compare, predict, take on challenges, innovate, and persevere—which all leads to deeper learning. 

Learners in the Early Years have opportunities to discover their interests, move at their own pace, ask questions, and make decisions while learning through play. Play provides teachers and students with vehicles for developing life-long skills of self-management, research, communication, socializing, and thinking. Children begin developing these fundamental skills in the Early Years and through play-based learning. They are nurtured throughout their time in the PYP and beyond.   

As educators in an IB school, our role is to support children in their play. We scaffold tasks and activities to meet the individual needs of our students. We listen attentively to all children's wonderings and conversations. We are at the child's level, and we are present in the child's exploration. To gain insight into the child’s understanding of the areas of interest they choose for themselves, we ask questions such as, “Can you tell me more? How did you do this? I wonder what would happen if…? How can we find out more about…? Why do you think...? and How do you know...?”   

Think back to the last time you allowed yourself to play. Perhaps we could all benefit not only from the curiosity and skill-building of a child at play but also their boundless accompanying joy. 

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