Learning Through Play
At Otonga School the child is at the center of the learning. This is because we know that everyone comes here with their own passions, wonderings, questions, strengths and needs.
Why?
Play is a child’s natural way of exploring the world we live in. Play covers all aspects of learning – physical, social, emotional and cognitive. It provides learning opportunities that are interactive, multi-sensory, creative and imaginative. Children are not only learning about the activity or working towards an outcome, they are engaging with each other, negotiating, sorting out arguments and fostering friendships.
Why is Play important?
The New Zealand Curriculum identifies and values the Key Competencies. All of these can be developed through play-based learning. With recent developments in research, play has been confirmed as the most developmentally appropriate education to promote healthy childhood development.
The link between Learning Through Play, physical movement and the successful development of key executive functioning skills are now viewed as of utmost importance for the adult workforce in the 21st Century. Executive Functioning skills help us plan, focus, remember instructions and complete tasks.
The new NZ Curriculum Refresh means that all students are reflected in the curriculum and it is their voice that is important. We are teaching people not subjects. Our curriculum needs to be personalised, inclusive, culturally responsive, broader and deeper.
Learning Through Play responds to this.
Play is researched, developmentally appropriate practice, fun and engaging. Play is natural to all human beings. It enables children to learn values and habits for learning (dispositions) – Communication, Curiosity, Problem Solving, Creativity and Risk Taking. Play promotes Emotional and Self-Regulation and Oral Language.
What about Reading, Writing and Maths?
While play is an important part of learning, so too are skills in literacy and numeracy. Children still get explicit teaching in Reading, Writing and Mathematics, based on their needs.
Year 1-3
Play-based Learning fosters and provides smooth transitions for our new entrant students as the learning environments are similar to those they have known in ECE settings. Our spaces help us incorporate the School Values, Key Competencies and Dispositions essential in the NZC. Play curriculum has great relevance in the school setting.
Year 4-6
Play-based learning and inquiry enables students to access all of the curriculum learning areas. This approach to learning ensures we have passionate, open-minded and resilient students who have a genuine love for exploring, creating, learning and experimenting. Students are able to become confident learners as they can question the world around them and use what they have learnt in real life contexts.
Inquiry, STEAM and Project-based Learning take an integrated approach to learning and teaching, which requires an intentional connection between curriculum learning objectives, standards, assessments, and lesson design/implementation.
Teaching Through Play – Play-based Learning Observation Tool (P-BLOT)
(Dr Sarah Aiono & Associate Professor Tara McLaughlin, 2018)
This tool enables teachers to clearly identify their strengths and areas of need regarding play pedagogy, and will be able to provide a clear outline as to the progress our teachers make in embedding evidence-based pedagogy in their daily practice.
Our Teachers will engage in evidence-based play pedagogies reflecting what works best when teaching and learning through play for students in an inclusive setting.
Teachers will be inspired to recognise that their learners can take control of their own learning and to have confidence in the creative abilities of all children. Teachers are encouraged to promote and advocate for developmentally appropriate teaching practices and learning opportunities for all children in our school environment.