Schema play and loose parts: sustainability in action

Key Question Being Explored in This Insight:

Kylie Ridder discusses schema play and the benefits of using schema play to support learning for young children. Kylie also discusses the REmida the project.

View the page of: Kylie Ridder

Institution: Murdoch University

Explore more insights in:

Education Pedagogy Professional

Media Literacy Toolkit

Faculti's Media Literacy Toolkit helps viewers critically engage with academic insights by analyzing the research context, identifying perspectives, and encouraging thoughtful evaluation.

Critical Questions to Consider ▼

What assumptions does the research make?
Are there alternative perspectives not explored?
What are the limitations of the research method?

Bias and Perspective Awareness ▼

This research comes from Murdoch University . Reflect on how the institution's academic focus and research partnerships may shape the questions being explored.

Kylie Ridder discusses schema play and the benefits of using schema play to support learning for young children. Kylie also discusses the REmida the project.

Image courtesy of interviewee. April 10, 2024

Log-in or Sign-up to Faculti
Currently viewing this subject insight as a guest. You have insight(s) remaining for this month. Login to view 8000+ figures on the platform.

Generating Workspace...

Export as PDF

This video video discusses the concept of schema play in early childhood education, emphasizing how children engage with repetitive patterns during play. This video video idea builds on the theories of early childhood theorists like Vygotsky and PGE, with significant contributions from Chris Aie, Tina Bruce, and Kathy Nutt Brown, who identified these patterns as "Threads of Thinking."

Schema play is characterized by specific schemes, such as rotation and trajectory, where children explore movement dynamics, like spinning objects or dropping items to observe their motion. The speaker highlights the importance of deep observation in understanding how children play, illustrating this with examples and noting that children's play is systematic and purposeful, laying a foundation for later academic skills.

This video video also introduces the concept of loose parts play, which encourages creativity and self-directed learning using everyday materials without a fixed purpose. This video video approach fosters imagination and aligns with sustainability principles, particularly in the context of a recent curriculum update in Australia that prioritizes sustainability in early childhood education.

The speaker shares their experiences implementing schema play and loose parts in educational settings, emphasizing the rich learning environments created when these concepts are combined. They suggest that understanding children's play schemes can enhance educators' insights into each child's learning style and development.

Finally, the text touches upon future research interests, particularly the correlation between schema play and early mathematics, advocating for integrating play schemes into math education to improve children's engagement and understanding of the subject.

Language:

Export as PDF

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

00:00.125 --> 00:02.945
So schema play is looking at those repetitive patterns

00:02.945 --> 00:04.785
of play that children,

00:04.885 --> 00:06.865
we can observe children engaging with.

00:07.645 --> 00:11.905
So it's building on that early work of PGE and Vygotsky.

00:12.365 --> 00:16.025
But really in the 1970s, Chris aie

00:16.025 --> 00:18.585
and Tina Bruce took that one step further

00:18.805 --> 00:20.665
and completed a number.

00:20.845 --> 00:22.825
And when I say a number, like thousands

00:22.825 --> 00:25.025
of observations on children and,

00:25.205 --> 00:27.825
and just observed their play to see, to see

00:27.825 --> 00:28.825
what was really happening.

00:28.885 --> 00:29.945
And they noticed

00:29.975 --> 00:32.625
that these repetitive patterns were playing out.

00:33.325 --> 00:36.785
Um, again, Kathy Nutt Brown, again,

00:36.785 --> 00:41.225
another UK early childhood academic, built on that

00:41.225 --> 00:42.985
and called it Threads of Thinking.

00:43.245 --> 00:47.435
So by observing children, they were able

00:47.455 --> 00:49.955
to see these, these patterns or these rhythms.

00:50.215 --> 00:52.355
In New Zealand, they actually call these rhythms play

00:52.525 --> 00:53.795
urges, which I quite like.

00:54.015 --> 00:56.915
So children have these urge to play in a certain way,

00:57.105 --> 00:58.235
they can't explain it.

00:58.775 --> 01:00.995
Um, but you know, we can really see some

01:00.995 --> 01:02.315
of those themes playing out.

01:02.415 --> 01:05.915
So probably better just to touch on some of those themes so

01:05.915 --> 01:08.035
that, you know, and anyone that's had children

01:08.215 --> 01:09.995
or worked with children will start to like,

01:10.255 --> 01:11.515
you know, have that aha moment.

01:12.175 --> 01:15.835
Um, at this point. So looking at play scheme such

01:15.835 --> 01:18.435
as rotation, so children are very interesting

01:18.495 --> 01:20.275
how things move in a circular motion.

01:20.665 --> 01:24.395
They're often turning in a circular motion themselves,

01:24.445 --> 01:26.195
maybe drawing with circles on paper.

01:26.585 --> 01:29.395
Sometimes we see these children playing with cars,

01:29.735 --> 01:31.435
but when we really observe them closely,

01:32.065 --> 01:34.555
it's maybe the wheels that they're interested in.

01:35.345 --> 01:38.765
And for me, when I learned about play scheme is it was that,

01:39.545 --> 01:43.205
it was that really deep observation that attracted me

01:43.305 --> 01:44.925
to the, to the pedagogy.

01:45.185 --> 01:47.725
So you're not just looking at what children are playing

01:47.725 --> 01:50.325
with, so the cars, but really how they're playing.

01:50.705 --> 01:53.245
So it was the wheels, the spinning of the wheels.

01:53.745 --> 01:56.045
So another early play scheme is trajectory.

01:56.665 --> 02:00.085
Um, so we see babies in the highchair dropping food, seeing

02:00.085 --> 02:01.605
how things move through space.

02:02.305 --> 02:04.165
Anyone that's had a baby in the house knows

02:04.165 --> 02:06.365
that they do it again and again and again and again.

02:06.365 --> 02:08.445
So they have these repeat of patterns of play that

02:08.505 --> 02:11.885
as they get older, they may throw things again and again.

02:11.905 --> 02:13.765
So how does something move through space?

02:14.705 --> 02:17.485
Um, so play schemes is really looking at these

02:17.805 --> 02:19.125
re repetitive patterns.

02:19.385 --> 02:21.685
Um, and as children mature

02:22.145 --> 02:24.405
and get older, they become more complex

02:24.465 --> 02:26.525
and they start to move together in clusters.

02:26.525 --> 02:29.525
So there's been some research showing how the play schemes,

02:29.865 --> 02:31.925
you know, work together and compliment each other.

02:33.265 --> 02:35.405
And, schema play.com,

02:35.405 --> 02:38.645
another UK organization have some beautiful diagrams

02:38.645 --> 02:41.885
that show how when we've got these complex play schemes

02:41.885 --> 02:44.525
and they're all working together, children can start

02:44.545 --> 02:48.845
to work in complex ways like reading, writing, mathematics,

02:48.955 --> 02:50.405
measurement, once

02:50.405 --> 02:52.525
that they've got these repetitive patterns,

02:52.945 --> 02:54.645
you know, in place.

02:55.025 --> 02:58.725
So that's play schemes in a nutshell. Um, so

02:58.725 --> 03:01.205
This project also looked at not only play

03:01.205 --> 03:02.405
schemes, but loose parts.

03:02.745 --> 03:06.085
So loose parts has been an early chartered education since,

03:06.385 --> 03:07.885
well probably since

03:07.905 --> 03:11.085
before, since time itself as children are playing out in

03:11.085 --> 03:13.485
that natural environment with sticks and stones

03:13.505 --> 03:15.045
and all sorts of things.

03:15.145 --> 03:16.205
But,

03:16.775 --> 03:20.125
Simon Nicholson in the seventies coined the term the theory

03:20.185 --> 03:22.445
of loose parts to talk.

03:22.625 --> 03:25.885
Uh, so it's about providing children with sets

03:26.265 --> 03:28.635
of everyday materials.

03:28.955 --> 03:30.275
I call them bits and bobs.

03:30.665 --> 03:31.835
Some people call them things,

03:31.975 --> 03:33.875
but they're just collections

03:33.875 --> 03:36.235
of things you might find in manmade

03:36.335 --> 03:37.475
or the natural environment.

03:38.015 --> 03:41.835
And because they have no direct purpose, children can play

03:41.835 --> 03:42.995
with them in different ways.

03:44.155 --> 03:45.575
So they could stack

03:45.575 --> 03:48.255
with them if they were in the connecting schema,

03:48.325 --> 03:50.495
they could throw with them if they were in the trajectory

03:50.895 --> 03:53.975
schema, and they can match and sort or build,

03:54.355 --> 03:56.295
but there's no one fixed purpose.

03:56.995 --> 04:00.375
So, the theory of loose parts really allows children

04:00.435 --> 04:01.495
to be imaginative.

04:02.115 --> 04:04.975
Um, it ties in really beautifully with,

04:04.985 --> 04:09.055
other pedagogies like Elia Pedagogy, foals work,

04:09.745 --> 04:12.115
whereas children are directing their own learning.

04:12.305 --> 04:13.595
They have agency.

04:14.975 --> 04:18.475
Um, and then the third sort of real dimensional pillar

04:18.475 --> 04:21.355
that I wanted to draw together is looking at sustainability.

04:22.015 --> 04:24.315
And, I'm based here in Western Australia

04:25.295 --> 04:28.035
and in Australia we've had a recent rewrite

04:28.035 --> 04:30.995
of our national curriculum for early childhood education

04:31.685 --> 04:33.915
right at the end of 2022.

04:34.455 --> 04:36.355
And sustainability got put in

04:36.375 --> 04:38.235
as our principle, which is fantastic.

04:38.935 --> 04:41.075
So that was included in the new early

04:41.075 --> 04:42.235
years learning framework.

04:43.175 --> 04:44.715
And so sustainability

04:44.935 --> 04:47.435
and early childhood is all about tapping into children's

04:47.435 --> 04:50.435
natural curiosity for the world around them, particularly

04:50.595 --> 04:51.875
that natural world.

04:52.575 --> 04:55.075
And then embedding sustainability principles.

04:55.255 --> 04:58.715
So, children are growing up with that respect for people

04:58.895 --> 05:00.395
and respect for the environment.

05:01.555 --> 05:04.895
Um, and so looking at environmental sustainability,

05:05.415 --> 05:08.015
economic sustainability, and social sustainability.

05:08.805 --> 05:11.655
Yeah, so children's play schemes are ways for them

05:11.755 --> 05:13.255
to make sense of their world.

05:14.555 --> 05:19.255
Um, so yeah, the research has shown that babies

05:19.355 --> 05:21.975
and young children are actually quite systematic

05:22.075 --> 05:23.495
and methodical in their play.

05:23.875 --> 05:28.455
So I guess to the, to the average person's eye just playing,

05:28.635 --> 05:31.535
and I put that in, you know, in inverted commas

05:31.535 --> 05:34.175
because, you know, we know that play is so integral

05:34.175 --> 05:36.495
to learning, but

05:37.115 --> 05:41.975
but the research has shown that actually you, the,

05:42.315 --> 05:45.215
the repetitive patterns of play show us that they're quite

05:45.735 --> 05:48.175
directed even from a young age in their play.

05:48.875 --> 05:52.135
Um, yeah, so, some, I mean,

05:52.135 --> 05:54.535
some researchers think they're laying down the foundations

05:54.795 --> 05:56.705
for, you know, for the

05:56.755 --> 05:58.215
Later academic work.

05:58.835 --> 06:02.055
We could say that the, I think that they are,

06:02.085 --> 06:03.735
just making sense of their world

06:03.795 --> 06:05.095
and it's their way to make sense.

06:05.475 --> 06:08.175
So you can see for some children are fixated on a certain

06:08.235 --> 06:12.705
scheme for quite a long time, then they may drop

06:12.705 --> 06:16.065
that scheme and, and look at a, a different scheme and,

06:16.405 --> 06:17.585
and next thing they'll revisit

06:17.615 --> 06:19.065
that scheme that they had before.

06:19.725 --> 06:21.985
So I don't think there's any one pathway,

06:22.805 --> 06:25.385
and I think that's why I quite like Kathy Nut Brown when she

06:25.385 --> 06:27.145
talks about the threads of thinking

06:27.485 --> 06:29.385
so she can hear it through their language.

06:29.405 --> 06:31.345
So even when children are telling stories,

06:31.875 --> 06:33.945
maybe if they're in the rotational scheme,

06:34.185 --> 06:36.265
they're telling stories about being dizzy

06:36.325 --> 06:40.105
or, you know, the wind was blowing around, you know,

06:40.105 --> 06:43.705
they've really got that, that rotational schema in their

06:43.705 --> 06:45.185
storytelling and in their behavior

06:45.845 --> 06:48.185
and actually in their emotional connection as well.

06:48.405 --> 06:53.325
So one of the educators that I worked with, she talked

06:53.405 --> 06:54.405
to me about a child

06:54.595 --> 06:57.245
that was strong in the connecting schema.

06:57.505 --> 06:59.045
So he liked to put things together.

06:59.465 --> 07:00.965
So whether he is in the sand pit,

07:01.035 --> 07:02.405
he's putting tubes together.

07:03.065 --> 07:06.445
If he is, at the at loose parts table,

07:06.555 --> 07:09.325
he's stacking things together, stacking things on top

07:09.325 --> 07:11.045
of each other, but everything is connected.

07:11.425 --> 07:14.845
And when he would come in in the morning, he was connected

07:14.845 --> 07:16.405
to his parent or caregiver.

07:16.405 --> 07:18.045
So he was always holding their hand

07:18.105 --> 07:19.725
or they were carrying him, but there was,

07:19.825 --> 07:21.245
or he was touching their leg.

07:21.625 --> 07:23.965
And at that transition time where they handed them over,

07:24.025 --> 07:25.285
you could see that connection.

07:25.285 --> 07:27.245
He would make that connection then to the educator.

07:27.665 --> 07:28.805
So he was touching her.

07:28.945 --> 07:31.845
So the play scheme even moved through to their

07:32.555 --> 07:34.245
emotional wellbeing.

07:34.785 --> 07:37.685
So emotionally he used that play scheme as an anchor.

07:37.985 --> 07:41.205
So schema play.com, they use that word anchor a lot.

07:41.265 --> 07:42.925
The play scheme anchors the play,

07:43.145 --> 07:45.485
but for him it really anchored that emotional,

07:46.305 --> 07:47.925
regulation.

07:48.345 --> 07:49.525
So they would hand him over,

07:49.545 --> 07:51.885
he would like have his hand on the educator

07:51.985 --> 07:53.005
or sit on her knee

07:53.025 --> 07:57.405
or hold her hand until he was okay with the transition.

07:57.545 --> 07:59.285
And emotionally he felt okay

07:59.665 --> 08:01.685
and then he would move off into that play.

08:01.705 --> 08:03.085
But she said was really interesting

08:03.475 --> 08:07.005
that connection was actually his play scheme as well.

08:08.395 --> 08:11.525
Yeah. So not only was it as behavior, it was emotions

08:11.585 --> 08:13.005
as language, his play.

08:13.385 --> 08:17.685
So Reed's quite an interesting, place.

08:18.715 --> 08:21.725
It's, it's not something that I have,

08:21.785 --> 08:23.965
direct experience in the set up of Reda,

08:23.965 --> 08:25.365
but I've definitely used it.

08:26.105 --> 08:30.845
So it's a, it's a, it's like a recycling organization

08:31.555 --> 08:34.485
that collects discarded waste from businesses.

08:34.505 --> 08:37.485
So it's clean waste, there's, specifications

08:38.185 --> 08:39.965
and they store it in a big warehouse.

08:39.985 --> 08:42.205
And schools in the early childhood educ,

08:42.655 --> 08:43.725
early childhood care

08:43.825 --> 08:47.725
and education services can have, sign up

08:47.725 --> 08:49.125
to be a member of Reeda.

08:49.905 --> 08:51.685
And in doing so, they can go

08:51.705 --> 08:54.925
and use any of the, this industrial waste

08:55.020 --> 08:56.725
That's been collected and sorted out.

08:57.185 --> 09:01.765
So it's a mixture between, recycling, between art,

09:01.875 --> 09:05.005
between creativity, between community and schools.

09:05.545 --> 09:08.165
And so you can see why those principles really tie in nicely

09:08.165 --> 09:10.085
with that Reia Amelia pedagogy.

09:10.665 --> 09:15.365
Um, but so my experience with Reeda as in a role

09:15.425 --> 09:18.885
as a pedagogical leader in a nonprofit organization,

09:19.705 --> 09:22.485
my role, as a leader was to work with a number

09:22.485 --> 09:23.645
of early learning centers.

09:23.865 --> 09:25.765
And of course we signed up to Reeda

09:25.765 --> 09:27.845
because what a fantastic resource, why wouldn't you?

09:28.225 --> 09:29.725
And I used to send our educators

09:29.725 --> 09:32.485
and they were like, can we take everything for free?

09:33.115 --> 09:34.405
It's like, yes, it's for free.

09:34.795 --> 09:36.165
They would just like go to town.

09:36.945 --> 09:40.485
Um, but the concept behind it did come from Italy eda.

09:40.585 --> 09:45.325
So the re stands for re Amelia and also recycling,

09:45.865 --> 09:48.525
and then the Meda comes from Greek mythology.

09:48.705 --> 09:50.405
So it comes from King Maas

09:50.465 --> 09:52.285
who everything he touched turned to gold.

09:52.825 --> 09:54.565
And I kind of like that concept

09:54.565 --> 09:57.045
because you've got all these recycled things that

09:57.045 --> 09:58.685
to us look a bit like rubbish.

09:59.145 --> 10:01.165
And for children, you know, they'll take it

10:01.165 --> 10:02.725
and make something amazing out of it.

10:02.865 --> 10:05.085
So, you know, they've got loads of fabrics.

10:05.085 --> 10:07.725
And often I'll take fabrics into an early learning center

10:07.785 --> 10:10.405
and the children are like, it's a cape, you know,

10:10.405 --> 10:13.765
it's a heart, it's a cubby, and go to town with it.

10:13.825 --> 10:16.045
So it's someone else's junk.

10:16.285 --> 10:18.405
'cause someone else's treasure definitely fits

10:18.405 --> 10:19.405
that concept really well.

10:20.185 --> 10:22.525
Um, so there's only 11 in the whole world.

10:22.955 --> 10:26.245
Edda centers only one in Australia, so that's in Perth.

10:26.345 --> 10:28.805
So I don't think,

10:28.825 --> 10:30.885
the early learning centers in schools here know

10:30.885 --> 10:34.405
how lucky they are to have one, you know, locally in Perth.

10:35.265 --> 10:36.965
Um, and yeah, like I said

10:36.965 --> 10:39.605
before, it's really about that community network

10:39.825 --> 10:41.125
and that arts and craft.

10:41.465 --> 10:45.045
Um, sorry, that, yeah, that creativity and the arts

10:45.225 --> 10:47.605
and reusing materials.

10:48.265 --> 10:50.005
So an example of,

10:50.275 --> 10:52.605
what children may have used those materials.

10:52.665 --> 10:54.925
I'm just thinking of all the range they had there.

10:55.065 --> 10:59.765
So, one of,

10:59.925 --> 11:01.685
I know a really interesting one that I did see

11:02.225 --> 11:04.845
is one time they had a whole lot

11:04.845 --> 11:08.205
of sleeves off shirts, like just sleeves.

11:08.205 --> 11:11.285
So it must have been like an industrial sewing factory that

11:12.165 --> 11:14.005
I didn't produce too many sleeves.

11:14.705 --> 11:16.645
So, this educator went

11:16.645 --> 11:18.965
and she's like, look what I found, I found all these sleeves

11:19.185 --> 11:20.925
and pockets, sleeves and pockets,

11:21.545 --> 11:24.365
and a place schema is transporting.

11:24.665 --> 11:26.925
So when children, you know, when you see children

11:26.995 --> 11:30.885
that are loading up, carts or push chairs with bricks

11:30.885 --> 11:32.365
or blocks and carrying them

11:32.385 --> 11:33.925
to a different part of the playground.

11:33.985 --> 11:35.925
So they had these pockets

11:35.925 --> 11:37.405
and they would like putting things in

11:37.425 --> 11:39.765
and taking them somewhere else and empty them out.

11:39.985 --> 11:41.725
And they had these long sleeves

11:41.725 --> 11:43.525
and they would hold the bottom of the sleeves

11:43.525 --> 11:46.085
and another play schemes containing.

11:46.385 --> 11:49.245
So they wanted to contain something in something

11:49.245 --> 11:50.285
else, a container.

11:50.665 --> 11:52.765
So they had these sleeves and they were containing

11:53.025 --> 11:56.635
Things in, in another play scheme is enveloping.

11:56.635 --> 11:58.195
So you're really wanting to wrap things in

11:58.305 --> 12:00.915
that we're using these sleeves to wrap up around themselves

12:01.015 --> 12:02.395
or to wrap up the dolls.

12:02.935 --> 12:05.555
And so, you know, you go to this, reed

12:05.615 --> 12:08.195
and you think sleeves, what could I use that for?

12:08.615 --> 12:11.755
So it's, it's, it shows how that beauty of loose parts,

12:11.895 --> 12:13.795
it had no intended purpose.

12:14.455 --> 12:16.835
So we put them out to see what the children would do

12:16.835 --> 12:19.595
with it, and they were able to use their play schemes

12:20.295 --> 12:22.475
to actually play with it in their own way.

12:22.615 --> 12:26.475
So play out these repetitive patterns of play in,

12:26.695 --> 12:29.155
in those varied ways, particularly in,

12:29.185 --> 12:32.315
this was like a case study where in my work

12:32.335 --> 12:35.675
as a pedagogical leader, I delivered some workshops

12:35.935 --> 12:37.315
to early learning centers.

12:37.415 --> 12:40.195
And one of, one of the workshops that was,

12:40.265 --> 12:41.955
requested was on play schemes.

12:42.975 --> 12:44.955
So, I delivered the workshop

12:45.055 --> 12:46.595
and then got a call not long after,

12:46.695 --> 12:51.075
and the educator, her name is Fernanda Santiago,

12:51.535 --> 12:54.395
she contacted me and she said, you have to come and,

12:54.495 --> 12:55.755
and visit our room.

12:56.215 --> 12:58.635
So she had a room of two to three year olds.

12:58.975 --> 13:00.555
So I went and visited her room

13:00.695 --> 13:03.635
and it was just, it was, I can only explain it

13:03.635 --> 13:06.835
by saying it was just alive, but the children were engaged

13:06.935 --> 13:09.315
and they were busy, and there was just this whole

13:09.425 --> 13:10.435
buzz to the room.

13:11.295 --> 13:14.675
And they had combined my workshop on play schemes

13:14.825 --> 13:17.475
with visiting Bermuda, using the loose parts.

13:18.175 --> 13:20.755
Um, thinking about that sustainability, they didn't have

13:20.755 --> 13:22.795
to purchase anything, you know, using

13:22.985 --> 13:26.155
what other people had thrown away essentially.

13:27.465 --> 13:31.405
And so using that, together, I noticed

13:31.405 --> 13:33.525
that the observations were really rich.

13:33.985 --> 13:36.765
So it wasn't just on what the children were playing with,

13:36.825 --> 13:38.485
but it was really how they were playing.

13:38.905 --> 13:41.445
And then how they could use more of the loose parts

13:41.465 --> 13:43.645
to support those individual play schemes.

13:44.245 --> 13:45.405
I felt they really got

13:45.405 --> 13:47.565
to know the children on a deeper level.

13:48.065 --> 13:49.085
So they were saying,

13:49.115 --> 13:50.765
look at this child, look what he's doing.

13:50.875 --> 13:52.085
I've noticed his play scheme.

13:52.625 --> 13:54.565
Um, whereas I hadn't noticed that before.

13:55.425 --> 13:57.685
And I do find sometimes that two

13:57.685 --> 13:59.805
to 3-year-old age group can be quite challenging.

14:00.645 --> 14:02.455
Yeah, the children are moving away from

14:02.455 --> 14:03.815
those strong relationships.

14:04.045 --> 14:07.535
They're not quite independent enough, you know, it's sort

14:07.535 --> 14:10.015
of, it's a really transition time for them

14:10.035 --> 14:12.375
as they're on their own journey of discovery

14:13.155 --> 14:16.895
and just seeing this room alive and the children engaged

14:17.155 --> 14:19.775
and, and just the laughter.

14:19.845 --> 14:22.655
Like I could just hear children laughing and so, yeah.

14:22.915 --> 14:25.815
Um, with all the new apps that they use for documentation

14:25.815 --> 14:28.055
that would capture some of them and send them to me.

14:28.715 --> 14:31.495
And yeah, it was just was brilliant just seeing all this,

14:31.635 --> 14:33.295
you know, theory and practice

14:33.395 --> 14:36.375
and how, how it really worked for the,

14:36.475 --> 14:37.655
for the benefit of those children.

14:37.955 --> 14:41.695
So I'd love to see more like those action research projects

14:41.695 --> 14:42.975
that we can learn from each other

14:43.155 --> 14:45.175
and teachers supporting other teachers.

14:45.915 --> 14:49.215
Uh, and yeah, just seeing that that rich environment

14:49.685 --> 14:50.855
that, we're

14:50.855 --> 14:53.285
Having those, the three main dimensions

14:53.305 --> 14:55.485
or pillars coming together really supported.

14:55.945 --> 15:00.245
Um, so looking at areas of future research, I,

15:00.825 --> 15:04.085
I'm really interested in looking at the correlations

15:04.085 --> 15:06.325
between schema play and early mathematics.

15:06.825 --> 15:08.805
So there's really high correlations

15:08.805 --> 15:12.805
between beginning mathematics processes and play schemes.

15:13.425 --> 15:14.685
And so looking at

15:14.685 --> 15:17.565
how we can integrate them more into the classroom.

15:17.785 --> 15:19.845
So, you know, this, the project

15:19.875 --> 15:23.005
that I did was really looking at children from two

15:23.005 --> 15:26.795
to three years old, really moving them forward into

15:26.795 --> 15:29.115
that school-based environment as well,

15:29.515 --> 15:33.875
particularly looking at the mathematics climate within

15:33.935 --> 15:35.115
our education sector.

15:35.115 --> 15:37.435
There's a lot of maths aversion, there's a lot

15:37.435 --> 15:38.435
of maths anxiety.

15:39.015 --> 15:41.875
Uh, well, mathematics is actually quite an interesting

15:42.195 --> 15:43.675
creative imaginative topic.

15:44.035 --> 15:47.035
I actually really enjoy teaching mathematics as well.

15:47.735 --> 15:50.955
And so if we can incorporate some of those, you know,

15:50.955 --> 15:52.395
those natural play schemes

15:52.395 --> 15:56.195
that children are naturally interested in, as educators,

15:56.295 --> 15:59.475
it makes us, you know, tune into the child more

15:59.615 --> 16:02.705
so they can tune into how the child's, learning,

16:02.865 --> 16:07.685
thinking and then using those play schemes,

16:09.105 --> 16:10.645
to, to, to teach some

16:10.645 --> 16:13.045
of those early mathematics processes I

16:13.045 --> 16:14.085
think would be really useful.

16:14.185 --> 16:16.845
So that's what I'm personally looking at at the moment.

Understanding Children's Repetitive Play Patterns

00:00:00 - So schema play is looking at those repetitive patterns of play that children, we can observe children engaging with. So it's building on that early work of PGE and Vygotsky. But really in the 1970s, Chris aie and Tina Bruce took that one step further and completed a number. And when I say a number, like thousands of observations on children and, and just observed their play to see, to see what was really happening. And they noticed that these repetitive patterns were playing out.
00:00:36 - another UK early childhood academic, built on that and called it Threads of Thinking. So by observing children, they were able to see these, these patterns or these rhythms. In New Zealand, they actually call these rhythms play urges, which I quite like. So children have these urge to play in a certain way, they can't explain it. but you know, we can really see some of those themes playing out. So probably better just to touch on some of those themes so
00:01:08 - or worked with children will start to like, you know, have that aha moment. at this point. So looking at play scheme such as rotation, so children are very interesting how things move in a circular motion. They're often turning in a circular motion themselves, maybe drawing with circles on paper. Sometimes we see these children playing with cars, but when we really observe them closely, it's maybe the wheels that they're interested in. And for me, when I learned about play scheme is it was that,
00:01:43 - to the, to the pedagogy. So you're not just looking at what children are playing with, so the cars, but really how they're playing. So it was the wheels, the spinning of the wheels. So another early play scheme is trajectory. so we see babies in the highchair dropping food, seeing how things move through space. Anyone that's had a baby in the house knows that they do it again and again and again and again. So they have these repeat of patterns of play that as they get older, they may throw things again and again.
00:02:14 - so play schemes is really looking at these re repetitive patterns. and as children mature and get older, they become more complex and they start to move together in clusters. So there's been some research showing how the play schemes, you know, work together and compliment each other. And, schema play.com, another UK organization have some beautiful diagrams that show how when we've got these complex play schemes and they're all working together, children can start
00:02:48 - measurement, once that they've got these repetitive patterns, you know, in place. So that's play schemes in a nutshell. so This project also looked at not only play schemes, but loose parts. So loose parts has been an early chartered education since, well probably since before, since time itself as children are playing out in that natural environment with sticks and stones and all sorts of things.

Understanding Children's Play Through Loose Parts

00:03:16 - Simon Nicholson in the seventies coined the term the theory of loose parts to talk. so it's about providing children with sets of everyday materials. I call them bits and bobs. Some people call them things, but they're just collections of things you might find in manmade or the natural environment. And because they have no direct purpose, children can play with them in different ways. So they could stack
00:03:48 - they could throw with them if they were in the trajectory schema, and they can match and sort or build, but there's no one fixed purpose. So, the theory of loose parts really allows children to be imaginative. it ties in really beautifully with, other pedagogies like Elia Pedagogy, foals work, whereas children are directing their own learning. They have agency. and then the third sort of real dimensional pillar
00:04:22 - And, I'm based here in Western Australia and in Australia we've had a recent rewrite of our national curriculum for early childhood education right at the end of 2022. And sustainability got put in as our principle, which is fantastic. So that was included in the new early years learning framework. And so sustainability and early childhood is all about tapping into children's natural curiosity for the world around them, particularly
00:04:52 - And then embedding sustainability principles. So, children are growing up with that respect for people and respect for the environment. and so looking at environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, and social sustainability. Yeah, so children's play schemes are ways for them to make sense of their world. so yeah, the research has shown that babies and young children are actually quite systematic
00:05:23 - So I guess to the, to the average person's eye just playing, and I put that in, you know, in inverted commas because, you know, we know that play is so integral to learning, but but the research has shown that actually you, the, the repetitive patterns of play show us that they're quite directed even from a young age in their play. yeah, so, some, I mean,
00:05:54 - for, you know, for the Later academic work. We could say that the, I think that they are, just making sense of their world and it's their way to make sense. So you can see for some children are fixated on a certain scheme for quite a long time, then they may drop that scheme and, and look at a, a different scheme and, and next thing they'll revisit that scheme that they had before. So I don't think there's any one pathway,

Exploring Children's Emotional Connections Through Play

00:06:25 - talks about the threads of thinking so she can hear it through their language. So even when children are telling stories, maybe if they're in the rotational scheme, they're telling stories about being dizzy or, you know, the wind was blowing around, you know, they've really got that, that rotational schema in their storytelling and in their behavior and actually in their emotional connection as well. So one of the educators that I worked with, she talked
00:06:54 - that was strong in the connecting schema. So he liked to put things together. So whether he is in the sand pit, he's putting tubes together. If he is, at the at loose parts table, he's stacking things together, stacking things on top of each other, but everything is connected. And when he would come in in the morning, he was connected to his parent or caregiver. So he was always holding their hand or they were carrying him, but there was, or he was touching their leg. And at that transition time where they handed them over,
00:07:25 - He would make that connection then to the educator. So he was touching her. So the play scheme even moved through to their emotional wellbeing. So emotionally he used that play scheme as an anchor. So schema play.com, they use that word anchor a lot. The play scheme anchors the play, but for him it really anchored that emotional, regulation. So they would hand him over, he would like have his hand on the educator or sit on her knee or hold her hand until he was okay with the transition.
00:07:59 - and then he would move off into that play. But she said was really interesting that connection was actually his play scheme as well. Yeah. So not only was it as behavior, it was emotions as language, his play. So Reed's quite an interesting, place. It's, it's not something that I have, direct experience in the set up of Reda, but I've definitely used it. So it's a, it's a, it's like a recycling organization
00:08:34 - So it's clean waste, there's, specifications and they store it in a big warehouse. And schools in the early childhood educ, early childhood care and education services can have, sign up to be a member of Reeda. And in doing so, they can go and use any of the, this industrial waste That's been collected and sorted out. So it's a mixture between, recycling, between art,
00:09:05 - And so you can see why those principles really tie in nicely with that Reia Amelia pedagogy. but so my experience with Reeda as in a role as a pedagogical leader in a nonprofit organization, my role, as a leader was to work with a number of early learning centers. And of course we signed up to Reeda because what a fantastic resource, why wouldn't you? And I used to send our educators and they were like, can we take everything for free?

Transforming Junk into Children's Creativity

00:09:34 - They would just like go to town. but the concept behind it did come from Italy eda. So the re stands for re Amelia and also recycling, and then the Meda comes from Greek mythology. So it comes from King Maas who everything he touched turned to gold. And I kind of like that concept because you've got all these recycled things that to us look a bit like rubbish. And for children, you know, they'll take it and make something amazing out of it. So, you know, they've got loads of fabrics.
00:10:07 - and the children are like, it's a cape, you know, it's a heart, it's a cubby, and go to town with it. So it's someone else's junk. 'cause someone else's treasure definitely fits that concept really well. so there's only 11 in the whole world. Edda centers only one in Australia, so that's in Perth. So I don't think, the early learning centers in schools here know how lucky they are to have one, you know, locally in Perth.
00:10:36 - before, it's really about that community network and that arts and craft. sorry, that, yeah, that creativity and the arts and reusing materials. So an example of, what children may have used those materials. I'm just thinking of all the range they had there. So, one of, I know a really interesting one that I did see is one time they had a whole lot of sleeves off shirts, like just sleeves.
00:11:12 - I didn't produce too many sleeves. So, this educator went and she's like, look what I found, I found all these sleeves and pockets, sleeves and pockets, and a place schema is transporting. So when children, you know, when you see children that are loading up, carts or push chairs with bricks or blocks and carrying them to a different part of the playground. So they had these pockets and they would like putting things in and taking them somewhere else and empty them out.
00:11:41 - and they would hold the bottom of the sleeves and another play schemes containing. So they wanted to contain something in something else, a container. So they had these sleeves and they were containing Things in, in another play scheme is enveloping. So you're really wanting to wrap things in that we're using these sleeves to wrap up around themselves or to wrap up the dolls. And so, you know, you go to this, reed and you think sleeves, what could I use that for? So it's, it's, it shows how that beauty of loose parts,
00:12:14 - So we put them out to see what the children would do with it, and they were able to use their play schemes to actually play with it in their own way. So play out these repetitive patterns of play in, in those varied ways, particularly in, this was like a case study where in my work as a pedagogical leader, I delivered some workshops to early learning centers. And one of, one of the workshops that was, requested was on play schemes.

Engagement Through Play Schemes and Sustainability

00:12:45 - and then got a call not long after, and the educator, her name is Fernanda Santiago, she contacted me and she said, you have to come and, and visit our room. So she had a room of two to three year olds. So I went and visited her room and it was just, it was, I can only explain it by saying it was just alive, but the children were engaged and they were busy, and there was just this whole buzz to the room. And they had combined my workshop on play schemes
00:13:18 - thinking about that sustainability, they didn't have to purchase anything, you know, using what other people had thrown away essentially. And so using that, together, I noticed that the observations were really rich. So it wasn't just on what the children were playing with, but it was really how they were playing. And then how they could use more of the loose parts to support those individual play schemes. I felt they really got
00:13:48 - So they were saying, look at this child, look what he's doing. I've noticed his play scheme. whereas I hadn't noticed that before. And I do find sometimes that two to 3-year-old age group can be quite challenging. Yeah, the children are moving away from those strong relationships. They're not quite independent enough, you know, it's sort of, it's a really transition time for them as they're on their own journey of discovery and just seeing this room alive and the children engaged
00:14:19 - Like I could just hear children laughing and so, yeah. with all the new apps that they use for documentation that would capture some of them and send them to me. And yeah, it was just was brilliant just seeing all this, you know, theory and practice and how, how it really worked for the, for the benefit of those children. So I'd love to see more like those action research projects that we can learn from each other and teachers supporting other teachers. and yeah, just seeing that that rich environment
00:14:50 - Having those, the three main dimensions or pillars coming together really supported. so looking at areas of future research, I, I'm really interested in looking at the correlations between schema play and early mathematics. So there's really high correlations between beginning mathematics processes and play schemes. And so looking at how we can integrate them more into the classroom. So, you know, this, the project
00:15:23 - to three years old, really moving them forward into that school-based environment as well, particularly looking at the mathematics climate within our education sector. There's a lot of maths aversion, there's a lot of maths anxiety. well, mathematics is actually quite an interesting creative imaginative topic. I actually really enjoy teaching mathematics as well. And so if we can incorporate some of those, you know,

Integrating Play Schemes into Early Mathematics

00:16:14 - that children are naturally interested in, as educators, it makes us, you know, tune into the child more so they can tune into how the child's, learning, thinking and then using those play schemes, to, to, to teach some of those early mathematics processes I think would be really useful. So that's what I'm personally looking at at the moment.

Faculti AI can make mistakes

Research

Policy

Analysis

Data

Originals

Explainers

Podcasts

Faculti

New on Faculti

Idea Explorer

Definition

News Context

Critical Questions and Answers

Research Summaries

Schema play and loose parts: sustainability in action

Media Literacy Toolkit

Critical Questions to Consider ▼

Bias and Perspective Awareness ▼