Play is a highly valued pedagogy in early learning settings around the world. Supporters of play have emphasised the benefits of this approach in promoting children's development and learning and their alleged freedom to choose, explore, and follow their interests. Feminist research, however, has shown that play contexts can be key sites that…

Teaching the properties of geometric shapes in traditional ways does not help children to understand them, nor does it enable them to visualize them. It may need methods that correspond to the characteristics and tendencies of children and more interesting methods based on fun learning. Designing 3D geometric shapes with children through pop-up…

Across multiple age groups and academic disciplines, research has shown that incorporating multimodal signs into instruction can enhance student learning. For instance, gesture might be synchronized with speech or written signs. The present study reports on the semiotic resources used by a teacher-researcher to support kindergarten students'…

Objective: This study reviews the status of materials in curriculum and reform, as reflected in a network case study of curriculum in one kindergarten classroom in the United States. This paper focuses on the events leading up to and building upon one inquiry unit that became a focal point in promoting progressive curriculum reform at the school.…

The authors discuss loose parts -- pipe cleaners, acorns, fabric, stones, and so forth -- as versatile materials not originally intended for children's play that they can manipulate, modify, and use in their play activities. The authors review the historical foundations of loose parts play, focusing on influential individuals and theories, and…

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of block play on the creativity of children. The present study adopted a quasi-experimental research design, with pre- and post-test control groups. The study group consisted of a total of 52 children, enrolled at preschool education institutions in Ankara province in Turkey. The children…

In two studies, we investigated whether using three-dimensional (3D) manipulatives during assessment aided performance on a variety of preschool mathematics tasks compared to pictorial representations. On measures of children's understanding of counting and cardinality (n = 103), there was no difference in performance between manipulatives and…

Recent literature emphasises the role of exploration, designerly play, creative thinking, and handling of materials in the beginning years of learning. This paper reports findings from a study involving 24 children (aged 4 to 10 years), where the researchers engaged with four-story contexts (tasks) that had embedded problem scenarios. In response…

Making connections between children's existing means of expression (play, art, and movement) and the intricacies of print is a necessary and time-honored approach to writing instruction in the early years of school, yet, after kindergarten, one that is easily overlooked. In this article, we examine an approach to writing instruction for…

Abstract Lego construction ability is associated with a variety of spatial skills and mathematical outcomes. However, it is unknown whether these relations are causal. We aimed to establish the causal impact of Lego construction training on: Lego construction ability; a broad range of spatial skills; and on mathematical outcomes in 7-9-year-olds.…

Following the increasing impacts on the value of Western play-based pedagogy, early childhood (EC) teachers in China face developmental challenges related to understanding and implementing play-based mathematical education. The purpose of this paper is to explore Chinese EC teachers' perspectives on play-based mathematics teaching. In this…

Kindergartners' math skills predict later academic outcomes. However, we know little about kindergarten mathematics instruction. Using data from 182 classroom observations in a large urban district, we explore time spent on mathematics and math content coverage. We also examine two underinvestigated aspects of kindergarten math instruction: (1)…

Within the field of K-2 computer science (CS) education, unplugged computational thinking (CT) activities have been suggested as beneficial for younger students and shown to impact young students' skills and motivation to learn about CS. This study sought to examine how children demonstrate CT competencies in unplugged sequencing tasks and how…

Teachers and teacher educators have been sharing strategies and resources for implementing mathematics routines in National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) journals for years. A less commonly shared mathematics routine, especially with young learners, is "Clothesline Math" (Shore, 2017, 2018). In this routine, teachers create…

Increasing engagement may enable struggling readers to catch up with their peers. This study examined the impact of using multisensory strategies with Elkonin boxes to teach decodable words to first grade students. The study found that student interest impacted engagement, particularly when it was a combination of auditory, tactile, and visual.…