The complexity of gear concepts, often misunderstood by young children, highlights the need for educational frameworks beyond simple play. To examine the effects of using the prediction, observation, and explanation (POE) model in building block activities, a true experimental design was implemented. A total of 49 preschoolers were randomly…

Research on the educational value of play tends to focus on active players, especially when evaluating novel interaction technologies. However, a long history of scholarship underscores observing communal practice as a primary means of enculturation and learning. This paper demonstrates learning opportunities available within a range of…

In this article, I analyse the street learning that a group of boys in a poor neighbourhood in Argentina produce when they play at being 'pibes chorros'. Through the observation of interviews, photos and audio recordings made in the neighbourhood since 2010, I show how these games are occasions for boys to learn to pretend they know how to steal…

We examined the effectiveness of systematic prompting of peer-related behaviors delivered during small group academic instructional sessions with three dyads of preschool-aged children with deficits in social competence. One child was randomly assigned as the target child in each dyad. A multiple-probe single-case research design was utilized to…

This paper builds on previous research which outlined the development of a framework of scientific enquiry within a play-based curriculum for early childhood. For this paper, in order to help to mediate children's observation and exploration as part of their play, we propose that practitioners need to have well-developed skills to ask open-ended…

Early childhood environmental education focusses on expanding children's bio-affinity, developing their environmental attitudes and encouraging them to behave in a more environmentally friendly manner. One example of the educational method that is based on high-quality practices of both early childhood education and environmental education is the…

Much is known about preschool children's mathematics learning and the role of play in that learning. Many early childhood educators are quite adept at observing and documenting the mathematics learning of the children in their settings. These teachers "notice" the children's mathematics but they are not the only ones to…

Play is traditionally considered the foundation of learning in the early years. Because play is characterized by free choice, it can be difficult for adults to ensure all learning is useful for children. The intervention described here took a novel approach to this problematic. It exposed 17 four-year-olds to different adult demonstrations to see…

Empirical and theoretical literature on cooperative problem solving in preschool children suggests that integrating features of play into structured, experimental settings should increase the benefits of joint peer interactions and task performance. Four- and five-year-old peer dyads completed a playful, flexible, and child-driven building task or…

Informal learning is often treated as simply an alternative to formal, didactic instruction. This chapter discusses how the organization of informal learning differs across distinct settings but with important commonalities distinguishing informal learning from formal learning: Informal learning is nondidactic, is embedded in meaningful activity,…

Play is a complex phenomenon that occurs naturally for most children; they move through the various stages of play development and are able to add complexity, imagination, and creativity to their thought processes and actions. However, for many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), the various stages of play never truly develop, or occur…

This study examined and compared the effectiveness of a simultaneous prompting procedure used in both 1:1 and small group instruction to teach pretend play skills to a group of preschool students, three having a diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder and one having a diagnosis of severe developmental disabilities. The study also assessed…

This description of the Child Care Training Project in Michigan includes information on the home child care givers and identifies areas in which aides believed they needed improvement. Gives definitions of outstanding, adequate, and inadequate care and specifies problems and successes of the program's participants. (ST)

In a naturalistic setting, boys and girls were exposed to a same- or opposite-sex live adult model who played with sex inappropriate toys. The results are explained in terms of the inappropriateness of toy playing for adults and the theoretical importance of adult vs. peer influences. (GO)

There is a great deal of narrative in play and also of play in narrative, especially in the narrative and play of young children. Part of the reason for this may be that they share an important pattern or structure in the way they work as mental instruments, "mimesis." Mimesis is a mode of representation in which the relation between the symbol…