Set 2018: no. 3

We’re pleased to present this special issue, Learning through Play and Games, at a time when interest in play-based learning and game-based learning is growing in many New Zealand schools. The issue responds to the level of teacher enthusiasm and exploration that is increasingly visible in educational discussions and media commentaries. This special issue aims to contribute a research-informed perspective on pedagogies associated with play and/or games by sharing findings and reflections… Read more

The Games for Learning project set out to explore game-based learning (GBL) practices in New Zealand classrooms and build a connected community of research and practice. Our research suggests there is a mixture of curiosity, enthusiasm, and uncertainty in the sector about where games “fit” into learning. I outline some of the theoretical perspectives that have helped me to make sense of 3 years of GBL research, and put forward some ideas that I hope will help GBL research and practice in… Read more

If The New Zealand Curriculum vision statement is aiming for students “who will work to create an Aotearoa New Zealand in which Maori and Pakeha recognise each other as full Treaty partners, and in which all cultures are valued for the contributions they bring” (p. 8), then we need to teach accurate understandings of historical Māori–Pākehā relations in New Zealand schools. Characteristics of pre-Treaty Māori–Pākehā engagement can be taught to undergraduate teacher-education… Read more

This article discusses our experiments to create more engaged participation and build sustainability literacy among students in a voluntary “game lab” on two different campuses of our Japanese university. Though we found the game lab to be a successful vehicle for language learning, community building, and traversing disciplinary boundaries, it was more difficult to engage students with big ideas about environmental sustainability. We reflect on what we learnt from the game lab’s first 2… Read more

Play-based learning is of growing interest in many English-medium primary schools throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. I share my insights from researching play as learning, and supporting teachers with curriculum design and pedagogy in play-based contexts. Although play is a slippery concept and its value often underestimated, the evidence of the benefits of play for children is strong. Designing how best to utilise this to support curriculum outcomes is the challenge.

Play is very “on trend” in the primary sector, but is it a suitable pedagogy for secondary students? Based on research into play-based learning in a Year 11 English class, this article provides an overview of play theory, describes a typical play-based lesson in Year 11 English, considers three different approaches to assessment, discusses three broad themes that have emerged through student voice, and provides an illustrative case study of how the freedom inherent in play-based learning… Read more

Teachers have an important role to play in supporting and facilitating play-based learning for their students. This study aimed to explore one teacher’s understanding about her own intentionality within a play-based new-entrant classroom. Using observation and interview with video-stimulated recall, and key themes about play-based practice and intentional teaching were identified. Findings explored focus on the importance of formulating goals for and with students. Goals were connected with… Read more

This case study explores child, parent, teacher, and school-leader perspectives of a play-based learning (Pb-L) approach in one new-entrant classroom. Data were gathered through focus groups, interviews and an online survey. Findings indicate that children valued the opportunity for self-initiated, hands-on, interest-based exploration and social interaction with peers, as afforded in a Pb-L classroom. Parents, the teacher, and the school leader valued a Pb-L approach as contributing to child… Read more

This commentary aims to encourage a research-based, critical, inquiring approach to the development of play-based learning in primary schools. I suggest that this approach could build from the wealth of knowledge in the early childhood education sector. I also invite greater collaboration between early childhood and primary teachers, particularly to foster further research, inquiry, and reflective practice.

Over the past 7 years I have dramatically changed my pedagogy in a quest to engage junior primary students in deep, authentic learning. This article concentrates on how I have come to support junior primary students to learn to write. It explains how I developed play-based learning through the books I read, the social media I became active in, and the practice changes I made.