Play Schemas for Inquiry-Based Learning Heather Jackson and Lisa Agogliati

Children are naturally wired to discover their world using repeated actions during play, such as transporting, transforming, connecting, or trajectory. In each child’s experience with these play schemas, movement is at the core.  As a teacher, you can observe these patterns of play in how young children move their bodies and engage with materials, such as open-ended manipulatives, toys, or Loose Parts. As you become aware of the types of play schemas and defining characteristics, you can deepen your understanding of each child. Your observations of play schemas can then be used to launch inquiry-based learning and project work that value and support children's play intentions. In this insight-building webinar, Heather Jackson and Lisa Agogliati, authors of Actions of Play, explore the power of play schemas as a tool for engaging in your conversations with children and observation of their play. Heather and Lisa will present examples of play schemas in action from their respective schools and discuss their defining characteristics. They will highlight stories directly from their experiences using play schemas to inform their teaching and learning with young children. Their presentation will feature gorgeous and abundant photos from their documentation and action research as play schemas became the foundation of their project work and inquiry-based investigations. This webinar will inspire you to look at early childhood curriculum from a new perspective.

 You will learn to:   

• Name common play schemas: transporting, enclosing/enveloping, transforming, trajectory, order/positioning, rotation/circularity, connecting, orientation/perspective. 

• Identify examples of movement characteristics of play schemas.

• Explore ways of applying play schemas to launch and re-launch project work or investigations

• Explore ways to incorporate Loose Parts and children's books into play schema invitations