Re-Exploring Play and Playfulness in Early Childhood Teacher Education

Melanie K. Felton has been an Associate Professor and Director of Early Childhood Education at College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska, for over 30 years, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Early Childhood Education, Lifespan Development, and Educational Psychology. She taught 3–5-year-olds in a multi-age full-day program at Iowa State University Child Development Laboratory School and created the first Prekindergarten program for St. Albert Catholic Schools in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Diana H. Cortez-Castro is the Program Coordinator and Faculty of Teacher Education at Texas Southmost College. She has 16+ years of experience in Hispanic-serving institutions, developing and teaching courses in Early Childhood Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Bilingual Education, and Educational Psychology. Dr. Cortez-Castro is an active advocate for children's right to play and has organized Community Play Days promoting sustainability, equity, and diversity since 2008.

This book comes from many play spaces – the most obvious being how the members of the Creativity and Play ResearchNet of NAECTE composed these 13 chapters from their lived experiences in virtual and actual classrooms with adults learning about teaching in classrooms and other learning environments with young children. But in fact it is the young child calling for this time of playful learning. “Enough with tests and certification exams, let’s play!” This text validates that appeal with fresh research and applications, all grounded in recent NAEYC position statements and pillars of the play research community, such as Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Walter Drew, Stuart Brown, Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld, and Vivan Paley. The variety of playful ways that learning can take place make this book a delightful text to read, and a powerful tool in the hands of early childhood teacher educators who are actually factually putting the book down and going out to play, with teachers and, through them, the children of their future classrooms.Josh ThompsonProfessor of Early Childhood EducationTexas A & M UniversityThis book offers a rare combination of innovative approaches to play education and practical strategies to improve Early Childhood Teacher Education. Through hands-on play and rich narrative stories, this treasure book reveals how teacher educators are actively using intentional open-ended play experiences, reflection, journaling, and meaningful group discussion, to enlighten preservice teachers. Here is an exciting creative resource that will extend your understanding of the process and benefits that play encounters offer preservice teachers. For anyone interested in strengthening play leadership, overcoming challenges and barriers to play, and the application of play in early childhood classrooms or college education, this book is for you. “Re-Exploring Play and Playfulness in Early Childhood Teacher Education” is a compelling extension of earlier play research that updates the practice of hands-on play education with adults. You will value the wisdom offered by these authors.Walter F. Drew, Ed.D., Co-founderInstitute for Self Active Education

• List of ContributorsPrefacePart 1: Examining the Re-Exploration of Play and Playfulness in Early Childhood Teacher EducationChapter 1: (Re)-Exploring Intentional Teaching using Playful Pedagogy and AndragogyChapter 2: Try-It: Encouraging Teacher Candidates to Use Play-Based Strategies with Young ChildrenChapter 3: The Impact of a Community-Based Experience on Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of PlayChapter 4: Teacher Educators’ Perspectives, Beliefs, and PracticesChapter 5: Play3: Integrating Play in Courses, Field Experience, and Our LivesPart 2: Strategies to Support Play and Playfulness in Early Childhood Teacher EducationChapter 6: Exploring Creativity and the Arts through Play in an Early Childhood Learning LabChapter 7: Creating Stories of the Heart for Young Children: Developing Early Literacy through Play and StoryographyChapter 8: Tinker Time for Preservice Teachers: Building Skills for STEM Play with Diverse LearnersChapter 9: Play, Health and Well-Being in Early Childhood Teacher EducationChapter 10: ¡Vamos a Jugar! “Let’s Play” in Teacher Preparation ProgramsChapter 11: Global Playful Concientización as Playful Praxis: A Latina’s Testimonio of Learning/(Un)Learning and Social Justice in Playing the Game of LifeChapter 12: Play and Playfulness in Remote Early Childhood Teacher EducationPart 3: In Closing: Continuing the Re-Exploration and Moving Forward Chapter 13: Learning from Diverse Voices of Early Childhood Teacher Educators: Research, Reflections and PossibilitiesIndex