Pat Broadhead

This practical book provides an accessible framework for observing and assessing children's learning through play. It will help early years practitioners to deepen their understanding of the links between intellectual development, the growth of language and the emotional well-being of young children. Drawing on many years of research and working with teachers, Pat Broadhead has developed the Social Play Continuum, a unique observation tool and a means of monitoring and developing a child's social progress through skills such as problem-solving, investigation and imagination discourse. This tool forms an integral part of this innovative text, offering practitioners in a wide range of early years settings a means of focusing their observations of play. In addition, the book: supports the development of 'areas of provision' illustrates progression from 'association' to 'cooperative' play considers links with the Foundation Stage Curriculum, Profiling and the National Curriculum acknowledges the many constraints that have operated on early years practitioners in the past decade. Blending theory and practice this book is aimed at all early years' practitioners concerned with quality provision for their pupils. It is also the ideal text to support student teachers, classroom assistants and undergraduates on early childhood studies degrees.

Developing Social Skills and Cooperation

Early Years Play and Learning

Justine Howard

Elizabeth Wood

Providing high quality play experiences is an essential part of good early years education, but this can pose a challenge for practitioners who face pressure from a more didactic primary curriculum, and from parents worried that their children will fail to acquire essential skills and knowledge. By helping the reader to develop their understanding of the complex relationships between play and learning, this book examines current theoretical perspectives on play, alongside examples of recent and innovative play research from a range of disciplinary and methodological perspectives. With contributions from leading play scholars, it brings together theory, research, policy and practice in relation to play and learning in early years settings. The emphasis is on the relationship between play and learning, and play and pedagogy, and the need to understand these dimensions more substantially in order to teach with confidence. Included are chapters on: - the influence of play on thinking, problem-solving and creativity - cooperative play and learning - play, risk and outdoor learning - learning to play in cultural context There are chapter objectives, reflective points, reflective tasks and suggestions for further reading throughout, to facilitate critical thinking and encourage independent study. Suitable for early years practitioners, early childhood students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and all those who work with and care for young children, this is an exciting and thought-provoking book.

Pat Broadhead

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