Rufus Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Hi all I have read lots of posts about nervous students about to embark on a SCITT/GTP etc. I am on the other side….I am a nervous tutor about to embark on her first session! I have been asked to deliver a 3 hour session on play. I would be interested to hear from any previous or current students or anyone who has pearls of wisdom, on what they would like covered in an ideal session on play. 3 hours is an awfully long time, so I am hoping I may be able to split it in half so that I can give them a task to complete and then review it on the second session. So far I am thinking: Stages and types of play. Importance and benefits of play – focusing on a few theorists, yet to be decided. Risks vs benefits of play Indoor and outdoor play – what it should and should not be. How to observe play, when to step back and when to join in How to scaffold play. Design a small world/role play and then present what they did to the rest of the group. 21st century play and the barriers to play. I know I cannot cover everything and it needs to be interactive...goodness my attention span is about 20 mins, so 3 hrs is hard work. I would really like to tap into the wealth of experiences on this forum to provide something that others would want to take part in. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Froglet Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Sounds good so far - wish I'd had a session like this when I was training - we did nothing on FS! Would you have any ability to play a video? Could you look at the skills being used in a particular play activity and then look at how to extend and develop them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 Sounds good so far - wish I'd had a session like this when I was training - we did nothing on FS! Would you have any ability to play a video? Could you look at the skills being used in a particular play activity and then look at how to extend and develop them? yes, i was thinking of this. filming a snippet from my class as a basis for discussion about the type of play and what the adult could do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Froglet Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I know when I've seen bits of film on various training courses I've found it most useful when we've watched it at least twice - the first time just a general non-specific watching then subsequent times with specific questions/things to look out for. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredbear Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Sounds fab, great suggestion with the film idea, if your able too, Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catma Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 (edited) I have often started sessions like this with a general reflection on your own childhood and the things you got up to. It has the following outcomes: Everyone can talk confidently about themselves so it is a good "ice breaker" You will then generally be able to tease out the following themes(amongst others): Freedom, no intrinsic outcome, no adults making rules, time, use of found objects imaginatively,collaboration, discussion... The outcomes will always be linkable to theorists, e.g. Tina Bruce's aspects of play so make a good intro to the themes you will explore in the rest of the session. Cx PS there is a great clip on one of the Community Playthings DVDs called the chocolate machine, which really shows the depth of free play...worth a moment to reflect, at the end of a session. Edited December 31, 2013 by catma 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 I have often started sessions like this with a general reflection on your own childhood and the things you got up to. It has the following outcomes: Everyone can talk confidently about themselves so it is a good "ice breaker" You will then generally be able to tease out the following themes(amongst others): Freedom, no intrinsic outcome, no adults making rules, time, use of found objects imaginatively,collaboration, discussion... The outcomes will always be linkable to theorists, e.g. Tina Bruce's aspects of play so make a good intro to the themes you will explore in the rest of the session. Cx PS there is a great clip on one of the Community Playthings DVDs called the chocolate machine, which really shows the depth of free play...worth a moment to reflect, at the end of a session. Thanks catma, will look at that DVD. I have planned to look at Tina Bruce mainly because I favour her, I think she is easy to understand and also there is a danger of diluting theory if you try to do too much, so I am glad you suggested her too.Good idea about the starter too, this will also pull in the differences in technological play etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamgirl Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Sustained shared thinking? Conflict resolution during play??? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Hi Rufus, good luck in your new venture. My first thoughts were wow that's a lot to try and cover in 3 hours..its quite surprising how quickly the time goes especially if you are doing a video clip. My second thought was exactly what Catma said, relate it back to their child hood experiences and memories, as these almost always involve play and often outdoors. Is this a single stand alone session on p[lay or part of a wider course you are delivering where you can keep referring back to play at every opportunity. If the former, then I would break down the 3 hours into the major things I want to cover. When I plan training I block it into half hour blocks (maybe extending to 45 mins) so over 3 hours I would have about 4-5 'chunks'. Then I'd plan each 'chunk', trying to ensure there is a balance of me talking and them discussing. If they re SCITT/GTP they may well have degrees in early childhood, and so will have covered something on play before. Do you know your audience yet? I would plan my timings at the end, once I know what Im covering and often have 'something up my sleeve' in case a bit ends up being shorter than expected (I usually find the opposite however). Good luck with it all, do let us know how it goes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garrison Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 what about the differences in how boys and girls play? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I've taught play theory sessions over a few years now and I'm amazed at the differences in the recollections of the students across time. It used to be that students were eager to tell me all about what they had done outdoors, unsupervised, etc, but my present students don't seem to have had any experiences like this. These are the youngest I've taught but their experiences are so different. On the subject of the video clips, there are quite a lot on YouTube from the EYFS training materials. If your network settings at work don't allow you to use YouTube there are tools you can use to download the clips and embed them into presentations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 Hi Rufus, good luck in your new venture. My first thoughts were wow that's a lot to try and cover in 3 hours..its quite surprising how quickly the time goes especially if you are doing a video clip. My second thought was exactly what Catma said, relate it back to their child hood experiences and memories, as these almost always involve play and often outdoors. Is this a single stand alone session on p[lay or part of a wider course you are delivering where you can keep referring back to play at every opportunity. If the former, then I would break down the 3 hours into the major things I want to cover. When I plan training I block it into half hour blocks (maybe extending to 45 mins) so over 3 hours I would have about 4-5 'chunks'. Then I'd plan each 'chunk', trying to ensure there is a balance of me talking and them discussing. If they re SCITT/GTP they may well have degrees in early childhood, and so will have covered something on play before. Do you know your audience yet? I would plan my timings at the end, once I know what Im covering and often have 'something up my sleeve' in case a bit ends up being shorter than expected (I usually find the opposite however). Good luck with it all, do let us know how it goes Hi Mundia This is a stand alone session on play. The students will have a range of sessions, planning, working with other professionals, AFL, cores subject knowledge etc but only 1 specifically on play. Apart from the play they will see, plan and do on their teaching practices. Your advice on planning in chunks is good, thanks and although you say i will probably have too much material, I am fearful of running out! Or waffling on so quickly that i zoom through it all! Are your chunks quite varied to encompass a lot of things or do you tend to keep them very specific so that you don't veer off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 I've taught play theory sessions over a few years now and I'm amazed at the differences in the recollections of the students across time. It used to be that students were eager to tell me all about what they had done outdoors, unsupervised, etc, but my present students don't seem to have had any experiences like this. These are the youngest I've taught but their experiences are so different. On the subject of the video clips, there are quite a lot on YouTube from the EYFS training materials. If your network settings at work don't allow you to use YouTube there are tools you can use to download the clips and embed them into presentations. Yes, thanks for reminding me about the EYFS training materials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rea Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 The first question we were asked on my DPP was 'What is play?' I cant remember what any of us answered but I know what I think play is now...Its NOT reading the instructions that come with the new phone, DVD player or kindle. It's chilling in front of the TV, going to the gym, drinking with friends, walking round the park. It's absent mindedly smoothing, moulding and sifting the sand when we're at the beach, its making patterns when we wash the windows or the car, its thinking of new ways of doing something we've always done, like rearranging the furniture or storing the kitchen pans. Play is how we all learn, still :1b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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