A Framework For Learning Through Play At School

A new framework for learning through play  has been developed to support teachers in the
classroom and help guide policy and practice in the early years of schooling.
The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the LEGO Foundation have
worked together to develop the framework. Senior Research Fellow Rachel Parker and
Research Fellow Amy Berry – from ACER’s Education and Development research program –
say it has the potential to create a better understanding of learning through play at school and
improve the quality of implementation.
Writing in ACER’s Discover, the researchers say learning through play is considered an
effective approach in the early years. ‘However, while the early years encompass children up
to the age of eight, there is currently no common language for learning through play at school,
or way to determine how well it is done. …Without a common language, learning through play
at school remains in the “good ideas unrealised” category of education research.’
Parker and Berry explain the framework uses an expanded definition of learning through play
that draws on contemporary research. It was developed following a scoping review (Parker &
Thomsen, 2019) which looked at the role and impact of learning through play at school.
The four components
The new framework outlines four components for effective implementation:
 Student experience of learning – providing opportunities for joyful, actively engaging,
meaningful, iterative and socially interactive learning.
 Learning outcomes – thinking about more than literacy and numeracy skills.
 Facilitation – the best teaching approach for the desired learning outcome.
 Design – how well resources (students, teachers, materials, learning environment) are
used to achieve the desired learning experience.
Parker and Berry say, importantly, the framework is school ready. ‘It considers the language of
primary school and constraints of school learning, including accountability for skills
attainment and curriculum content.’
There are also guiding questions for educators which can be used to identify gaps and
opportunities to strengthen playful practices, and form school-based action research projects.
Parker, Berry and ACER Research Fellow Kellie Picker have previously discussed some of the
characteristics of playful learning at school. They explained the five characteristics are:
 Joy – feelings of curiosity, accomplishment, enthusiasm;
 Iteration – repetition, experimentation, trial and error;
 Meaning – making connections, deep learning, motivation;
 Active engagement – minds on, interested, invested in learning; and,
 Social interaction – communicating, sharing, collaborating.