Math Learning with Guided Play

Learning through guided play may have a more positive effect on younger children’s acquisition of important early math skills than traditional, direct instruction.

The 2022  research by academics at the University of Cambridge gathered and assessed data from numerous, widespread studies and information sources, which collectively documented guided play’s impact on the learning of around 3,800 children aged three to eight. Guided play broadly refers to playful educational activities gently steered by an adult, yet give children the freedom to explore a learning goal in their own way.

“… guided play aims to allow children to engage with and learn from their environment while receiving adult support that is contingent on their individual needs and interests.”

- Skene et al., 2022

Overall, the study found that this playful approach to learning can be just as effective as more traditional, teacher-led methods in developing key skills: including literacy, numeracy, social skills and essential thinking skills known as executive functions. The findings also suggest that children may master some skills – notably in math – more effectively through guided play than other methods.

References:

Carlson, S. M. (2023). Let Me Choose: The Role of Choice in the Development of Executive Function Skills. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 32(3), 220–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214231159052

Ernst J. R., Reynolds A. J. (2021). Preschool instructional approaches and age 35 health and well-being. Preventive Medicine Reports, 23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101498

Skene K., O’Farrelly C. M., Byrne E. M., Kirby N., Stevens E. C., Ramchandani P. G. (2022). Can guidance during play enhance children’s learning and development in educational contexts? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Child Development, 93, 1162–1180. https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cdev.13730