**ECP Credit Available**
Play isn't a break from learning; it
is the engine of learning. However, many educators feel stuck between "free play" (which feels chaotic) and "direct instruction" (which feels rigid). This interactive workshop bridges that gap using the Spectrum of Play framework. Participants will begin with a 15-minute deep dive into the research-backed power of playful learning, identifying the five key characteristics that make an activity "playful": joy, meaning, active engagement, iteration, and social interaction. We will also explore the various “stops” along the spectrum of play and discus their relative strengths.
The core of the session is a hands-on "Pedagogical Pivot." Participants will audit one of their own existing lessons, mapping it onto the spectrum and identifying opportunities to infuse it with greater agency and choice. By the end of the session, educators will walk away with a redesigned, playful lesson plan and a toolkit of strategies to move their practice toward
Guided Play—the sweet spot where adult scaffolding meets child-led discovery.
Learning Objectives
- Deconstruct the nuances between free play, guided play, games, and direct instruction.
- Evaluate a current learning activity using the five evidence-based characteristics of playful learning: joyful, meaningful, actively engaging, iterative, and socially interactive.
- Synthesize pedagogical strategies to "pivot" a teacher-led activity into a guided play experience that maintains learning goals while increasing student agency.
