Learning And Connecting In School Playgrounds

Play is critical to children’s well-being and development. All students should have access to and adequate time for positive play experiences every day. Learning and Connecting in School Playgrounds invites parents, teachers, principals and education administrators to take another look at their school playgrounds as spaces crucial to learning, well-being and development. This book combines research findings, commentary and the authors’ personal experiences and observations together with the views of teachers, principals, parents and students related to play and play spaces. Key content includes consideration of the role of adults in the school playground, the influence of technology on play, the challenges experienced by children transitioning to new school environments and consideration of strategies to support students’ access and participation in the playground. Cases are presented to illustrate the use of an audit tool to enhance school playgrounds. The future of school playgrounds is also considered through the reported hopes and dreams of adults and students and a range of recommendations are made for the review and development of schools’ outdoor play spaces. Learning and Connecting in School Playgrounds is written with a sense of urgency, calling for the recognition of positive play experiences as invaluable to children’s education. It includes important and challenging insights to inform and guide decision-making and will be an essential resource for all stakeholders who share responsibility for children’s participation and learning during school break-times.

This book is a research guide for implementing contemporary playground strategies to promote active, healthy students. A number of school playground strategies have succeeded in reducing the decline in students’ activity levels by introducing equipment and policies that encourage further engagement. The book outlines these strategies and ideas and offers insights into their multiple levels of influence on engaging students in school playground activities that can promote student health. It also discusses previous investigations into the effect of playground strategies on students’ activities and the differences between structured and unstructured playground activities; investigations that have explored the translatability and feasibility of specific school playground strategies and potential recommendations for future school playground research. It also provides observations on the features students desire in their playgrounds and what features are important in terms of safe activities, enjoyment levels, which in turn offers suggestions for future research directions.

This text examines the free play of children in middle childhood, exploring their actual play activities in the school playground. It counters the widespread concern about the supposed decline in children's play with fresh evidence from Australia, Canada, France, Israel and Britain of the vibrancy, creativity and variety of free play activities, particularly in the school playground. The detailed case studies discuss the many aspects of children's play traditions, including the use of playground space, the ways in which children learn and adapt games and rhymes in multicultural and monocultural settings, children's creative and subversive use of mass media items, and gendered dimensions of play. Emphasis is on children's own perceptions, the importance of free play at a time when it is increasingly under threat, and the benefits that an informed appreciation of contemporary children's play can bring to teaching, the management of school playtime, and intercultural and intergenerational understanding.

An examination of the role of play in the lives of children. Based on close observations of a school playground, this shows children at play in a relatively natural, unstructured environment, and makes a strong case for the importance of free exploration, wonder, imagination, and play to the learning and growth of children.

As a teacher, what are a teacher's personal, social and emotional responsibilities in supporting pupils with diverse learning needs? There is no longer a place for a teacher who denies their role in the education of pupils with diverse needs. But understanding how to meet these challenges, particularly in amongst the other challenges of teaching and the classroom, can seem daunting. Drawing on examples from early years to college, this book looks at what inclusion and inclusive practice means in practice and how it relates to different aspects of teaching. Covering issues related to teacher well-being, resilience and other professional skills this book offers the reader the opportunity to use case studies and research to reflect on their own professional practice. Expertly crafted by Sue Soan, drawing on the expertise of a team of practitioners and academics, this book brings together the latest research and current practice. International case studies showcase examples of practice and reflexive questions encourage the reader to explore their experiences, knowledge and expectations to help them to develop as a practitioner.

Outdoor recreation refers to recreation/activity executed outdoors, most commonly in natural settings. At least in many high-income countries, outdoor recreation is by many considered as an attractive activity during spare time or holidays. People actively seek out activities such as walking in the mountains, climbing, hunting, horseback riding, skiing, etc., which are very often difficult to accommodate in ordinary working days. Some people find outdoor recreation attractive to the extent that they take several months or a year off from work in order to spend time in nature. Outdoor recreation stimulates a healthy lifestyle and increases public health, and it is important to develop outdoor activity habits from early childhood, a habit that should last for an entire lifetime. This book will take you through the definitions of outdoor recreation and different types of recreation. Furthermore, the book will also give you a snapshot of the physiological and psychological effects of outdoor recreation and why outdoor recreation is important for development in children and adolescents, and for adults and the older population, in addition to descriptions of some of the major and maybe the most used outdoor activities.

This fully revised and updated third edition presents teachers with a range of up-to-date evidence-based strategies they can use to tackle the challenges of inclusive education. An essential resource for the busy educator, each of the twenty-nine strategies explored in this book has a substantial research base drawn from a range of countries, a strong theoretical rationale and clear guidelines on their implementation, as well as cautionary advice where necessary. Key features of the third edition include: An easy to follow structure divided into four categories: behavioural approaches, social strategies, cognitive strategies and mixed strategies Eight new chapters, focusing on topical areas such as neuroscience, social and emotional education, visual learning and communication and the transition from school to post-school environments Updated chapters that consider the most diverse and up-to-date research in education, psychology, health and technology Whilst the focus of this book is on children with special educational needs, the strategies are universally applicable, making this essential reading for all classroom teachers, school leaders, teacher educators and students, educational psychologists, special needs coordinators and consultants and educational researchers.