Wisconsin schools reap long-term benefits by reinstating play in preK–K classrooms

The Challenge

According to a 2009 report by Alliance for Childhood,¹ children in all-day kindergartens typically spend four to six times as much time in literacy, mathematics, and test taking and preparation as in free play. This emphasis is detrimental to long-term academic achievement and well-being, according to McREL Principal Researcher Elena Bodrova.

Strategic Solution

Bodrova and Gwendolyn Coe, an early childhood education professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, are working to increase the amount of structured play time for children in 31 small, rural districts in Wisconsin through a three-year, $262,455 federal grant. Two cohorts have participated in each three-year grant cycle (50 teachers in 2004–2007, 75 teachers in 2007–2010). 

Bodrova and Coe are training teachers in strategies that allow children to learn self-regulation. A key strategy is structured, dramatic play, which encourages emotional and physical self-control, patience, and focused attention for extended periods. With these skills, oral/written communication and mathematics abilities improve in the long term as children acquire executive functions (self-regulating abilities), the ability to reason, and the use of language at a higher level.

Results

Participating teachers see improved outcomes in oral language, vocabulary, and phonological and phonemic awareness. Kindergarten teacher Laura Rhode, for example, who has implemented role playing, scaffolded writing, and use of daily questions, says that children connect sounds and symbols earlier, and their writing is more detailed.

Next Steps

Though the number of participating teachers is limited, the program has built-in sustainability and is cost-effective. Following the training in the strategies, teachers return to their schools to mentor others. Three school districts now provide on-site professional development and operate as models, so that mentoring will continue beyond the funding period.

¹Miller, E., & Almon, J. (2009). Crisis in the kindergarten: Why children need to play in school. College Park, MD: Alliance for Childhood.