Broadening teacher training: playful learning in non-formal contexts for science and mathematics education

Abstract

Currently, new ways of learning to develop skills such as creativity and scientific and mathematical thinking are needed. Teachers need to be prepared to face this challenge by engaging with education in any context, including non-formal ones. Moreover, in such a changing world, non-formal education could be a rich source of jobs. Work opportunities may arise if teachers in training begin to see themselves as entrepreneurial professionals. We might ask: Are future teachers prepared to educate future generations in today’s world? In this shifting scenario, would an approach for teacher training concerning non-formal contexts, based on playful learning and specially focused on science and mathematics education, be worthwhile? As part of the higher education of pre-service kindergarten teachers, we undertook such an approach with the aim of broadening their training at the university. We sought the perceptions of the teachers in training, after the development of our approach, regarding its usefulness for their future professional development, giving them the opportunity to express their own reflections in writing. We studied the participants’ reflections following the qualitative-interpretive technique of content analysis of the speech. The results of the qualitative analysis provided the emergence of 19 units of meaning (subcategories). The study of the interrelationships among these units revealed the existence of 3 interrelated joined cores (categories). Those cores are: science and mathematics education, playful learning, and non-formal education, and around them the discourse of the educators in training was articulated.

Keywords: Scientific educationmathematical educationplayful learningnon-formal educationtoy libraryteacher training

1. Problem statement

Currently, new ways of learning to develop skills such as creativity and scientific and mathematical

thinking are needed. Teachers must be prepared to face this challenge by engaging with education in

any context, including non-formal ones. Moreover, in such a changing world, non-formal education

could be a rich source of jobs. Work opportunities may arise if teachers in training begin to see

themselves as entrepreneurial professionals. Places such as toy libraries, farm-schools, educational

camps, cultural clubs, and museums offer educators new professional opportunities as alternatives to a

conventional teaching career.

Studies on learning, conducted in museums, conclude that an educational activity in a museum

stimulates the imagination, intuition, and creativity, fomenting a type of learning which is not limited

to the cognitive level but includes emotional and imaginative levels (Perez & Moliní, 2004).

Specifically, in terms of extracurricular activities, science museums have been recognized as non-

formal educational contexts where scientific literacy can be promoted (Calvo & Stengler, 2004; Pérez

& Moliní, 2004). Studies have concluded that participation in extracurricular activities helps reduce

anti-social behaviour in young people, who are positively reinforced by the participation of the social

network of the individual, family, friends (Mahoney, 2000). This is an example of non-formal

education being important in social inclusion and the democratization of knowledge. The same is true

of toy libraries (Jackson, Robey, Watjus & Chadwick, 1991; Caldeira & Oliver, 2007; de Angelo &

Vieira, 2010), which provide an answer to the lack of equal access to education by their beneficial

action when difficulties appear in any of three areas: economic, personal or socio-cultural (de Borja,

1994).

Toy libraries are specialized centres aimed at children in which you educate through play. Are divided

according to their ownership, which can be public or private, being independent or integrated into

entertainment centres, schools, businesses, shops ... in which a space for the development of a play

workshop is enabled: can be public ownership and management, or private in management and public in

ownership, have an agreement with the administration or private both in management and ownership. At

the same time, we find models of toy libraries specialized in certain sectors of age, adapted to children

with special needs, hospital toy libraries, giants, travelling... (Ruiz de Peralta, 2009, p.522)

Toy libraries were initially modelled after libraries, dedicated to loaning games, but later expanded

as facilitators of playing areas, after the recognition of this activity as a right of children(Ruiz de

Peralta, 2009). Besides having the right to play, children learn while playing, and, by playing the right

games, they can learn a great deal. Particularly, games should be used to attract children to science and

mathematics (Haist & Burla, 2010). Playful learning is among the new ways recommended to foster

the skills needed in today’s world, as Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff (2008) have stated:

Play is, thus, central for school readiness and school performance. It might also play an important role in

preparing children for the global world beyond the classroom. Business leaders suggest that in the

knowledge age, success will depend on children having a toolkit of skills that include collaboration

(teamwork, social competence), content (e.g., reading, math, science, history), communication (oral and

written), creative innovation , and confidence (taking risks and learning from failure). Each of these “Five

Cs” is nurtured in playful learning. (p.4)

Those skills include scientific and mathematical thinking, with play constituting a valuable resource

for STEM education, i.e. interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education

(Bergen, 2009). The literature offers examples in which play and games have been successfully applied

to teaching and learning of science in all stages of education, including higher education (Cabra, 2004,

Franco-Mariscal, Oliva-Martinez and Almoraim, 2014; Giménez, Pagés and Martinez, 2011; Muñoz,

2010; Noy, 2011; Rodriguez, 2007; Uría, 2004).

Furthermore, the analysis, projection, design, and evaluation of playful resources and games are

valuable tools for teacher training in science and mathematics (Fernández-Oliveras & Oliveras, 2014a).

With this idea, devoted not only to formal but to non-formal educational contexts, a subject matter was

introduced in the last year of the Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of

Granada (Spain). We set up this course in the year 2013 and have been developing it for three

academic years.

The experience gained so far confirms that the teachers in training have a positive attitude towards

play and the development of mathematical and scientific thinking as ingredients in an educational

approach (Fernández-Oliveras & Oliveras, 2014b, 2015). However, most teachers still have a

traditional way of addressing their entry into the labour market on completing their higher education, in

the sense they tend to look for jobs as teachers hired in public or private schools. Therefore, in our way

of approaching the subject matter, we emphasize non-formal education with the aim of broadening

teachers’ training during their higher education at the university. In this work, we investigate the

perceptions of the teachers in training who were involved in our approach, enquiring into its usefulness

for their professional future in order to ascertain their opinions about facing science and mathematics

education in non-formal contexts, once they completed the course.

2.Research Questions and Purpose of the Study

3.Methods

4.Findings

4.1.Sample Characterization

As mentioned above, the first part of the survey was intended to characterize the sample, in the

sense of knowing the participants’ reasons for choosing the subject matter, and was composed around

two semi-closed-ended questions. Figure 1 shows the responses to the first question, which was: “Why

did you choose this subject matter?”. Participants could select only one of the items on the list. If

respondents selected the option “Others”, they could fill in a textual answer.

See Full Size >

It can be seen that most participants (85%) chose the subject matter due to the topics addressed.

Only one respondent marked the option “Others”, citing curricular reasons (validation of a subject). It

bears mentioning that no participant chose the subject matter due to the lecturers who conducted it,

which means that no opinion was influenced for this reason.

The participants who chose the subject matter because of the topics (85%) were asked which

specific topic prompted their choice. In this case, respondents could choose as many options as they

wished from the list, including the option “Others”, filling in a textual answer. Their answers are

displayed in Figure 2 .

See Full Size >

As can be seen, the most frequent response option was “Play in the teaching-learning process”

(55%), followed by “Mathematics education in kindergarten” (46%), “Science education in

kindergarten” (33%) and, finally, “Non-Formal education” (18%). No respondent marked the option

“Others” in this case. Of the respondents, 12% chose two options and 9% chose three, while the rest

chose only one response option.

4.2.Participants’ Perceptions

As indicated in Section 3 .2, the second part of the questionnaire regarded the usefulness of the

approach for the participants’ professional future. It was mixed and composed of two questions. The

first one was a closed-ended question (Likert type) and its answers can be seen in Figure 3 .

See Full Size >

The subject matter was found highly useful by a 23% of the participants, quite useful by 51% of

them, and moderately useful by 21%. Only one respondent considered the subject matter as barely

useful, and another one found it not useful at all. In general terms, we can affirm that the participants

perceived the teacher-training approach performed as rather useful for their professional future.

The last question we added to the second part of the questionnaire was open-ended in order to allow

the participants’ to express their reflections in their own words. The question was: “In which aspects do

you consider that the subject matter is useful for your professional future?”. The qualitative analysis of

participants’ reflections, shown by means of the answers to this query, revealed the emergence of 19

different units of meaning. The study of the interrelationships among these units revealed the existence

of 3 interrelated joined cores. We call the units of meaning “emerging subcategories”, and the joined

cores, “emerging categories” (Pérez, 1998). In Table 1 , the emerging subcategories, grouped into

categories, are listed. Figure 4 depicts the interrelationships found among the emerging categories.

See Full Size >

See Full Size >

We can see that the most frequent category was the one related to non-formal education (56%),

although it was the one that brings together the fewest number of subcategories, with only 4

(approximately half of subcategories of that the other categories have). This is because the

aforementioned category includes the two subcategories that arose most frequently in the discourse of

the participants: knowledge of non-formal education (31%), and management and working in a toy

library (21%). That result is particularly striking given that non-formal education appeared as the topic

that, a priori , least motivated the participants’ choice to the subject matter, among other possible topics

involved. The third most frequent subcategory was educational games manufacture (18%), grouped

into the category regarding playful learning.

It bears mentioning the emergence of some especially meaningful subcategories, even though they

had a very low frequency (3%). Those key categories are: relations between science and mathematics

(raising the STEM-education idea), self-confidence as science and mathematics educators (dealing with

teacher qualification), children’s creativity (paying attention to the skills which educators should foster

in the children) and entrepreneurship (stressing the self-employment issue).

5.Conclusions

As part of the higher education of pre-service kindergarten teachers, we undertook an approach for

educator training in non-formal contexts, based on playful learning and specially focused on science

and mathematics education.

In general terms, we can state that the participants perceived the approach as being quite useful for

their professional future.

We studied the reflections of the teachers in training after the development of our approach,

following the qualitative-interpretive technique of content analysis of the speech. The results of the

qualitative analysis provided the emergence of 19 units of meaning (subcategories). The study of the

interrelationships among these units revealed the existence of 3 joined cores (categories) interrelated.

Those cores are:

1-Science and mathematics education

2-Playful learning

3-Non-formal education

and around them the discourse of the educators in training was articulated.

Acknowledgements

The authors express their appreciation to the Secretariado de Innovación Docente (University of Granada) for financing Teaching Innovation Project l5-44.

References

1. Babbie , E. (2012). The Practice of Social Research.
2. Bergen , D. (2009). Play as the learning medium for future scientists, mathematicians, and engineers.. American Journal of play. Avaible in. , 1, 413-428, http://www.journalofplay.org/sites/www.journalofplay.org/files/pdfarticles/1-4-article-play-as-learning-medium.pdf
3. PLand Luckmann, T. (2001). La construcción social de la Aires: Amorrortu. , realidad. Buenos
4. Cabra, N. (2004). Entre la ciencia y la magia, o los juegos del aprendiz. Nómadas, 21, 241-248
5. Caldeira, V. A.Oliver, F. C. (2007). A criança com deficiência e as relações interpessoais numa brinquedoteca comunitária. Revista brasileira de crescimento e desenvolvimento humano,.. Avaible in. , 17(2), 98-110, http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/pdf/rbcdh/v17n2/11.pdf
6. Calvo, C. V.Stengler, E. (2004). Los museos interactivos como recurso didactico: El Museo de las Ciencias y.
7. (), el Cosmos. Revista electrónica de enseñanza de las ciencias, 3(1), 32-47.
8. de Angelo, T. S.Vieira, M. R. R. (2010). Brinquedoteca hospitalar: da teoria à prática.Revista Arquivos de Ciências da Saúde,.. Avaible in. , 17(2), 84-90, http://repositorio-racs.famerp.br/racs_ol/vol-17-2/IDO4_%20ABR_JUN_2010.pdf
9. de Borja, M. (1994). Las ludotecas como instituciones educativas: enfoque sincrónico y diacrónico. Revista
10. (), interuniversitaria de formación del profesorado, (19), 19-41.
11. Ernest, P. (1997). The nature of Mathematics and Teaching. Philosophy of Mathematics Education Journal, 9
12. (), Avaible in: http://www.academia.edu/3188583/THE_NATURE_OF_MATHEMATICS_AND TEACHING.
13. Fernández-Oliveras, A.Oliveras, M. L. (2014a). Braga: Hands-on Science Network. Avaible in: http://www.hsci.info/Book_HSCI_2014_lowres. , A4(pdf), training. In
14. Fernández-Oliveras, A.Oliveras, M. L. (2014b). 1016/j.sbspro.2014.09.334.. Avaible in: http://edure.org/EduReJournalVol2N1/ EduRe_V2_I1_P3.pdf. , 2(1), 37-48, 856-861. DOI
15. Franco-Mariscal, A. J.Oliva-Martínez, J. M.y Almoraim, M. L. (2014). Students’ Perceptions about the Use of Educational Games as a Tool for Teaching the Periodic Table of Elements at the High School Level. Journal of Chemical Education, Avaible in: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/, 92(2), 278-285. DOI:10.1021/ed077p144
16. Giménez, C.Pagés, C.Martínez, J. J. (2011). Diseño y desarrollo de un juego educativo para ordenador sobre enfermedades tropicales y salud internacional: una herramienta docente más de apoyo al profesor universitario. Revista Eureka sobre Enseñanza y Divulgación de las Ciencias,/10862.. Avaible in: http://rodin.uca.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10498/10862/9_Pardo_et_al_2011.pdf?sequence=6&isAllowed=y. , 8(2), 10498-, 221-228. DOI
17. Haist , T.Burla, A. (2010). Learning by playing - how to create the perfect learning game for and with Education and Outreach, San Diego. Proceedings of SPIE, 77830E-1–77830E-10.. Avaible in: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/proceeding.aspx?articleid=754141. , optics. Optics
18. Hirsh-Pasek, K.Golinkoff, R. M. (2008). Why Play = Tremblay R. E., Barr R. G., Peters R. De V., Boivin M., (Eds.), Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development . Montreal: Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development.. Availble in: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kathy_Hirsh-Pasek/publication/237108843_Why_Play__Learning/links/0c9605260113d2d675000000.pdf. , 1-7, Learning. In
19. Jackson, S. C., Robey, L., Watjus, M., & Chadwick, E., (1991). Play for all children: The toy library solution.
20. (), Childhood Education, 68(1), 27-31.
21. Mahoney, J. L. (2000). School extracurricular activity participation as a moderator in the development of.
22. (), antisocial patterns. Child development, 71(2), 502-516.
23. Muñoz, J. M. (2010). Juegos y Q formulación. Revista Eureka sobre Enseñanza y Divulgación de las, educativos. F
24. (), Ciencias, 7(2), 559-565. DOI:10498/8927. Avaible in: http://reuredc.uca.es/index.php/tavira/article/view/14/11
25. Noy, J. M. (2011). La resolución de problemas lúdicos y el trabajo práctico de laboratorio como estrategia didáctica para el aprendizaje de las ciencias en el ciclo tres de educación básica. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación,.. Avaible in. , 55(3), 1-16, http://www.rieoei.org/deloslectores/3476Noy.pdf
26. Pérez, G. (1998). Investigación Cualitativa Retos e La Muralla. , Interrogantes. Madrid
27. Pérez, C. A.Molini, A. M. V. (2004). Consideraciones generales sobre la alfabetizacion cientifica en los museos de la ciencia como espacios educativos no formales. Revista electrónica de enseñanza de las ciencias, 3(3), 339-362
28. Ruiz de Peralta, N. R. (2009). La educación no formal en el último cuarto del siglo XX: las ludotecas como espacios educativos generados fuera de la escuela y su influencia en la identidad de gé El largo camino hacia una educación inclusiva: la educación especial y social del siglo XIX a nuestros días: XV Coloquio de Historia de la Educación, Pamplona-Iruñea, 29, 30 de junio y 1 de julio de. Universidad Pública de Navarra, 2009(pp. 515-524), nero. In
29. Rodríguez, F. P. (2007). Competencias comunicativas, aprendizaje y enseñanza de las Ciencias Naturales: un enfoque lúdico. Revista Electrónica de Enseñanza de las Ciencias,.. Avaible in. , 6(2), 275-298, http://www.saum.uvigo.es/reec/volumenes/volumen6/ART4_Vol6_N2.pdf
30. Uría, M. (2004). Jugar con la ciencia. Infancia: educar de 0 a 6 años, (87), 22-27