Measuring Learning Through Play

Deepening our understanding of what learning through play looks like in different contexts and learning settings is central to supporting all children to learn and reach their full potential. That is why we have developed two sets of tools to measure learning to play in action: The Playful Learning Across the Years (PLAY) toolkit and the Teacher RePlay tool

Children develop a breadth of skills when they are active agents in their own learning journeys. Caregivers and educators that promote play, child-centered learning, and exploration place children in the centre of their own learning and create a learning environment that support children to reach their full potential. But changing well-established ways of teaching and learning is often challenging. And a key ingredient to shift mindsets, policies and learning practices is deepening our understanding of what learning through play looks like in different contexts and learning settings.

That is why we have developed and piloted two sets of tools: The Playful Learning Across the Years (PLAY) toolkit and the Teacher RePlay tool. The PLAY toolkit has been developed specifically for practitioners and researchers and the Teacher RePlay tool specifically for teachers. However, we encourage anyone who is interested in measuring learning through play and associated methodologies to explore these pages and learn more!

Learning Through Play

Children know play is their superpower. We’re here to convince the grown-ups. Because play is something every child, everywhere in the world can do. It fuels curiosity, sparks creativity, and inspires a lifelong love of learning.

Discover what we mean by learning through play

The PLAY and Teacher RePlay tools

We have worked with partners to develop and test the tools needed to demonstrate the impact of playful pedagogies on children’s holistic outcomes across age groups, settings, and geographies. The tools are designed to be affordable, valid and feasible ways to measure how adults support children’s engagement in learning, and to support teachers with their playful practices.

The PLAY toolkit and the Teacher RePlay tool enable users implementing innovative, playful pedagogies to better understand and advocate for their approaches.  While the tools are already available to use, they are still undergoing further testing, piloting and improvement in 2023 and beyond.

 

PLAY toolkit

Developed for practitioners and researchers. Designed to measure the quality of adult-child interactions which supports children's engagement in learning. The toolkit can be used for children from birth to 12-years-old and can be applied across diverse learning settings and contexts.

Discover the PLAY toolkit

Teacher RePlay tool

Designed to help teachers reflect on and improve learning through play in their classrooms. The tool can be used by teachers of 3–12-year-olds who have some familiarity with learning through play practices and can be applied across diverse contexts.

Discover the Teacher RePlay tool

Want to explore more tools?

Explore our research