Inclusive play

In a play-based learning session, a pre-service teacher explores a number of strategies for how she can use her role to facilitate student participation and engagement. These include assisting students to join and rejoin groups, extending students to participate in more challenging activities, and facilitating group activities. The challenge for the teacher is how far to exert her authority in a situation where notionally the play and activities is student-centred and determined.

Ross Park is the oldest government primary school in Alice Springs. It has almost 400 students of which 25 per cent are Indigenous. At the school, a pre-service teacher from Charles Darwin University is in her final round of teaching practice. A play-based learning session is timetabled for younger students to allow them to become more actively engaged in learning. The teacher's role is to facilitate their engagement.