Sign up for Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter to keep up with the latest news on Chicago Public Schools.For six weeks, Melinda Martinez-Epperson’s preschool students immersed themselves in studying the medical field — all because one of their schoolmates arrived to class with a cast on their broken arm.Their classroom was turned into a makeshift hospital. The students crafted an email to a physician with questions on x-rays, and they molded their own casts on dolls.At the Play Lab, a home-based preschool in Albany Park, students take the lead on what subjects to focus on and learn through something all kids love: play. “They become researchers,” said Martinez-Epperson, the school’s founder. “So it’s really high-order thinking.”Martinez-Epperson’s teaching style, known as play-based learning, isn’t an anomaly. It’s part of a larger nationwide movement to give students more hands-on and exploratory learning experiences — notably against the backdrop of an education system still grappling with pandemic recovery and how to address artificial intelligence and screen time in the classroom. Now, kindergarten teachers in Illinois have a clearer understanding of how to implement play-based learning in their classrooms after state lawmakers passed an official definition for the practice last month. School districts were already required to incorporate play-based learning — though originally left undefined — into classrooms as part of a state law passed in 2023 requiring all districts to offer full-day kindergarten by the 2027-28 school year.The legislation defines play-based learning by underscoring two types of play: teacher-initiated and student-initiated. In teacher-initiated play, an educator intentionally sets up and leads students through activities “aligned to learning goals or standards,” according to the bill. For instance, a teacher might create a scavenger hunt for students to do on a nature walk as a way to learn about the environment. Student-initiated play lets children explore learning activities curated by their teacher, such as open-ended arts and crafts.By clearly outlining play-based learning into law, Edgebrook Elementary School pre-K teacher and Teach Plus fellow Margi Bhansali said educators will have “a little bit more to stand on” if their administrators aren’t supportive of the practice. Bhansali, who helped draft the bill’s wording, has used play-based learning on a daily basis for about 14 years teaching preschool in Chicago Public Schools. But that hasn’t always been the case in kindergarten, which she said has been turned into “the new first grade, second grade, third grade” to meet academic standards.Play as an answer to the ‘schoolification’ of kindergarten?Many schools cater their activities to improve standardized test scores and other metrics, even at the kindergarten level— something University of Chicago Medicine professor Dana Suskind refers to as the “schoolification” of early childhood education.But a formal, traditional school experience doesn’t offer what Suskind, who is also director for University of Chicago’s TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, says is the main way young kids learn: through play. That doesn’t mean children get extra recess, but instead, they participate in activities that allow them to explore concepts and ask questions. Play-based learning isn’t intended to replace direct instruction but rather serve as a way to enhance it, said Cristina Carrazza, a NORC at the University of Chicago researcher.For example, students might learn their letters by forming them with sticks or Play-Doh rather than tracing them on a worksheet. It’s fun for the kids and gives them a memorable experience that makes them excited to learn.Those types of activities are especially useful in a kindergarten classroom where children might experience a tough transition from daycare or home to attending elementary school. Teachers can observe students’ skills through play, as well as individualize their teaching approach, Carrazza said.It’s also a learning concept that applies to children of all ages. Diana Zepeda, another teacher who worked on the new definition, often encountered misconceptions in her advocacy about applying play-based learning in older classrooms. As a second grade teacher at Haugan Elementary School in Albany Park, she instructs 7- and 8-year-olds through play, such as taking them to the school parking lot to measure a car with different unit measurements.“When I see students are struggling, I’m like, OK, this is my cue to plan something,” Zepeda said. “In second grade, we call it more like ‘hands on’ instead of play-based, but it’s basically the same thing.”How play pays off in the long runResearchers and teachers emphasize many benefits for students as a result of play-based learning.Students who are too shy — or too bored — to participate in a lesson might find themselves more engaged and less likely to have behavior issues when given opportunities to learn through play, Carrazza said. It can also reinvigorate educators’ motivation to teach, she said. “There’s like a buzz in the room. Students are excited, they’re on task, and you know, they look forward to it throughout the day,” Carrazza said.One of the biggest developments Bhansali sees in her pre-K students is improving their soft skills — things like negotiating, building relationships, problem-solving, and sharing with others. Children can’t “necessarily show [those abilities] on a test score or on a report card,” Bhansali said, but they are important for students’ success later in life.A ‘step in the right direction’ but more work to be donePlay-based learning requires a lot of creativity from a teacher to form intentional experiences for their students. That translates to a larger undertaking, which Suskind said could be a barrier for educators already balancing a heavy workload.“We need to think about what we can take off their plate so that they can be more present,” she said.Reducing classroom sizes could be part of the solution, said Martinez-Epperson, the educator at the Play Lab. Investing in play-based learning training for teachers is another gap to be addressed.Then, there’s the need to ensure equitable access to play-based learning opportunities — an issue personal to Martinez-Epperson. Students from under-resourced communities, especially Black and brown children, often miss out on play in the classroom when they are “the children who need it the most,” she said. Instead of play-based learning, those children are pressured to focus on testing, Martinez-Epperson said.As a first-generation Mexican- and Cuban-American, Martinez-Epperson recalls her childhood as difficult. Her own hands-on school experiences affected her positively as a student and ignited her passion for teaching, she said.That shouldn’t be a unique educational experience because “every child deserves play,” she said.Makiya Seminera is a reporter covering how the state and federal government affect education in Chicago and across Illinois. Contact Makiya at mseminera@chalkbeat.org.
