The teacher’s role is critical in a play-based learning classroom. A purposeful balance of child-directed, adult-led and guided play is the most effective for students’ learning.

Research is increasingly showing that settings where students are predominately left to engage in only student led play, are the least successful environments for student learning, development, engagement, and behaviour (Mashburn, 2008; Robertson, Yim & Paatsch, 2020;  Sylva et al., 2010; Zosh et al., 2018).

Teaching practices that support student learning outcomes in the Australian context

To further support teacher’s teaching practices in Australian classrooms, the Victorian Department of Education and Training have identified high impact teaching strategies (HITS). These can be useful for teachers when thinking about implementing a play-based approach in school classrooms.

Read, look, or listen

High Impact Teaching Strategies – interactive video experiences

Click on the icons in the interactive below to engage with short video experiences. Each of the eight videos covers a different teaching strategy and has reflective prompts embedded. You can explore all eight experiences or just one depending on your individual need. Whether you watch one or all eight, we encourage you to consider how teachers can use interactions, planning and teaching strategies in an integrated way to support students’ learning in a play-based learning approach.

Engage and extend

A summary of information shared in the interactive video experiences can be found in this handout poster.

As you reflect on the strategies, consider how you could apply them to your practice. In addition, write an example of ways in which you have applied these strategies in your classroom. You can download the poster and either print or digitally annotate the strategies with your own teaching stories.