Guided Play: Where Curricular Goals Meet a Playful Pedagogy

TLDR

Decades of research show that a strong curricular approach to preschool education is essential for later developmental outcomes. The authors argue that guided play can deliver content as effectively as direct instruction while being more developmentally appropriate by fostering child‑centered exploration and active engagement. Guided play sits between direct instruction and free play, presenting a learning goal and scaffolding the environment while giving children substantial control over their learning. Evidence indicates that guided play often outperforms direct instruction in promoting positive academic outcomes and encourages children to become active, engaged partners in learning.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Decades of research demonstrate that a strong curricular approach to preschool education is important for later developmental outcomes. Although these findings have often been used to support the implementation of educational programs based on direct instruction, we argue that guided play approaches can be equally effective at delivering content and are more developmentally appropriate in their focus on child‐centered exploration. Guided play lies midway between direct instruction and free play, presenting a learning goal, and scaffolding the environment while allowing children to maintain a large degree of control over their learning. The evidence suggests that such approaches often outperform direct‐instruction approaches in encouraging a variety of positive academic outcomes. We argue that guided play approaches are effective because they create learning situations that encourage children to become active and engaged partners in the learning process.