A Reflective Lens: Music Pedagogical Research to Transform Practice | Page 76

Becoming a Reflective Practitioner:
A Music Teacher’s Exploration of Singing Games

Introduction: Why Singing Games?
The Importance of Play
The need to play is fundamental to children, and much of their
activities are centred on the notion of play (Sandberg & Heden,
2010). Mead (2009) supports this notion by pointing out that play,
besides creating feelings of fun and joy, is able to allow children
to develop their identity, self-esteem, and allow for socialisation
between individuals to take place. It not only exposes what
children know and what they do not understand, but also what
they are interested in (Burriss & Tsao, 2012). Malone and Tranter
(2003) state that play allows for children to learn, experiment and
be creative, thus enabling them to be better problem-solvers. It
also enables children to construct their own meaning of different
situations through communication and negotiation (Samuelsson &
Carlsson, 2008).
Free Play versus Structured Play
‘Free play’ is defined as what children do during their “free activities”
(Wallerstedt & Pramling, 2011), where the children initiate the activity
(Samuelsson & Carlsson, 2008). Children enjoy free play as it is a
break from the “teacher-controlled activities” within school, where
they are left with little adult intervention or supervision and they get
to “make of it what they will” (Blatchford, Creeser & Mooney, 2006).
It is also an opportune time for children to learn how to socialise
with one another (Sandberg & Heden, 2010).
‘Structured play’, on the other hand, as coined by Walsh (2011,
p.110) can be described as follows:

“The idea of playful structure invites teachers
and children to initiate and maintain a degree of
playfulness in the learning experience, even when the
learning intentions demand a supportive structure.
… (It) not only recognises play as a valuable mode of
learning in its own right but also invites playfulness to
be infused into every activity.”

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