Supporting Educators Through Professional Learning and Leadership
Supporting Educators Through Professional Learning and Leadership
Sustaining guided play depends on an ecosystem in which principals, instructional coaches, district leaders, and instructional teams from across grade levels share a coherent vision of developmentally appropriate curriculum and teaching and are equipped with resources to meaningfully implement it( Pyle et al. 2020). To that end, school leaders can
› Create time and space for collaborative planning. One school implemented monthly cross-grade professional learning communities where prekindergarten-to-grade-2 teachers planned integrated units, observed each other’ s classrooms, and debriefed using video clips and children’ s work, building shared language and collective engagement.
› Use observation tools with a developmental lens. Rather than relying solely on compliance, leaders can develop walkthrough protocols that focus on student engagement, material use, peer interaction, and teacher facilitation. They can ask“ What are children doing?”;“ What are they learning?”;“ How is the teacher supporting the children without taking over the play?”
› Model learning alongside staff. When leaders participate in co-teaching, facilitate stations, or engage in book studies on playful pedagogy, they demonstrate that play( including guided play) is a valid, standardsaligned approach. Engaging in book studies can help connect practice, coaching, and supervision within one school or district( Tiong & Lee 2025).
When teachers, leaders, and instructional teams are given time, tools, and trust, guided play becomes a sustainable, impactful, and joyful approach to teaching and learning for all children.
Adapting Guided Play for Different Content Areas
The two previous vignettes show how guided play takes different forms( dramatic play, design challenges, interactive simulations), but it shares consistent features. These include learner agency, identified academic goals, meaningful contexts, and responsive adult support( Weisberg et al. 2013, 2016; Zosh et al. 2018). They challenge the assumption that play must be set aside in the name of academic learning. Instead, they demonstrate that guided play is a powerful method for aligning instruction with how young children learn: Joyfully, collaboratively, and with purpose.“ Additional Examples of Guided Play Across Pre-K – Grade 3” on page 27 offers more ideas for how educators can use guided play to meet content area goals. These are examples drawn from my research and the early learning standards relevant to participants in my study( Colorado Department of Education 2019, 2026; NGSS Lead States 2013).
26 Young Children
Fall 2026