Dr. Dawnita Gallo published in highly respected journal
Dr. Dawnita Gallo, Early Childhood Education faculty member in the School of Teaching and Learning, has an article in the most recent issue of the International Journal of the Whole Child. This article synthesizes research-based information about the importance and use of guided play with young children.
Dr. Gallo’s article “Post-Pandemic Teaching in the Early Childhood Classroom: Supporting Children’s Social Skills to Enhance Play Experiences” provides a description of what guided play is and how the use of this teaching strategy, in an early childhood classroom, may enhance children’s learning through play. Additionally, this particular article provides scenarios in which the use of guided play scaffolds children learning in common peer-to-peer classroom interactions for children of various ages and play skill abilities. The scenarios are provided in such a way that teacher prep educators may use them in a classroom with pre-service teachers as a discussion guide about the benefits of play, steps to using guided play, and the teacher’s role in the learning of young children during play-based learning experiences.