Learning Through Play

• Published in: Journal of adolescent & adult literacy Vol. 59; no. 1; pp. 63 - 73
• Main Authors: Honeyford, Michelle A., Boyd, Karen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-07-2015
• Subjects: Action research; Action research, teacher research; College/university students; Constructivism; Digital/media literacies; Discourse analysis; Early adolescence; etc.; Interest; Internet; Mentoring; Modes; Motivation/engagement; music; professional development; Qualitative; Research methodology; Sociocultural; Specialized vocabulary; Specific media (hypertext; Specific media (hypertext, Internet, film, music, etc.); Teacher education; Teacher education, professional development; teacher research; Theoretical perspectives; Visual literacy; Vocabulary; Vygotskian; Writing
• ISSN: 1081-3004; 1936-2706
• DOI: 10.1002/jaal.428

Play has a significant role in language and literacy learning. However, even when valued in schools, opportunities for play are limited beyond early childhood education. This study of an after‐school program for adolescents looks closely at several forms of play that students engaged in to produce self‐portraits. The study suggests that play and experimentation with visual texts, tools, spaces, peers, and materials contributed to students’ engagement with complex visual literacy practices. Two important implications are discussed: (1) that learning through play is a participatory, inclusive approach to literacy that invites adolescent students, even those often reticent to take risks, to cultivate literacy practices and identities; and (2) that visual modes of literacy play and production enable an experiential understanding of academic literacy concepts adaptable to other modalities and contexts.
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