ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 2 Acknowledgements I want to begin by thanking Dr. Speicher for her enthusiasm toward my project and for the generosity and grace with which she mentored me through this process. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Wrosch and Dr. Anderson for their probing questions and insights that made me a stronger writer and prepared presenter. I owe a debt of gratitude to Waterford School, particularly to Deanna Williams, for letting my spark for play and learning be ignited in my first jobs as Recess Teacher and Second Grade Teacher. Thank you to Susan Johnsen for her early support for this project, and to Melanie Battistone who allowed it to come to fruition and gave all the site support I needed. I want to especially thank Kristie Rasmussen for letting me into her classroom to watch magic happen, and for sharing her wisdom and passion with me. I look forward to partnering with you in many ways in the future. Thank you to my parents, Keith and Heather Lufkin, for raising me to believe that an education is the most important thing you can own. Thank you for supporting me to pursue my passions, no matter how far they took me from home. Thank you to my in-laws, Bob and Cathy Lambert, for your support always, and especially during this program. I could not have accomplished it without the countless hours of free babysitting. Thank you, Patrick, for acknowledging the many career sacrifices I have made for our family. Your awareness and support in helping me achieve my goals slowly but surely is a great gift. I love sharing my passion for education with you. Thank you for the many dinner conversations that were more like a professional development session than a date night. This paper, this degree, though, are for you, James and Hanna. I want to be an example for you that you can pursue your passion as a career. You can have a career and a family, and ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 3 love both. You can work hard and play hard, and both are important to do. I love you both more than I ever thought possible. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 4 Table of Contents NATURE OF THE PROBLEM ......................................................................................... 8 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 10 Introduction ............................................................................................... 10 The Role of Play in Learning .................................................................... 10 Executive Function and Play .................................................................... 13 The Intersection Executive Function, Nature, and Play ........................... 15 PURPOSE ......................................................................................................................... 19 METHOD ......................................................................................................................... 21 FINDINGS ........................................................................................................................ 23 The Value of Play ................................................................................................. 24 Play Builds Metacognitive and Attention Skills ................................................... 25 Play Allows for Creativity and Develops Problem-Solving Skills ....................... 26 The Benefits of Time Outdoors ............................................................................ 29 Current and Future Uses of the Outdoor Classroom ............................................. 31 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 36 The Value of Play for Building Executive Function Skills .................................. 36 Partnering with Parents for Play ........................................................................... 37 Schooling in the Outdoor Classroom .................................................................... 38 LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................................. 40 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 41 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 42 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................. 45 Appendix A: Site Photos ....................................................................................... 45 ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 5 Appendix B: IRB Approval Letter ........................................................................ 46 Appendix C: Interview Questions ......................................................................... 47 Appendix D: Survey ............................................................................................. 49 ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 6 List of Figures Figure 1: How Children Resolve Conflicts in the Outdoor Classroom ............................ 28 Figure 2: How Often Children Initiate and Complete Play in the Outdoor Classroom ... 30 Figure 3: Observed Activities in the Outdoor Classroom ................................................. 32 Figure 4: Perceptions Regarding Outdoor Classroom Use .............................................. 34 ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 7 Abstract As children play, they imagine, experiment, problem-solve, and share ideas and perspectives: in essence, they learn cognitive concepts and self-regulatory skills simultaneously. The inclusion of outdoor classrooms in early learning environments allows children a space in which to engage in developmentally appropriate play and engage in learning opportunities, as well as restore attentional reserves so further learning can take place. The study site is an independent PreK-12th grade school in suburban, mid-sized, mountain west city. The school recently constructed a state-of-the-art outdoor classroom and learning space adjacent to their pre-kindergarten classrooms. The participants in the study were four PreK4 teachers, one kindergarten teacher, one recess teacher and the school psychologist. This mixed-method study employed both personal interviews and surveys to answer four questions: (a) what types of play and learning teachers with a new outdoor classroom observed in their space, (b) what building blocks of academic skills and executive function skills teachers observed their students acquiring when in the outdoor classroom, (c) what types of social and emotional skills students use while playing and learning outdoors, and (d) what needs teachers have to optimize the benefits of an outdoor classroom. Teachers observe students building metacognitive attention skills, developing creativity, and learning how to communicate and problem-solve through their unstructured outdoor play. Partnering with parents to ensure they understand the cognitive benefits of play in the outdoor classroom and engaging teachers in professional development time and opportunities to innovate their materials and lesson planning to the outdoor classroom environment are next steps the school can take to maximize the benefits of the space. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 8 NATURE OF THE PROBLEM Though it might seem, to the casual observer, that children at play are doing something simple or devoid of meaning, play is the serious work of young children (Elkind, 2007). Kroll (2017) defined play as "how children learn about the world and learn to interact in and with the world" (p. 857). As children play, they imagine, experiment, problem-solve, and share ideas and perspectives: in essence, they learn cognitive concepts and self-regulatory skills simultaneously. Self-regulation is the ability to plan, direct, and manage one’s thoughts, and includes executive function and social and emotional abilities. Kaufman (2010) defined executive function skills as "those elements of cognition that allow for self-regulation and self-direction" (p. 2). There are two major components of executive function: metacognitive skills and social and emotional skills. Metacognitive executive function skills allow for goal setting, planning and ordering, organizing, and self-monitoring and managing variables in order to accomplish tasks. Social and emotional executive function skills include impulse and emotional control, and adaptability (Kaufman 2010). Garcia and Weiss (2016) asserted that "critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, persistence, and self-control—which are often collectively called non-cognitive skills, or social and emotional skills” (p. 5) contribute to academic success and better outcomes in adult life, in realms extending from the workplace to personal life. Play in outdoor environments not only affords children these opportunities, it offers freedom, an opportunity for creation, wonder, discovery, and personal growth (Louv, 2005). Numerous studies have shown the link between time spent in nature and improved mood, level of anxiety, and cognitive ability (Bratman, Daily, Levy & Gross, 2015; Kaplan, 1995; Schutte, Torquati, & Beattie, 2015; Seltenrich, 2015). Time spent in the natural environment restores the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that performs executive function tasks (Kaplan, 1995). Unstructured outdoor play allows children to learn about their world, about themselves, ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 9 and to develop critical skills that form best through play. Early childhood teachers often prioritize content acquisition rather than the developmentally appropriate play experiences required for children to gain social and executive function skills necessary for them to flourish academically (Nicolopoulou, 2010). Highly structured, teacher-lead classrooms have been the result of a standardization of teaching methods that are in direct opposition to the good pedagogy of constructivist methods that best serve young learners (Waite, 2011). Outdoor classrooms and play spaces can provide developmentally appropriate play experiences in a natural setting, which can help young learners develop executive function skills and hone their attention abilities in an age-appropriate manner. Research is needed into how outdoor contexts serve as a place for excellent learning to take place (Waite, 2007). This project will help a particular site know what types of cognitive, social, and emotional development are observed among students using an outdoor classroom and will add to the body of research seeking to quantify the benefits of child-lead play, improved affect, and student engagement with the natural environment in outdoor learning spaces. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 10 LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Unstructured outdoor classrooms and play spaces can provide developmentally appropriate play experiences in a natural setting that promote children’s self-regulation, when well-designed and used effectively by teachers. There has been increasing pressure in the name of standardization, to prioritize content acquisition rather than prioritize developmentally appropriate play experiences that promote children’s social and executive function skills necessary for them to flourish academically (Nicolopoulou, 2010; Waite, 2011). Evolving understandings of play from a neuroscientific perspective posit that play experiences are how social and executive function skills are best developed and thus, play should be the foundation of any early childhood classroom experience rather than teacher-lead direct instruction (Burghardt 2005). Natural spaces are shown to increase attention, and thereby learning (Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008; Bratman, Daily, Levy & Gross, 2015; Schutte, Torquati, & Beattie, 2015). The restorative effects of time in a natural environment on both psychological systems and cognition, the two most important areas of executive function skills, is known as Attention Restoration Theory (Bratman et al., 2015). This theory asserts that spending time in natural areas improves affect and cognition more so than spending time in urban or indoor areas. Outdoor settings help young learners develop executive function skills and hone their attention abilities in an age-appropriate manner. The Role of Play in Learning Developmentally appropriate play experiences are essential for a child's social and executive function skills development and are the method by which young children learn and develop (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009; Nicolopoulou, 2010.) Though there are myriad learning methods adults impose upon children in classroom settings, play is one means by which children ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 11 naturally discover their world, and the primary way through which young children (birth to 8 years old) learn (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). Kroll (2017) defined play as “how children learn about the world and learn to interact in and with the world” (p. 857). In his 2007 book, David Elkind detailed the many ways in which unstructured, particularly unstructured outdoor play, is an essential developmental need of young children (Elkind, 2007). How young children learn centers on their need for “play, exploration, and imagination” (Nicolopoulou, 2010, p. 2). These ideas are grounded in the Piaget’s theory of constructivism. The main motivator in Piagetian constructivism is disequilibrium, which results from encountering something surprising, asking a question, exploring or discovering something new, or having an interest in something. Piaget argues that children construct knowledge by encountering disequilibrium, then either assimilating the new idea into an existing schema or accommodating the new idea by constructing a new schema. In this way, the child builds, or constructs, mental architecture of understanding based on their own experiences and thinking (Wordsworth, 2004). Unstructured play is one area of school in which the opportunities for encountering disequilibrium through discovery abound. Because such experiences are child-lead, they are often highly motivating experiences that can catalyze learning. The separation of learning and playing is an adult construct. Samuelsson’s (2008) investigation of the playing and learning child found that in the minds of young learners, work, or learning, and play are often the same, so long as the child's curiosity directs their activities. However in their early years of school children quickly begin to distinguish learning and play based on how activities are directed. Waite (2007) confirmed that in a Forest School setting children identified any teacher-led time as “learning” and any self-directed time as “play.” When children are in control of their play (and thus, their learning, whether or not it is acknowledged as such), children "create knowledge" (Samuelsson, 2008, p.7) through ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 12 cooperating, conversing, discussing, and sharing. When play happens, it is often active, joyful, and helps children make meaning from their shared experiences, and allows children to learn how to communicate (Samuelsson, 2008). Waite (2011) confirmed that play is a “mode” of learning, but it is sometimes not recognized as such because from the outside it does not appear to share many characteristics of more the more formal, standardized learning westerners associate with schooling. These ideas about play and learning are built upon Piaget’s theory of constructivism as well as Vygotsky’s theory of social cognitive development, through which children learn because of their social interactions and exchange of language during the playing and learning process (Martinez, 2010). Samuelsson's (2008) assessment of play and learning in the lives of PreKindergarten and kindergarten children asserted that high-quality preschools allow children experiences in which content is woven into play experiences that are driven by children. Content should be seen and explored by children not only in teacher-directed lessons but be revisited by children in play (Samuelsson, 2008). The child’s perspectives, interests, and goals should be the driving learning objects, and the teacher's responsibility is to partner with children and help them focus their interests and create deeper meaning about the learning object through play experiences (Samuelsson, 2008). This type of integration of learning objects into play promotes learning in developmentally appropriate ways (Nicolopoulou, 2010). This is consistent with the recommendations in The Handbook of Early Childhood Teacher Education (2016), which delineates the research on best practices for teachers of the PreKindergarten and kindergarten ages and affirms this research on play and learning. The conditions for learning that are highlighted for early childhood educators as being effective for this age group include utilizing a sense of surprise, physical engagement with learning objects, social interaction through dialogue ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 13 and writing, play and imaginative play, and offering children repeated learning experiences to build a sense of confidence around learning objects (Fromberg, 2016). Executive Function and Play Much of what early childhood classrooms work to develop are the foundational skills necessary for students to be successful when they enter formal schooling, which in the US is often kindergarten. These skills are often referred to as executive function skills and social skills, and they are the foundation upon which academic skills are built. Executive skills are "those elements of cognition that allow for self-regulation and self-direction" (Kaufman, 2010, p.2). Some literature refers to executive function skills as non-cognitive skills. There are two major components of executive functions. Metacognitive executive function skills allow for goal setting, planning and ordering, organizing, and self-monitoring and managing variables to accomplish tasks. Social and emotional executive function skills include impulse and emotional control and adaptability (Kaufman, 2010). Students can be compliant but not self-regulatory, and without the ability to be self-regulatory, they struggle in elementary school academics and social situations. Building these skills in the early childhood classroom is essential (Kroll, 2017). The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 31 asserts the child's right to play, both because of how play allows children to interact with their environment in developmentally appropriate ways and because play is a mechanism for further development. Play allows children to perfect their non-cognitive skills, which increases their level of executive function (Lester and Russell, 2010). The perspective that play is a mechanism for the development of adult skills is an older view of the necessity of play, whereas the importance of play for "immediate benefit" has become a part of the literature on play beginning in the 1980s (Burghardt, 2005). The literature on play agrees that there are many types of children's play, all with varying potential benefits (Burghardt, 2005; Elkind, 2007; Samuelsson, 2008; Kroll 2017). Burghardt theorizes that among ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 14 all types of play, play can be categorized into one of three types of "process play." Primary-process play grows out of boredom or "excess energy"; secondary- process play "maintains the condition of the animal," or, it serves a biological function. An example would be a child engaging in a running game, which maintains cardiovascular health. Tertiary-process play is play that helps "reach developmental milestones, cognitive accomplishments, social skills, and physical abilities." (Burghardt, 2005, p. 350). While the neuroscience research into how precisely each of these categories of play contributes to the wiring of the brain, there are developmental consequences of each type of play. Lester and Russell (2010) state: "The experience of play effects changes to the architecture of the brain, particularly in systems to do with emotion, motivation and reward (Burghardt, 2005), leading to further playing. Play acts across several adaptive systems to contribute to health, well-being, and resilience. These include pleasure and enjoyment; emotion regulation; stress response systems; attachments; and learning and creativity" (ix). Student’s ability to self-regulate physically, emotionally, cognitively, and socially is best developed through play (Kroll, 2017). Play and learning are not the same, but both hinge upon employing creativity, mindfulness, and possibility thinking (Samuelsson, 2008). As children play, they develop and utilize the executive function and social skills that allow them to learn. It is the business of early childhood classrooms to develop these skills in order to promote learning in the immediate and to lay the foundation for later academic success. The executive function skills children developed through unstructured play predicted academic achievement better than more cognitive-based measures like IQ (Speigel, 2008). In a 2004 survey, Clements (2004) found that American mothers of kids ages 3-12 know that outdoor play reduces stress, improves moods and communication, and increases creativity (Clements, 2004). However, less than half of surveyed mothers understand the impact outdoor play has on cognitive development. According ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 15 to Clements (2004), parents understand the social necessity of play better than the executive function necessity or cognitive impacts of play. High-quality early childhood programs should not only ensure children experience a variety of developmentally appropriate play experiences but should educate parents about their importance as well. The Intersection of Executive Function, Nature, and Play The numerous cognitive, physical, social and emotional benefits of play for children of all ages are well known. Current research is finding numerous benefits of spending restorative time in nature (Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008; Bratman, Daily, Levy & Gross, 2015; Schutte, Torquati, & Beattie, 2015). Blending these two ideas together, it stands to reason that play in a natural environment would be especially beneficial for students. Research shows there is a link between time spent in nature and improved mood, level of anxiety, and cognitive ability (Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008; Bratman, Daily, Levy & Gross, 2015; Kaplan, 1995; Schutte, Torquati, & Beattie, 2015; Seltenrich, 2015). Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1995) asserts that when “directed attention” is fatigued, employing “fascinated attention” can restore a person’s ability to effectively use directed attention (Kaplan, 1995). Fascinated attention is drawn out by an environment or activity that is interesting to the observer but not taxing on executive function systems; fascinated attention does not require planning, self-monitoring, critical thinking (Kaplan, 1995). Time spent engaging fascinated attention in the natural environment restores the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that performs executive function tasks (Kaplan, 1995). Bratman et al. (2015) and Berman, Jonides, and Kaplan, (2008) conducted studies on adults and found support for Attention Restoration Theory, with the authors of each study having concluded that exposure to nature has a significant benefit on cognitive control and executive function skills. Schutte and colleagues (2017) conducted similar research on young children. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 16 They found that in preschool and school-aged children without executive function difficulties, the natural environment can restore attention more effectively than a more urban one. Their study of 34 seven- and eight-year-old students and 33 preschool students found that a restorative walk in a natural setting was more beneficial than a walk in an urban setting in restoring attention and allowing participants to complete tasks that required “attentional control” and spatial working memory (Schutte et al., 2017). In this study, the children completed puzzles as an attention-fatiguing task, then participated in either an urban walk or a nature walk for twenty minutes. After the walk, students were evaluated on tasks that measured working memory, inhibitory control, attention, and verbal working memory- all components of executive function (Schutte et al., 2017). Students had increased attention and better spatial working memory after the nature walk than after the urban walk. There was variation in findings related to age and sex, suggesting further research be done (Schutte et al., 2017). The authors called for more extensive trials to determine the precise “practices and environments” that have positive impacts on attention and executive functioning at each stage of the preschool and early elementary years (Schutte et al., 2017, p. 25). The participants in these studies were very different, yet for the adults in the studies of Bratman et al. (2015) and Berman et al. (2008), and the preschool and elementary students in the study of Schutte et al. (2017), the impact of Attention Restoration Theory are similar. Each study deliberately fatigued the attention of participants, then employed a walk in either a natural or an urban setting to activate fascinated attention and restore the directed attention needed to succeed in the cognitively demanding tasks in the second part of each study. Attention Restoration Theory supports the idea of giving early childhood students opportunities to develop their executive function skills through outdoor play and opportunities to restore depleted attentional reserves in order to better support indoor academic learning. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 17 Studying the status of play has been a priority of educational researchers globally (Clements 2004). In tracing the cultural history of children's play spaces from feudal times to present, Brown and Kaye (2016) noted the evolution of western culture to enclose outdoor areas and the prevalence of daily activities taking place within enclosed indoor areas. They called upon early childhood educators to provide intellectually and physically challenging experiences in nature as part of the curriculum because there are limited opportunities in the lives of modern children for them to garner the benefits of outdoor play (Brown and Kaye, 2016). Outdoor classrooms and play spaces can provide developmentally appropriate play experiences in a natural setting, which develops and restores critical executive function skills. Outdoor play spaces should be a part of PreKindergarten classrooms. Davies and Hamilton (2018) document the trend of early childhood classrooms shifting to a predominately indoor, teacher-lead model in Wales and England, stemming from policies of standardization of education. Literature reports teachers have different assumptions about who benefits from outdoor learning and how to implement it because of logistical concerns and curriculum, standardization, and assessment mandates (Waite, 2007; Davies & Hamilton, 2018). However, they note that much of the success of Norwegian nations on international education assessments is traced to the facilitated learning that takes place outdoors, as part of the curriculum (Davies & Hamilton, 2018). In a mixed-methods survey and interview study of teachers using outdoor classrooms in Wales, Davies and Hamilton (2018) found that teachers believe an outdoor component to learning is valuable, with equal importance and the ability for learning to happen in an outdoor classroom as an indoor classroom. Almost all teachers surveyed in this study believe they could achieve each of their curriculum goals through teaching in the outdoor classroom. Teaching in the outdoor classroom was believed to be easy to integrate into existing curriculum. Assessing ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 18 student learning in the outdoor classroom could be more difficult, and teachers require more professional development to consistently use the outdoor classroom for assessment. However, teachers surveyed also felt outdoor assessments could show different and broader skills than indoor assessments. Outdoor classrooms and play spaces provide developmentally appropriate play experiences in a natural setting. When children play in natural areas, they are better at risk-taking and more flexible thinkers, both skills that are part of the executive functions (Fjørtoft, 2001; Waite, 2007; Haywood-Bird, 2016;). The work of Davies and Hamilton (2018) supports the idea that outdoor classrooms promote the development of important pre-academic skills because outdoor classrooms support the development of creativity and executive function capabilities. This idea is supported in Fjørtoft’s (2001) analysis of the “affordances of the landscape for versatile play” (p. 112), which shows that children utilize the affordances of the natural playscapes such as shrubs, trees, cliffs, and meadows for a diversity of purposes including free and creative play. Outdoor playscapes that give children open-ended choices for how to play influence creativity and executive function development (Fjørtoft, 2001). The landscape impacted how children chose to play, and those who played in a natural landscape increased their motor skills development and showed increased creativity compared with students who played on a more conventional, urban, built playground (Fjørtoft, 2001). ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 19 PURPOSE The numerous cognitive, physical, social, and emotional benefits of play for children of all ages are well known (Elkind, 2007). As children play, they imagine, experiment, problem-solve, and share ideas and perspectives: in essence, they learn. In the early childhood classroom, children should learn through a balance of self-directed play and teacher-facilitated learning opportunities that explore learning content without focusing wholly on content-area instruction (Samuelsson, 2008; Nicolopoulou, 2010; Waite, 2011). Through self-directed play young learners acquire the executive function and social skills necessary to succeed in later, content-driven learning environments. There are numerous benefits of spending restorative time in nature. Time outdoors allows the brain to develop attentional controls that prime the brain for better learning and focus (Kaplan, 1995). Play in a natural environment is especially beneficial for students who are in the early years of executive function and attentional development. The inclusion of outdoor classrooms in early learning environments allows children a space in which to engage in developmentally appropriate play and engage in learning opportunities, as well as restore attentional reserves so further learning can take place. Outdoor classrooms are a recent trend in early childhood education (Haywood-Bird, 2016.) The purpose of this study was to assess (a) what types of play and learning teachers with a new outdoor classroom observed in their space, (b) what building blocks of academic skills and executive function skills teachers observed their students acquiring when in the outdoor classroom, (c) what types of social and emotional skills students use while playing and learning outdoors, and (d) what needs teachers have to optimize the benefits of an outdoor classroom. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 20 This study built upon similar studies (Kroll, 2017; Fjørtoft, 2001) conducted in other outdoor learning environments, with the aim of helping the study site maximize the benefits of their outdoor learning environment. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 21 METHODS The study site is an independent PreK-12th grade school in suburban, mid-sized, mountain west city. The school recently constructed a state-of-the-art outdoor classroom and learning space adjacent to their pre-kindergarten classrooms. The outdoor classroom is used by 13 half-day 3-year old students, 48 half-day and full-day 4-year old students, and during recess by 48 full-day kindergarten students, and by all 1st through 5th grade students during the daily 45- minute lunch recess. PreK children are supervised in the outdoor classroom by their classroom teachers in their own age group and mixed-age groups of combined 3 and 4-year olds. Kindergarten through 5th grade students are supervised during recess in mixed-age groups in the outdoor classroom by four “recess teachers.” Students at the school typically represent a high socioeconomic background, as the study site is a tuition-based school. While assistance is available, families pay a high price to attend, and the funds the school has facilitated the construction of the outdoor classroom space. For photos of the study site, see Appendix A. The participants in the study were four PreK4 teachers, one kindergarten teacher, one recess teacher and the school psychologist. While seven interviews were conducted, only six surveys were completed due to a technical glitch within Qualtrix in one of the surveys. This mixed-method study sought to answer four questions: (a) what types of play and learning teachers with a new outdoor classroom observed in their space, (b) what building blocks of academic skills and executive function skills teachers observed their students acquiring when in the outdoor classroom, what types of social and emotional skills students use while playing and learning outdoors, and (d) what needs teachers have to optimize the benefits of an outdoor classroom. After receiving IRB approval (Appendix B), the study began and consisted of two data gathering elements: personal interviews and surveys. During late October and early November ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 22 2018 each participant was interviewed for twenty to forty minutes using questions from a similar investigation by Linda Kroll at the Mills College Lab School (2017) in addition to questions created by the investigator and reviewed by the lead outdoor classroom teacher and school director (Appendix C). Two days following the interview, participants received a Qualtrics survey delivered via email. Survey questions were a combination of questions from the Outdoor Classroom Staff Perception Survey, found in Cultivating Outdoor Classrooms by Eric M. Nelson in addition to questions created by the investigator and reviewed by the lead outdoor classroom teacher and school director (Appendix D). Interviews were recorded on Quicktime on the researcher’s laptop, then transcribed into Microsoft Word documents, and uploaded into Nvivo. The interviews were then coded for different themes. The coding process was conducted by looking through each interview for the themes that form the literature review and they were compiled by significant words. Once compiled, I analyzed the thematic compilations. The themes that emerged during the coding process were: examples of observed play, the academic foundations observed in play, creativity, goal setting, problem-solving, executive function and play, the benefits of being in nature, experiences teaching outdoors, and the value of play. These were further grouped and are described in the findings section. Survey data, excluding participant names, were input into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and graphed for display in the findings section. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 23 FINDINGS The purpose of this study was to assess (a) what types of play and learning teachers with a new outdoor classroom observed in their space, (b) what building blocks of academic skills and executive function skills teachers observed their students acquiring when in the outdoor classroom, (c) what types of social and emotional skills students use while playing and learning outdoors, and (d) what needs teachers have to optimize the benefits of an outdoor classroom. The primary aim of the study was that of helping the study site maximize the benefits of their outdoor learning environment. In each interview, the participants made comments about play and the curriculum, executive function skills development and the curriculum, and the current and possible uses of the outdoor classroom space. Interview questions are included in Appendix B. The interviews sought to understand what types of play teachers observe children engaging in while using the outdoor classroom, how teachers observed students developing executive function and social-emotional skills in their play, and what supports teachers need to maximize the benefits of the outdoor classroom. The interviews yielded a number of themes, which include: examples of observed play, the academic foundations observed in play, creativity, goal setting, problem-solving, executive function and play, the benefits of being in nature, experiences teaching outdoors, and the value of play. Additionally, the survey yielded data about the current and potential uses of the outdoor classroom. A copy of the survey is included in Appendix C. I have further grouped the themes that emerged during interviews into the following categories: the value of play, how play builds metacognitive and attention skills, play allows for creativity and problem-solving skills, the benefits of time outdoors, and the potential uses for the outdoor classroom space. These themes are discussed in concert with the survey data. To keep the identities of participants confidential, they have all been given numbers as identities, and any ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 24 comments or quotes which appear will have the interviewee number as the source. Identities are known only by the researcher. Teachers observe students engaging in thematic, inventive, multi-sensory play in varying degrees of social interaction. Students play alone, in small groups of 1-3 and in larger groups of 4 or more. Teachers do see students developing and using executive function skills in the outdoor classroom. Of particular focus in the interviews were the skills of creativity, goal setting and carrying out actions to meet goals, problem-solving, and sustain attention. The primary social and emotional skills teachers observed students developing and using in the outdoor classroom were interpersonal problem solving and negotiating through disputes with minimal teacher assistance. Parent education, time to adapt current curriculum for use outside or to plan new lessons, more teacher training, and a whole-school use plan were the main needs identified by teachers for outdoor classroom use optimization. The Value of Play All teachers interviewed agreed that play is the cornerstone for learning in the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten age groups. Each subject commented about the development of the whole child through play, how play benefits the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of children. One participant explained, “Play is everything. Developmentally, play is a critical component for every child’s growth.” (1) All seven participants discussed the power play has to allow children to problem-solve, learn to sustain their attention, and use their imagination. The value of play as the foundation upon which learning is built was echoed in all seven interviews. One teacher explained it this way: “That [play] is where they are imagining, creating, learning, that is their way of learning at this age is through play.” (4) Though the teachers unanimously agreed that play is critical for children, there was also consensus that the parents of children at the school might not understand why play is critical. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 25 Five of the teachers interviewed commented that explaining the value of play to parents is needed. One teacher described it like this “…to the parent’s eye might look like they are “just out there playing” but there is so much more than that going on.” (4) Even older students at the school seem to have the perception that play is separate from learning. One teacher commented that one of her favorite things is when fourth or fifth-grade students come back to visit the preschool classrooms, and they say “’I wish we could be in preschool again, you just play all day.’ That is their interpretation of it but play is their work. That is their job." (2) Play was also spoken about as a compliment to the academic learning that takes place primarily indoors. One teacher spoke of how she observes students exploring the academic concepts from the classroom in their outdoor play (3). She gave the example that on the day fourth graders were dressed up for “colonial day” their play was informed by their costumes, and they spent the recess hour pretending to be colonists, talking about what colonists do and enacting the concepts they were learning about in history class. She stated “So, it was really interesting to see how their indoor classroom stuff effected what kind of play they were doing outside. It was entirely different than what they had been doing for the last couple weeks.” (3) Play Builds Metacognitive and Attention Skills One of the primary reasons play is critical is that it is an essential method for young children to develop executive function skills (Elkind, 2001). This statement was supported by each of the seven interviewees. Executive function was defined by one individual: “When you think of executive function in terms or setting a goal and taking steps towards meeting that goal, planning and utilizing space and resources, that is exactly what they do in unstructured play. (1)” Some participants discussed the ways children engage in goal setting and planning on their own, and others discussed the mechanisms they have set up in their classrooms and in the outdoor ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 26 classroom to support young students in this. During indoor play, commonly talked about by interviewees as center time, the PreK students at the school plan which centers to go to by moving a photo of themselves to their chosen center on a classroom map (1, 2, 4, 5). There are a limited number of spots at each center on the map, so if the desired center is full the children can see that and can move their photo to a different center until a spot is available. A similar design is used in the outdoor classroom for tricycle sharing. There are picnic tables with pictures of the tricycles where children wait until a trike is available for them to ride (1, 2, 4, 5). Four participants commented on how these systems help their students develop executive function skills during their play time. The idea of building children’s abilities to sustain their attention for the duration of a task is a a major theme of the executive function curriculum at the school. All seven participants discussed sustaining attention as a major facet of executive function, which they seek to develop in their students. Two of the participants focused on this idea, discussing how unstructured play helps develop children’s ability to sustain their attention. They stated self-initiated play results in longer periods of sustained play, as observed in the three-year-old classroom, which has the most time for unstructured play. (2) During creative, imaginative play, students take on roles and they have to sustain that role for the duration of the game, which develops their ability to sustain attention. (6) Three teachers commented that digging a hole in the outdoor classroom sandbox is a favorite activity of many children, that is done daily and for long durations. One teacher explained that digging a hole has become an all-consuming, highly motivated play task for some children, and that simply would not be the case “if we had told them to go outside and dig a hole (2).” Play Allows for Creativity and Develops Problem-Solving Skills The two most used phrases in all seven interviews were “creativity” and “problem-solving.” ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 27 All seven teachers mentioned creativity or imaginative play helping to develop executive function skills. The Outdoor Classroom is equipped with many loose parts, things like blocks, sticks, rocks, and other objects that can be used in a variety of ways. All seven teachers commented on how the many loose parts in the outdoor classroom are routinely used for varied, multiple purposes. All seven teachers commented that they have been surprised by how children in the outdoor classroom use materials in “ways we never would have imagined (4)” All seven participants commented on how students creatively use loose parts in varied ways, some of which were surprising to the teachers. Of course, blocks were used to build towers and buildings. However, every individual interviewed told a story of observing students using the blocks as snowboards, balancing on them and using them to slide down the grassy hill. They each discussed how this creative use of materials is an example of creative play that is cognitively and physically valuable. Interpersonal problem solving was a theme all seven teachers discussed as a benefit of children’s play. One teacher commented that the type of social-emotional executive function skills developed through play simply cannot be taught, they must be experienced through play (6). One component of executive function is the social-emotional skills that build and sustain relationships. All seven teachers commented about how engaging in unstructured play gives students the best opportunity to hone these skills. Two teachers described that in unstructured play students learn how to “get along” (5,6). Four teachers interviewed all commented that learning how to listen when others speak is a critical component of metacognitive executive function skills development for children in those classes (4, 5, 6, 7). They discussed how students develop this ability through play by having to listen to one another and negotiate play ideas and roles within play. All seven teachers spoke of the teachers in the outdoor classroom being “facilitators” and ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 28 stepping in occasionally to help solve disputes, but that the majority of the time all 3, 4, 5, and 6- year-olds in the outdoor classroom solve problems independently (figure 1). Figure 1. Participant responses to interview question about how often students lead their own conflict resolution in the outdoor classroom. One teacher summed up her comments about children’s interaction with each other by saying “They are learning how to play, how to get along with their friends, they are learning executive function skills.” (6) Within the theme of speaking and listening skills, leadership development and negotiating with leaders and followers was a theme that 4 teachers spoke about. With regard to unstructured, imaginative games, one teacher stated: “they are learning how to be leaders, how to direct others in the group” (5). Another teacher told a story about how a group of influential students was playing karate and play fighting, and another group of students was being persuaded to join them. She watched them navigate, on their own, the process of deciding if they would engage or not, navigating peer pressures and ultimately choosing to play a different game and becoming leaders of a different activity (2). In their comments teachers mentioned that when 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frequently Always ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 29 groups of students work alone, without teacher intervention, to decide what to play and compromise it is an impactful developmental experience (4). Real-world problem-solving was a theme all seven teachers discussed as a major benefit of play in the outdoor classroom. They gave many examples, often repeating examples, of the types of play they see which helps students use the cognitive problem-solving skills that are the foundation for academic skills. Several teachers offered the same example of how students solve problems in the outdoor classroom. There are various sized blocks for children to play with. One child used a long block to build a lofted seat across the inside of one tunnel. Other students were drawn to the idea and took other sized blocks in the tunnel to try and build their own seats. Upon realizing that several small blocks could not connect and support them as a seat, the children found more long blocks and created their own seats (2, 4, 7). One teacher referred to this example and how young students were learning “Pre-engineering skills” (4) while they played, another teacher called it beginning Physics (2). Three participants mentioned the scientific concepts of measuring and volume with water play as being important problem-solving opportunities for students during play (2, 5, 6). They shared observations of students wrestling with how much water was needed to fill certain vessels, how to account for spilled water during transport, and how to efficiently use the water pump. One teacher summarized her ideas about problem-solving and its role in building academic foundations by stating "But I think it's all tied in, the reasoning, and the judgment, those different skills are all built into the math and science and literacy" (4). The Benefits of Time Outdoors The outdoor classroom provides dynamic play and learning experiences for children. “I think it has added an exceptional opportunity for kids out there, the play is much more rich and varied, and it’s not just all gross motor, it's a lot more child-directed and execution of ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 30 thematic play, which is really rich. So, you can do a lot more jumping from log to log and crawling through spaces or building things than you can with a ball, so it's just exceptional. Every time I go out there, I think how lucky these kids are." (1) The outdoor environment is naturally inviting and inspiring, so even kids who are reluctant to initiate play tend to do so, and students who need help knowing how to play need less teacher assistance. One teacher said “there are sometimes where we do need to engage and help them know how to play and enter play but for the most part kids are doing it just naturally because it just is such a great space. And the space has made a big difference for us.” (2) Figure 2 supports those statements and shows that among participants, there was a consensus that instances where children need adult aid to start or complete play are few when in the outdoor classroom. Figure 2: Participant responses to interview question about how often students self-initiated play outdoor classroom. Once they enter play, children show greater tolerance for independent exploration and learning outdoors than indoors. (4) Children seem more willing to “fail” and try new ways of doing things. One teacher gave an example of two children who wanted to build a sailboat with 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frequently Always ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 31 blocks and scarves. When they realized the scarf would not make a proper sail they joyfully exclaimed to her “it didn’t work, what else can we try?” (2) All seven teachers commented on the psychological benefits of being outside. One teacher put it this way: “They need that outside time, they need to connect with nature and be outdoors, and it’s a time for them to unwind and gives them kind of the freedom to do what they want to do” (7). Another teacher reflected on a time in the outdoor classroom with a small group of children and said: “…being in nature helps their little minds just come alive” (4). Current and Future Uses of the Outdoor Classroom All seven teachers confirmed that the outdoor classroom is used for emergent play 90-100% of the time. PreK unstructured play is the primary use of the space, with little teacher direction for how it is used, with the exception of teacher selecting certain materials to be put outside for children to use (2). One participant described the interactions children have with teachers outside by stating “When I see really wonderful experiences it is usually characterized by a child initiating play and if the adult has a role, the child is inviting the adult into the role of the play and they are playing with the child but they are not suggesting options. They are following the child’s lead. So, it is very child-directed out there.” (1) This was confirmed by all the teachers who were interviewed, each self-describing their role outside as that of a facilitator. One teacher stated that when outside her role was “I think taking the child’s lead, questioning, what are you making? What are you doing? What happened when you did this? Kind of asking questions to help them discover more things” (7). Figure 3 shows the survey data for how often each participant observed each of the activities in the outdoor classroom. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 32 Figure 3: Participant responses to interview question about what play acts they observe students engaging in when in the outdoor classroom. While there is consensus among teachers about PreK students’ use of the outdoor classroom for individual and small group play, gross motor play, play in sand and water and with loose parts, there is less consensus about the observation of science-related or math-related activities, organized field games, arts and crafts, music, exploring or reading books, and teacher-facilitated group time. While there is slight variation among teacher respondents about what types of play was observed, the recess teacher respondents were alone in stating that science-related or math-related activities, arts and crafts, music, exploring or reading books, and teacher-facilitated group time “did not apply” to their time observing students in the outdoor classroom. Not one classroom teacher participant chose “did not apply” to any type of play asked about in the 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Playing with 1-3 other… Individual gross motor… Playing with loose parts Playing with sand or dirt Free-form field games Dramatic play Playing Alone Playing with 4 or more… Individual fine motor play… Playing with water Exploring nature and… Science-related activities Organized field games Arts and crafts Math-related activities Teacher-facilitated circle… Music Reading or book exploration Lunch or snack Never 1-3 times/month 1-2 times /week 2-3 times/week Daily Doesn't Apply ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 33 survey. This shows that teachers are trained or have experience observing and connecting different types of play to learning experiences. For example, when three teachers all used the example of students placing blocks across a tunnel to create a seat they referred to this play as science or engineering based play. However, the recess teachers did not see this same connection between play acts and foundational academic constructs. Teachers all expressed that it is possible to lead teacher-facilitated group time and lessons in the outdoor classroom and to pursue science-related or math-related activities and literacy activities outside, though five said this is not something they regularly do. Three teachers did tell the story of adapting a math unit for use in the outdoor classroom, taking the PreK 4 class outside to take “positions” photos (2, 5, 7). As students were learning geometry vocabulary like over, above, under, around, etc. teachers took photos of students in those positions in outdoor classroom spaces and turned the photos into a book for each student. Four teachers spoke about how nature walks are an important part of their week already, and that those times are rich in dialogue about science, exploration, and discovery. All seven participants spoke of how gardening and science lessons were more intuitive to engage in within the outdoor classroom. Only one participant said she has taken a group outside for literacy work, but six have used the outdoor classroom for science. Limitations to using the classroom for more formal lessons were time to adapt the current curriculum for use outside or to plan new lessons. Hesitation for using the classroom in unpredictable weather was another limitation the teachers expressed. However, all six of the teachers who responded to the survey expressed a desire to utilize the space in more structured academic was in addition to using it for unstructured play (figure 4). “Taking and adapting lessons to outside” (6) was a desire expressed by all six of those teachers, with time constraints for planning being the only barrier for doing so. One teacher said, “But I think actually taking some of our core subjects out to the nature playground would be ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 34 really fun.” (5)’ Figure 4: Participant responses to survey questions about the outdoor classroom as a place to play and learn. While the outdoor classroom is used primarily by the three and four-year-old classes, kindergarten through fifth-grade students have the opportunity to enjoy the space for the daily 45-minute lunch recess. Teacher 1 and teacher 7 both commented on the value of the outdoor classroom space as being valuable for the play of students of all ages. Teacher 3 commented that though the materials were all designed by PreK teachers for the use of PreK students, the older children use all the same supplies, just in different ways, and have just as much fun. She expressed surprise at seeing older students engaging in creative play when in the outdoor classroom, saying “’You still love to play!’ I think it’s kind of like realizing they still do have a 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I’m enthusiastic about getting the children outside. I’m enthusiastic about using the outdoor classroom as a place for play and for instruction. Teaching staff are likely to conduct activities outside that traditionally occur inside. Our teaching staff are open to change and new ideas concerning curriculum. Our teaching staff is enthusiastic about further developing the outdoor classroom. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Don't Know ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 35 lot of imagination if they have a chance to go do that, they do go do it. So, I think it’s awesome to have it because if it wasn’t there, they would be doing it [creative play] as much in as many different areas.” ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 36 DISCUSSION The value of play for building executive function skills Children engaged in play in the outdoor classroom are seen by their teachers as engaging in meaningful, self-directed play experiences that are the foundation for learning. It is evident that teachers understand how play is a developmentally appropriate practice which forms the central part of a PreKindergarten experience (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). All the interviewees commented about how play can help develop the skills necessary for an academic foundation. All seven teachers mentioned creativity or imaginative play helping to develop executive function skills, thereby building foundational academic skills. All seven participants interviewed commented that play is an essential method for young children to develop executive function skills. If the school does nothing else but continue to utilize the outdoor classroom space in its current way, they are serving children well by providing a play environment with the elements necessary to develop learning and social skills in a developmentally appropriate environment. Not only the play itself, but the outdoor environment and structures set up therein by teachers to support student play help develop executive function skills. The routines embedded in center play time and some of the elements of outdoor play at the school, particularly in the PreK 4 class, help build the executive function skills of planning and goal setting. Routines that occur in “generally expected ways” (Kroll, 2017, p. 861) allow children to regulate their emotions and behaviors. The study site provides an important “children’s place” (Brown & Kaye, 2017, p. 1039) that allows children to make choices and meaning about their play and their environment which are beneficial to healthy executive function skills development. This exposure to nature ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 37 through play in the outdoor classroom improves attention, affect, and memory- all components of executive function skills (Schutte et al., 2017). The outdoor classroom and unstructured play within it also provides an important opportunity for children to reset their attentional systems to boost their learning abilities when they return to the classroom (Schutte et al., 2017). An important next step for maximum benefit of the outdoor classroom is to give all recess teachers, new faculty, and teachers of other grade levels training on the value of unstructured play in the outdoor classroom. There was a disparity in how the pre-k, kindergarten, and recess teachers viewed different activities they observed. The recess teachers understand the value of play, but did not see these same connections between play acts and executive function skills. Additional training will help them be even more effective facilitators when supervising children in the space. Teachers of 1st-5th grade were not included in this study, but their students use the classroom during lunch recess, so they should be to ensure all faculty understand the rationale for the space and so they can use it effectively and engage with their students about their outdoor classroom experiences. Partnering with parents for play Among those interviewed, outdoor play was spoken about as offering richer and more diverse play opportunities for children. These types of play experiences develop executive function skills in different ways than does indoor play. Teachers spoke of how children seem more willing to “fail” and try new ways of doing things when engaged in outdoor play. One teacher gave an example of students attempting to create a sailboat with different loose parts, and when their first attempt failed the student exclaimed “it didn’t work, what else can we try?” (2) This example of observed play falls into the category of tertiary process play, the type of play that leads a child to developmental milestones (Burghardt, 2005). It is also an example of possibility thinking in play (Samuelsson, 2008) that contributes to the formation of executive ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 38 function skills. The value of this type of play was acknowledged by all the interviewees. However, it was noted by some interviewees that this deep understanding of play and its value is not understood by the parents of children at the school. Five of the teachers interviewed commented that explaining the value of play to parents is critical. They expressed that parental understanding of the value of play is a barrier to parent buy-in about the work young children do when playing in the outdoor classroom. This is consistent with Clements (2004) survey in which more than 830 mothers were surveyed about unstructured outdoor play. Seventy-five percent of those surveyed said play develops social skills, ninety-seven percent said play helps reduce stress, ninety-three percent said play helps children communicate, but only forty-five percent said they thought play helped develop cognitive skills (Clements, 2004). This gap in understanding the cognitive development that takes place during play is felt to be present in parents at the study site. Communicating to parents and potential parents the benefits of play and how play in the outdoor classroom can drive cognitive development and provide the skills that are foundational to learning is an important next step for the school. This is consistent with the recommendation in Clements (2004) that parents and early childhood educators “should regard the issue of increased outdoor play as one of major importance” (Clements, 2004, p. 77). Strategies for schooling in the outdoor classroom Play was spoken about as a compliment to the academic learning that takes place primarily indoors. It is clear in their comments about the value of play that the interviewees understand and employ constructivist method of working with children to create developmentally appropriate play and learning experiences. When preschool teachers contribute to children’s learning by watching and understanding children’s play and engaging with them to expand their experience of play or curriculum, that is high-quality early childhood pedagogy at ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 39 work (Samuelsson, 2008). An effective early-childhood teacher is one who “recognizes their role as a facilitator who bases learning and assessment around children’s interests in the natural environment” (Davies and Hamilton, 2018, p. 119). In addition to using the outdoor classroom in an unstructured way, teachers all expressed a desire to adapt curriculum to be flexible with student’s interests and to pursue science-related or math-related activities and literacy activities outside as well as inside. At the Mills College Lab School PreKindergarten teachers had this desire as well, and did not want children to have to change environments by moving from outdoors to indoors in order to pursue teacher-led activities like reading a story (Kroll, 2017). Teachers there made all indoor activities like story time available to children in the outdoor classroom as well. In doing this, teachers not only expanded their own abilities to adapt curriculum to meet student needs, they further enabled student’s self-regulation skills development by setting up different centers and activities both inside and out, giving students agency in how and where they participated in different learning activities (Kroll, 2017). Another important next step to maximizing the benefits of the outdoor classroom space is for the school to spend time and resources to help teachers adapt their curriculum and materials for use inside and outside. Adapting the existing curriculum in this way will benefit both teachers and students (Davies and Hamilton, 2018). If it is a desire of the school to allow teachers across all grade levels to have this opportunity, there will need to be a way of scheduling classes to use the space at different times or creating structures that will enable multiple classes to use the space at the same time, utilizing different areas or working together. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 40 LIMITATIONS This is a small case study, and not every teacher who uses the outdoor classroom was able to participate. More robust data of how every teacher interacting with the space would give a more complete picture of current perspectives of the outdoor classroom use. In further studies it would benefit the school administration if all perspectives could be included. There was one technical error in the quantitative data gathering, resulting in seven interviews but only six surveys being completed. The study site is a well-funded private school, so replication of this environment and study might not be possible at all sites. Additionally, I am a former teacher at the study site and I care deeply about the school and its success, so I am not an entirely objective researcher. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 41 CONCLUSION The study site offers students an idyllic educational environment, both indoors and outdoors. Teachers in the PreKindergarten and kindergarten programs understand developmentally appropriate teaching strategies and how play fits within a typical school day to the benefit of young learners. The outdoor classroom is a unique feature of the school, that when utilized for unstructured play provides numerous benefits, including developing children’s problem-solving skills, interpersonal skills, creativity and resilience. Additional training for parents and faculty will help bring into view the true value of outdoor play and its role in academic preparation. There are other opportunities to engage in more structured learning within the environment as well, that teachers have just begun to explore. The power of unstructured outdoor play and time spent in a natural environment cannot be underestimated. It is critical teachers utilize ways to incorporate play into teaching and learning opportunities for students. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 42 REFERENCES Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., & Kaplan, S. (2008). The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature. Psychological Science, 19(12), 1207-1212. Bratman, G.N., Daily, G.C., Levy, B.J., & Gross, J.J. (2015). The benefits of nature experience: Improved affect and cognition. Landscape and Urban Planning 138, 41-50. doi: 10.1016/ j.landurbplan.2015.02.005 Burghardt, G. M. (2010). The comparative reach of play and brain: perspective, evidence, and implications. American Journal of Play, 2(3), 338-356. Clements, R. (2004). An investigation of the status of outdoor play. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 5(1), 68-80. Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. National Association for the Education of Young Children. 1313 L Street NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 22205- 4101. Cremin, T., Burnard, P., & Craft, A. (2006). Pedagogy and possibility thinking in the early years. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 1(2), 108-119. Davies, R. & Hamilton, P. (2018) Assessing learning in the early years’ outdoor classroom: examining challenges in practice, Education 3-13, 46:1, 117-129, doi: 10.1080/03004279.2016.1194448 Elkind, D. (2007). The power of play. Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Lifelong Books. Fjørtoft, I. (2001). The natural environment as a playground for children: The impact of outdoor play activities in pre-primary school children. Early childhood education journal, 29(2), 111-117. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 43 Fromberg, D. P. (2016). Early Childhood Teacher Education for Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten (PRE-K/K). Handbook of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 104. García, E., & Weiss, E. (2016). Making whole-child education the norm: How research and policy initiatives can make social and emotional skills a focal point of children's education. Economic Policy Institute. Haywood-Bird, E. (2017) Playing with power: an outdoor classroom exploration, Early Childhood Development and Care, 187:5-6, 1015-1027, doi: 10.1080/03004430.2016.1223070 Kaufman, C. (2010) Executive function in the classroom. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing. Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15, 169-182. Kroll, L.R. (2017) Early childhood curriculum development: The role of play in building self-regulatory capacity in young children, Early Child Development and Care, 187(5-6), 854-868, doi: 10.1080/03004430.2016.1223063 Louv, R. (2005). The last child in the woods. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books. Martinez, M.E. (2010) Learning and cognition: The design of the mind. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Education. Nelson, E. (2012). Cultivating outdoor classrooms. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press. Nicolopoulou, A. (2010). The alarming disappearance of play from early childhood education. Human Development, 53(1), 1-4. Samuelsson, I. P. & Carlsson, M. A. (2008). The playing learning child: towards a pedagogy of early childhood. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 52 (6). doi: 10.1080/00313830802497265 ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 44 Schutte, A.R., Torquati, J.C. & Beattie, H.L. (2017). Impact of urban nature on executive functioning in early and middle childhood. Environment and Behavior, 49(1), 3-30. doi: 10.1177/0013916515603095 Seltenrich, N. (2015). Just what the doctor ordered: Using parks to improve children’s health. Environmental Health Perspectives, 123 (10), doi: 10.1289/ehp.123/A254 Smilansky, S. (1990). Sociodramatic play: Its relevance to behavior and achievement in school. Children’s play and learning: Perspectives and policy implications, 18-42. Spiegel, Alix (Producer). (2008, February 21). Old fashioned play builds serious skills [Morning Edition radio show]. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=19212514 Waite, S. & Davis, B. (2007) The contribution of free play and structured activities in forest school to learning beyond cognition: an English case: Chapter in edited book, Ravn, B. & Kryger, N. (eds.) (2007) Learning beyond Cognition, Copenhagen: the Danish University of Education, pp. 257-274. Waite, S. (2011). Teaching and learning outside the classroom: Personal values, alternative pedagogies and standards. Education 3–13, 39(1), 65-82. Wordsworth, B.J. (2004) Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive and Affective Development. Boston: Pearson Education. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 45 APPENDICES Appendix A ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 46 Appendix B ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 47 Appendix C Interview Questions 1. What is your experience in the outdoor classroom? 2. How do you think about play as part of your curriculum? o What goals or purposes do you see play serving for your students? o How do you plan for play that will meet those goals and purposes? o What about the curriculum is preplanned and what about it is emergent, based on student interests? 3. What aspects of your curriculum are planned with the goal of the development of executive function skills development? o What goals do you have for your students with regard to executive function skills development? o How does your curriculum help them to develop executive function skills development? o What is the role of unstructured play in developing executive function skills development? o How do you know when your students have met your goals for them? 4. How does the outdoor classroom serve students as a place to play? 5. How does the outdoor classroom serve students as a place to learn? 6. When you consider how you use the outdoor classroom, how much of your time there is preplanned and how much of it is emergent, based on student interests? 7. Do you see students using executive function skills during their time in the outdoor classroom? Can you give examples? ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 48 8. What would help you utilize the outdoor classroom in more diverse ways than you already do? 9. Is there anything else you want to add? ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 49 Appendix D Survey Questions Outdoor Classroom Staff Perception Survey Your Name __________________________________________ Your Role at Waterford _________________________________ How long have you served in your current role? _________________ How many hours per day do you teach/supervise your students? _________________ How many hours per day do you utilize the outdoor classroom? _________________ Student Observation On average, when you see children outside, how frequently do you see children engaged in each of the following activities outside? • If the activity is not developmentally appropriate for the age group you observe, mark “doesn’t apply” • If the activity is developmentally appropriate for the age group you observe but is not offered in the outdoor classroom, mark “never” Never 1-3 times/ month 1-2 times/ week 2-3 times/ week Daily Doesn’t Apply Playing Alone Playing with 1-3 other children Playing with 4 or more other children ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 50 Teacher-facilitated circle or group time Individual gross motor play of any kind Free-form field games Organized field games Playing with loose parts Individual fine motor play of any kind Playing with sand or dirt Playing with water Exploring nature and collecting items Arts and crafts Music ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 51 Reading or book exploration Science-related activities Math-related activities Dramatic play Lunch or snack Student Observation On average, when you see children outside, what do you observe? • If the activity is not developmentally appropriate for the age group you observe, mark “doesn’t apply” • If the activity is developmentally appropriate for the age group you observe but is not offered in the outdoor classroom, mark “never” Never Sometimes Often Frequently Always Doesn’t Apply Overall, when the children play outside, they play happily. The equipment available in the outdoor classroom is currently being used. ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 52 When in the outdoor classroom, children are successful in resolving conflicts with little or no teacher assistance. When in the outdoor classroom, children are effective in starting and completing their own play with little or no teacher assistance. Questions about Adults Please answer the following questions about yourself and the teachers with whom you work most closely. • “Your co-teacher” refers to your co-teacher, aide, or fellow recess teachers. • “Teaching Staff” refers to your grade-level team. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don’t Know I’m enthusiastic about getting the children outside. I’m enthusiastic about using the outdoor classroom as a ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 53 place for play and for instruction. My co-teachers are enthusiastic about getting the children outside. My co-teachers are enthusiastic about using the outdoor classroom as a place for play and for instruction. Teaching staff are likely to conduct activities outside that traditionally occur inside. When outdoors, teaching staff are actively involved in interacting with children. When outdoors, teaching staff are actively involved in supervising children’s play. Our teaching staff are open to change and new ideas concerning curriculum. Our teaching staff is enthusiastic about further ALL PLAY AND NO WORK? 54 developing the outdoor classroom. Our lower school director is enthusiastic about further developing the outdoor classroom.