Three Step Play Intervention

The ability for a child to immediately understand how to make sense of a classroom setting is unattainable. The three-step play intervention process aids students dealing with wandering, anxiety, loneliness, and rejection difficulties. Wandering can be demonstrated by a student’s inability to engage in a lesson for a prolonged period of time. An Early Childhood Educator can pick up on a students’ needs and use the processes of observing, reflecting, and intervening to guide the child to be interested in what they are learning. Being a teacher with children needing further guidance may seem overwhelming; however, the three-step play intervention process provides an organized and effective measure to actively engage with their peers in collaborative

The first step of the intervention process is to observe. As the student is playing and interacting with other students, observe how they use different play materials, relate to other students, and try to analyze the students in depth while keeping their play issue in mind. After observing, reflect on the child. Analyze their play problem and create ways to lead that child in the right direction. Once it has been determined what the child needs, intervene. Based on how confidently the teacher understands what the child needs to overcome their play issue, they can slowly add in changes to enhance their learning experience and help them engage in the classroom. Making changes in the play process happens by means of trial and error and often takes gradual changes; however, once the process takes effect on the child, they will be able to adapt to unique situations and engage in new learning

Naturally, some students enjoy exploring the different opportunities a classroom provides, whereas for some students, this becomes a larger issue, hindering their learning experiences. The act of wandering can be described as a student’s inability to engage in activities for extended periods of time without teacher support. Teachers can use the three-step play process intervention process to assist wandering students. One case of a wandering student is Werner. Werner is not a disturbance to the classroom, yet, does not actively engage in classroom activity on his own. He unknowingly bounces around the classroom while other students are able to stay focused and enjoy working on one task for a distinct amount of time. The teacher should discretely monitor Werner to observe his interests which are drawing and painting. Once Werner’s interests have been established, the teacher can reflect on how they can aid his wandering issue. The teacher’s idea may be to observe Werner and make note of when he reaches the painting and drawing station. Next, the teacher will observe while Werner is playing, and once she notices he is becoming uninterested, she will intervene. “Wow Werner,” she says, “I love the colors you used on your drawing! Do you know how to paint a bunny? Its my favorite animal.” This small engagement between teacher and student helps Werner stay engaged in the activity longer than he would