College of Education associate professors Jeanne Brunner and Darrell Earnest in the mathematics, sciences and learning technologies program partnered with Shubha Tewari, physics senior lecturer, for a Creative Play in Elementary STEM Teaching workshop on the UMass Amherst campus on Oct. 28.

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Local teachers in attendance engaged in free play, experienced playful learning during a STEM activity and ended with collaborative planning to incorporate play in their own teaching.

“Children naturally learn about the world through play,” explains Brunner. “Understanding how to incorporate playful learning in STEM fields, which are often seen as more difficult to teach, helps make STEM accessible and meaningful to students. Teachers will have the chance to review some of their own lesson plans for effective incorporation of playful learning approaches, allowing them to have an immediate impact on their classrooms.”

Access to STEM education is also a social justice issue, Brunner says, because people from historically marginalized populations tend to be underrepresented in STEM fields. 

“Additionally, STEM classes tend not to have the same time devoted to them in the early grades as other subject areas,” Brunner adds. “Focusing on STEM in the early grades, using methods that align with how children naturally learn about the world (i.e., play) can help to address these issues.”

The workshop was a collaboration between the College of Education and the Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars of the College of Natural Science’s STEM Education Institute, of which Tewari serves as director.

More information about the workshop and other education programs can be found on the College of Education website.