A five –day capacity building training on learning through play conducted by Inspire, Educate and Empower Rwanda (IEE) was concluded on Friday, 22nd October 2021 at Olympic Hotel in Kigali. The training was organized for 30 IEE Continuous Professional Development Advisors (CPDAs) and 3 Coordinators for the Learning through Play Programme.This program is supported by UNICEF in collaboration with the LEGO Foundation, for teacher capacity development at primary school level, in the use of playful pedagogy to bring about quality results for children. The Programme is in alignment with priorities of the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP), specifically, quality teaching and learning, under the Ministry of Education and covers all the 30 districts of Rwanda.
Participants discussed what play and learning through play are, how they are natural learning processes and how they contribute to a child’s holistic development once delivered within the Competence-Based Curriculum. This could be achieved through the use of low or no cost play materials which can be locally available in a home or school environment, such as stones, bottle tops, tins and any other material and equipment to facilitate children’s learning.“With the use of play materials best known to children around their environment and songs, we have learnt that children enjoy learning, and are confident in subjects like Mathematics, making it easy for teachers to explain through entertaining actions”, says Emmanuel Nkurunziza Asiimwe, one of the trainees and CPD Advisor in Ngoma district.
Learning through Play targets 2,900 School –Based Mentors, 14,500 primary school teachers, 2,900 head teachers, 2,900 Director of Studies, 2,900 School General Assembly Committee Members, 30 District Education Officers in charge of pre-primary and primary, 30 Vice Mayors in charge of Social Affairs and 416 Sector Education Inspectors, for all to understand the usefulness and practicalities of using play to facilitate children’s learning. According to Emmanuel Murenzi, the Country Director of IEE, play is natural for children and a primary way of self-expression. Educators need to tap into the power of play to support and encourage children’s learning, with creativity.
Gerjanne van Ravenhorst, the facilitator of this 5-day workshop on Learning through Play, said that every adult engaged in the playful learning needs to be playful and at the level of children. The facilitator added that the Continuous Professional Development Advisors (PDAs) are going to help teachers and community members who are not yet used to creating playful learning environments.
“Teachers need creativity while adapting playful learning within the Competence-Based Curriculum, promoting the culture of play and parents encouraging their children by using positive and encouraging words”, says Gerjanne.
Play is essential in child development, makes children learn to socialize, solve problems, have fun, connects them with their imagination, environment, parents, family and the world at large.
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