Can we play with science? Preschool teachers’ discussion about play-responsive teaching and how science content can be introduced into play with support of digital tools

Abstract

This article is from a continuous professional development project where preschool teachers are introduced to the framework Play-Responsive Early Childhood Education and Care (PRECEC). Aspects of play and teaching are discussed in focus groups, before and after a first attempt to enact and re-enact play-responsive teaching, with science content. In the attempts, digital pictures or videos are projected in play to create an experience of science content. The technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) framework is used to analyse the complex and dynamic connections between pedagogical knowledge (PK), here with a focus on PRECEC, content knowledge (CK) and technological knowledge (TK). The results show that the preschool teachers often separate play and teaching. A concern is raised by the preschool teachers that they might influence or ruin the play if they participate. However, promising possibilities for play-responsive teaching were created when preschool teachers projected digital pictures and videos representing science content in a created play world.