Roberta Golinkoff featured in new documentary on play

What can kindergarteners gain from play-based learning? In a new documentary from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Roberta Golinkoff highlights the advantages of a play-based approach to kindergarten and shares her research on the cognitive and social-emotional benefits of play.

Titled Kindergarten: Where Play and Learning Can Meet, the documentary features two Illinois school districts, Valley View School District 365U and Elgin Area School District U46, that recently transitioned to play-based learning. The film also includes scientific findings on the cognitive and social-emotional value of play from Dr. Christina Weiland of the University of Michigan and Dr. Eboni Howard of the American Institutes for Research.

Though play-based learning is new to the Illinois school districts featured in this film, the University of Delaware has long recognized the value of play in early childhood education. To learn more about play-based learning at the University of Delaware, visit our Child’s Play, Learning and Development Lab (directed by Roberta Golinkoff) and our Early Learning Centers.

For more information about this documentary, visit the IES Regional Education Laboratory Program webpage.