The Experiences and Achievements of Classroom Teacher Candidates during a Play-Based Reflective Workshop in which Open-Ended Materials Were Used

Abstract

Open ended materials are materials with no specific set of directions and they can be used alone or together with other materials. They can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, taken apart and put back together in multiple ways. The aim of this study was to determine personal and professional experiences and achievements of classroom teacher candidates during a play-based reflective workshop in which open ended materials were used. In this study qualitative research design and action research approach were used. Subjects of the study were 16 second grade students (10 female, 6 male) studying in the Department of Elementary Education, Division of Primary Education at the Faculty of Education in the spring semester of 2013-2014. The results showed that the classroom teacher candidates defined the open-ended materials as developing creativity, are useful, easy to find, safe/harmless but also as confusing. This workshop provided the classroom teacher candidates a new perspective on play and physical activities based on their past experiences. Participants stated that they gained some of the personal and the professional achievements through workshops such as creativity, collaborating, creating an enjoyable educational environment, effective communication skills, reflective thinking, goal setting, problem solving, using second hand materials according to the course objectives, etc. In addition, the participants agreed that this workshop was very successful and these kind of workshops should be provided for all classroom teacher candidates. Moreover, it was determined that this workshop created awareness about the “Play and Physical Activities” course in the curriculum which candidates would be teaching in their future profession.