The Role of Coaching in Developing Playful Lessons

Many teachers want their classroom to be a place where learning is more joyful, but with the demands of content standards, time pressures, and classroom management, that can sometimes feel out of reach. In Denmark, some schools have solved this challenge by adopting an instructional coaching model: Educators trained in playful learning collaborate and consult with teachers regularly to help infuse socialization, activity, creativity, and meaning into their lessons. At Vorbasse School in Billund, when playful learning guide Maria Astrup Bendixen worked with math teacher Nicolaj Bech, they transformed a statistics lesson into a more connected and memorable experience for his middle school students.

To learn more about the research behind the practices seen in the video, check out the links below.

• The American Academy of Pediatrics’ report on how play enhances development in young children (2018) 
• Kayleigh Skene, Christine M. O’Farrelly, Elizabeth M. Byrne, Natalie Kirby, Eloise C. Stevens, and Paul G. Ramchandani’s meta-analysis and review on whether guidance during play can enhance children’s learning and development in educational contexts (2022) 
• Rachel Parker, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, and Amy Berry’s article on learning through play at school (2022)
• Matthew A. Kraft, David Blazar, and Dylan Hogan’s meta-analysis of the effects of teacher coaching on instruction and achievement (2018)
• Robyn M. Gillies’s review of research on cooperative learning (2016)
• Anna Abramczyk and Susanne Jurkowski’s study on cooperative learning as an evidence-based teaching strategy (2020) 
• Elaine H. J. Yew and Karen Goh’s review of the impact of problem-based learning on student learning (2016)
• Donna King and Stephen M. Ritchie’s article on learning science through real-world contexts (2011)