Deborah Leong is a Professor of Psychology at Metropolitan State College of Denver. She has a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Her interests include the application of the Vygotskian approach to early childhood education and authentic assessment. She has coauthored (with Elena Bodrova) Tools of the Mind: the Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education and a series of educational videos on Vygotsky. She is co-director of the Tools of the Mind Project, which was chosen as an exemplary educational innovation by the International Bureau of Education, UNESCO, United Nations.
Elena Bodrova holds a Ph.D. in Developmental and Educational Psychology from the Russian Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, and an M.A. in the same from the Moscow State University. Prior to joining McREL in 1998 as a Senior Researcher, a position she has held throughout her career at several renowned Institutions, Dr. Bodrova was a Visiting Professor of Educational Psychology at the Metropolitan State College of Denver.
Description
This presentation will present stages of make-believe play development from infancy to 6 years of age. It will discuss the precursors to make-believe play in infants and toddlers and the stages of make-believe play from immature to mature play. A play assessment instrument used in the Tools of the Mind approach will be presented to help teachers learn how to evaluate the level of play and to develop appropriate scaffolds for each stage.