Coding for play: Identifying and categorizing educator-designed group playful learning experiences in libraries and other informal learning environments

Abstract

While children's play has been theorized and examined by scholars across disciplines, limited attention has been focused on the presentation and inclusion of multi-age group play in informal learning environments such as public libraries. With increased recognition of the value and connection of play to learning for children in these spaces and the resources and services they offer, there is a need to understand more about how to identify and theorize group play in practitioner-led child and family programming - a common feature of many libraries and other informal learning environments. Expanding on previous play and playful learning literature, a coding scheme and criteria for identifying and categorizing playful learning in educator-designed group programming in informal learning environments is presented. This coding scheme is then applied to previous video-recordings of storytime programs in a public library, museum, and zoo environment. Future implications for the LIS field are presented.