Scaffolding Sociodramatic Play in the Preschool Classroom: The Teacher's Role

Preschool children best learn through play. Among different play types sociodramatic play takes a crucial role during preschool years. Adults play a major in facilitating sociodramatic play for learning and development in preschool children. This study attempted to examine the role of the teacher in scaffolding the sociodramatic play activities implemented in the preschool classroom. The study employed Observations, interviews and reflective journal as the data collection instruments under qualitative approach. The study conducted a sociodramatic play intervention for a sample of 25 children aged from 3-5 in a preschool located in Colombo district under four themes. The observations which were carried out throughout 4 weeks were videotaped and documented via field notes. The data analyzing was done from the beginning based on descriptive analysis. The intervention identified that when the children are not engaging in the sociodramatic play activities much due to their limited experiences, the teacher has to be a play leader. When the children improve their interest in engaging in the sociodramatic play activities the teacher has to shift her role to co-player role. Thus the study concluded that the intervention identified pedagogical strategies for the teacher to scaffold the sociodramatic play activities in the preschool classroom. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n4p689