By Dr. Meredith Swallow and Dr. Shannon Larsen
Play is widely acknowledged as essential to children’s learning; but does it have a role for the future teachers who are learning to guide those children as well?
In our university-based introductory teacher education course, we decided to pose this question to our pre-service teachers. Then, we set out to find some answers through a non-traditional setting: our university’s makerspace.
Dr. Meredith Swallow, a former middle grades teacher, is now an Associate Professor of Elementary Education at the University of Maine at Farmington. She works with preservice and graduate-level educators to develop and implement innovative teaching practices that foster active, learner-driven environments and meaningful technology integration.
Dr. Shannon Larsen started her career in education teaching 3rd, 5th, and 7th grade before becoming a K–8 math coach. She is now a Professor of Elementary Education at the University of Maine at Farmington where she enjoys teaching classes for pre-service and practicing teachers.
