Serious Players in the Primary Classroom: Empowering Children Through Active Learning Experiences

This second edition offers further insight into Selma Wassermann’s notion of organizing instruction known as Play-Debrief-Replay - a means of structuring curriculum experiences to promote children’s active learning in co-operative groups and to foster independent thinking. The book also provides a theoretical framework for implementing teaching for thinking in primary classrooms. By updating references and adding a chapter on moral dilemmas, including information that is consonant with constructivist ideologies, Wassermann continues to promote ways of teaching that stimulate children’s appreciation for social and ethical issues. Here approach is holistic; it not only honours the play of children, but also the work of teachers.