Lecturer：Dr. Cheng Wanni

Dr. Cheng Wanni is the Head of Preschool Division and Senior Lecturer at the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language. She specializes in picture book creation, localized curriculum design, teacher professional development, and innovative early childhood pedagogy. Her work focuses on helping educators transform educational theories into effective classroom practices that enhance children’s engagement and learning quality.

Course Overview

Play in early childhood classrooms is no longer merely a reward or filler activity—it is a powerful pedagogy for learning, communication, and active participation. This course invites educators to rethink their classroom role: from directing children’s learning to supporting it. Through child development perspectives, classroom case studies, and practical strategies, participants will learn how to use play to foster expression, collaboration, thinking, and autonomy while creating more engaging learning environments.

Course Objectives

1. Unlock a new perspective on play pedagogy by moving beyond traditional teacher-led approaches and discovering the learning power of play.

2. Master ready-to-use classroom strategies including questioning techniques, interaction design, supportive language, and play facilitation methods.

3. Boost children’s motivation and participation through play while nurturing expression, collaboration, thinking, and autonomous learning.

4. Build a high-engagement, high-quality classroom by strengthening professional judgement and creating a more effective, caring teaching style.

Course Features

1. Transform the way you see play—not as filler time, but as a key pedagogy for learning and development.

2. Learn today, use tomorrow with practical activities, teacher prompts, and classroom-ready strategies.

3. Address real classroom challenges such as low participation, chaotic routines, frequent conflicts, and teacher fatigue.

4. Take home a complete toolkit including teaching templates, observation tools, game design frameworks, and supportive language resources.

Take-home Course Resources

1. Play Activity Planning TemplatesReady-to-use templates for designing engaging and interactive classroom play experiences.

2. Classroom Observation SheetsTools for identifying children’s learning behaviours, interactions, and developmental signals during play.

3. Supportive Teacher Language BankA collection of practical prompts, encouragement phrases, and responsive teaching language.

4. Innovative Play Pedagogy FrameworkA framework for transforming existing lessons into engaging play-based learning experiences.