| associative play | A form of play in which children use the same materials, interact with each other, and carry on conversations. It is not as organized as cooperative play, in which children take on differentiated roles.
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| child-centered learning | A teaching-learning process in which the child learns from interacting with the environment, other children, and adults. This type of learning contrasts with a classroom in which the educator's main role is to teach specific subject matter or formal lessons.
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| cooperative play | A form of play that involves a significant degree of organization. Interactive role-playing and creating a joint sculpture are two examples of cooperative play.
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| descriptive feedback | A form of nonjudgmental commentary. Adults use descriptive feedback to put children's actions and feelings to words to convey recognition, acceptance, and support*"You're putting a lot of work into that drawing" or "Looks like you don't like him to touch your painting." Descriptive feedback should be used to facilitate rather than disrupt.
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| developmentally appropriate practice | A set of practices that directly relates to a child's stage of development as defined by such theorists as Piaget and Erikson.
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| intrinsic motivation | Inner rewards that drive a child to accomplish something. Intrinsic motivation contrasts with extrinsic motivation, in which rewards are given to the child in the form of praise, tokens, stickers, stars, privileges, and so forth.
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| meaning-making | A practice through which children construct knowledge by finding meaning in their experience.
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| parallel play | A form of play in which two or several children are playing by themselves but within close proximity of each other. Each child's play may be influenced by what another child is doing or saying, but there is no direct interaction or acknowledgment of the other child.
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| project approach | An in-depth teaching-learning process that emerges from an idea--thought up by either a child or an adult--and is carried out over days or weeks. Unlike free play, project work emphasizes product as well as process. Documentation of the process (during and upon completion) is an important element of the project approach.
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| running records | A method of documenting that gives a blow-by-blow, objective, written description of what is happening while it is happening. A running record can include adult interpretations about the meaning of the observed behaviors, but it must separate objective data from subjective comments.
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| sensorimotor play | A form of play that involves exploring, manipulating, using movement, and experiencing the senses. It is sometimes called "practice play" or "functional play." In sensorimotor play, the child interacts with his or her environment using both objects and other people.
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| solitary play | A form of play in which a child plays alone even though other children may be present.
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| symbolic play | A form of play that uses one thing to stand for another and shows the person's ability to create mental images. Three types of symbolic play are dramatic play, constructive play, and playing games with rules.
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