Mediate play, to help learning

The contribution focuses on 'playful didactics' as an approach to be studied for its contribution to a management of teaching that can foster the acquisition of deep, meaningful learning, capable of supporting the conquest of 'power to act' and the personal development of pupils. The question arises as to 'how' to manage play-based teaching-educational practice according to criteria of quality and effectiveness. Although the idea that learning through play can help pupils learn fundamental concepts and skills within the study disciplines and beyond is widely accredited, in fact play probably represents a strategy practised mainly in educational contexts aimed at early childhood, reserved for specific moments, perhaps during recreation, in a framework of frequent uncertainty as to how to combine a natural way of learning, at all ages, with the teaching of fundamental acquisitions necessary for understanding the world and exercising citizenship. The adoption of playful didactics requires the professionalism of teachers and educators to know how to place themselves on a continuum, between free play, totally guided by the learner, and activities totally guided by the adult: it is useful to explore on a theoretical and practical level the intermediate space of guided play, in which students can explore and direct their learning while teachers provide direction and scaffolding at the service of learning objectives. The contribution aims to reconstruct an exploratory theoretical framework in order to outline a framework for research on the development of effective play-based teaching practices and the training of teachers and trainers.