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Background: Evidence from the science of learning suggests that playful learning pedagogical approaches exist along a spectrum and can support student learning. Leveraging active engagement, iterative, socially interactive, meaningful, and joyful interactions with content also supports student learning. Translating these concepts into guidance and support for teachers is lacking., Method: We introduce a tool designed to support teachers in implementing across the facilitation spectrum and leverage the characteristics that help children learn. Across three international contexts, we engaged with 1207 teachers and the tool was used 4911 times., Results: Student age, the intended learning goal, and context influenced teachers' use of the tool, suggesting that contextualization is critical, even when basing programs on evidence-based, universal principles given by the science of learning., Conclusion: Science of learning research must be effectively translated but we must use evidence from teachers and real-life classrooms to inform those studying the science of learning., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Funding for the project was provided by the Lego Foundation. The Lego Foundation provided feedback on study design, but was not involved in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data, nor were they involved with the writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Playful learning has seen a resurgence of interest in the past decade, particularly in contexts where play is not traditionally part of a teacher’s repertoire. Teachers interested in exploring the integration of play in their classrooms need formative tools and resources that help them to reflect and assess their own practice and their ability to create a playful learning experience for their students. This study presents the results of two rounds of pilot testing in three countries for Teacher RePlay, a new open-source toolkit designed to support teachers interested in reflecting on and deepening their learning through play practice. The toolkit includes the main Teacher RePlay observation protocol for teachers, as well as Children ReAct, a complementary protocol for a photo-elicited focus group discussion with children, intended to directly assess children’s experiences and reflections on learning through play. Upon observation, teachers receive customized coaching suggestions and tips designed to strengthen their learning through play practice. Initial results from the piloting indicate that the toolkit holds strong potential for teachers interested in better understanding and deepening their playful learning practice. This paper discusses the development, validation, successes, and challenges of the Teacher RePlay toolkit, and identifies future directions for its use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]