The Art of Play Facilitation is an interactive professional learning designed for Play Facilitators and other TPBA2 team members seeking to deepen their understanding and application of play facilitation skills. Participants will explore the foundational role of play as a developmentally appropriate and responsive method for assessing the skills, abilities, and competencies of young children. Through facilitated discussion, guided practice, and collaborative learning, participants will examine the roles and responsibilities of the Play Facilitator in supporting meaningful child engagement, observation, and participation throughout the TPBA2 process. The session will also highlight relationship-based strategies that foster trust, support diverse learning styles, and strengthen positive interactions with children during assessment. Participants will engage in opportunities to explore responsive play facilitation techniques that encourage authentic engagement and help elicit children’s developmental skills and abilities within natural play experiences.
This session is offered in a synchronous virtual format.
Objectives
- Define play and explain how play serves as a developmentally appropriate method for assessing the skills and abilities of all children.
- Describe and explain the roles and responsibilities of a Play Facilitator (PF) in orchestrating and guiding the flow of a play-based assessment to support meaningful observation, engagement, and child participation.
- Identify and apply relationship-based strategies that support diverse learning styles, foster trust, and build positive connections with children during play-based assessment.
- Explore responsive play facilitation techniques designed to encourage engagement and elicit children’s skills, abilities, and developmental competencies during play-based assessment.
Prerequisites
- It is highly recommended for new team members to have completed TPBA2: The Essentials as a prerequisite to this session.
Required Resources
- It is required that participants have available to them the TPBA2 Assessment Manual and the TPBA2 Administration Manual. These manuals are available for purchase through the Brookes Publishing website.
Intended Audience
- Evaluation Teams
Registration closes October 2, 2026