Although play naturally embeds computational thinking (CT) and mathematical learning in early childhood education, designing developmentally appropriate learning activities that purposefully nurture and extend these competencies remains a challenge. This study investigates how young children engage with foundational mathematical and computational concepts through analog (DUPLO^®) and digital (Blue-Bot) tools in a play-responsive early childhood education workshop setting. The study adopts a qualitative workshop format aimed at promoting playful exploration and active experimentation, involving eleven 4–5-year-old children and their two teachers. Based on a sociocultural perspective, the findings highlight that mathematics is a human activity embedded in everyday playful practices. In particular, unplugged analog activities, embedded within an open-ended narrative framework, guided and structured the process. Based on these findings, we suggest “computational play” as a framework for developmentally appropriate integration of computational thinking (CT) and mathematics. This framework offers implications for educators seeking to support early CT and mathematical learning in playful, exploratory early childhood education (ECE) environments.

This study explores multilingual study guidance (MSG) teachers design for learning and the potential of immersive and interactive Virtual Reality (VR) technology to support students’ development of disciplinary knowledge through multilingual conceptual learning. Part of a co-design research project, the study draws on two teachers’ didactical designs and their creation of subject-specific VR environments, as well as their reflective evaluative discussions. Framing teaching and learning as a matter of design for learning combined with a meta-thinking framework supporting planning and evaluation of didactical designs, the participating teachers identified learning targets, how to teach, and how to organize each activity. Findings reveal that the teachers employed multimodal, dialogic, and experience-based approaches to co-construct disciplinary knowledge and language in contextually rich VR environments, stimulating critical thinking and promoting multilingual metalinguistic awareness. Despite the potential of immersive VR for inclusive and equitable learning, the study highlights a critical need for structured collaboration between MSG and subject teachers to ensure pedagogical coherence and curricular alignment. These insights contribute to the growing discourse on immersive learning design and its implications for multilingual education.