When we are young, playing and learning are inseparable.
Simple games like peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek help children learn important lessons about time, anticipation, and cause and effect. We discover words, numbers, colors and sounds through toys, puzzles, picture books and comics. You can have fun and learn new things wherever you go.
From around the early elementary school years, learning and play become officially separated for life.
Suddenly, learning becomes a task that takes place only in a proper classroom with the help of textbooks, homework, and tests. Play, on the other hand, becomes a distraction and is often obtained as a reward for studying and is only allowed to be indulged in during free time. As a result, students tend to grow up feeling like learning is a stressful chore, while play is a reward.
Related: Want resilient, well-adjusted kids? Let them play
But in recent years, educators have begun to reconsider this separation. Concrete steps are being taken to reverse this situation by reintroducing play into the classroom, extending learning to spaces outside the classroom, and incorporating hands-on learning opportunities within playful entertainment. Some people are taking measures. The roots of this change can be traced back to the concept of play theory, the idea that play and learning are fundamentally intertwined and that children benefit from a healthy balance of both.
Psychologists such as Jean Piaget, a pioneer of play theory, observed that play is essential to children's cognitive and language development and advised that play opportunities and environments should evolve as children grow. Did. Pediatricians such as Hilary Burdett and Robert Whittaker believe that active, unstructured outdoor play is more beneficial for children's physical, social, and mental health than indoor play. Masu. And Russian developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky proposed that imaginative play is the basis of children's ability to be responsible and self-regulated.
And now, innovative urban planners are beginning to embrace play theory, helping transform America's cities into fun, engaging, life-sized learning opportunities for the whole family.
For example, when a West Philadelphia bus stop added new features like a hopscotch grid, puzzles with moving pieces, and artwork with hidden images, families were encouraged to use the space and each other more often. We started interacting and the community started working together. To keep the area clean and welcoming. Similar interactive learning experiences are popping up in urban areas from California to the East Coast, with similarly promising results. Art, games, and music are incorporated into green spaces, public parks, transit stations, laundromats, and more.
Related: Demand for play-based learning increases in elementary school classrooms
Pittsburgh seeks to celebrate the inherent potential of play theory as a design feature with its new Let's Play, PGH! The initiative invites 27 local governments and educational institutions in southwestern Pennsylvania to plan, propose and implement play-focused urban elements. Remake Learning, the nonprofit organization where I am executive director, is partnering with the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative to award his $1.5 million in grants to participating organizations to brainstorm, develop, and install interactive features in the greater Pittsburgh area. . The effort is supported by the Grable Foundation and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation and will be guided by 10 local advisors with years of experience in play theory, learning science, and urban design.
Adding time and space for play into the rhythm of the day is a powerful reminder that it's okay to play and learning can happen anywhere. Play is natural and something children inherently know, a lesson that parents, educators, and urban planners would greatly benefit from remembering.
Tyler Samstag is the executive director of Remake Learning.
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