3-159 - Not Just Playing Around: The Role of Toys and Games in Playful Learning

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Toys and games have been present in most societies throughout human history. At their heart, toys and games are indispensable, because they play a vital role in fostering play (Hassinger-Das et al., 2016). Play provides an active (not passive), engaged (not distracted), meaningful (not disjointed), and socially interactive (not detached) context for supporting learning and development (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2015). Children’s experiences with toys and games influence these critical areas via playful learning—a broad pedagogical approach featuring child-directed play approaches (Weisberg et al., 2016).

The three papers in this symposium study the ways in which toys and games are effective playful learning tools. The first paper examines a numerical card game with children in Head Start and demonstrates the ability of games to improve children’s mathematical knowledge. The second paper investigates the effects of electronic versus traditional toys on parent/child interaction and child self-regulation. Results suggest that parents speak to their children differently when using electronic toys and that children’s performance on a self-regulation task differed based on toy type. Paper 3 examines the characteristics of boys’ and girls’ toy choices during observations of free play. All three papers unpack the ways in which toys and games function as critical vehicles for enacting playful learning. The discussant will share how all three studies demonstrate the ability of toys and games to speak to the nature and goals of playful learning, while highlighting her own expertise in the area of spatial play.

Sub Unit

• Attention, Learning, Memory

Chair

• Brenna Hassinger-Das, Temple University

Discussant

• Jamie J Jirout, University of Virginia

Individual Presentations

• Short- and Long-Term Effects of Playing Card Games on Low-Income Children’s Early Mathematics Skills - Presenting Author: Nicole R. Scalise, University of Maryland; Emily N. Daubert, University of Maryland; Geetha Ramani, University of Maryland, College Park

• Direct and Indirect Effects of Electronic and Traditional Books for Toddlers - Presenting Author: Jennifer M Zosh, Penn State University, Brandywine; Lauren Lomas, Penn State University, Brandywine

• Gender Differences and Similarities in Children’s Free Play: Implications for Guided Play and Playful Learning - Presenting Author: Erica Weisgram, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Lisa M. Dinella, Monmouth University; Megan Fulcher, Washington & Lee University