When we are children, play and learning cannot be separated.
Simple games like peek-a-boo or hide-and-seek can help children learn important lessons about time, anticipation, and cause and effect. We discover words, numbers, colors, and sounds through toys, puzzles, storybooks, and cartoons. Everywhere we go there are fun things to do and new things to learn.
Then, around the beginning of elementary school, learning and play are officially separated for life.
Suddenly, learning becomes a task that only takes place in a proper classroom, with the help of textbooks, homework, and tests. On the other hand, play is a distraction that we only enjoy in our free time, and we often get it as a reward for studying. As a result, students tend to grow up feeling as if learning is a stressful task and playing as a reward.
Related: Want a resilient, well-adjusted child? let them play
But in recent years, educators have begun to rethink this separation. Some are taking concrete steps to turn this around by reintroducing play into the classroom, expanding learning to include spaces outside the classroom, and incorporating practical learning opportunities into playful pastimes. The roots of this change are found in the concept of play theory: that play and learning are fundamentally intertwined and that children benefit from a healthy balance of the two.
Psychologists such as Jean Piaget, a pioneer of play theory, observed that play is essential for children's cognitive and language development and advised that opportunities and environments for play should evolve as children mature. Pediatricians such as Hillary Burdette and Robert Whitaker believe that unstructured, active outdoor play is more beneficial to children's physical, social, and emotional health than indoor play. And Russian developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky proposed that imaginative play is fundamental to children's sense of responsibility and self-regulation.
And now innovative city planners are beginning to adopt play theory, and the results are helping transform America's cities into fun, engaging, life-size learning opportunities for the whole family.
For example, when new features were added to the West Philadelphia bus station, such as hopscotch grids, puzzles with movable pieces, and artwork with hidden images, families began interacting with the space and each other much more frequently, and the community We worked together. Keep the area clean and accessible. Similar interactive learning experiences are popping up in urban areas from California to the East Coast, with equally promising results. Art, games, and music are being integrated into green spaces, public parks, transit stations, laundromats, and more.
Related: Growing demand for play-based learning in elementary school classrooms
Pittsburgh will celebrate the unique potential of play theory as a design feature with the new Let's Play PGH! An initiative that invited 27 municipalities and educational institutions in southwestern Pennsylvania to plan, promote and implement play-centered urban elements. In partnership with the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, the nonprofit Remake Learning, of which I serve as executive director, is providing $1.5 million to participating organizations to brainstorm, develop, and install interactive features across Pittsburgh. Supported by the Grable and Henry L. Hillman Foundations, this work 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 that learning happens everywhere. Play is natural. This is something children innately know, and a lesson parents, educators, and urban planners will benefit from remembering.
Tyler Samstag is the Executive Director of Remake Learning.
This commentary on play was produced by Hechinger Reportis a nonprofit, independent media outlet focused on inequality and innovation in education. join Hechinger's Newsletter.