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SUMMARY:A Prescription for Play: Why play fosters social and cognitive dev
 elopment - Professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek\, Temple University\, Philadelphia\
 , USA
DTSTART:20180515T160000Z
DTEND:20180515T173000Z
UID:TALK105625@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Anna Vidos
DESCRIPTION:Yale Professor Ed Zeigler wrote that “play is under siege.
 ” In 1981 40% of a child’s discretionary time was spent in play. By 19
 97 that time had already decreased to 25%. In the last two decades childre
 n have lost eight hours of free play per week and thousands of schools in 
 the United States have eliminated playtime to make time for more lessons. 
 Ironically\, children have not profited from this extra 'educational' time
 \, nor from the so-called educational toys and educational apps. Recent in
 ternational tests of 15-year-olds suggest that children from Great Britain
  join their American peers by testing in the middle of the middle third in
  reading\, maths and science.\n\nThis talk evaluates the evidence for the 
 importance of free play and guided play as a catalyst for learning in soci
 al and cognitive development. Using science as a base\, Prof Hirsh-Pasek a
 rgues that play - in and out of school - might offer an important context 
 for supporting children’s academic\, social and physical well-being. She
  will explore why play\, particularly guided play\, might offer a successf
 ul midway position between the warring factions of playful and didactic ap
 proaches to early childhood education. Play and learning are not incompati
 ble. It is possible to have strong curricular goals that are presented to 
 children within a playful pedagogy. Kathy proposes a prescription to reins
 tate play as an important part of children’s everyday life.\n\n\n*About 
 Professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek*\n\nKathy is the Stanley and Deborah Lefkowitz
  Professor of Psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia\, where she 
 directs the Temple University Infant Language Laboratory. Much of her work
  is aimed at bridging the gap between developmental and educational resear
 ch\, as well as research and application. Kathy's team in the Infant Langu
 age Laboratory is trying to better understand the link between play and le
 arning by researching both free and guided play. Based on their findings\,
  Kathy advocates for more time for both free and guided play in order for 
 children to thrive academically.
LOCATION: Donald McIntyre Building\, Faculty of Education\, 184 Hills Road
 \, Cambridge\, CB2 8PQ\, room GS5
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