Exploring Play: The Importance of Play in Everyday Life Course - The University of Sheffield
Online United Kingdom
Course
DURATION
7 weeks
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning
Key Summary
Understanding the nature and value of play through the course of our lives, across cultures and communities.
Why join the course?
This course from the School of Education at the University of Sheffield will encourage you to think differently about the play.
We’ll discuss definitions of play and current debates about how the nature of play changes. Does play help us to learn? Can it prepare young people to be successful in the adult world? Are all forms of play good for us?
Who is this accredited by?
The CPD Certification Service: This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles.
When would you like to start?
Most FutureLearn courses run multiple times. Every run of a course has a set start date but you can join it and work through it after it starts.
- Available now
Who will you learn with?
| Elizabeth Wood (Educator) I am a Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield and specialise in researching play. Developing the MOOC with colleagues across different disciplines has been fascinating. | Jackie Marsh I am a Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield. I am interested in children's development of digital literacies and creativity through their engagement in the making and maker spaces. |
|---|
Who developed the course?
The University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is one of the world’s top 100 universities with a reputation for teaching and research excellence.
What topics will you cover
- The history and diversity of play
- Definitions and rhetorics of play
- Play across lifespan, cultures and contexts
- Play in outdoor and indoor environments
- Emotion, gender and play
- Trauma and play
- Disability and play
- Teenagers, adults and play
- Intergenerational play
- Modern technology and play
- The relationship between virtual play and the outside world
- Play, curiosity, creativity and innovation
What will you achieve
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to:
- Describe Brian Sutton-Smith’s seven rhetorics of play.
- Explore the history of toys and games.
- Identify continuity and change in play across centuries.
- Compare play activities across cultures.
- Debate the impact of modern technology on the play.
- Investigate where children and teenagers play in your neighbourhood.
- Discuss the provision and exclusion of play spaces in society.
- Explore the role of emotion and gender in children’s play.
- Evaluate the role of play during times of illness, trauma or accident.
- Investigate types of play in virtual worlds.
- Summarise the experiences of activists, practitioners and parents in relation to disability and play.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the serious play through playful missions.
- Reflect on the relationship between play, creativity and innovation in the workplace.
Who is the course for
Play is a fundamental part of innovation and creativity across a whole range of subjects, careers, disciplines and industries, from fashion and engineering to teaching and business.
This course will be of interest to you if you wish to work or study in the fields of psychology, playwork, childhood studies, play therapy, hospital play, teaching, childcare, or if you just want to better understand your relationship with the children in your life and your own play.
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