Childrens Play: A Link with School Success

1
Childrens Play A Link with School Success

• Dr. Kathleen G. Burriss, Ed.D.
• kburriss_at_mtsu.edu
• 615-898-2323
• Dr. Larry L. Burriss, Ph.D., J.D.
• lburriss_at_mtsu.edu
• 615-898-2983

2
Play Do You See It?

• What are children doing?
• Primary vehicle for child development.
• Physical
• Emotional
• Social
• Cognitive

3
What Happens During Play?

• Power
• Control
• Process vs. Product
• Intrinsic Motivation
• Non-literality

4
Brain Plasticity

• Many possibilities
• Infant brain Dendrites need to be linked
• Exploration of objects, social smile, language
• Toddler brain very dense, connections quickly
  made
• Early childhood pruning occurs

5
The Brain, Play Academic Achievement

• Brain works as a whole
• No left/right hemispheres
• Research confirms relationship
• Play parallels brain development
• Environment influences brain development

6
Pruning Process

• Makes thinking more efficient
• Connections not helping are eliminated
• Synapses used most become stronger more
  efficient

7
Middle Childhood

• Individual differences evidenced
• Pruning continues
• Pretend play continues
• Technology
• Risk taking
• Sports

8
Brain Development Complete

• 20 years old
• Judgment
• Emotional control
• Pretense continues poetry, daydreaming

9
Play Brain Activity

• Active play provides sensory input
• Promotes synaptic connections
• Brain becomes more efficient
• Symbolic thought becomes more evident
• Frontal cortex receiving more connections

10
Play Brain Activity (cont.)

• Frontal lobe activated pretend play, symbolic
  play
• Perspective taking
• Social games more evident, more elaborate.
• Practice play is still present
• Moving towards constructive play

11
Humor

• Toddlers begin to use humor
• Humor is evidence of what your child knows

12
What is the Relationship Between Play Literacy?

• Non-literality
• Language
• Construction
• Meaning-making
• Objects
• Gestures
• Symbols/ Ideas

13
What About Different Cognitive Levels?

• Functional
• Constructive
• Dramatic
• Games with rules

14
What is This Block?

• A car?
• A cell phone?
• A block?

15
What Thinking Happens During Play?

• Object transformation
• Relational
• Ideational

16
What Is Link Between Play, Creativity, School
Success?

• Not Static
• Imaginative
• Playful

17
How Do We Prepare Schools for Children?

• Concern for intelligence
• Abstract
• Practical
• Creativity

18
What About Creativity?

• Liberating roam around in your mind
• Deep concentration uncertain outcomes
• Memory places outdoor play
• Everyday mythic play

19
What Is Creativity?

• Original
• Distinct
• Uncommon
• Adaptive
• Useful
• Aesthetic

20
How Do We Plan for Creativity?

• Focus on creativity, not accidental
  implementation
• Fluency
• Openness
• Risk taking

21
Planning for Creativity (cont.)

• Sensitivity to aesthetics
• Range of materials
• Not just about a person, also consider social
  culture aspects

22
Why Do This?

• Making the strange familiar making the familiar
  strange
• Process is divergent, not convergent

23
What Limits Play Creativity?

• Legislation
• Law suits
• Over-scheduling
• Technology
• Competitive play sports

24
Our Children

• Inherently active
• Concrete thinkers need relevance
• Need recovery time
• Influenced by adult models
• Impacted by screen time TV viewing

25
Physical Activity

• Structured unstructured
• Obese children are at risk to become obese adults

26
Obesity Health Risks

• Psychological problems
• Asthma
• Type Two Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Orthopedic difficulties
• Sleep apnea
• Cardiovascular difficulties
• High cholesterol

27
Benefits of Physical Activity

• Aerobic fitness
• Bone mass
• Muscular coordination strength
• Psychological benefits
• Less anxiety stress
• Better self-concept

28
Obesity Stigmatization

• Viewed as awkward
• Impacts physical activity
• Feelings of inadequacy
• Diminishes friendships social experiences

29
Accumulating Physical Activity

• Pick it up save it
• Intermittent

30
Physical Activity Academic Achievement

• Improved behavior
• Focused/Improved concentration
• Less stress
• Social emotional learning supported

31
Play Symposium II Physical Activity, The
Outdoor Classroom and Recess February 28,
2009 Middle Tennessee State University
32
Childrens Play A Link with School Success

• Dr. Kathleen G. Burriss, Ed.D.
• kburriss_at_mtsu.edu
• 615-898-2323
• Dr. Larry L. Burriss, Ph.D., J.D.
• lburriss_at_mtsu.edu
• 615-898-2983

33
(No Transcript)