Play: Dormant Issues and New Perspectives

Vandenberg, Brian

doi:10.1159/000272730

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…This variation persisted across participants and focus group sessions, even though the focus group composition was similar regarding demographic characteristics. This finding is consistent with previous literature stating that play preference, inclination to play, and the meaning of play are associated with many variables such as culture [54][55][56], personality [57][58][59], gender [60][61][62], and play frequency [63,64]. Attesting to the variable nature of play liking is that even negative affect, such as feelings of guilt or antisocial behaviors like sadism and violence [65][66][67], can be pursued in play and games and might be considered pleasurable in certain contexts [68][69][70][71].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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Medical Students’ Perceptions of Play and Learning: Qualitative Study With Focus Groups and Thematic Analysis

Gaalen¹,

Jaarsma²,

Georgiadis³

2021

JMIR Serious Games

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Background In times where distance learning is becoming the norm, game-based learning (GBL) is increasingly applied to health profession education. Yet, decisions for if, when, how, and for whom GBL should be designed cannot be made on a solid empirical basis. Though the act of play seems to be intertwined with GBL, it is generally ignored in the current scientific literature. Objective The objective of our study was to explore students’ perceptions of play in leisure time and of GBL as part of a mechanistic, bottom-up approach towards evidence-informed design and implementation of GBL in health profession education. Methods We conducted 6 focus group discussions with medical and dentistry students, which were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results A total of 58 students participated. We identified 4 major themes based on the students’ perception of play in leisure time and on the combination of play and learning. Our results indicate that, while play preferences were highly various in our health profession student cohort, pleasure was the common ground reported for playing. Crucially, play and the serious act of learning seemed paradoxical, indicating that the value and meaning of play are strongly context-dependent for students. Conclusions Four key points can be constructed from our study. First, students play for pleasure. Perceptions of pleasure vary considerably among students. Second, students consider play as inefficient. Inefficiency will only be justified when it increases learning. Third, play should be balanced with the serious and only be used for difficult or tedious courses. Fourth, GBL activities should not be made compulsory for students. We provide practical implications and directions for future research.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The meaning of play is associated with many variables such as culture [54][55][56]. Since we used convenience sampling, the participants in this study predominantly had a similar ethnic background (European/Caucasian) and possibly also a similar socioeconomic background [120].…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical Students’ Perceptions of Play and Learning: Qualitative Study With Focus Groups and Thematic Analysis

Gaalen¹,

Jaarsma²,

Georgiadis³

2021

JMIR Serious Games

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“…For example, such play should facilitate problem solving by creating a flexible cognitive set whereby children learn that materials can be used in a variety of ways, which may assist them in developing generalized schemes for solving problems (e.g., Bruner 1972; Cheyne and Rubin 1983;Poirier and Smith 1974;Vandenberg 1981). Similarly, Smith (1982) suggested that a penchant for object manipulation and exploration through play may serve to develop those skills further and possibly prepare one to use tools "over and above what could be learnt through observation, imitation, and goal-directed practice" (1982:151).…”

Section: Object-oriented Play and Tool Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in young children’s use of tools in a problem-solving task

Gredlein

Bjorklund

2005

Hum Nat

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Three-year-old children were observed in two free-play sessions and participated in a toy-retrieval task, in which only one of six tools could be used to retrieve an out-of-reach toy. Boys engaged in more object-oriented play than girls and were more likely to use tools to retrieve the toy during the baseline tool-use task. All children who did not retrieve the toy during the baseline trials did so after being given a hint, and performance on a transfer-of-training tool-use task approached ceiling levels. This suggests that the sex difference in tool use observed during the baseline phase does not reflect a difference in competency, but rather a sex difference in motivation to interact with objects. Amount of time boys, but not girls, spent in object-oriented play during the free-play sessions predicted performance on the tool-use task. The findings are interpreted in terms of evolutionary theory, consistent with the idea that boys' and girls' play styles evolved to prepare them for adult life in traditional environments.

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“…These observations, taken together with those of van Lawick-Goodall and the experiments of Birch, Schiller, and Jackson suggest that play is an important factor in both the generation of novel, adaptive behaviors, as well as the cultural propagation of established skills (Vandenberg, 1979). Van Lawick-Goodall's data indicate that the young learn skills from their elders through observational learning and that they perfect their abilities in play.…”

Section: Play and Problem Solvingmentioning

confidence: 82%