Please join us for our distinguished guest speaker!
We know that children are amazing learning machines. As adults that support young children and their families in a number of capacities, our challenge is to uncover how to harness this natural tendency to learn. In other words, how do we teach in a way that is child-centered, evidence-based, and most effective for learning today and success tomorrow? And importantly, how do we prioritize and recognize an individual’s strengths and experience so that we support children in ways that are meaningful for individuals and not one-size-fits all?
Research from the Science of Learning is zeroing in on an answer to these question. This talk will explore how learning can be maximized when we purposefully create joyful experiences that promote active (minds-on), engaged (not-distracted), and meaningful learning (connects to the child’s life) using iterative exploration (experimentation) and utilizing the power of social interaction. Playful learning, a pedagogical approach that views play as a spectrum rather than through the false dichotomy of play vs. learning, naturally harnesses these characteristics in a way that is effective for learning across domains – from content knowledge (e.g., STEM and literacy) to the development of self-regulation and beyond. By thinking about free play, guided play, games, teacher-directed play, and direct instruction as different approaches, we can begin to explore how and when these approaches can be used to achieve desired learning outcomes. This talk will explore what is known about playful learning and discuss how this pedagogy can be leveraged across contexts (e.g., schools, homes, and communities) and ages.
Jennifer M. Zosh, Ph.D., is a Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University’s Brandywine campus. As the Director of the
Brandywine Child Development Lab, she studies how infants and young children learn about the world around them. Her areas of expertise and
publication include playful learning, the impact of technology on children, working memory, mathematical cognition, and language acquisition. Notably, she was co-lead author on a recent (2015) publication in Psychological Science in the Public Interest about
putting education back in educational apps through the application of research in the science of how children learn.
